1923 Hammond Pros season
| 1923 Hammond Pros season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Wally Hess |
| Home stadium | Turner Field |
| Results | |
| Record | 1–5–1 |
| League place | 15th NFL |
The 1923 Hammond Pros season was their fourth in the National Football League (NFL). The Hammond, Indiana team followed their winless 1922 season with another debacle, winning just one game — leaving them in 15th place in the 20-team league.[1]
Three of their four scheduled home games were canceled, only one of which was weather-related.
Schedule
The Pros' second game of the season was the only one they ever played in their home city of Hammond. For four years the club had been unable to play a true home game due to lack of a suitable venue.[2] A local banker, A. Murray Turner, constructed a workable athletic grounds, Turner Field.[2] The stadium, with a capacity of only a few thousand, would be the site of Hammond's only win in 1923 — a 7–0 victory over the visiting Dayton Triangles.[3]
The game's only score came in the fourth quarter when left end "Ink" Williams scooped up a fumble at the Dayton 25-yard-line and returned it for a touchdown.[3] Future Pro Football Hall of Famer Fritz Pollard kicked the extra point to finish the day's scoring.[3] Three additional games scheduled for Hammond would be canceled — one due to torrential rain and two for financial reasons, owing to poor fan support for a poorly performing team.
The October 7, 1923, game with the Triangles would also be the last regular-season NFL game played in Indiana for over 60 years, until the Indianapolis Colts arrived from Baltimore in 1984.
The Pros would have a fine opportunity to put together back-to-back wins the following week, during a trip to Missouri to play the short-lived St. Louis All-Stars, but Hammond's two black stars — Fritz Pollard and "Ink" Williams — would not be permitted to take the field.[4] Playing in the rain in front of a pathetic crowd of 719 fans, the teams mucked out a 0–0 tie, in which the punting battle between Hammond's Wally Hess and Pete Casey of St. Louis was the main attraction.[4]
| Game | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Recap | Sources | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 30 | at Canton Bulldogs | L 0–17 | 0–1 | Lakeside Park | 5,000 | Recap | ||
| 2 | October 7 | Dayton Triangles | W 7–0 | 1–1 | Turner Field | Recap | [2][3][5] | ||
| 3 | October 14 | at St. Louis All-Stars | T 0–0 | 1–1–1 | Sportsman's Park | 719 | Recap | [6][7][4] | |
| 4 | October 21 | at Duluth Kelleys | L 0–3 | 1–2–1 | Duluth Athletic Park | 4,000 | Recap | [8][9] | |
| — | October 28 | Rochester Jeffersons | canceled due to expected bad attendance | [10] | |||||
| — | November 4 | Toledo Maroons | canceled due to rain | [11] | |||||
| 5 | November 11 | at Chicago Cardinals | L 0–6 | 1–3–1 | Comiskey Park | 3,500 | Recap | ||
| — | November 18 | St. Louis All-Stars | canceled | [12] | |||||
| 6 | November 25 | at Chicago Bears | L 7–14 | 1–4–1 | Cubs Park | 3,500 | Recap | ||
| 7 | November 29 | at Green Bay Packers | L 0–19 | 1–5–1 | Bellevue Park | 2,000 | Recap | [13][14] | |
| Note: Games in italics indicate a non-NFL opponent. Thanksgiving Day: November 29. | |||||||||
Standings
| NFL standings | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA | STK | |||
| Canton Bulldogs | 11 | 0 | 1 | 1.000 | 246 | 19 | W5 | ||
| Chicago Bears | 9 | 2 | 1 | .818 | 123 | 35 | W1 | ||
| Green Bay Packers | 7 | 2 | 1 | .778 | 85 | 34 | W5 | ||
| Milwaukee Badgers | 7 | 2 | 3 | .778 | 100 | 49 | W1 | ||
| Cleveland Indians | 3 | 1 | 3 | .750 | 52 | 49 | L1 | ||
| Chicago Cardinals | 8 | 4 | 0 | .667 | 161 | 56 | L1 | ||
| Duluth Kelleys | 4 | 3 | 0 | .571 | 35 | 33 | L3 | ||
| Buffalo All-Americans | 5 | 4 | 3 | .556 | 94 | 43 | L1 | ||
| Columbus Tigers | 5 | 4 | 1 | .556 | 119 | 35 | L1 | ||
| Toledo Maroons | 3 | 3 | 2 | .500 | 35 | 66 | L1 | ||
| Racine Legion | 4 | 4 | 2 | .500 | 86 | 76 | W1 | ||
| Rock Island Independents | 2 | 3 | 3 | .400 | 84 | 62 | L1 | ||
| Minneapolis Marines | 2 | 5 | 2 | .286 | 48 | 81 | L1 | ||
| St. Louis All-Stars | 1 | 4 | 2 | .200 | 25 | 74 | L1 | ||
| 1 | 5 | 1 | .167 | 14 | 59 | L4 | |||
| Akron Pros | 1 | 6 | 0 | .143 | 25 | 74 | W1 | ||
| Dayton Triangles | 1 | 6 | 1 | .143 | 16 | 95 | L2 | ||
| Oorang Indians | 1 | 10 | 0 | .091 | 50 | 257 | W1 | ||
| Louisville Brecks | 0 | 3 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 90 | L3 | ||
| Rochester Jeffersons | 0 | 4 | 0 | .000 | 6 | 141 | L4 | ||
- Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.
References
- ^ 1923 Hammond Pros
- ^ a b c "Hammond Anxious to See Famed Pros Work," Dayton Times, Oct. 6, 1923, p. 11.
- ^ a b c d "Hammond Pros Win from Dayton: 'Ink' Williams Recovers Fumble and Races for Touchdown," Dayton Times, Oct. 8, 1923, p. 9.
- ^ a b c "Hess Plays Star Game for Pros: Hoosier Line Holds Against Attack of Missouri," Hammond Times, Oct. 15, 1923, p. 8.
- ^ "Triangles Lose Close Game with Hammond," Dayton Daily News, Oct. 8, 1923, p. 19.
- ^ John J. Sheridan, "St. Louis All-Stars Battle Hammond Pros to 0–0 Draw: Adverse Weather Holds Down Crowd," St. Louis Globe-Democrat, Oct. 15, 1923, p. 18.
- ^ "Professional Football Teams Play to a Scoreless Tie; Rain Holds Down Crowd to About 600," St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Oct. 15, 1923, p. 19.
- ^ Louis H. Gollop, "Duluth Retains National Football League Leadership: Joe Sternaman Boots Dropkick for 3–0 Victory," Duluth News Tribune, Oct. 22, 1923, p. 7.
- ^ "Duluth 3, Hammond 0," Hammond Times, Oct. 22, 1923, p. 8.
- ^ "Hammond–Rochester Pro Grid Game is Canceled," Hammond Times, Oct. 29, 1923, p. 10.
- ^ "Pro Champs Victors by 7–3 Count," Hammond Times, Nov. 5, 1923, p. 12.
- ^ "St. Louis All-Stars Cancel Hammond Game; Play Milwaukee Next," St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Nov. 18, 1923, p. 11.
- ^ "Thanksgiving Day Passes Off Quietly in Green Bay," Green Bay Press-Gazette, Nov. 30, 1923, p. 13.
- ^ "Packers' Aerial Attack Buries Hammond 19 to 0: Bay Eleven Passes Their Way to Victory; Invaders Never Close to Scoring," Green Bay Press-Gazette, Nov. 30, 1923, p. 13.