Columbus Panhandles

Joseph Carr directed the Panhandles in 1907 until 1922.

In 1904, Joseph Carr, who was a sports writer for the Ohio State Journal and manager of the railroad's baseball team the Famous Panhandle White Sox, took over the football team.[10] However, the Panhandles didn’t take off and the team played just two games.[11] Carr tried again three years later in 1907. Carr saw the potential for professional football not only to be a great spectator sport but also to become a successful business venture and envisioned pro football being just as popular as Major League Baseball.[12]

One of the first things Carr did when he became the owner of the Panhandles was to exploit one of the railroad's policies. Since most of the team's players were employed by the railroad, they could ride the train free of charge.[13] Because of this perk, Carr was able to schedule mostly road games, eliminating the expenses of stadium rental, game promotion, and security for the field.[13] While the team did play the majority of their games on the road as a traveling team, their home games were played at Indianola Park.[13][14]

The Columbus Panhandles in 1907

The Panhandles adopted an amateur sandlot mentality for their playing style. Since the team was composed mainly of railroad workers, the scenario gave the players limited time to practice and prepare for games. The Panhandles did the majority of their preparation during their lunch breaks. Workers had a one-hour break during a normal workday, and the players on the team usually took the first 15 minutes to eat lunch and used the remaining 45 minutes to practice football. An athletic field behind the railroad shops in Columbus became the team's practice field.

The Columbus Panhandles playing a game during the 1910s at Indianola Park.

However Carr knew that if his team was to succeed, he needed an attraction. Carr built his team around pro football's most famous family the Nesser Brothers, who were already drawing crowds throughout the country. Carr used the seven Nesser brothers as the backbone of the Panhandles, and the football-playing family remained in that role for nearly 20 years. None of the Nessers attended college, despite many offers.[15] The seven Nesser brothers, who worked as boilermakers for the Pennsylvania Railroad, were exceptionally large and strong for people living in the early 20th century. Frank Nesser was 6-foot 1-inch tall and weighed 235 pounds.[16] They all were exceptionally great athletes for their time. Carr took out ads describing his Panhandles as the toughest professional team in football, led by the famous Nesser brothers. In 1921 the Panhandles line-up included player-coach Ted Nesser and his son Charlie. It is the only time in NFL history a father and son played together on the same team.[13] The Nesser brothers nephew, Ted Hopkins and brother-in-law, John Schneider, also played on the team.

The Panhandles' rosters did not include many former college players or All-Americans, so the athletic field in the railroad yards was the place where the team found out who could play. The team's "dirty" reputation was learned and developed on the railroad yards, not in college stadiums. The press sometimes criticized the Panhandles for their rough play; but it was a big draw for the fans and a main reason many paid to attend games.

The 1915 Columbus Panhandles team.

Over a span of 20 years, the Panhandles were considered the best pro team in the city of Columbus. The team compiled a 33–5 record against opponents from Columbus, including a 32–1 record over their last 33 games.

Between 1914 and 1916, which were seen as best years of the franchise, the Nesser-led team went a combined 22–10–1. The majority of the early pro teams would go out of their way to schedule the Panhandles, as they knew it would be easy to advertise a game featuring the famous Nessers. In 1915, The Panhandles were rumored to have played against the legendary Knute Rockne six times in 1915. According to the team, each time they played Rockne, he was on a different team.[17] This rumor, however, is false; Rockne was too much of a family man to play that much pro football, and Notre Dame had most of its home games during the pro football season.[18]

1921 Columbus Panhandles of the National Football League-

The Panhandles may have played in the first game with two APFA opponents. However, due to not having the games start at a standardized time, and the failure of the future NFL to record the start times, historians can not determine for sure which two teams played in the first league match-up. What is known for a fact is that the first contests between teams listed as APFA members occurred on October 3, 1920.[25] On that date, the Panhandles were defeated by the Dayton Triangles, 14–0, at Triangle Park, and the Rock Island Independents beat the Muncie Flyers, 45–0, in Rock Island.[25] Frank Bacon of the Triangles is credited with the first punt return for a touchdown.[26]

Jack Sack

Following the 1921 season, Carr became the league's new president and renamed the APFA, the NFL.[27] He then discontinued the Panhandles after the 1922 season because of cost and salary demands.[28] Following the 1922 season, the Panhandles became the Columbus Tigers.[29] In 1923, the Tigers attained their best ranking in the NFL, finishing eighth.[30] During that season multiple players won awards. Rookie end Gus Tebell, who was also the coach, was awarded 1st Team All NFL by the Canton Daily News as well as the Green Bay Press-Gazette.[31] Gus Sonnenberg, Paul Goebel, Jack Sack, and Bob Rapp were all awarded 1st Team All-NFL by the Canton Daily News.[31] Pete Stinchcomb was awarded 2nd Team All-NFL by Collyer's Eye.[31] During this time, and at the time of the team folding, Jerry Corcoran was owner of the Tigers.[32][33]

The next season, they finished tenth.[34] Boni Petcoff was awarded 1st Team All-NFL by the Green Bay Press-Gazette. Petcoff and Paul Goebel were both awarded 2nd Team All NFL by the Green Bay Press-Gazette, with the latter being awarded 2nd Team All NFL by the Collyer's Eye as well.[35] Then, the Tigers ended their final two seasons 20th and 19th, respectively.[36][37]

• Nesser Brothers[15]
• Jack Sack (1902–1980)