Norbert N. Sacksteder (September 25, 1895 – June 19, 1986) was a professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player during the early years of 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 ...

with 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 ...

Detroit Heralds Detroit had four early teams in the National Football League before the Detroit Lions. The Heralds played in 1920, and had played as an independent as far back as 1905. The Tigers, a continuation of the Heralds, played in 1921, folding midseason ...

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

and the

Canton Bulldogs The Canton Bulldogs were a professional American football team, based in Canton, Ohio. They played in the Ohio League from 1903 to 1906 and 1911 to 1919, and the American Professional Football Association (later renamed the National Football Leag ...

. Sacksteder was a part of the Bulldogs' 1922 NFL championship team. He was considered one of the greatest breakaway runners of his time.

College

Before he joined the NFL, Sacksteder was a

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 ...

standout at the

University of Dayton The University of Dayton (UD) is a private, Catholic research university in Dayton, Ohio. Founded in 1850 by the Society of Mary, it is one of three Marianist universities in the nation and the second-largest private university in Ohio. The univ ...

, then called St. Marys Institute. In the fall of 1913, Norb helped form a football team under the school's name, the St. Marys Cadets. The team's first year posted a 7-0 record. St. Mary's then won the Dayton city championship and then defeated the

Cincinnati Celts The Cincinnati Celts (pronounced with a hard C) was the first professional football team to play in Cincinnati, Ohio. The team played in the unofficial "Ohio League" and the American Professional Football Association (renamed the National Footba ...

27-0 at Redland Park in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

Professional football

After college, Sacksteder played exclusively for the

. In 1917 though he played for the

. In 1917, at the outbreak of American's involvement in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, he joined the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

. In 1918 Norb, under coach

Greasy Neale Alfred Earle "Greasy" Neale (November 5, 1891 – November 2, 1973) was an American football and baseball player and coach. Early life and playing career Neale was born in Parkersburg, West Virginia. Although writers eventually assumed that Nea ...

, defeated the

Hammond Pros The Hammond Pros from Hammond, Indiana played in the National Football League from 1920 to 1926 as a traveling team. History The Pros were established by local businessman Paul Parduhn and Dr. Alva Young. Young, a boxing promoter and owner of ...

23-0 in Sacksteder's only known game that season. He may have been on leave from the service or perhaps simply retired for the remainder of the season. The Triangles would later become a founder of the NFL, then called the American Professional Football Association. 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 at

Triangle Park Triangle Park, also known as the Quezon City Central Business District, is a central business district in Quezon City, Philippines. It is organized around five districts namely: Commons, Downtown Hub, Emporium, Residences at Veterans and Tria ...

in the first game between two NFL teams. Norb was in the line-up for Dayton during that historic game.

Notes

References

Dayton Played a Role in the Founding of the NFLA War Year: 1918Let's Play Two: 1913
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sacksteder, Norb 1895 births Players of American football from Dayton, Ohio Canton Bulldogs players Dayton Triangles players Dayton Triangles (Ohio League) players Detroit Heralds players Detroit Tigers (NFL) players Dayton Flyers football players 1986 deaths