Elmer Eugene "Pete" Busch (June 1, 1889 – January 14, 1949) was a professional football player with the Oorang Indians 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 ...

in 1922. He was a Native American member of the

Pomo The Pomo are an Indigenous people of California. Historical Pomo territory in Northern California was large, bordered by the Pacific Coast to the west, extending inland to Clear Lake, and mainly between Cleone and Duncans Point. One small ...

tribe. He played his college football at the

Carlisle Indian School The United States Indian Industrial School in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, generally known as Carlisle Indian Industrial School, was the flagship Indian boarding school in the United States from 1879 through 1918. It took over the historic Carlisle B ...

. In 1973, Busch was inducted into the American Indian Hall of Fame.

Early life and family

Busch was born in 1890 to Jack and Maggie Busch, who lived in

Potter Valley, California Potter Valley is a census-designated place in Mendocino County, California, United States. It is located north-northeast of Ukiah, at an elevation of at the headwaters of the East Fork Russian River. The CDP population was 665 at the 2020 cen ...

. Elmer had two brothers and a sister. Busch had been schooled at the Potter Valley Indian School, from 1897 until 1902, and the Sherman Institute in

Riverside, California Riverside is a city in and the county seat of Riverside County, California, United States, in the Inland Empire metropolitan area. It is named for its location beside the Santa Ana River. It is the most populous city in the Inland Empire an ...

, from 1907 until 1910. While there, he was selected to attend the

Carlisle Indian School

Busch, a

, entered the Carlisle Indian School on October 10, 1910, at the age of 20. While attending Carlisle, he became interested in football. He joined the school's football team and played there from 1911 until 1914 as an offensive tackle. In 1911, Carlisle won 11 and lost 1 game. The 1912 Carlisle team averaged less than . Busch, who was 22 years old, was the heaviest, weighing and standing tall; another source reports him at . However, that year, Carlisle compiled a total of 504 points as against their opponents' 114 points. Their record was 12 wins, 1 loss, 1 tie. As a lineman, Busch consistently beat his heavier defensive opponents, allowing the backs to gain good yardage on their runs. In 1913, Carlisle won 10, lost 1, and tied 1 game. He was elected in 1913 as the team's captain for 1914. However, he lost the title to

Pete Calac Pedro "Pete" Calac (May 13, 1892 – January 30, 1968) was a professional football player who played in the Ohio League and during the early years of the National Football League. Over the course of his 10-year career he played for the Canton Bull ...

after he was forced to resign. After leaving the Carlisle School in April 1915 at age 25, he worked in the boiler department of the

Santa Fe Railroad The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. The railroad was chartered in February 1859 to serve the cities of Atchison and Topeka, Kansas, and ...

San Bernardino San Bernardino (; Spanish for "Saint Bernardino") is a city and county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States. Located in the Inland Empire region of Southern California, the city had a population of 222,101 in the 2020 cen ...

from 1915 to 1917. He also coached football at Riverside from 1916 to 1917.

Professional athletic career

He was a football coach at his alma mater, the Sherman Institute at Riverside (1916–17). Busch played the 1922 NFL season with the Oorang Indians, a team composed completely of Native Americans. It was the idea of

Walter Lingo Walter Lingo (October 12, 1890 – December 31, 1966) was an Airedale Terrier breeder from La Rue, Ohio. During the 1920s, he owned the Oorang Dog Kennels. As a way of promoting his kennels, Lingo financed a National Football League franchise, c ...

, an

Airedale Airedale is a geographic area in Yorkshire, England, corresponding to the river valley or dale of the River Aire. The valley stretches from the river's origin in Aire Head Springs, Malham which is in the Yorkshire Dales, down past Skipton on ...

breeder from

LaRue, Ohio LaRue is a village in Marion County, Ohio, United States. The population was 747 at the 2010 census. The village is served by Elgin Local School District. LaRue has a public library, a branch of Marion Public Library. Geography LaRue is located ...

, with the sole intention of promoting his kennel. Busch left the team after the 1922 season.

Career outside athletics

Busch worked in

San Bernadino, California San Bernardino (; Spanish for "Saint Bernardino") is a city and county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States. Located in the Inland Empire region of Southern California, the city had a population of 222,101 in the 2020 cens ...

, in the boiler department of the AT & SF Railroad (1915–1917).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Busch, Elmer 1889 births 1949 deaths Carlisle Indians football players Oorang Indians players People from Potter Valley, California Players of American football from California Pomo people 20th-century Native Americans