Francis William Bacon (January 11, 1894 – August 31, 1977) was an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

, and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player. He played for the

Dayton Triangles The Dayton Triangles were an original franchise of the American Professional Football Association (now the National Football League (NFL)) in 1920. The Triangles were based in Dayton, Ohio, and took their nickname from their home field, Triangl ...

in the first official

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL) game and was the first NFL player to return a punt for a touchdown. He played in the NFL from 1920 to 1925, appearing in 47 games and scoring 14 touchdowns.

Early years and Wabash College

Bacon was born in

South Bend, Indiana South Bend is a city in and the county seat of St. Joseph County, Indiana, St. Joseph County, Indiana, on the St. Joseph River (Lake Michigan), St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. As of the 2020 United S ...

, in 1894. He attended South Bend High School and was described by the ''

South Bend Tribune The ''South Bend Tribune'' is a daily newspaper and news website which is based in South Bend, Indiana. It is distributed in South Bend, Mishawaka, north central Indiana, and southwestern Michigan. It has been named as a "Blue Ribbon Newspaper" ...

'' as "the greatest basketball player ever sent out by the local institution." He then enrolled at Wabash College where he played college basketball (as a guard), football (as a halfback and fullback), and baseball (as a first baseman) from 1914 to 1916 and was captain of the basketball team. He was also senior class president and rated as "one of the greatest athletes of the state."

Military service

When the United States entered World War I, Bacon began studying wireless telegraphy and signalling in anticipation of joining the Aviation Corps. He was one of only two young men out of 500 who passed the eight-hour examination for the Aviation Corps. He enlisted in March 1918, and was ordered to report for active duty one week after graduating from Wabash. The war ended before Bacon deployed to Europe.

Professional baseball and football

Prior to the creation of the

(NFL), he played professional football for the Pine Village Athletic Club in 1917 and the Hammond Clabbys in 1918. He also played professional baseball in the Three-I and Central Leagues, probably in 1917, and with Little Rock in the Southern Association in 1919. In 1919, he joined the

professional football team. He also worked for the

Dayton Engineering Laboratories Co. Delco Electronics Corporation was the automotive electronics design and manufacturing subsidiary of General Motors based in Kokomo, Indiana, that manufactured ''Delco'' Automobile radios and other electric products found in GM cars. In 1972, G ...

(Delco) as the head of educational development. When the NFL was formed in 1920, the Triangles were one of the original participants. On October 3, 1920, the Triangles defeated the

Columbus Panhandles The Columbus Panhandles were a professional American football team based in Columbus, Ohio. The club was founded in 1901 by workers at the Panhandle shops of the Pennsylvania Railroad. They were a part of the Ohio League from 1904 before foldi ...

, 14-0, in the first official NFL game with Bacon as the starting right halfback. Fullback

Lou Partlow Louis (or Lewis) Jerald Partlow (October 9, 1892 in Miamisburg, Ohio – April 14, 1981 in Burbank, California) was a running back who played ten seasons with the Dayton Triangles in the National Football League. He is remembered for being th ...

gained fame for scoring the first NFL touchdown in the third quarter, and Bacon followed in the fourth quarter with the first NFL punt return for a touchdown. Bacon continued with the club from 1920 to 1925. He also played for the

Akron Pros The Akron Pros were a professional football team that played in Akron, Ohio from 1908 to 1926. The team originated in 1908 as a semi-pro team named the Akron Indians, but later became Akron Pros in 1920 as the team set out to become a charter mem ...

in 1923. He appeared in 47 NFL games, playing at halfback, fullback and end, scored 14 touchdowns, and kicked two extra points.

Later years

Bacon was married in December 1920 to Ruth Weaver of Ponca City, Oklahoma. Bacon died in 1977 in

Sandusky, Ohio Sandusky ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Erie County, Ohio, Erie County, Ohio, United States. Situated along the shores of Lake Erie in the northern part of the state, Sandusky is located roughly midway between Toledo, Ohio, Toledo ( wes ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bacon, Frank 1894 births 1977 deaths Dayton Triangles players Akron Pros players Wabash Little Giants baseball players Wabash Little Giants basketball players Wabash Little Giants football players Players of American football from South Bend, Indiana Basketball players from South Bend, Indiana Baseball players from South Bend, Indiana Military personnel from Indiana