Harry Addison March (December 11, 1875 – June 10, 1940) was an early football historian and promoter, as well as a medical doctor. He also helped organize the

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 ...

and well as the second American Football League. March is also credited with convincing

Tim Mara Timothy James Mara (July 29, 1887 – February 16, 1959) was the founding owner of the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL).''Wellington, the Maras, the Giants, and the City of New York'', Carlo DeVito, Triumph Books, 2006, pp ...

to purchase an NFL franchise for New York City, which is still in existence today as the New York Giants. He wrote one of the first books on the history of the professional game: '' Pro Football: Its Ups and Downs'' in 1934.''Pro Football, Its Ups and Downs'' Harry March, J. B. Lyon Company, Albany, NY 1934 Dr. March is known as the "Father of Professional Football.""Dr. Harry March, Noted in Football", obituary Dr. Harry March, ''New York Times'', June 11, 1940, p. 25

Biography

Early life

March was born in

New Franklin, Ohio New Franklin is a city located at the southern edge of Summit County, Ohio, United States, in the northeastern part of the state. It is bounded by Coventry Township, as well as the cities of Barberton and Norton to the north; by Chippewa Tow ...

on December 11, 1875 and grew up in Canton. His father, Henry Clay March, was an officer in the U.S. Army and a close friend to future President

William McKinley William McKinley (January 29, 1843September 14, 1901) was the 25th president of the United States, serving from 1897 until his assassination in 1901. As a politician he led a realignment that made his Republican Party largely dominant in ...

. Harry played college football at

Mount Union College The University of Mount Union is a private university in Alliance, Ohio. Founded in 1846, the university was affiliated with the Methodist Church until the spring of 2019. In the fall of 2020, Mount Union had an enrollment of 1,958 undergraduate ...

in 1893 and later became a reporter for the ''

Canton Repository ''The Repository'' is an American daily local newspaper serving the Canton, Ohio area. It is currently owned by Gannett. History Historically, the newspaper had strong Republican connections, most notably with President William McKinley, who was ...

''. When McKinley campaigned for the Presidency in 1896, March joined him as a reporter and followed his campaign. The job led Harry to Washington, D.C., where he landed a job earning $7-a-week as an assistant to drama critic Channing Pollock. When McKinley advised him that newspaper reporters were "

lounge lizard A lounge lizard is a man who frequents social establishments with the intention of seducing a woman with his flattery and deceptive charm. The term is reported to have arisen around 1915 in New York. A 1931 book described them as men " nthe habit o ...

s", he studied medicine at

George Washington University Medical School The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences (abbreviated as GW Medical School or SMHS) is the professional medical school of the George Washington University, in Washington, D.C. SMHS is one of the most selective med ...

and went back to Canton to start a practice.

Pro football

While in Canton, March played in or watched hundreds of football games featuring the best professionals of the day such as

Christy Mathewson Christopher Mathewson (August 12, 1880 – October 7, 1925), nicknamed "Big Six", "the Christian Gentleman", "Matty", and "the Gentleman's Hurler", was a Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher, who played 17 seasons with the New York Gia ...

Fielding Yost Fielding Harris Yost (; April 30, 1871 – August 20, 1946) was an American football player, coach and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at: Ohio Wesleyan University, the University of Nebraska, the University ...

Walter Okeson Walter Raleigh "Okey" Okeson (October 3, 1875 – November 4, 1943) was an American football player and coach. He was a player-coach for the first all-professional football team, the Latrobe Athletic Association club in 1897. Okeson was the head ...

, Knute Rockne and

Pudge Heffelfinger William Walter "Pudge" Heffelfinger (December 20, 1867 – April 2, 1954), also spelled Hafelfinger, was an American football player and coach. He is considered the first athlete to play American football professionally, having been paid to pl ...

. These experiences would inspire and help him to write ''Pro Football:It's Ups and Downs'' in 1934. In 1904, March was a coach for the Canton McKinley High School football team. By 1906, March was practicing medicine in Canton and was even one of the team doctors to the Canton Bulldogs of the pre-NFL "

Ohio League The Ohio League was an informal and loose association of American football clubs active between 1902 and 1919 that competed for the Ohio Independent Championship (OIC). As the name implied, its teams were mostly based in Ohio. It is the direct pr ...

". March would treated the players for shin splints and muscle pulls. Since he was Canton's team doctor in 1906, March was witness to the events surrounding the

Canton Bulldogs–Massillon Tigers betting scandal The Canton Bulldogs–Massillon Tigers betting scandal was the first major scandal in professional football in the United States. It refers to a series of allegations made by a Massillon, Ohio newspaper charging the Canton Bulldogs coach, Blondy W ...

. He recorded his interpretation of the event in his book ''Pro Football: Its Ups and Downs'', over a quarter-century later. However his version of the scandal has been questioned for accuracy by the Professional Football Researchers Association in 1984, with their article "Blondy Wallace and Biggest Football Scandal Ever". From 1925 to 1928 he served as Secretary of the

New York Football Giants New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

and from 1928 to 1933 he served as president of the club. In 1926 he was selected to a three-man committee to meet with the Intercollegiate Committee of Athletics in New York City. The other two members of this panel were George Halas and

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 quarterb ...

. A squabble with

George Preston Marshall George Preston Marshall (October 11, 1896 – August 9, 1969) was an American businessman best known for founding the Washington Commanders, an American football franchise belonging to the National Football League (NFL). He founded the team as ...

, owner of the

Boston Redskins The Washington Commanders, an American football team belonging to the National Football League (NFL), have also played as the Boston Braves, Boston Redskins, Washington Redskins, and Washington Football Team. Founded in 1932, the team has won fi ...

, put him out of the National Football League in 1934. March sold his interest in the Giants and helped form the second American Football League. March served as president of the new AFL for one year before resigning over differences with the management of several member teams. March's book ''Pro Football: Its Ups and Downs'', published in 1934, stamped him as the leading historian of American professional football history for the next several decades.

Military service

March served in the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (cloc ...

as a correspondent and in World War I as a lieutenant in the

medical corps A medical corps is generally a military branch or officer corps responsible for medical care for serving military personnel. Such officers are typically military physicians. List of medical corps The following organizations are examples of medica ...

Death

March died in Canton on June 10, 1940, at the age of 64.

References