The 1921 Hammond Pros season was their second completed in the young American Professional Football Association (APFA), a league soon to reorganize as the National Football League (NFL). The team only managed to play five games against APFA opponents, winning just one of these contests.[1]
| 1921 Hammond Pros season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | "Doc" Alva Young |
| Head coach | Max Hicks |
| Home field | None (Traveling team) |
| Results | |
| Record | 1–3–1 (APFA) (1–5–2 overall) |
| League place | T-13th APFA |
The Pros, managed by "Doc" Alva Young, were unable to find an opponent on one prime fall Sunday, October 23, when they "learned at the last minute" that their planned foe, the Detroit Tigers, did not actually have an available opening on their schedule.[2] This minor catastrophe was followed the next weekend by another disaster, when a scheduled game with the Chicago Cardinals was postponed due to heavy rains that transformed Normal Park into an unplayable sea of mud.[3] While that contest was merely rolled back seven days, another prime fall game day was nevertheless lost.
Weather again became problematic in November, when a scheduled game against All-American Fritz Pollard and the Chicago Morris Supremes[4] was canceled when torrential percipitation turned the infield dirt of Comiskey Park into a slop bowl.[5] The teams were eventually able to reschedule for Boxing Day at the International Amphitheater, a horse-racing track with a covered grandstand. This was no blessing — the Pros were crushed in this late season contest, 42 to 0, capping what must have been regarded as a miserable year and unsuccessful year.
The Hammond Pros managed just one field goal and two touchdowns in 8 games played in 1921.
Schedule
edit| Game | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Recap | Sources | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | October 2 | at Buffalo All-Americans | L 0–17 | 0–1 | Canisius Villa | 3,500 | Recap | [6][7][8] | |
| 2 | October 9 | at Canton Bulldogs | T 7–7 | 0-1–1 | Lakeside Park | Recap | |||
| 3 | October 16 | at Evansville Crimson Giants | W 3–0 | 1–1–1 | Bosse Field | Recap | [9][10][11] | ||
| — | October 23 | (open date) | unable to negotiate date with opponent | [2] | |||||
| — | October 30 | at Chicago Cardinals | postponed due to heavy rain | [12][13][3] | |||||
| 4 | November 6 | at Chicago Cardinals | L 0–7 | 1–2–1 | Normal Park | 4,000 | Recap | [14][15][16] | |
| 5 | November 13 | at Green Bay Packers | L 7–14 | 1–3–1 | Hagemeister Park | "small-sized crowd" | Recap | [17] | |
| — | November 20 | at Chicago Morris Supremes | canceled by Morris Supremes due to muddy field | [18][5] | |||||
| — | November 24 | at Gary Elks | L 0–7 | — | Gleason Park | 5,000+ | — | [19] | |
| — | November 27 | at Chicago Boosters | T 0–0 | — | Logan Square Park | — | [20] | ||
| — | December 26 | at Chicago Morris Supremes | L 0–42 | — | International Amphitheater | — | [21] | ||
| Note: Games in italics indicate a non-league opponent. Thanksgiving Day: November 24. | |||||||||
Standings
edit| APFA standings | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA | STK | |||
| Chicago Staleys | 9 | 1 | 1 | .900 | 128 | 53 | T1 | ||
| Buffalo All-Americans | 9 | 1 | 2 | .900 | 211 | 29 | L1 | ||
| Akron Pros | 8 | 3 | 1 | .727 | 148 | 31 | W1 | ||
| Canton Bulldogs | 5 | 2 | 3 | .714 | 106 | 55 | W1 | ||
| Rock Island Independents | 4 | 2 | 1 | .667 | 65 | 30 | L1 | ||
| Evansville Crimson Giants | 3 | 2 | 0 | .600 | 89 | 46 | W1 | ||
| Green Bay Packers | 3 | 2 | 1 | .600 | 70 | 55 | L1 | ||
| Dayton Triangles | 4 | 4 | 1 | .500 | 96 | 67 | L1 | ||
| Chicago Cardinals | 3 | 3 | 2 | .500 | 54 | 53 | T1 | ||
| Rochester Jeffersons | 2 | 3 | 0 | .400 | 85 | 76 | W2 | ||
| Cleveland Tigers | 3 | 5 | 0 | .375 | 95 | 58 | L1 | ||
| Washington Senators | 1 | 2 | 0 | .334 | 21 | 43 | L1 | ||
| Cincinnati Celts | 1 | 3 | 0 | .250 | 14 | 117 | L2 | ||
| Hammond Pros | 1 | 3 | 1 | .250 | 17 | 45 | L2 | ||
| Minneapolis Marines | 1 | 3 | 0 | .250 | 37 | 41 | L1 | ||
| Detroit Tigers | 1 | 5 | 1 | .167 | 19 | 109 | L5 | ||
| Columbus Panhandles | 1 | 8 | 0 | .111 | 47 | 222 | W1 | ||
| Tonawanda Kardex | 0 | 1 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 45 | L1 | ||
| Muncie Flyers | 0 | 2 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 28 | L2 | ||
| Louisville Brecks | 0 | 2 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 27 | L2 | ||
| New York Brickley Giants | 0 | 2 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 72 | L2 | ||
- Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.
References
edit- ^ 1921 Hammond Pros
- ^ a b "Pros Will Rest Sunday," Hammond Times, Oct. 21, 1921, p. 9.
- ^ a b "Cardinals–Hammond Pros Postpone Clash a Week," Chicago Tribune, Oct. 31, 1921, p. 15.
- ^ "Morris Supreme" was a brand of pork products.
- ^ a b "Mud on Sox Field Kills Supremes–Hammond Game," Chicago Tribune, Nov. 19, 1921, p. 9.
- ^ "Hammond Hard Foe for Buffalo All-Americans: Thrilling Plays Abound in Game Won by Buffalo, 17 to 0," Buffalo News, Oct. 3, 1921, p. 17.
- ^ "Oliphant Leads All-Americans Over Hammond: Former Army Stars, Scott and Laird, Feature in Buffalo's Second Victory," Buffalo Times, Oct. 3, 1921, p. 12.
- ^ "Buffalo Pros in Clever Win Over Hammond Eleven: Oliphant's Kick, Laird's Plunging Feature Locals Victory," Buffalo Courier, Oct. 3, 1921, p. 9.
- ^ "Hammond Beat the Giants: Score 3 to 0 on Place Kick; No Touchdowns," Evansville Press, Oct. 17, 1921, p. 6.
- ^ "Goal from Field Defeats Crimson: Local Professionals Hold Heavy Hammond Line," Evansville Journal, Oct. 17, 1921, p. 6.
- ^ "Mathys' Goal from the Field Bests Crimson Giants 3 to 0: Hammond Professionals and Locals Battle to Tie Most of the Way," Evansville Courier, Oct. 17, 1921, p. 7.
- ^ "Cardinals Play Hammond Sunday," Chicago Tribune, Oct. 25, 1921, p. 17.
- ^ "Aerial Play Feature of Normal Park Tilt," Chicago Tribune, Oct. 29, 1921, p. 9.
- ^ "Cardinals Win Close One From Hammond Team," Fort Wayne News-Sentinel, Nov. 7, 1921, p. 6.
- ^ "Cardinals Nose Out Hammond, 7–0," Muscatine Journal, Nov. 7, 1921, p. 6.
- ^ "Hammond Team Loses to Driscoll," Hammond Times, Nov. 7, 1921, p. 8.
- ^ Cal, "Packers Come Through With Win Over Hammond, 14–7: Invaders Make Lone Score by Blocking Punt," Green Bay Press-Gazette, Nov. 14, 1921, p. 5.
- ^ "Morris Supremes to Play Hammond Gridders Sunday," Hammond Times, Nov. 15, 1921, p. 11.
- ^ "Dick King's Boot Fails in Pinches: Ex-Harvard Star Tries Seven Times to Shoo the Ball Between Gary Goal Posts," Hammond Times, Nov. 25, 1921, p. 5.
- ^ "Boosters–Hammond in Scoreless Tie," Hammond Times, Nov. 28, 1921, p. 8.
- ^ "Hammond is Trimmed Beautifully: Morris Supremes Pile Up 42–0 Score Against Local Professional Football Eleven," Hammond Times, Dec. 27, 1921, p. 7.