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Sherburn Wightman
Sherburne Henry Wightman (September 5, 1882 – October 2, 1930) was a professional American football player-coach in the "Ohio League", which was the direct predecessor to the modern National Football League (NFL). He is best remembered for coaching the Massillon Tigers to an Ohio League title in 1906, over the Canton Bulldogs, which led to accusations of a betting scandal. In 1907, he coached a version of the Massillon Tigers called the "All-Massillons" to another Ohio League title. Prior to his professional career, Wightman played at the college level for the Chicago Maroons, under Amos Alonzo Stagg, and Swarthmore College. Massillon Tigers Wightman was named the coach of the Massillon Tigers in 1906 after E. J. Stewart was promoted to the title of team manager. Wightman's first order of business was to replace four of the Tigers players who were a part of the club's 1905 Ohio League championship. Quarterback Jack Hayden, tackle Jack Lang, guard Herman Kerchoff, and en ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fullback (gridiron Football)
A fullback (FB) is a position in the offensive backfield in gridiron football, and is one of the two running back positions along with the halfback. Fullbacks are typically larger than halfbacks and in most offensive schemes the fullback's duties are split among power running, pass catching, and blocking for both the quarterback and the other running back. Many great runners in the history of American football have been fullbacks, including Jim Brown, Marion Motley, Bronko Nagurski, Jim Taylor, Franco Harris, Larry Csonka, John Riggins, Christian Okoye, and Levi Jackson. However, many of these runners would retroactively be labeled as halfbacks, due to their position as the primary ball carrier; they were primarily listed as fullbacks due to their size and did not often perform the run-blocking duties expected of modern fullbacks. Examples of players who have excelled at the hybrid running–blocking–pass-catching role include Vonta Leach, Mike Alstott, William Henderson, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Quarterback
The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually considered the leader of the offense, and is often responsible for calling the play in the huddle. The quarterback also touches the ball on almost every offensive play, and is almost always the offensive player that throws forward passes. When the QB is tackled behind the line of scrimmage, it is called a sack. Overview In modern American football, the starting quarterback is usually the leader of the offense, and their successes and failures can have a significant impact on the fortunes of their team. Accordingly, the quarterback is among the most glorified, scrutinized, and highest-paid positions in team sports. '' Bleacher Report'' describes the signing of a starting quarterback as a Catch- ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Placekicker
Placekicker, or simply kicker (PK or K), is the player in gridiron football who is responsible for the kicking duties of field goals and extra points. In many cases, the placekicker also serves as the team's kickoff specialist or punter. Specialized role The kicker initially was not a specialized role. Prior to the 1934 standardization of the prolate spheroid shape of the ball, drop kicking was the prevalent method of kicking field goals and conversions, but even after its replacement by place kicking, until the 1960s the kicker almost always doubled at another position on the roster. George Blanda, Lou Groza, Frank Gifford and Paul Hornung are prominent examples of players who were stars at other positions as well as being known for their kicking abilities. When the one-platoon system was abolished in the 1940s, the era of "two-way" players gave way to increased specialization, teams would employ a specialist at the punter or kicker position. Ben Agajanian, who started his ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Homer Davidson
Homer Hurd Davidson (October 14, 1884 – July 26, 1948) was a professional Major League Baseball player for the Cleveland Naps (later renamed the Cleveland Indians in 1914). Born in Cleveland, Ohio, he played only 6 games for the Naps during the 1908 season. Davidson was better known as a professional football player. He played in the Ohio League, which was the direct predecessor to the modern National Football League. One veteran Ohio sportswriter once rated Davidson to be the equal of Walter Eckersall, an infamous quarterback from the University of Chicago. He attended college at the University of Pennsylvania and played on the Penn Quakers baseball team. Career 1905–1908 Davidson began his professional football career in 1905, as the quarterback and kicker for the Shelby Blues. Davidson was considered the greatest professional kicker of his era. He continued to play for the Blues the next season in 1906. However, he was signed to play for Massillon Tigers in the Ohio Lea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peggy Parratt
George Watson "Peggy" Parratt (March 21, 1883 – January 3, 1959) was a professional football player who played in the "Ohio League" prior to it becoming a part of the National Football League. Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Parratt played quarterback for the Shelby Blues, Lorain Pros, Massillon Tigers, Massillon All-Stars, Franklin Athletic Club of Cleveland, Akron Indians and the Cleveland Tigers between 1905 and 1916. Parratt threw the first legal forward pass in professional football history while playing for the Massillon Tigers on October 25, 1906. College career Parratt played college football at Case School of Applied Science, now known as Case Western Reserve University. During his time at Case, he became a 3-time All-Ohio college star. However, in 1905, he risked his amateur standing by playing professional ball on Sundays for the Shelby Blues. To hide his identity from the media and school officials, Parratt played under the name "Jimmy Murphy" and used a nose guard ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ted Nesser
Theodore Nesser Jr. was a professional football player-coach in the "Ohio League" and the early National Football League. During his career he played mainly for the Columbus Panhandles, however he did also play for a little for the Massillon Tigers, Akron Indians, Canton Bulldogs and the Shelby Blues. He was also a member of the Nesser Brothers, a group consisting of seven brothers who made-up the most famous football family in the United States from 1907 until the mid-1920s. Ted was the first Nesser to make money at football, playing for Massillon's state championship teams in 1904, 1905 and 1906. Ted was considered the toughest of the Nesser brothers. In 1906, he reputedly ended the career of Willie Heston, a former Michigan All-American, with a hard tackle in a Massillon Tigers-Canton Bulldogs game. In 1908, Ted reputedly stayed for a game with two broken bones protruding from an arm, just because he thought that his brothers needed him. Nesser was also reported to have ha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tiny Maxwell
Robert Wallace "Tiny" Maxwell (September 7, 1884 – June 30, 1922) was a professional football player and referee. He was also a sports editor with the ''Philadelphia Public Ledger''. Biography Early life Maxwell was born in Chicago on September 7, 1884. He is known to have had a sister named Katerine Doust at the time of his death. Maxwell began his athletic career at Englewood High School. There he excelled in football and track and field. He also played the mandolin and was a student actor in the school's Shakespearean plays. College Before playing professional football, Maxwell played at the college level while attending the University of Chicago. He played for the Maroons in 1902, under coach Amos Alonzo Stagg, who recruited Maxwell for his size and style of play. Maxwell weighed 240 pounds, in an era when the average offensive lineman weighed under 200 pounds. Maxwell's struggle with a speech impediment made his physical presence less intimidating and in fact increa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blondy Wallace
Charles Edgar "Blondy" Wallace (died March 5, 1937) was an early professional football player and later convicted criminal during the Prohibition Era. He was a 240-pound, former Walter Camp second-team All-American tackle from the University of Pennsylvania. He also played two years at Peddie Institute, in New Jersey, winning state championships in 1896 and 1897. During his professional playing career he was involved in almost every major event in professional football between 1902 and 1907. Over that timespan he played for the independent Philadelphia Athletic Club, the Philadelphia Athletics of the first National Football League, the "New York" team and the Syracuse Athletic Club in the 1902 World Series of Football, the Franklin Athletic Club and the Canton Bulldogs of the Ohio League. In 2022, he was named one of the 10 inaugural members for the Football Learning Academy's Hall of Honor, which looks to acknowledge deserving icons that are not currently inducted in the Pr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Clark Schrontz
Clark A. Schrontz was a professional American football player. In 1902 he won a championship in the first National Football League (NFL) with the Pittsburgh Stars. A year later he was a member of the Franklin Athletic Club football team that was considered the "best in the world". He also won the 1903 World Series of Football, held at Madison Square Garden, with the Franklin Athletic Club. Schrontz then spent the next several seasons with the Massillon Tigers of the Ohio League. In 1905 the Tigers promoted him to the position of "field captain". In 1906, he was convinced by Blondy Wallace, coach of the Canton Bulldogs to join the Bulldogs. That season Canton played Massillon in a two game home-and-home series to determine the 1906 Ohio League championship. While Canton won the first game of the series, Massillon won the second game (and under rules determined by both team) the championship. Canton was later accused of throwing the championship in a betting scandal. Prior to hi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
End (American Football)
An end in American and Canadian football is a player who lines up at either end of the line of scrimmage, usually beside the tackles. Rules state that a legal offensive formation must always consist of seven players on the line of scrimmage and that the player on the end of the line constitutes an eligible receiver. Before the advent of two platoons, in which teams fielded distinct defensive and offensive units, players that lined up on the ends of the line on both offense and defense were referred to simply as "ends". The position was used in this sense until roughly the 1960s. On offense, an end who lines up close to the other linemen is known as a tight end and is the only lineman who aside from blocking can run or catch passes. One who lines up some distance from the offensive line is known as a split end. In recent years and the proliferation of the forward pass, the term wide receiver covers both split ends and flankers (wide receivers who line up in split positions ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Herman Kerchoff
Herman Charles Kerkhoff (May 10, 1870 – December 3, 1935) was a professional American football player from the mid 1890s until 1906. He resided in Lafayette, Indiana most of his life, working on the Kerkhoff family dairy farm and later his own farm. He was one of ten children born to John and Elizabeth Kerkhoff. His great size and exceptional speed allowed him to travel the country playing football for the highest bidder of his services. After stints with the Oakland Hill Bumpers of Tippecanoe County, Indiana, Indianapolis Athletic Association, Chicago Athletic Association, and Denver Athletic Club, Bumper was signed by the Pittsburgh Stars of the first National Football League in 1902, the self-proclaimed "World's Greatest" Franklin Athletic Club in 1903, the Massillon Tigers in 1904 and 1905, and the Canton Athletic Club (renamed the Canton Bulldogs) in 1906. He was regarded as one of the best offensive linemen from his era. He ran for sheriff of Tippecanoe County, Indiana ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Guard (American Football)
In gridiron football, a guard (G), otherwise known as an offensive guard (OG), is a player who lines up between the center and the tackles on the offensive line of a football team on the line of scrimmage used primarily for blocking. Right guards (RG) is the term for the guards on the right of the offensive line, while left guards (LG) are on the left side. Guards are to the right or left of the center. The guard's job is to protect the quarterback from the incoming linemen during pass plays, as well as creating openings (holes) for the running backs to head through. Guards are automatically considered ineligible receivers, so they cannot intentionally touch a forward pass, unless it is to recover a fumble or is first touched by a defender or eligible receiver. Pulling guards Aside from speed blocking, a guard may also "pull"—backing out of his initial position and running behind the other offensive linemen to sprint out in front of a running back to engage a defensive p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
