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57-465: The Steam Rollers were established in 1916 by members of the Providence Journal ; sports-editor Charles Coppen and part-time sports-writer Pearce Johnson . Three men shared in the ownership and management of the team: Coppen, James Dooley , and Peter Laudati . Meanwhile, Johnson stayed on as the team's manager for each year of its existence. The team soon became a regional power and by

114-464: A 6 percent targeted reduction in the Gannett news division, executive editor David Ng was laid-off. In March 2023, Gannet reported updated circulation numbers for The Providence Journal of 27,820 daily subscribers and 33,523 Sunday subscribers for 2022. The paper in its early days changed headquarters frequently as the paper grew. The paper's original office was in the old Coffee House, at

171-827: A buyer for the Journal , including its headquarters on 75 Fountain St. and its separate printing facility. The company said it wanted to focus on business interests in Dallas. Workers were not surprised because the announcement came after the company sold one of its other papers, the Riverside Press-Enterprise in California . A. H. Belo announced on July 22, 2014, that it was selling the paper's assets to New Media Investment Group Inc., parent company of Fairport, N.Y.-based GateHouse Media , for $ 46 million. By then,

228-488: A division of GateHouse Media , assumed the title of interim publisher, succeeding Howard G. Sutton. On Feb. 27, 2015, Janet Hasson was named president and publisher of the Journal . (The GateHouse Media news release announcing the appointment incorrectly reported that Hasson was the paper's first female publisher. That distinction belongs to Mary Caroline Knowles, who was publisher from 1874 until 1879. ) In 2019, Journal parent company GateHouse Media purchased Gannett ,

285-580: A scoreless tie against the Columbus Tigers . The 1924 Steam Rollers then went on to win the mythical "undisputed championship of the Northeast". The team's success that season was enough to make Steam Rollers management and fans start thinking about playing in the NFL. Providence joined the NFL in time for the 1925 season. By that time only three players from the 1924 team were still in the line-up when

342-502: A single point over an entire season. In 1936 an unrelated Providence Steam Roller team played in the New England Football League for one season. The Steam Roller name was revived by Pearce Johnson, one of the original team's founders. The subsequent Steamrollers played on a near-continuous basis since that point as a semi-pro, minor league, and independent team until 1942, when it moved to Springfield and became

399-662: A week later, at the Cycledrome, Providence finally avenged its only loss of the season with a 6–0 victory over the Yellow Jackets. The team would then post wins over the New York Giants (16–0) and Pottsville (7–0), before ending its season with a 7–7 tie, against the Green Bay Packers . Providence was named the 1928 NFL Champions. Prior to the 1932 season, the NFL team with the best winning percentage

456-401: Is a crook. Well, I am not a crook." Shortly after this, the I.R.S. audited Nixon's tax returns. By December 1973, Nixon, under pressure, released five years of tax documents. This set a precedent for Presidents and presidential candidates to release tax returns, a custom that continued to 2016. White's story forced Nixon to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in owed taxes. The story won White

513-634: Is possible this was an early inspiration for Dow's later development of his " stock index " at The Wall Street Journal . While at the Journal Dow wrote a series on "The History of Steam Navigation between New York and Providence". Dow also traveled to Colorado to report on the Colorado Silver Boom and the Leadville miners' strike ; these stories were published in May and June 1879. On

570-595: The 1974 Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting . In 1988 the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSICOP) presented reporter C. Eugene Emery Jr. with the Responsibility in Journalism Award for his researched claims of faith-healer Ralph A. DiOrio and wrote about the results in his journal. In the 1990s, rising production costs and declines in circulation prompted the Journal to consolidate both

627-927: The Bulletin was discontinued, and its name was appended onto that of the morning paper: The Providence Journal-Bulletin . Starting in 1925, the Journal became the first in the country to expand coverage statewide. It had news bureaus throughout Rhode Island and southeastern Massachusetts , a trend that had been inaugurated in 1925 by then-managing editor Sevellon Brown. Bureaus in Westerly , South Kingstown , Warwick , West Warwick , Greenville , Pawtucket , Woonsocket , Newport , Bristol / Warren in Rhode Island, and Attleboro and Fall River , in Massachusetts, were designed to make sure that reporters were only 20 minutes away from breaking news. In 1937,

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684-683: The Continental Football League as the Rhode Island Indians , where the team played one last season in 1965. After the 1965 season, the team's franchise rights were turned over to famed baseball player Jackie Robinson and became the "Brooklyn Dodgers," which lasted one season. A Basketball Association of America franchise was also called the Providence Steamrollers . The Steamrollers played for three seasons, beginning in 1946–1947. The name

741-596: The Great Depression in 1930, caused Dooley, Coppen and Laudati to suspend operations after the 1931 season. The three owners then gave up and turned the franchise back over to the NFL in 1933. During halftime against a game between the Steam Rollers and the Providence Pros , Charles Coppen, who was getting a hot dog, heard a remark that the opposing team was "getting steam-rolled". Coppen loved

798-858: The Journal ' s coverage area, rich or poor, received a free staff-written obituary. Chief editorial writer George W. Potter won the Journal' s first Pulitzer Prize in 1945 for a series of essays, and the entire editorial staff won in 1953 for local deadline reporting. These were followed by Prizes in 1974 and 1994. During the 1970s, reporter Jack White , then manager of the Providence Journal-Bulletin bureau in Newport, Rhode Island , cultivated sources among Newport's elite. One source passed on to White evidence that President Richard Nixon had paid taxes amounting to $ 792.81 in 1970 and $ 878.03 in 1971, despite earning more than $ 400,000. White discovered that Nixon had illegally back-dated

855-451: The Journal' s Monday through Friday circulation had dropped to 74,400, with an average of 99,100 on Sundays. Its website was getting 1.4 million unique users on an average month. The sale was completed on Sept. 3, 2014, as several employees, including widely respected columnist Bob Kerr, were told they would not be transferred to the new company. Bernie Szachara, senior vice president for publishing and group publisher at Local Media Group ,

912-1144: The Providence Steam Roller (1928). Smith served as the head football coach at the College of Emporia in Emporia, Kansas for four seasons, from 1931 to 1934, compiling a record of 10–19–4. Smith later coached football at Bridgeport High School in Bridgeport, Illinois . He owned the Lawrenceville Greenhouses, was chaired the Lawrence Country Housing authority, and was a board member of the Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce. Smith died on December 30, 1982, at his home in Lawrenceville, Illinois . This biographical article relating to an American football offensive lineman born in

969-755: The Springfield Steamroller for 1943, and suspended operations shortly thereafter. The last three seasons of a "Providence Steamrollers " team were as a member of the Atlantic Coast Football League ; in 1962, the Steamroller team was the league's runner-up, losing in the championship to the Paterson Miners in a double-overtime decision. The assets of the ACFL Steam Roller were bought and taken to

1026-659: The Colorado trip, Dow traveled with a team of Wall Street financiers and geologists, leading Dow to leave Providence for New York City in 1879 to advance his career as a reporter on mining stocks. In 1863, Danielson launched an evening edition, called the Evening Bulletin . In 1885, a Sunday edition was added, making the publication schedule seven days per week. After Danielson's death, the paper became less partisan, and by 1888 declared its political independence. Alfred M. Williams, editor from 1884 to 1891, broke from

1083-506: The Cycledrome field unplayable. Since neither team wanted to lose a payday, the historic night game was hastily scheduled. Because of this, Providence made history again by being the first team to host an NFL game at night under floodlights. Although the Steam Rollers lost 16–0, the game was declared a success because 6,000 fans attended. Despite their 1928 championship, the team experienced troubles in 1929. On January 4, 1929, Sonnenberg defeated Strangler Lewis in two straight falls to capture

1140-497: The Internet version of the paper profitable. The Journal aggressively marketed its news on the web, pushing to get detailed stories onto its website, projo.com, before competing radio, television and other print outlets. But circulation continued to decline and online advertising failed to compensate. In June 2011, the Journal laid off more than a dozen employees and eliminated its Promotion Department which had internally handled

1197-534: The Providence Daily Journal , published six days per week. The first edition of the Providence Daily Journal appeared July 1, 1829. During the years 1863 to 1884 the Journal was published by Knowles, Anthony & Danielson. These were Joseph Knowles, George W. Danielson and Henry B. Anthony . During this period the paper would reach new heights of political influence, aligning itself with

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1254-685: The Providence Journal Company were on January 3, 1820, when publisher "Honest" John Miller started the Manufacturers' & Farmers' Journal, Providence & Pawtucket Advertiser in Providence, published twice per week. The paper's office was in the old Coffee House, at the corner of Market Square and Canal street. The paper moved many times over the next few decades as it grew. By 1829, demand for more timely news caused Miller to combine his existing publications into

1311-632: The Republican party and advocated for government reform, women's suffrage, and Indian rights. In contrast to Danielson and Anthony, Williams had a sympathetic appreciation for the Irish culture. Before American entry into World War I , Journal publisher and Australian immigrant John R. Rathom attempted to stir up public sentiment in favor of the war against the Central Powers . He frequently published exposés of German subversive activities in

1368-542: The Republican party and against Irish and Catholic immigrants. Anthony would become one of Rhode Island's most powerful politicians, and go on to serve as Governor of Rhode Island and United States Senator . During the Knowles, Anthony & Danielson years, the paper became known for its strong support of the Republican Party, and became known by the nickname "The Republican Bible". The Republican party ruled

1425-538: The Saturday editions of the Journal and Bulletin were combined to create the Journal-Bulletin , the Saturday edition was reset to become Volume 1, Number 1. The daily edition of the paper followed suit in 1995 (becoming Volume XXIII) upon the termination of the Evening Bulletin . In July 2017, the Journal announced it was reverting to the original volume numbering. The Friday, July 21, 2017, edition of

1482-461: The Steam Rollers made history, their 0–3–1 record during that six-day stretch proved to be a scheduling disaster. During the second game of that four-game series, Providence hosted the Cardinals on November 6. The game was played at night at nearby Kinsley Park , where floodlights recently had been installed. The teams had originally been scheduled to play on Sunday, November 3, but heavy rains made

1539-562: The Steam Rollers, but under aliases, so as not to jeopardize their amateur status. In 1924, Providence's schedule featured several NFL teams. The Steam Rollers posted a 3–2–1 record against those teams, defeating the Rochester Jeffersons (3–0), Minneapolis Marines (49–0) and Dayton Triangles (10–7). Both of their losses came against the Frankford Yellow Jackets (21–10) and (16–3). The team also posted

1596-606: The United States, claiming that the Journal had intercepted secret German communications. By 1920, it was revealed that Rathom's information was supplied by British intelligence agents. Nonetheless, Rathom remained editor until his death in 1923. William H. Garrison joined the staff in 1914, and became the publisher and vice president four years later, in 1918. He and his partners sold the paper to Senator Peter G. Gerry in 1923. The Journal dropped "Daily" from its name and became The Providence Journal in 1920. In 1992,

1653-551: The allegations when he wrote an open letter to Belo chairman Robert Decherd , critical of Belo's management. In the letter he expressed concern that poor management was responsible for the departure of 57 employees. He accused management of "assuming a counterproductive attitude toward its staff," which included fights over expenses, and over-reliance on freelancers and interns. Executive Editor Alan Rosenberg retired in December 2020 after four decades, replaced by David Ng. In

1710-552: The award, left the Journal in 1999 to go to The New York Times . In 2001, reports in industry journals suggested that the Providence Journal was suffering from labor troubles, in which a "poisoned" workplace atmosphere led to a "talent hemorrhage." At least 35 news staffers left the paper between January 2000 and summer 2001, including 16 reporters, seven desk editors, two managerial staffers, and 10 administrative staff members. Publisher Howard Sutton denied there

1767-625: The bureaus and the editions. The editors tried to reinvigorate the coverage of city and town news in 1996, but competition from the Internet added fuel to the decline. In 1997, the Livingston Award , sometimes called the "Pulitzer Prize for the Young", was awarded to Journal reporter C. J. Chivers for International Reporting for his series on the collapse of commercial fishing in the North Atlantic. Chivers, aged 32 when he won

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1824-698: The corner of Market Square and Canal street. In 1823 it moved to the Union building, on the west side of the bridge, and in the following year to the Granite building, Market Square. In May, 1833, the office moved again to the Whipple building on College Street. From 1844 to 1871, the paper was housed at the Washington buildings. In July, 1871 the paper moved to the Barton block on Weybosset Street. In May, 1889,

1881-485: The country (as well as cable television systems under the banner of Colony Communications; these systems were sold to Continental Cablevision in 1995), it was sold to the Dallas-based Belo Corp. in 1996. Belo also owned several television stations. The company later split into two entities and one, A. H. Belo , took control of the newspapers. On Dec. 4, 2013, A. H. Belo announced that it was seeking

1938-556: The donation of his papers to the National Archives , in order to avoid a new law which made such donations ineligible for tax deductions. The night he was prepared to write the story, in September 1973, the union representing reporters at the newspaper voted to go on strike . White would later recall rolling the story out of his typewriter, folding it up and putting it in his wallet. He said he never thought about giving

1995-529: The face of declining revenue, the paper began charging for obituaries on January 4, 2005. The paper's last Massachusetts edition was published on March 10, 2006. On Oct. 10, 2008, the paper stopped publishing all of its zoned editions in Rhode Island and laid off 33 news staffers, including three managers. Even during the Great Depression, the Journal had not terminated news staff to cut costs. The next few years included an extensive campaign to make

2052-407: The first half of the season due to illness, and Wildcat Wilson became complacent and turned into an ordinary back. The 1929 Steam Rollers team struggled to a 4–6–2 record, resulting in a 7th place league finish. This caused the fans, who attended each game during the championship season, to stay home. The team posted a 6–4–1 record in 1930 and a 4–4–3 record in 1931. The lack of interest, coupled with

2109-435: The iPad for free. The paywall was put in place on February 28, 2012. The new website was part of a larger rebranding project by Nail Communications which also included a campaign entitled "We Work For The Truth". The rebranding failed to stem the circulation decline. Throughout most of its history, the paper was privately owned. After the Journal became publicly traded and had acquired several television stations throughout

2166-688: The metropolitan area of Providence , the largest newspaper in Rhode Island , US. The newspaper was first published in 1829. The newspaper had won four Pulitzer Prizes as of 2023 . The Journal bills itself as "America's oldest daily newspaper in continuous publication", as the Hartford Courant , started in 1764, did not become a daily until 1837, and the New York Post , which began daily publication in 1801, suspended publication during strikes in 1958 and 1978. The beginnings of

2223-478: The mid-1920s was known as the best independent team in the country. By 1919 the team was drawing in more spectators than Brown University by a margin of 2–1, according to newspaper reports at the time. However, it seemed unlikely since the Steam Rollers crowd was on average 3,000 spectators a game. The players' wages were lower than those of Indiana and Ohio , so it was harder for the Steam Rollers to bring in "ringers". Several college football players did play for

2280-562: The newspaper was set to become Vol. CLXXXIX, No. 1, to mark the first paper of the 189th year. Clyde Smith (American football) Clyde Wise Smith (July 17, 1904 – December 30, 1982) was an American football player and coach. He played professionally as a center for four seasons in the National Football League (NFL) with the Kansas City Cowboys (1925–1926), the Columbus Tigers (1927), and

2337-535: The newspaper's marketing and community affairs events for decades. On Oct. 18, 2011, with circulation down to about 94,000 on weekdays and 129,000 on Sundays (down from 164,000 and over 231,000 in 2005), the Journal renamed its website providencejournal.com, a move which meant that most of the previous Internet links to its content no longer worked. It also began implementing a system to require online readers to pay for content. Interactive images of its newspaper pages were initially available on personal computers and on

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2394-539: The noted Boston firm of Peabody & Stearns . It was completed in 1906. The Journal moved in 1934 to its present building on Fountain Street where the original Benny's store was located. The Providence Journal has been sold for $ 3 daily since the spring of 2019. It is $ 5 on Sundays and Thanksgiving Day and is higher outside Rhode Island and adjacent states. Through the paper's long history, there have been some inconsistencies in its volume numbering. In 1972, when

2451-493: The only competing Providence-based daily, the Star-Tribune , went bankrupt and was sold. The Providence Journal company bought it and kept it running for four months, then shut it down. The paper also had a variety of regional editions, which it called "zones", that focused on city and town news. The system produced an intense focus on local news typically seen only in small-town newspapers. For example, everyone who died in

2508-582: The paper purchased the Fletcher building at the corner of Westminster, Eddy and Fulton Streets. In 1905 the paper announced its move from Eddy Street to a brand new building next door at the corner of Eddy and Westminster St. The old building was demolished, and the new building extended over the site of the old. The ornate new building was designed in the Beaux-Arts style by Robert Swain Peabody of

2565-648: The publisher of USA Today . This purchase established GateHouse as the largest newspaper company in the United States "by far," and also provided the Providence Journal with access to publish stories from the USA Today network of newspapers. In October 2015, average daily paid circulation was 89,452 on Sundays and 70,600 on weekdays. By June 2017, circulation was down to about 72,000 on Sundays and 56,000 on weekdays. In 2021 those figures dropped to 38,500 on Sundays and 29,957 weekdays; by contrast, both figures in 1990 were over 200,000. In December 2022, as part of

2622-613: The remark so much he named his team the Steam Rollers. A team known as the Providence Huskies (the Steam Roller had used a husky-like dog as their mascot, so this team may have been a continuation of or successor to the Steam Roller) played during the 1933 season. The Huskies earned a perfect season , the only season in the professional or semi-professional record books to have not allowed their opponents to score

2679-553: The second half. However, the team's next game resulted in a 10–6 loss to the Frankford Yellow Jackets. However, the team soon rebounded with a four-game winning streak over the Dayton Triangles (28–0), Yankees (12–6), Pottsville Maroons (13–6) and Detroit Wolverines (7–0). The Steam Rollers faced the Yellow Jackets again at Frankford Stadium on November 17, which resulted in a scoreless tie. However

2736-727: The single-wing formation. The star player for Providence was halfback George "Wildcat" Wilson , a 1925 All-American from the University of Washington who had spent the 1926 season as the head of the traveling Los Angeles Wildcats of the AFL . Providence opened its 1928 season against Red Grange and the New York Yankees , Wilson's rival from the AFL. The Steam Rollers led the Yankees 20–7 at halftime and held that score throughout

2793-451: The state for much of the mid-1800s, and the Journal was their mouthpiece. During the Danielson/Anthony years, the paper was solidly allied with textile mill owners and big business, and frequently gave support to nativist anti-Irish Catholic sentiment. In 1877, Danielson hired Charles Henry Dow , a young journalist with an interest in history. At the Journal , Dow developed a "news index" which summarized stories of historic interest. It

2850-431: The story to management, even though he risked missing the story. Twelve days later, the strike ended, and the story ran on October 3, 1973. At an Associated Press Managing Editors convention the following month, Journal reporter Joseph Ungaro asked Nixon about the story. Nixon replied with a quote that was to become associated with him for the rest of his life: "People have got to know whether or not their president

2907-456: The team's "Most Valuable Player". Five of the Steam Rollers players gained All-NFL honors when the league issued its official honor roll on December 23. Wildcat Wilson and Clyde Smith were named to the first team, while Curly Oden , Milt Rehnquist , and Gus Sonnenberg were placed on the second team. Over the course of the next seven years, the team not only won an NFL championship but also established three league "firsts." In 1925, Providence

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2964-419: The team's first practice of 1925 was held on September 17. In fact, only about a dozen of them wore Steam Rollers colors for the team's debut in the NFL. The Steam Rollers played mediocre football in their first two NFL seasons, but posted a strong 8–5–1 record in 1927 with Jim Conzelman as the team's head coach. For his per game salary of $ 292, Conzelman not only coached the team but also played quarterback in

3021-411: The world heavyweight championship in professional wrestling. This caused Sonnenberg to stay out of football, as he could make better money defending his title. Meanwhile, Oden quit pro football to take a job with an insurance company in Boston , and Smith decided to return to his native Missouri and coach football. Conzelman also didn't fully recover from a knee injury sustained in 1928. Rehnquist missed

3078-440: Was a high turnover and called it normal attrition. In 2001 the Providence Newspaper Guild filed 44 charges of alleged unfair labor practices with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) between December 1999 and June 2001. Judge William G. Kocol held a hearing on the complaints and found in the union's favor on 28 complaints in his ruling. In June 2001, Livingston Award-winning former Journal reporter C.J. Chivers added to

3135-406: Was named the NFL Champions. Despite the Yellow Jackets winning 3 more games than the Steam Rollers and posting an 11–3–2 record, Providence was awarded the title due to having a better winning percentage. A "victory banquet" at the Biltmore Hotel took place a week later. At the banquet, each player was rewarded with a gold watch. It was also at this event that Conzelman was given a trophy and named

3192-426: Was revived again in 1988 for an Arena Football League team, the New England Steamrollers . A rare home movie showing the Providence Steamrollers playing the Framingham Lion Tamers was recently discovered and preserved by Northeast Historic Film, a regional moving image archive in New England. Providence Journal The Providence Journal , colloquially known as the ProJo , is a daily newspaper serving

3249-417: Was the first NFL team to play its home games in a bicycle racing stadium (a velodrome ). In 1929, the Steam Rollers established two NFL "firsts." In the six-day period between November 5 and November 10, 1929, Providence played four games. The marathon string began against the Staten Island Stapletons , the Chicago Cardinals and concluded with a two-game series against the Frankford Yellow Jackets . Although

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