PLAYER          POS       COLLEGE   G  YRS HT    WT

Myrt Basing       B      Lawrence   5    4 6- 0 200

Adolph BiebersteinG     Wisconsin   1    1 5-10 205

Tiny Cahoon       T       Gonzaga  11    1 6- 2 235

Wes Carlson     G-T     St. Johns        1 6- 1 220

Hector Cyre     TEG       Gonzaga  10    1 6- 2 216

Jug Earp          T      Monmouth  12    5 6- 1 235

Rex Enright       B    Notre Dame  10    1 5-11 195

Dick Flaherty     E     Marquette  12    1 6- 1 200

Moose Gardner     G     Wisconsin  13    5 6- 2 224

Jack Harris     B-E     Wisconsin  10    2 6- 0 190

Eddie Kotal       B      Lawrence  10    2 5-10 165

PLAYER          POS       COLLEGE   G  YRS HT    WT

Curly Lambeau     B    Notre Dame  12    6 6- 0 190

Walter LeJeune  GTC      Missouri  10    2 6- 0 242

Verne Lewellen    B      Nebraska  13    3 6- 2 181

Cully Lidberg     B     Minnesota  11    1 6- 0 200

Jack McAuliffe    B        Beloit   8    1 5-10 155

Charlie Mathys   QB       Indiana   4    5 5- 8 165

Walter McGaw      G        Beloit   1    1 5-10 195

Dick O'Donnell    E     Minnesota  11    3 5-10 196

Pid Purdy         B        Beloit  11    1 5-10 175

Roman Rosatti     T       Michigan 10    2 6- 2 210

Whitey Woodin     G      Marquette       5 5-11 206

1926 PRE-SEASON RESULTS (1-0)

SEPTEMBER (1-0)

12 IRON MOUNTAIN                  W 79- 0      1- 0-0  3,000

1926 RESULTS (7-3-3)

SEPTEMBER (1-0-1)

19 DETROIT PANTHERS (0-0-0)       W 21- 0      1- 0-0  4,500

26 CHICAGO BEARS (1-0-0)          T  6- 6      1- 0-1  7,000

OCTOBER (3-1-1)

3  DULUTH ESKIMOS (1-0-0)         T  0- 0      1- 0-2  2,500

10 CHICAGO CARDINALS (3-0-0)      L  7-13      1- 1-2  5,000

17 MILWAUKEE BADGERS (2-2-0)      W  7- 0      2- 1-2  3,000

1926 IN REVIEW

The Packers have another solid season by posting a record of 7-3-3, but finish in 5th place playing fewer games then most of the top contenders in an era of uneven scheduling.

THE FIRST AMERICAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE

The 1926 American Football League season was in existence only one season. It started with nine teams, with the initial game of the season being played in front of 22,000 fans in Cleveland, but, by the end of the season, only four teams were still in existence: three teams owned or subsidized by league founder C. C. Pyle and star Red Grange (New York Yankees, Los Angeles Wildcats, and Chicago Bulls) and league champion Philadelphia Quakers. The initial lineup of teams included the traveling Wildcats and a charter member of the National Football League, the Rock Island Independents, which became a second traveling team after having poor attendance in its first three games. Most AFL games were defensive affairs, with only New York and the Cleveland Panthers averaging more than 10 points of offense per contest. The majority of scoring was by either placement or drop kick; Chicago's Joey Sternaman scored 52 of the team's total of 88 (60% of Chicago’s points), but that wasn't the largest share of team points in the AFL of 1926: Newark's Doug Wycoff had his team's entire point total for the year when he scored a touchdown and kicked the extra point in the Bears' first game. While Philadelphia and New York were consistently playing in front of crowds of at least 20,000 per game, the rest of the league was not so fortunate. While crowds of more than 10,000 attended games in Fenway Park and Comiskey Park in September and October, crowds in other AFL cities were consistently much smaller: Rock Island (Moline, Illinois) struggled to draw 5000 into its home stadium; Newark didn't have a total of 5000 in its three home games combined. Competing against the Brooklyn Lions of the National Football League, the Brooklyn Horsemen called it quits in November and merged with its NFL brethren. As the AFL decreased in size in October and November, so did the attendance figures in Philadelphia, the only team in the AFL reported to have made a profit. Two weeks after clinching the AFL championship, the Philadelphia Quakers played an exhibition game with the NFL's seventh place team, the New York Giants, in a driving snowstorm at the Polo Grounds. Only 5000 hardy fans witnessed the home team's 31-0 whitewash of the AFL titlists. While the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Wildcats went on a barnstorming tour, the rest of the American Football League folded. (SOURCE: Wikipedia)

24 RACINE TORNADOES (1-3-0)             W 35- 0      3- 1-2    N/A

31 at Chicago Cardinals (5-1-0)         W  3- 0      4- 1-2  2,500

NOVEMBER (3-2)

7  at Milwaukee Badgers (2-5-0)         W 21- 0      5- 1-2  4,300

14 LOUISVILLE COLONELS (0-3-0)          W 14- 0      6- 1-2  1,300

21 at Chicago Bears (9-0-1)             L 13-19      6- 2-2  7,500

25 at Frankford Yellowjackets (10-1-1)  L 14-20      6- 3-2 10,000

28 at Detroit Panthers (4-5-2)          W  7- 0      7- 3-2  1,000

DECEMBER (0-0-1)

19 at Chicago Bears (12-1-2)            T  3- 3      7- 3-3 10,000

Who was Packers' first African-American player?

Walter Jean might have been first to break color barrier

On Dec. 2, 1950, a week after Bob Mann had joined the Packers, Art Daley wrote in his Green Bay Press-Gazette sports column that he was the first African-American to play for the team in a league game. Ever since, Mann, an offensive end, has been acknowledged as the player who broke the color barrier in Green Bay. Now, more than 65 years later, there’s evidence to show that Walter Jean actually earned the distinction a quarter-century before Mann signed with the Packers. That revelation was first published on a website titled, “Oldest Living Pro Football Players: Pro Football’s Online Encyclopedia.” The story was the work of Steve Jubyna, who lives in Marietta, Ga., and has researched the genealogies of early pro football players since the 1970s. The Packers signed Mann on Nov. 25, 1950, the day before a home game at old City Stadium against San Francisco. At the time, Mann was a free agent after playing two seasons with Detroit and Gene Ronzani was in his first year as the Packers’ head coach. Mann played his first game with the Packers the day after he signed and into the 1954 season. He was inducted into the Packers Hall of Fame in 1988. (Photo of Mann to the left thanks to Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame, Inc.) The Packers announced Jean’s signing on Aug. 5, 1925. He had played the previous season with the NFL’s Milwaukee Badgers and for two years prior to that with the Akron Pros. Jean appeared in 19 games for the Packers during the 1925 and ’26 seasons, and played all three positions on the line – guard, tackle and center – at a time when players doubled on offense and defense. He started nine games and played the entire 60 minutes in six of them. Total Football: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League, first published in 1997, listed him as Walt LeJeune (aka Walt Jean) and correctly credited him with playing in 19 games for the Packers. NFL.com lists him as Walt LeJean and incorrectly credits him with playing for the Packers only in 1926 and in only 10 games. The first Official National Football League Encyclopedia, written by Roger Treat and first published in 1952, listed him as Walter Jean and had him playing for the Packers in 1925-26. Jean was born in Chillicothe, Ohio, on Jan. 12, 1898, according to Jubyna and Karen Schaffer, a great niece who has done extensive genealogical research on her family. Jean died on March 28, 1961, in Jacksonport, Wis., along the Lake Michigan shoreline in Door County. The 1900 United States Federal Census confirms what Jubyna and Schaffer separately unearthed. Walter M. Jean was living in Chillicothe and listed as 2 years old and black. His father, Marcel, also was listed as black. His mother, Elizabeth, was listed as white. Walter Jean was subsequently listed in the 1910 and 1920 censuses as mulatto and in 1930 and 1940 as white. He was listed as Walter Le Jean in 1940. Jubyna found that on Jean’s 1917 draft card, he was listed as white, but that on a list of Ohio soldiers in World War I, he was listed as colored. Schaffer said her grandmother was Jean’s sister. Schaffer also said she had her DNA tested on her maternal side. “I think my family decided at some point they weren’t going to be black anymore,” she said. “(Walter Jean’s) mom was white and kind of integrated into the white world and the rest of the family integrated into the black world. There are some members who look like they have some black in them and others that don’t. The family lore has always been Cherokee. There must have been a little bit because there’s a little bit in me, but way more black in my DNA profile.” Later in life, Jean split his time between Jacksonport and Clermont, Fla. Bob Schutt said the Jeans were next-door neighbors in Jacksonport and he remembered as a teenager peeking in on some of their parties. The Door County Advocate even reported on one in its July 22, 1952, edition. It said about a dozen former players and the team’s current coaching staff attended what it referred to as the third annual reunion at Le Jean’s cottage. “Curly Lambeau would come over. Johnny Blood,” said Schutt. “I never went over. I looked through the bushes when they were giving it hell. He probably had 10, 15 people over here. I remember it twice. It was Packers, all Packers.” Schutt also assumed Jean was white, but said he never gave it much thought. “Funny you said that because my mother said, ‘I wonder if he is black,’” said Schutt. “She didn’t think he was white.”

In his 29 years as coach of the Packers, from 1921 through 1949, Lambeau never had a black player. He also never had a black player as coach of the Chicago Cardinals from 1950-51 and as coach in Washington from 1952-53. In all likelihood when Jean played for the Packers, he was considered to be white by Lambeau, his teammates and fans. In researching her ancestry, Schaffer found that Jean’s mother was white, as were her parents. Based on her own DNA, Schaffer believes one of Jean’s grandparents on his father’s side was black and the other was half-black and half-Cherokee. As for the different last names, Schaffer said she couldn’t explain it. “I find no LeJeans,” she said. “It’s all Jean, all the way back to 1840. I don’t know if he did that to make it sound better. His middle name was Learmand. Maybe he combined the two.” When Jean was with the Packers, he was listed by that name only in team publications, as well as in stories and box scores that appeared in the Green Bay Press-Gazette. The headline over his obituary in the March 28, 1961, edition of the Door County Advocate read: Walter LeJean Passes Here; Former Packer.” An obituary in the March 28, 1961, edition of the Tiffin Advertiser-Tribune spelled his name, Le Jean, with a space. Schaffer said the name on his tombstone in Florida also is spelled Le Jean. But she said she was certain it was the same person and that his given name at birth was Jean. Jean was certainly well-traveled. When he signed with the Packers at age 27, the Press-Gazette noted that he “roved a bit during his college career as he played football for the University of Missouri, West Virginia U., and Bethany and Heidelberg colleges. He coached for one year at the Bowling Green State College in Ohio.” His obituary in the Advertiser-Tribune in Tiffin, Ohio, home to what is now Heidelberg University, said he was a former football star at the school better known as “Bolo” Jean. The paper said he attended Heidelberg “in one of the most brilliant periods of its football history,” transferred to Bethany College and received his degree from Marquette University. Jean registered for classes at Heidelberg in the fall of 1916, but never graduated, according to records in the school’s archives. Its 1918 yearbook referred to him as a “gridiron giant.” He also was a member of the Student Army Training Corps, which existed at Heidelberg from Oct. 1 to Dec. 20, 1918. Bowling Green provided confirmation that Jean served as head coach of the school’s 1920 football team. Jean was listed in the 1922 Bethany College (W. Va.) yearbook as being a member of the school’s 1921 football team. Under his photo, it read, “Jean, the Bisons’ plunging fullback, completed his fourth year of college football this fall.” Jean was not listed among the all-time lettermen at either West Virginia or Missouri. Nor could Jean’s name be found in digitized yearbooks, alumni magazines or local newspapers in the University Archives at Missouri. He joined the Akron Pros in 1922 and played in eight games in what was his first NFL season. Despite Jean leaving Heidelberg before his class graduated, the obituary in the Tiffin paper said he “retained his affection and loyalty” to the school and “returned here frequently to attend homecoming games and meetings of the Alumni H Association.” The 1942 Heidelberg Alumni Roster, preserved in the school’s archives, listed him as Walter LeArmond LeJean and the recipient of a B.S. degree from Marquette. Marquette had no record of Jean (or other variants that he used) attending school there, much less graduating, according to Michelle Sweetser, the university’s archivist. She checked the school’s alumni database, university catalogs and bulletins, and also digital collections, which included the student yearbook and student newspaper. Despite the gaps and many contradictions in Jean’s background, Jubyna said there’s no doubt he is a member of a select group of pro football players. He’s “one of the now ‘13’ African-American professional football players during the 1920-1946 era,” Jubyna wrote on the website for which he now does his research. SOURCE: Packers.com

Packers Hall of Fame Inc. announces donation of 1926 team blanket (August 2012)

The Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame Inc. today announced the donation of a 1926 Green Bay Packers team blanket by Bill Cahoon of Dandridge, Tenn. The blanket, which belonged to Bill Cahoon’s father, Ivan "Tiny" Wells Cahoon, is square and about four feet across. It is light purple with gold lettering that reads “Green Bay” with the number "10" on it. According to the Hall of Fame, it's possible that the item was originally blue, but has faded to light purple over time. "I didn't even realize this blanket existed," Bill Cahoon said. "My sister gave it to me. I asked her, 'Where did you get this?' and she said, 'Mom gave it to me!' It's an interesting piece of history and I doubt if there are any others like it. I want to donate it to the Packers Hall of Fame so that others can see it. The Hall of Fame is very well-known and a lot of people will be able to view the blanket there." Ivan Cahoon played as an offensive and defensive tackle for the Packers from 1926 to 1929. Under coach Curly Lambeau, Cahoon played in 31 games, starting in 27. Cahoon’s football career ended during the 1929 season, just before the Packers' first NFL championship, when he sustained a knee injury. After his retirement from football, Cahoon maintained his connection to the sport by coaching high school football. In 1933, he took up the reins at Green Bay West High School. In 1938, Cahoon became the coach and athletic director at Monmouth College in Monmouth, Ill., a job set up for him, according to his son, Bill, by Packers teammate Jug Earp. He then left Monmouth after two years and went up to Milwaukee to coach a professional team, the Chiefs. Then World War II broke out. He also coached some service teams during his time in the Army. During World War II, Cahoon was promoted from captain to major. He died at an Army hospital in San Francisco, Calif. on Feb. 3, 1973 at the age of 72. A graduate of Gonzaga University in Spokane, Wash., he was inducted into the Gonzaga Athletic Hall of Fame in 1991. Although the origin of the blanket is unknown, it is likely that it was given to Cahoon after the Packers 7-3-3 season in 1926 as a year-end gift. "We are very excited to receive this blanket," said Tom Murphy, Packers Hall of Fame Inc. director and archivist. "We don't have many items from that era, so we are very thankful for Bill’s donation." This is not Bill Cahoon's first donation to the Hall of Fame. In 1966 he donated a football that was given to his dad after his only career touchdown during the Sept. 25, 1927, contest against the Cleveland Bulldogs. That ball can now be seen in the Johnny "Blood" McNally display at the Hall of Fame.

CARR CALLS MEETING OF PRO FOOTBALLERS IN DETROIT, FEBRUARY 6-7

JAN 22 (Columbus) - The annual convention of the NFL will be held at Detroit, February 6 and 7, President Joe Carr announced today. The convention will elect officers, consider requests from five large cities and will discuss proposed drastic revision of the league rules, Carr said.

PRO FOOTBALL MEETING OPENS IN DETROIT SATURDAY

FEB 4 (Detroit) - The annual winter conference of the NFL will open here Saturday morning and continue over Sunday. The sessions are to be held at the Statler hotel. It is expected that representatives from the twenty clubs now holding franchises in the league will be in attendance along with a number of pro football  magnates, who are seeking spokes in the wheel...FILLED WITH ACTIVITY: According to Joe Carr, president of the circuit, the session over the weekend will be filled with activity. A number of important matters are to be discussed and the executive hinted that there might be a "housecleaning" and the league president is determined that these "black eyes" don't happen again, if changes in the rules and regulations will prevent it...WILL PROTEST RULING: It is understood that the Pottsville club will protest the decision of President Carr in declaring their franchise vacated. Violation of territorial rights caused this step by the league executive. Award of the 1925 pennant is to be one of the main points of business. The Pottsville Maroons, Chicago Cardinals, teams placing one-two in the league race, are said to have violated the code of rules and it is probable that the Detroit Panthers, third place eleven, will get the bunting.

LEAVE ON FRIDAY

FEB 4 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - A.B. Turnbull, president of the Green Bay Football corporation, and Curly Lambeau, captain of the Packers, leave here on Friday to attend the pro football league meeting, which opens in Detroit on Saturday morning.

RED AND PYLE PLAN PRO GRID REVOLT

FEB 8 (Detroit) - Another professional football league will be organized at a meeting in Chicago, February 17, C.C. Pyle, manager of Harold "Red" Grange, announced here Sunday night after a day spent in futile efforts to obtain permission from the NFL to put a team headed by Grange in New York City and an evening spent in conferences with a number of towns seeking admission in the present league. The proposal for a team at the Yankee stadium in New York City, which has been leased by Pyle for five years beginning next October for professional football, was blocked by representatives of the New York Giants professional team. Permission of the Giants was necessary before another teams could be put in the New York area...ROOM FOR 2 TEAMS: "There is room for two teams in New York just as there is in Chicago," he asserted. Pyle said that 19 of the 20 clubs in the league favored legislation that would permit Grange to become a franchise holder and that the only opposition came from Tim Mara, holder of the controlling interest in the New York Giants. When the league failed to act on Grange's application for a franchise, Pyle immediately went into conference with a number of cities and after four hours announced the plans for the formation of a new circuit. Eight or ten cities will have representatives at the Chicago meet, he said...NEW RULES ADOPTED: Legislation designed to prevent the exploitation of college football players by professional clubs was adopted by the NFL. The resolution forbids any club from signing a college player "until after his class has been graduated." If a player quits college in his sophomore year, he would not be available for the professional league for two years. Violation of the rule is punishable by suspension of franchise and a fine of $1,000. Joseph F. Carr, of Columbus, was re-elected president. John Dunn, of Minneapolis, was named vice-president and Carl Storck, of Dayton, treasurer-secretary. A committee was appointed to meet with the Intercollegiate Athletic association to bring about a better understanding between the two bodies. The committee consists of George Halas, of Chicago; George W. Perritt, of Cleveland, and Dr. Marsh, of New York...PENALTIES ARE APPROVED: The convention approved every action taken by President Carr within the last year. That includes the suspension of Milwaukee and Pottsville franchises; the imposition of a fine of $500 on Milwaukee; $1,000 on the Chicago Cardinals and the barring forever of player Art Folz. The punishment inflicted on Milwaukee, Chicago and Folz grew out of the use of four Englewood High school players in a game last fall. The National league in its concluding session Sunday the Hotel Statler did nothing of any great consequence. Minor revisions were made to constitutional regulations but important items such as the admission of new teams and the scheduling of games for next year were not discussed. The franchise seekers will have their cases disposed of when the executive committee meets with President Joe Carr a month hence...PLAYER LIMIT INCREASED: The player limit was increased from sixteen to eighteen men because some of the teams found last  year that illness and injuries had left them with only two substitutes, and this number was regarded as insufficient. The guarantee fund was raised from $1,000 to $1,500, and the application for a franchise was lifted from $500 to $2,500. This was done to reduce the number of applications that might have swarmed in if the old $500 fee had been continued. The Chicago Cardinals were voted the league championship of 1925, but edclined to accept the honor. With Pottsville, Pa., which had tied the Cardinals for first place honors, now out of the circuit, Chris O'Brien, head of the Chicago club, refused the title unanimously voted the Cardinals because he said he wanted a title clearly won on the field of play...GAMES LIMITED: The league voted to restrict the number of games to be played by any one club in a week to two, with the exception of weeks in which holidays fall, when three games may be played. This action was the result of the barnstorming trip taken by the Chicago Bears, who, with Grange, played eight games in eleven days.

NEW YORK GIANTS PLAN FIGHT TO FINISH IF GRANGE PLACES PRO TEAM ON GRID IN GOTHAM

FEB 9 (New York) - If Red Grange and his grangers invade the professional football field here next fall, they will have to jump into a free-for-all battle for survival, according to Tim Mara, director and principal backer of the New York Giants eleven. "If Grange carries out his threat to promote a team in New York and conflicts with our Sunday dates, neither one of us will make a nickle," Mara said. "But we are in a better position to survive as we are in an organized league and any other teams that invade our territory without a franchise will have to play as outlaws."...NO DIRTY WORK: Mara said that there would be no "dirty work" and that his team would go its own way, adding that he admired Grange as a great football player and a very nice young fellow. It is the general opinion that New York - not having the zest of the middle west for professional football - hardly will support two teams for many years. It is a generally admitted fact that the New York promoters were running behind until Grange came in with the Chicago Bears for the last game of the season and pulled them out of the hole...FACE TOUGH GOING: New York sportsmen believe that Grange could outdraw the Giants in games against teams like the one that Wildcat Wilson is said to be organizing on the Pacific coast, but there are few such teams available outside of the organization.

PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL

FEB 9 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Members of the National Professional Football league, in which Green Bay has a franchise, have just closed their annual meeting at Detroit. Among the topics up for discussion was one relating to the use of college players. Upon the recommendation of a league committee, the organization adopted a rule which will prohibit any collegian from playing in the professional league until his class has graduated. This means that if a football star wants to cash in on the reputation he has made in intercollegiate circles, he cannot do so until he has finished school or until his class finishes, where it be one year or two years hence. We believe this is a wise step and that it will regain some of the friends that professional football has lost by tampering with players who were still in college. In the past, the league rules where college gridiron stars were concerned have been rather elastic and permitted of many interpretations. This new rule, however, will permit of no "buying" university players until they are through with school and will prevent a repetition of the unfortunate Red Grange incident of last fall. There is room for professional football in this country, just as there is room for professional baseball, and there is no particular reason why the college game should not flourish side by side with the pro game. The colleges will always have a large following, especially among their alumni, student and friends, and it would be better from some points of view if attendance were limited largely to these classes and the general public transferred its interest to pro football. The teams in the football league are bending every effort to improve the professional sport and cleanse it of its impurities and weed out the weak sisters. They are doing this because they seek public commendation, for they realize the league will never be a success until it has won the confidence and support of the general supporting public. Even now the brand of football played is on part or surpasses that played by the college, but the crowds are far less at the professional games because sport lovers have not been thoroughly sold on the money game.

GRANGE AND CO. NOT WORRYING PRO FOOTBALL MOGULS

FEB 10 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - "Professional football successfully passed its crisis at the Detroit meeting," asserted A.B. Turnbull, president of the Green Bay Football corporation, who accompanied by Captain Lambeau of the Packers, returned yesterday from the annual winter conference of the NFL in the Motor City. "It was the unanimous opinion of the delegates," continued Mr. Turnbull, "that some drastic steps were necessary and those in attendance lost little time in putting across several regulations that will be of benefit to the postgraduate sport. The new ruling which prevents college football players from performing on the pro gridiron until after their class had graduated, is a step in the right direction as it will eliminate the 'Grange scandal' that cropped out last fall."...ANOTHER GOOD MOVE: "The magnates made another good move when they banned any such barnstorming ventures as the Chicago Bears undertook last season. What's more a ruling has been adopted which prevents a pro league club from playing more than two games a week. The league increased the guarantee money from $1,000 to $1,500 and also voted that one percent of the gate receipts from each game be turned into a league fund. Roughly speaking, this will take about $500 out of the Green Bay club's coffers. The value of a franchise in the NFL was increased to $2,500, and it will be considerably higher to another year. The club owners showed their appreciation of President Carr's efforts to keep pro football on a steady keel by re-electing him to office for a three-year term and increasing his salary to $5,000 per annum. The league backed up Mr. Carr wholeheartedly in the penalties he inflicted on three of the clubs for violations during the 1925 season."...NOT TAKEN SERIOUSLY: "The Grange-Pyle threat about forming another professional football league was not taken very seriously by the National league club owners. True enough this step has possibilities but Grange and his associate will probably find their new venture much more difficult than they imagine. It has taken six years for the National league to come to the front in the football world and it is certain that the Grange-Pyle combination will have to hurdle a lot of obstacles even to be halfway successful. The admission of new clubs and the transfer of franchises was placed in the hands of the executive committee which will report its findings to the league president. I am hopeful that the Milwaukee club will be in the hands of Red Bryan, Mulkern and Wetzel and there is also a possibility that Racine will be back in the fold. The Minneapolis Marines will again be a 'spoke' in the wheel. I had some informal discussions about games but, of course, nothing is definitely decided about the schedule until the July meeting which this year will be in Philadelphia. Chris O'Brien, manager of the Chicago Cardinals, gave me his personal assurance that he would bring his team to Green Bay this fall and Jimmy Conzelman, who directs the fortunes of the Detroit Panthers, said he would be glad to come here and play the Packers."...OTHER GOOD ATTRACTIONS: "One thing is sure, however, Green Bay will not want for suitable opponents because we have our lines out for a number of other sterling attractions. The league has adopted a policy that, in the future, only larger cities will be granted franchises. This does not mean that any move is on foot to crowd out the smaller towns. Just as long as cities the size of Green Bay have teams that play good football and proving drawing cards in the larger communities, they are assured a place in the league. However, it is well to remember that each year competition is getting keener, salaries are climbing higher and the all-around expense is increased. It means that if Green Bay is to continue to play 'big time' football the fans must support the club like they have in the past and even better, if possible, as each season means an increased outlay of money to keep Green Bay on the pro football map."...NEGOTIATING WITH PLAYERS: "Although the 1926 football season is still six months off, the Green Bay management is already in negotiation with several college stars, who will receive their diplomas in June. It is the hope of the Green Bay Football corporation to make the Packers of 1926 the greatest team that ever represented this city on the gridiron. Sometime, later in the month, after the books of the Football corporation have been audited, a meeting of the directors and stockholders will be called. The financial report will be read and business affairs of the corporation slated for discussion. At this meeting the 1926 football program will be decided upon."

HALAS AND O'BRIEN SEE ROUGH ROAD FOR GRANGE'S PRO WHEEL

FEB 11 (Chicago) - The big chiefs of the NFL are ready to take up the salary cudgel against C.C. Pyle and his associates if they attempt to organize a new pro league with clubs in cities which have teams in the old organization. "We have most of the high class stars under contract and a war chest on which to draw - and we certainly intend to protect our investment to the best of our financial ability," Chris O'Brien, manager of the Chicago Cardinals club in the National league, declared Wednesday...FIGHT IS COMING: "If the newcomers think they can break in without a fight, they are welcome to try it," said O'Brien. "Nearly all of us own our playing fields or have them under long term lease and we have the best players available under binding contracts." Conceding that Red Grange, whom Pyle steered through a brilliant pro season with the Chicago Bears, is a big drawing card, the Cardinals' pilot said he hadn't found out how Pyle plans to have the famous Illinois back playing against all of the 12 or more teams proposed for the league at the same time...SEE OBSTACLES FOR THEM: George Halas, manager of the Bears, indicated his belief that Grange, Pyle & Co. would find the going a bit rough. He said he would like to see his former star running a team of his own in the old league. The new circuit was announced last Saturday after National league officials declined to give Grange a franchise, and it was learned that he had a contract for the Yankee stadium for games in New York next fall.

$5,000 IS PRICE OF FRANCHISE IN PYLE'S NEW FOOTBALL LOOP

FEB 16 (Chicago) - Ten dotted line will be signed, as many checks will go the way of all good checks, and C.C. Pyle, dealer extraordinary in the touchdown market, will watch the American Professional Football league change from fancy to fact tomorrow. With everything in readiness for the organization of the new circuit, Pyle has departed from an unwonted silence of the past few weeks, announced many of the details and promised others more sensational. Representatives of ten major league size cities will make bids for franchises. Five thousand dollars is understood to be the admission price to the league.

MEETING CALLED BY PROMOTER PYLE IS OPENED IN CHICAGO

FEB 17 (Chicago) - Kindred spirits from the east and midwest were here today to meet with C.C. Pule, Red Grange's manager, for organization of the American Professional football league. Between them they plan to dispose of team franchises, adopt the constitution and rules which vehemently been prepared and elect officers. Seats at the conference were quoted at $5,000. Pyle announced that franchises would be issued on a cash and carry basis, with the accrued money to go into a sinking fund...PLAN TEN TEAMS: Plans call for ten teams. There may be more than that number, or less. Applications for membership from Philadelphia, Boston, Milwaukee, Cleveland, St. Louis, Chicago and Pottsville, Pa., have been on file for some time. The two features of the meeting which are attracting most general interest are the selection of the president and the possibility that among those signing franchises will be former National league members. Walter Eckersall, former All-American quarterback, and one of the country's foremost authorities, is the man mentioned for president. Announcement of his election is generally anticipated.

MILWAUKEE CASTS LOT WITH PYLE'S PRO GRID LEAGUE

FEB 18 (Chicago) - Four clubs, Philadelphia, Milwaukee, Newark and New York, passed into the fold of Charles C. Pyle's American Professional Football league here yesterday. Two others, St. Louis and Cleveland, were accepted conditionally, which means that Mr. Pyle will take more time to study the checks submitted by their delegates. The traveling team of George Wilson of Washington was declared in the league, but allotted to no particular city. One interesting feature of the all-day meeting, which took place at the Morrison Hotel, was that the franchise seekers did not put up $5,000 each as it was reported they would be asked to do, but got by with $250 deposits. Pyle said that the remainder of the money would be posted by each franchise holder when the bylaws and constitution of the league is formally adopted...ECKIE TAKES RUNOUT: A committee to fix up this matter was appointed. It consists of Pyle, representing New York; Frank Mulkern, Milwaukee; W.J. Coughlin, Newark, and J.W. (Red) Yates, of St. Louis, who said he represented Rogers Hornsby. Walter Eckersall, who was the popular choice for the presidency of the league, and who was said to have agreed to terms, took a runout yesterday, and forwarded his regrets through his social secretary. Philadelphia was represented by Dr. J.G. Striegel. The Pottsville team, which was a member last season of the National League, is going into the Quaker City. Most of the day was spent in looking over the credentials of the franchise applicants, as well as observing the checks. A committee that looked after this was made up of Pyle, of course; Edwin A. Wetzel, of Milwaukee, and Dr. Striegel. It was announced that the clubs would play a schedule that would be drawn up before the season began, and would not permit of added games. Each team would meet every other team in the league. Games at Philadelphia will be played on Saturdays. The rest of the clubs will hold Sunday's game...DELEGATES AT MEETING: The delegates at the meeting were: New York - C.C. Pyle and Harold (Red) Grange; Philadelphia - Dr. J.G. Striegel; Milwaukee - John Bryan, Frank Mulkern; St. Louis - J.W. (Bud) Yates; Cleveland - G.T. Jones and F.B. Garden. Dave Driscoll of Brooklyn applied for a franchise, but action on his bid was deferred, as was that on bids from Detroit, by Walter Bloomberg, and Hammond, by Irving N. Chayken. Bryan, who bid in for the Milwaukee franchise, is the former University of Chicago player, who played professionally with the Bears and the Cardinals, after leaving school. The Chicago franchise seemed to be giving magnates the most concern. Five made applications. Among them were Billy Neisen, owner of the semi-pro baseball team which play at Pyott's park; Frank Sullivan, who was mysterious and lives in Oak Park; Joe Sternaman, who played with the Bears last year, backed by other Chicago men; and a couple of others who were not named. It seemed that Little Joe Sternaman had a strong following with the president of being able to put his team in Soldiers' field.

PYLE PRO LEAGUE, WITH FIVE CITIES LINED UP, ADJOURNS ITS SESSIONS UNTIL MARCH

FEB 19 (Chicago) - Two days old, the American league of the professional football clubs, has halted the work of organization and adjourned until March. Five teams are on the roster and C.C. Pyle, who promoted the new circuit and engineered its launching, says the proposed ten club membership is assured. New York, Philadelphia, Milwaukee, and Newark, N.J., were admitted first and Boston was added to the list Thursday. The committee on credentials has under advisement applications for franchises in Cincinnati, Cleveland, Chicago, St. Louis and Brooklyn....WILL NAME OFFICIALS: The complete roster will be announced at the session in New York early next month. At that time plans call for the adoption of permanent rules, the naming of officials, and the compilation of a schedule for the 1926 season. Tentative regulations approved before adjournment included provision against tampering with high school or college athletes and for 18 men squads. No salary restrictions were made.

STRIEGEL QUITS PYLE

FEB 19 (Chicago) - After a second days of conferences and meetings in which high finance again played the leading role, Red Grange's new American professional football league adjourned last night with what C.C. Pyle declared a ten club circuit all but banded together. Representatives of eight of the cities had tossed individually $3,000 or thereabouts into the new league's strong box as evidence of good faith, five groups of promoters stood ready to establish credit or deliver the coin if granted the Chicago franchise, and Garry Herrmann at Cincinnati was studying the proposed constitution and bylaws of the circuit. He may buy the tenth franchise and place it in Cincinnati...TROUBLE IN AIR: Press dispatches from Columbus quoted Dr. J.E. Striegel of Pottsville, Pa., who has been granted the Philadelphia franchise in the new circuit, as saying he had withdrawn from the Chicago meeting and would not become affiliated with the proposed organization. "It can't be true," Mr. Pyle declared when informed of the Columbus dispatch. "Dr. Striegel has paid cash for his franchise and he has signed the papers to become one of us with a club in Philadelphia." Pyle admitted Striegel had left Chicago Wednesday night but said he was going direct to Philadelphia. He did not say it in so many words, but hinted he suspected the National league of attempting to spread propaganda that would ten to discredit his organization...EIGHT CITIES POST GUARANTEE: The eight cities which have convinced Pyle to the extent of putting up $3,000 for franchise rights are New York, Philadelphia, Milwaukee, Newark, Boston, Cleveland, St. Louis and Brooklyn. But of those eight cities Pyle declared only five had been officially voted into the new circuit. It seems that Cleveland, St. Louis and Brooklyn, while willing to become members of the league, will not be voted in until other investigations are made. The business of picking a president or commissioner to rule the new organization was again deferred. Instead, temporary officers were elected. Pyle was picked as temporary chairmen, Edward Wetzel of Milwaukee as secretary, and W.J. Coughlin of Newark, treasurer. The league's next meeting will be held in New York next month.

MILWAUKEE TO REMAIN IN NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE

MAR 18 (Chicago) - Milwaukee will remain in the NFL instead of joining the new organization sponsored by Red Grange and his manager, Charles C. Pyle. President Joe Carr of the National league closed negotiations here today for the sale of the Milwaukee franchise to Johnny Bryan, former University of Chicago star, and Frank Mulkern, a Milwaukee boxing promoter. Bryan was with Grange on the barnstorming trip of the Chicago Bears last fall. The Milwaukee franchise was owned by Al McGurk, who was found guilty of playing four Chicago high school boys against the Chicago Cardinals in a championship game last fall. The league punished McGurk by ordering him to dispose of his holdings before April. 

BRYAN CONFIRMS STORY

MAR 18 (Milwaukee) - Upon his return from the conference in Chicago on Wednesday, Johnny (Red) Bryan, who is associated with Frank Mulkern in the Milwaukee Football club, confirmed the story that Milwaukee would continue to play in the NFL instead of being associated with the newly-formed "Pyle" loop. "Our conference in Chicago was very satisfactory," said Bryan, who is a former University of Chicago player. "President Joe Carr of he NFL was with us the entire afternoon and it didn't take him very long to smooth out the obstacles that had prevented us from getting possession of the National league franchise for Milwaukee, which had been held for McGurk."...SEALED AND DELIVERED: "The players are signed, sealed and delivered and we have notified Mr. Pyle that the Milwaukee club will sever all connections with his league immediately. Mr. Mulkern and myself are confident that we have made the right step. President Carr has assured us that us that we will get an even break on the schedule and we have already been promised two games with the Chicago Bears, Rock Island Independents and Green Bay Packers. Each one of these contests should be good drawing cards. The games with the Packers will have a state championship angle, which should be an extra gate attraction. For years, Green Bay has held this title but this fall we are going to put a team in the field that will make the great Packers hustle every minute to retain this championship."...EXPRESS HIS APPRECIATION: "I want to take this opportunity to express my appreciation for what the representatives of the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers did in their efforts to enable us to take over the Milwaukee franchise. Without their assistance, I am afraid we might have been forced to be a 'spoke' in the Pyle circuit. I certainly am very glad that conditions have righted themselves so nicely and the football fans of Milwaukee can rest assured that the Cream City will come back on the pro gridiron map in capital letters."

COLLAPSE IS SEEN

MAR 18 (Chicago) - Charles C. Pyle's personally conducted American Professional Football league gave further evidence of crumbling into insignificance yesterday, notwithstanding the recent appoint of "Big Bill" Edwards, the Princeton heavyweight, as president. It now appears as though all the weight Edwards added to the league, physically and otherwise, will be needed if the organization is ever to become a reality. "Silent Joe" Carr, president of the NFL, dropped off in Chicago yesterday long enough to fire a bombshell into the somewhat depleted ranks of the Pyle loop. When the smoke had cleared away, it was discovered that Cash and Carry's league had lost one more of its charter members - Milwaukee...MILWAUKEE GETS FRANCHISE: Carr engineered a deal yesterday whereby the Milwaukee franchise of the National league was sold to Frank Mulkern, Milwaukee fight promoter, and Johnny Bryan, former University of Chicago star and later a member of the Chicago Bears. It will be remembered that Mulkern and Bryan obtained a franchise in Pyle's league. This state of affairs leaves Pyle holding the well-known bag, as least as far as Milwaukee is concerned. Pyle now finds his dream league with but two charter members, Newark and New York, which Mr. Pyle planned to own and operate personally with Harold "Red" Grange. Chicago and many other cities in the United State are said to be clamoring for admittance into the American League, but Mr. Pyle apparently is having difficulty in getting the boys to place legal tender on the table...LEAGUE'S LIFE WANING: It would now appear that unless a number of butter and egg men come forward with a favorable substitute for money, and quickly, the life of the American Professional Football League will be short. It developed yesterday that the National League had offered Pyle numerous concessions to keep Grange within its jurisdiction, but that Cash and Carry had turned a deaf ear to any and all proposals. Carr said in the presence of Chris O'Brien, owner of the Chicago Cardinals, that Pyle and Grange had been offered the Brooklyn franchise, but refused to consider it. It was also suggested to him during the recent annual meeting of the parent league at Detroit that he might obtain the controlling interest in the Cleveland club if he, or rather Grange, the drawing card, would remain in the circuit. Pyle also refused to consider this proposition and set out to organize his own personally directed league. "I have no quarrel with Pyle," said Carr in speaking of the Grange pilot. "If he wants to organize and conduct a rival league, that is his own business. I have the utmost admiration for Grange. He is a marvelous player and a gentleman. His connection with our league was a credit to the organization. Naturally I would have liked to have seen him remain with us. He is the greatest drawing card in the game, and I believe had he remained in our league he would have continued to enjoy his unparalleled popularity." Both Grange and Pyle were out of the city last night. It is said they are in New York City on motion picture business.

RED BRYAN SAYS MILWAUKEE WILL HAVE STRONG ELEVEN ON PRO GRIDIRON THIS FALL

MAY 3 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - "Milwaukee is going to have a pro football team this fall that will hold its own with the best in the Pro league," said Red Bryan, new manager of the Milwaukee Badgers who was here Sunday to discuss football affairs with the Packer management. "We are going after the state pro title, if nothing else," continued Bryan. "Ever since 1917, Green Bay ruled supreme on the pro grid in the Badger state but this fall, I think the Packers will have to look to their laurels."...MUST HAVE WINNER: "Milwaukee is a funny sports town. The Cream City simply has to have a winner. They will support a team that is up near the top but turn thumbs down on any aggregation that can be viewed as a tail ender. When Mr. Mulkern and myself secured the Milwaukee franchise in the NFL, we decided that we would pull every string possible to give Milwaukee a winner. For the past six weeks, I have rounded up some good footballers and have my lines out for a number of other stars. I have always admired the spirit shown by the Packers on the gridiron and we intend to get together a team that will have just as much pep and fight as your Green Bay champs and, if possible, just a little bit more."...PLAY TWO GAMES: Byran made his pilgrimage here on Sunday to talk over dates for the state champion games and other league matter. As in past year, Milwaukee and Green Bay will clash twice on the gridiron. The Badgers are to come here in October, while the Big Bay Blues will invade Milwaukee early in November. Several player deals were discussed but nothing definite came out of it. There is some talk that Racine may reenter the league. Babe Reutz, who placed pro football on the map in Horclikville, is said to be interested again and he may be associated with Milt Romney, crack halfback, in the Racine club. Both Milwaukee and Green Bay are hoping that Racine comes back in the fold because a three cornered race for the state championship is sure to create a lot more interest...NEGOTIATING FOR PLAYERS: The Packer management hasn't been "asleep at the switch" since the curtain was pulled down on the 1925 season. Negotiations with a number of players are progressing nicely, and it is expected that some contracts will be signed just as soon as they graduate in June. Letters have been sent out to about 140 players who gained fame on the collegiate gridiron last fall. It is against the league rule to dicker with any collegians who do not graduate in June. Two players have already accepted teams of the Green Bay management...BUCK'S KNEE O.K.: It had been feared that Cub Buck's injured knee had closed the book on his football career but the big lineman wrote in from Neenah the other day that his injured member had mended nicely and that he was ready for another season on the gridiron. Captain Lambeau hears frequently from all members of the 1925 team and, it is understood, that the majority of them are looking forward to the call for practice early in September. As usual, the Packers will swing into action a week or two ahead of the majority of other clubs in the pro loop.

Green Bay Press-Gazette - May 19th 1926

WHAT HAS BECOME OF PYLE'S PRO FOOTBALL LEAGUE

MAY 4 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - George Downer, Milwaukee sport scribe, has wondering what has become of Cash and Carry Pyle's new football league. It is the opinion of the Cream City writer that the loop which was being built up around Red Grange is doomed to die even before it gets started. Downer's comments on the Pyle league are as follows: "What has become of the American League of Professional Football clubs? We'll make a little bet you have forgotten all about that organization. That's the pro league, built around the dazzling personality of one Harold (Red) Grange, by the magic hand of Mr. Coin Collector Pyle. Now, no doubt, you will recall it. The league that was to be conducted on business line, follow the model of the National Baseball league in organization and principles and, according to Mr. Pyle, to revolutionize the business of professional football. Two or three months ago, when interest in gridiron discussions began to die down. Mr. Pyle made his last bid for sport judge space by announcing the engagement of Big Bill Edwards as president of his and Red's league, at a salary of $25,000 a year. The election of Big Bill was hailed as a master stroke and it did look good - except for the detail that the new league, at the time, probably had considerably less than enough in its treasury to pay Bill's salary for the first six months. That salary item alone, with a ten club league - if ten clubs ever really join up - means a tax of $2,500 per season on each club. It was this Edwards' election which shooed Frank Mulkern and - excuse us, we almost wrote Otto - what we mean, is decided Mr. Mulkern and his associates to pull out of the new league. Mr. Pyle had counted on Milwaukee, and had said that Milwaukee's $3,000 franchise fee was already in the bank - but we cannot just figure Monsieur Mulkern pulling out and leaving that three grand to Pyle and Red as a memorial. Anyway, Milwaukee is out of the new league and at last report was solidly set in the old one - whose president, Joe Carr, probably gets just about the interest on Big Bill's $25,000 as his salary. To a man up a tree, it begins to look as if the Grange league would find pretty tough sledding this fall. Since the election of Edwards, all we have had from Mr. Pyle, the mouthpiece of the league, has been thunders of silence. Had affairs been going smoothly, and new clubs come flocking to the standard of Big Bill - you want rest assured that Mr. Pyle would have the world know about it. George Trevor, writing in the Brooklyn Eagle, expresses the opinion that the backers of the new league are likely to lose their shirts this fall. Judging merely by the ominous silence of Brother Pyle and the lack of any evidence that promoters are having to form in line for a chance to buy American League football franchises, we are inclined to agree with Mr. Trevor's view. And if there is any considerable sum of money lost - it is not hard to guess whose money it will be. It's Red Grange's league, is it not?

HARLEY TO MANAGE LOUISVILLE SQUAD IN PRO FOOTBALL

JUN 10 (Louisville) - The Louisville Colonels will return to the ranks of the NFL, according to an announcement made here by the owners of the franchise. Last season, the Louisville magnates remained idle but they are coming back with a vengeance this fall, it is said. Previous to 1925, Louisville had been in the postgraduate gridiron circuit for three terms. Active management of the team has been placed to the hands of Bill Harley, a brother of the famous Chic. who was an All-American at Ohio State for a couple of years. Harley had had a lot of experience in pro football and handled several crack semi-pro teams in Chicago. It is understood that Harley intends to bring a number of Big Ten players here to augment the cream of the Southern conference stars who have already been signed...WELL KNOWN HERE: Bill Harley is well-known here as he played center field for the Green Bay ball club during the latter part of the 1923 season when Joe Nagle was handling the team. At that time, Harley had notes of getting the Green Bay franchise in the pro league but his "dreams" never materialized.

JACK MCAULIFFE HAS SIGNED CONTRACT TO PLAY WITH PACKERS

JUN 11 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Jack McAuliffe is the first one of the new Packers of 1926 to sign his contract. The former Beloit three-sport athlete was in the city yesterday and he put his name on the dotted line. Mac is no stranger to the sport followers of this community. During the past winter, he jumped center for the Columbus club five. He certainly was at home on the basketball court but, those who know him, claim that football is his best game...STAR AT BELOIT: McAuliffe was at Beloit in 1922, '23, and '24. Before he graduated, Cub Buck tipped off the Packer management that McAuliffe was the fastest man in the Little Five and he advised officials in charge here to hop on McAuliffe's trail. This was done but Mac had returned to his home in Montana and by the time letters reached him, he had accepted a coaching job at Madison, S.D. Last year when it was announced that McAuliffe was going to be in charge of athletics at Appleton high, the Packer management got in touch with him again. It was thought that everything was O.K. for McAuliffe to play here but, at the eleventh hour, the board of Education in Appleton told the new coach that he couldn't play pro football. Well, to make a long story short, Mac did very well at Appleton but when it came time for him to get a new teaching contract, the school officials inserted a clause which would have barred McAuliffe from even playing pro basketball. This didn't suit the new Packers very well. He turned down the teaching contract and signed the football one...GOOD PASS HANDLER: During his college days, Mac was a swell handler of the forward pass, both on the tossing and receiving ends, a first class field goal kicker and he has been likened to Marty Norton as an open field runner. McAuliffe has always played in the backfield, either at half or quarter. Tommy Mills, the Beloit coach, who recently has signed as assistant to Knute Rockne at Notre Dame, when asked if he thought McAuliffe would go on the pro gridiron, replied: "Mac will go anywhere. He is the best football player I ever coached at Beloit. What he lacks in weight, he makes up in sped and smart thinking. Mark my word. McAuliffe will be one of the stars of the Packer team this fall."

JUL 12 (Philadelphia) - Green Bay, Wis., home of the Packers, who for years have been rated as one of the strongest teams in the NFL, was awarded the 1927 schedule meeting. Although the Wisconsin city is the smallest spoke in the wheel, it won the annual conference in competitive bidding against New York, Chicago, Buffalo and Cleveland.

22 TEAMS IN LEAGUE

JUL 12 (Philadelphia) - The National league of professional football clubs will start the 1926 season on September 19 with 22 teams, representing 21 cities, franchises having been granted three new clubs at the annual meeting of the league which closed last night. Los Angeles, Brooklyn and Hartford are the newcomers. Cleveland, Minneapolis and New Britain, Conn., withdrew and Pottsville and Racine were reinstated. Pottsville's reinstatement coming after the payment of a $2,500 fine for playing the eleven known as the "Four Horsemen" in Philadelphia last fall while Philadelphia, the franchise holder, was playing a league game...LOUISVILLE BACK AGAIN: Louisville, which has held a league franchise for several years, but which for the last two years, had no team in the field will resume activities this fall. Bill Harey will manage the team.

SEASON OPENS SEPTEMBER 19

JUL 12 (Philadelphia) - Adoption of the season's playing dates was the final business of the NFL which brought the two day business session to a close here this afternoon. Fifty delegates, representing twenty-two clubs, were in attendance. The opening games are listed for September 19 and the campaign will come to a close December 12. The first clashes of the season will bring Akron against Philadelphia at the latter city, Columbus against Canton, the Chicago Bears against Milwaukee, Brooklyn against Providence, R.I., Hammond, Ind., against Racine, Wis., and Detroit against Green Bay. A franchise was also issued to the Los Angeles Football corporation, which is backed by moving picture interests in the west. This club will be made up of leading western college stars and they will play all their early games away from home. The Brooklyn club was a new organization to be taken into the field. The eleven will be in charge of Edward Butler, captain and quarterback of the 1912 Cornell team. In order that the league might come to a clearer understanding with the colleges, a committee, which will confer with Brig. Gen. Palmer A. Pierce, president of the Intercollegiate union, in New York tomorrow morning, was appointed.

to his home in Spokane for the summer months. He will be back here about September 1 and should be in good shape because he has accepted terms to play first base for a Washington State league team during July and August. When in fighting shape, Flaherty will tip the beam at 195 pounds. His regular position is at end but, in a pinch can step into a tackle job and give a first class account of ​himself. Flaherty is of the aggressive type of footballer and has the happy knack of never knowing when he is beaten. His basketball experience makes him right at home in the forward pass game and, for a big fellow being a six footer, he steps over the ground pretty fast...STARRED IN NAVY GAME: During his gridiron career at Marquette, Flaherty frequently received flattering comments in the newspapers. He was at his best in the games against the Navy in 1924 and 1925, and the sport scribes down east termed Flaherty and Dilweg as one of the best pair of ends they had glimpsed in years.

VALLEY SPORT GOSSIP

JUL 7 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Joseph Shields, who coached at Waupun high, has been named as athletic director at Appleton high. He succeeds Jack McAuliffe, who is going to live in Green Bay and play football with the Packers..Cub Buck has signed a contract to coach in Florida at Miami university. The former All American will leave Neenah for the south early in September. This new job probably ends Buck's career as a gridder. For the past five years, he has played tackle for Green Bay.

BULLETIN

JUL 8 (Rock Island) - At a meeting of the Rock Island Football club directors, it was decided not to place a team on the pro football league this season. Lack of interest by fans of the Tri-Cities was given as the reason for the withdrawal of the Independents, who have long been prominent on the postgraduate grid.

PHILADELPHIA MEET ON PRO FOOTBALLERS OPENS ON SATURDAY

JUL 8 (Philadelphia) - The annual summer meeting of the NFL will be held here on Saturday and Sunday. According to President Joe F. Carr, Columbus, O., delegates from some twenty odd clubs will be in attendance. The main business at the weekend meeting of the pro gridders is the adoption of the schedule for the fall and the admittance of new clubs to the circuit. It is understood that, at least, a half dozen cities have filed applications for franchises in the NFL. The league schedule will probably start about September 19 and continue until the second Sunday in December. A change in the league constitution adopted at the winter meeting in December bars any club from playing more than two games a week. Two of the teams, which did not function in 1925, the Minneapolis Marines and Louisville Colonels, will be back in the fold this fall. Cities holding franchises in the NFL are: Canton, Akron, Philadelphia, Detroit, Rock Island, Green Bay, Pottsville, Kansas City, Hammond, Providence, Cleveland, New York, Dayton, Duluth, Rochester, Milwaukee, Buffalo, Columbus and Chicago (two clubs). Joe F. Carr, Columbus, is president of the league, John Dunn, Minneapolis, vice-president, and Carl Storck, Dayton, secretary.

GREEN BAY PACKER OFFICIALS EN ROUTE TO PRO MEET

JUL 9 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - A.B. Turnbull, president of the Green Bay Football corporation, and Captain Lambeau of the Packers left here at midnight for Philadelphia where they will represent Green Bay at the annual schedule meeting of the NFL on Saturday and Sunday. A meeting of the Football corporation's board of directors was held previous to the departure of the two officials and plans for the season were mapped. The directors voted unanimously in favor of getting the Bays the strongest pro eleven it has ever had...CONTRACTS SENT OUT: Efforts of the management in lining up players were approved by the board of directors. Contracts have been sent to a half dozen new players and some important announcements can be expected within the next few weeks. A pair of bang up tackles, another good end, a center, and two more backs will probably be announced shortly. With all but a few exceptions, all the stars of 1925 will be back in the fold. The Packer envoys are hopeful of arranging a dandy schedule. Negotiations for games have been carried on since January, and several encounters only await approval of the league authorities. Two games with the Bears, Cardinals, Milwaukee, Detroit and Minneapolis are practically assured, it is understood. There is also the possibility that the Packers will take another eastern trip as Philadelphia and Providence are anxious to have the Big Bay Blues back again.

STAGE ALL SET

JUL 9 (Columbus) - The annual schedule meeting of the NFL will be held Saturday and Sunday at Philadelphia, Joe F. Carr, president of the organization said today. Applications of two new members will be passed upon and plans completed for the 1926 season. Each member of the league will be required to deposit the $1,500 guarantee fund in cash, Mr. Carr said. That is an evidence of good faith for observance of all rules, especially the one pertaining to the use of college players prohibited from playing in the national league until their class has been graduated. Two minor league, which have been organized, have asked the national league for protection and a working agreement, Carr said, and that also will be decided at the conference.

FOOTBALL MOGULS IN OPENING SESSION AT PHILADELPHIA TODAY

JULY 10 (Philadelphia) - Racine is knocking at the door of the pro football league again. Babe Reutz, who fathered the game in Horlickville for a number of years, is here at the meeting in hopes of again securing a franchise. It is understood Reutz has secured the backing of the American Business club and that the Legion has agreed to surrender its claim on the franchise...Everything pertaining to football except the referee's whistle could be heard in the lobby of the Benjamin Franklin hotel here today as pro football moguls from some twenty-odd different cities gathered for the annual summer meeting of the NFL. The most western delegation was Kansas City. Louisville claimed to be the southernmost point. Duluth, Minneapolis and Green Bay shared the northern honors, while Providence and Boston were the far easterns...FEW VACANT CHAIRS: The pro gridders lost little time in getting down to business. President Carr called the conference to order about one o'clock and there were but few vacant chairs. Action on several applications for franchises was the first business on the program. The delegates were somewhat surprised when news went the round that Rock Island had decided to stay out a year. However, John Dunn will have his Minneapolis club back in the fold, and Louisville wants also to regain its berth...DRAFT SCHEDULE TONIGHT: Drafting of the schedule will get underway tonight and it is expected to be a long drawn out session. A number of clubs are anxious to make intersectional trips as did the Green Bay Packers, Kansas City Kaws and Chicago Bears last season. Several player deals are in the air as the managers began talking swaps just as they reached here. It is said that there is a scarcity of good ends while first class guards are overabundant. The first big player purchase was announced by Chris O'Brien of the Chicago Cardinals. He paid a big price for Rhoddy Lamb, who was the sensation of the Rock Island eleven in 1925. The Green Bay Packers are also said to be angling for a star tackle as Cub Buck, a mainstay of the Wisconsin team for the past five years, has accepted a coaching job in Florida at Miami university.

Green Bay Press-Gazette - July 14th

saying that he was certain the Gonzaga star would develop into one of the great tackles on the professional gridiron. Several sport writers in Spokane praised Cyre to the skies. One of them went so far as saying that Hector was the fastest big man he ever saw in action on a football field...BEST PACKER TEAM: An official of the Green Bay Football corporation is speaking of the signing of Cyre: "This is just another step in molding together the greatest football team that ever represented the Bay. Cyre comes here highly recommended by the best football authorities on the Pacific coast. Within the next few weeks, we expect to announce the signing of, at least, two other linemen, rated just as highly as Cyre and a couple of backfielders, who have gained a lot of recognition in the football world. Incidentally, we have lines out for several other players who will add considerable strength to the Packers of 1926." Aside from Cyre, Flaherty, Moose Gardner, Abramson and Jack McAuliffe have signed their Packer contracts for this season.

about reached the signing point, and an announcement of a contest with an Upper Michigan eleven can be looked forward to within the immediate future.

ENRIGHT, NOTRE DAME STAR, SIGNS PACKER CONTRACT

AUG 3 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Rex Enright, varsity backfielder at Notre Dame in 1922, '23 and '25, has signed his contract to play with the Green Bay Packers. This famous product from the Rockne school of football last fall was rated as one of the greatest gridiron knights in the middle west, if not in the entire country. Walter Eckersall, in picking his All-Western team, placed Enright at fullback. Rex was the only member of last year's Notre Dame team to find a home on the Chicago sport authority's selection. In picking his All-Western, Enright got the fullback berth in place of "Five Yard" McCarthy, Chicago's famous line plunger, who was named as the All-Conference fullback. Eckersall also placed Enright on his third All-American eleven. The first and second team choices going to Nevers of Stanford and Pooley Hubert of Alabama, respectively...PLACED ON MANY TEAMS: Knute Rockne picked an All-Western team and Enright was the lone Notre Damer on the outfit. A number of other football experts placed Enright on their selections besides winning honorable mention from nearly every gridiron scribe in the country. The Football Review at Notre Dame had this to say about the new Packer: "Rex Enright, playing his final year of football at Notre Dame, filled the heart of Coach Rockne with pride and gave the students something to talk about."...STAR ON DEFENSE: "Enright's line plunging and defensive work caught the eye of every football expert who saw him perform and he got nearly as much praise as if he had been a member of the 'Four Horsemen'. In the Nebraska game, which Notre Dame lost, 17 to 0, Enright only failed twice in his attempts to puncture the Husker line. Student opinion placed Rex in a chase with Layden and Castner, two of Rockne's greatest fullbacks." Enright played his first varsity football at Notre Dame in 1922 and he performed again in '23. He stayed out of school the following year but came back with bells on in 1925. Enright is a product of Rockford high, where he was a high school athletic star for three years. In football at Rockford, Rex was a teammate of Hobey Baker, the gridder who has put Northwestern on the football map during the past two seasons...IS SIX FOOTER: The former Notre Dame star weighs about 190 pounds. He is a six footer and voted for the first time last fall. Enright married a Rockford, Ill. girl early in the winter and Mrs. Enright will accompany her husband here when he reports for practice September 5. Rex is a Notre Dame law graduate. Aside from football Rex played two seasons of varsity basketball at the South Bend institution and he also saw service on the track squad. The Chicago Bears and Milwaukee Badgers were after Enright but as Rex wrote - he thought he would feel more at home playing football in "Jimmy Crowley's town" - so he cast his lot with the Packers...MADE NO MISTAKE: Tom Hearden, co-captain of this year's Notre Dame eleven, when told that Enright had signed a Packer contract, had this to say: "The Green Bay management made no mistake in getting Enright. He will give them value received. Rex likes to play football and the rougher it get the better it suits him. He is one of the best blockers I ever laid eyes on. Enright backs up a line well and tackles hard. He was on the receiving end of a lot of our forward passes last fall. Rex is a consistent punter and has the happy faculty of doing his best in a pinch." Before the end of the week, it is expected that there will be one more "hot" announcement regarding another Packer star.

SOME PRO FOOTBALL TALK BEING HEARD AROUND MILWAUKEE

AUG 5 (Milwaukee) - Some pro football talk is being heard here in sporting circles despite the fact that Byran and Mulkern, owners of the club, haven't peeped much about conditions. So far as players are concerned, Bryan claims he isn't worrying. It is the opinion here that he has a working agreement with George Halas, manager of the Chicago Bears, and that Milwaukee will get several of the Bruins' stars. For several years, Bryan played for the Chicago club. Although not officially announced, it is reported that Bryan has already signed Stanley Kuick, who played with Beloit last season, and Hutchinson, the flashy center from Nebraska. Hutchinson was rated as one of the best snapper backs in college football last season. There is also some talk that Steve Pulaski, 1925 captain at Wisconsin, will be in a Milwaukee uniform. Bryan is searching around for a fullback. He had figured on getting Rex Enright, the Notre Dame star, but the management of the Green Bay Packers beat him to it. Bryan made a trip to Rockford, Ill., Enright's home, but Rockne's star backfielder had already signed with the Bays when he arrived. Milwaukee drew a first class schedule in the pro league. All but three of the eleven games are at home. The Brewers' only out of town games are with Racine, Green Bay and the Chicago Bears.

Green Bay Press-Gazette - July 14th

​J. STERNAMAN TO RUN GRANGE LEAGUE ELEVEN IN CHICAGO

JUL 17 (Chicago) - The Chicago Bulls, a football team to be managed by Joe Sternaman, has been granted a franchise in the American Professional Football league, commonly known as the Grange league. Announcement of this was made in New York yesterday by C.C. Pyle prior to sailing for Europe, where he hopes to sign Suzanne Lenglen for a tennis tour of the United State. Chicago will have three professional football teams of major league caliber fighting for patronage this fall. Pyle, organizer of the American Pro league, announces that the Chicago Bulls have leased the White Sox ball park for the season, and that the first game will be played October 17 against Red Grange's New York club...FINANCIAL BATTLE SEEN: For the last three seasons Joie Sternaman has been the principal attraction of the Chicago Bears, a team managed by George Halas and Ed Sternaman, brother of Joe. The flashy little quarterback started in the National league with the Duluth team and was brought to the Bears for his brother. Joe's desertion of the Bears for the Bulls will bring the two brothers into a financial battle. Until this season, the Chicago Cardinals, managed by Chris O'Brien, have played in the White Sox park. This year, O'Brien announces, his team will play home games at Normal park, Racine avenue and 61st st. It is said that the Chicago Bulls have agreed to pay a flat rental for Sox park, whereas in previous seasons the park has been leased on a percentage basis. No announcement has been made concerning the personnel of Sternaman's team.

SCHEDULE COMPLETED

JUL 17 (New York) - Opening dates for games in the American League of Professional Football clubs were announced Friday, when magnates of the nine clubs concluded a four days session with the ratification of the schedule. The season will open September 26 in Cleveland, Newark and Rock Island and close December 12. All teams with the exception of Boston, Rock Island and Philadelphia will play 15 games, Boston and Rock Island will play only 14 games, with Philadelphia, with no Sunday games, will play 16 games. New York opens in Cleveland, Chicago in Newark, while George Wilson's traveling team of Pacific Coast stars will play in Rock Island September 26. Chicago plays in Philadelphia October 2, while Boston plays in Newark and Chicago meets Brooklyn October 3. Big Bill Edwards, president of the league, presided and the following officers were elected: Gen C.X. Zimmerman, Cleveland, vice president; Joe Sternaman, Chicago, secretary; and W.J. Coughlin, Newark, treasurer.

LEWELLEN AGAIN TO CHASE FOOTBALL FOR PACKER GRID SQUAD

JUL 21 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Lou Lewellen, whom many rated as the outstanding star of the Packers in 1925, has signed his contract to cavort again on the chalk marked field with the Big Bay Blues. This will be Lewellen's third year in a Green Bay uniform. Lou joined Lambeau's squad in the fall of 1924 after he had graduated from Nebraska, where he played three years of varsity football. He was captain of the Cornhusker eleven in 1923...IS GREAT PUNTER: Last fall, the Packer backfielder was named on the second All-American pro selection and he deserved the berth as he had performed in brilliant style throughout the season. When Cub Buck's knee went bad on him, Lou took over the punting duties and he did the job so well that it wasn't necessary again to pull the big tackle out of the line to boot the ball. Lewellen is a splendid receiver of the forward pass and in 1925, he was on the catching end of several tosses that raised Green Bay's football stock sky high. Those who saw the Bear game here will never forget how Lewellen slipped through the Bruins' secondary defense to grab the pass from Lambeau that turned defeat into victory for the Packers in the last few minutes of play. Ever since Lou joined the Packers in 1924, he has made his home here. He passed the state bar examination a year ago and is associated with a prominent law firm. The Packers halfback is also a first class baseballer. He is pitching this season for the Algoma club of the Lakeshore league and has earned the reputation of being one of the best slabsters in the loop. Lewellen is the sixth Packer to sign his 1926 contract. The others are MacAuliffe, Abramson, Gardner, Flaherty and Cyre. The Green Bay Football corporation expects to make several other important announcements in the near future.

TINY CAHOON, HUSKY WESTERN TACKLE, TO PLAY FOOTBALL HERE

JUL 23 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Tiny Cahoon, a lineman standing six foot two and weighing 220 pounds, is the newest addition to the Packers of 1926. The Green Bay management has been on the trail of Cahoon for a couple of months but negotiations with him were rather difficult due to the fact that he had been timber cruising north of Billings, Mont., and only got his mail once a week. Out in the Northwest, Tiny Cahoon is a famous football name. The

big fellow played four years at Billings, Mont. high; then he put in a year at a military institute at Spokane, Wash., from where he entered Gonzaga. He saw three seasons of varsity football at this institution. Last season Cahoon was coaching the line at the University of Montana, but the call of the gridiron hit him hard and he is going to put on the 

Green Bay Press-Gazette - July 21st

Green Bay Press-Gazette - August 2nd

gridder in that city and one of the fattest to be offered in the country at large. The Philadelphia Yellowjackets were also after his services, but the much sought end decided to stay in Milwaukee where he could continue his law studies with a view of graduating in the spring.

JUG EARPE SIGNS CONTRACT TO PLAY WITH BAY GRIDDERS

AUG 24 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Followers of the Green Bay Packers will welcome the news that Jug Earpe, veteran lineman, has again signed his contract to play with the Big Bay Blues. This will be Earpe's fifth season with the Badger state champions. Ever since Earpe joined the Packers just before the 0 to 0 Milwaukee game in 1922, he has given the club his best services. Jug is always regular as a clock for practice and he seldom has been on the shelf due to injuries. Earpe takes his football pretty seriously and there hasn't ever been a better team worker on the Green Bay machine...CENTER OR TACKLE: Jug is equally at home at either tackle or center. He played tackle in 1922 and '23. The following year saw him playing a whale of a game at center and last season he was one of the mainstays of the line at tackle. It is quite likely that Earpe will be moved back to the snapper back's position this season as it is not probable that Ojay Larson, the Packers' 1925 center, will play any football on account of an injured knee that gave him considerable trouble last fall. Earpe earned his "rah rah" football at Monmouth college, having three years of it. Following his graduation he joined the Rock Island Independents and was with those huskies for two seasons before coming with the Bays. While at Rock Island, Jug held down the pivot post nearly all the time. Earpe is another Packer who lives here the year round...16 PLAYERS UNDER CONTRACT: The Packer squad now included sixteen players who have signed contracts. Before the end of the week, there will be two other announcements about new players. Reporting orders were mailed out today and the entire squad will be on hand for the opening of the regular practice season on Sunday September 5.

Green Bay Press-Gazette - August 14th

ROSATTI, TACKLE OF 1924 BAY SQUAD, IS SIGNED FOR SEASON

AUG 28 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Rosey Rosatti, one of the Packers' best linemen in 1924, will again do his stuff for the Big Bay Blues. Last season Rosatti had a hand in running the Iron Mountain club but one year was enough for him of Upper Peninsula football. Rosatti played bang up football for the Big Bay Blues during 1924 at tackle and his brilliant defensive work won him a lot of followers here. Last fall, Rosey was working up north and he didn't figure that it would be best for him to sidetrack his job and come down here. However, this fall the call of "big time" hit Rosatti again and he lost little time in notifying the Packer management...HOME IN VULCAN, MICH: Rosatti's home is in Vulcan, Mich., and he played his scholastic football up north, then went to a western college for a year or so and

finally landed at Michigan, where his only eligible year he played varsity football for Yost and did a good job of it. After graduation at Ann Arbor, Rosatti coached a year in southern Michigan and then played football with Cleveland. This was the season that Cleveland had a great year on the pro gridiron. The next fall Rosatti played in Green Bay. Rosey is a big husky footballer and he always keeps in condition the whole year round. There is no question but that the signing of Rosatti will be warmly received by fans and players alike...NINETEEN UNDER CONTRACT: The signing of Rosatti increases the Packer squad to nineteen players. There probably will be two more announcements next week so that when practice gets underway a week from tomorrow.

CLEM NEACY SIGNS CONTRACT TO PLAY WITH PACKERS

AUG 31 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Clem Neacy, an end built along the lines of Tillie Voss, has signed his contract to play with the Green Bay Packers and the lanky wingman will be on hand for the opening practice Sunday. The lanky gridder, who goes 6:4 and tips the beam at 195 pounds, has had plenty of football experience. Neacy first bobbed into the football limelight while playing scholastic football in the Cream City. Then he went to Milwaukee Normal and took a postgraduate gridiron course under the watchful eye of George Downer...PLAYED AT COLGATE: After two years at the Normal, Neacy entered Colgate university where he played three years of varsity football. He was used one season at center and the other two at end. After his collegiate career, Neacy went into pro football and he has been with the Milwaukee club for several years. Everybody knows that the Badger squad under their former management was a hot bed of discontent and it can be safely said that the majority of the players didn't have their heart in the game. Sometimes the ghost did not work regularly and this didn't tend to make things rosy. However, Neacy carried on and he starred frequently for the Badgers. Every time the Milwaukee club faced Green Bay, Neacy was in the limelight continually. Last fall, in both of the Packer contests, Neacy's performance couldn't be improved upon. He grabbed several forward passes and tackled like a demon...DOWNER PRAISES NEACY: George Downer, sport editor of the Milwaukee Sentinel, when told that Neacy had signed with the Badger state champions had this to say: "I may be wrong, but it is my hunch that Neacy will go 'big' with Green Bay. He frequently said to me that he would like to play with Lambeau's outfit. Neacy has just the right build for an end in pro football. He is big and husky and can stand a lot of punishment. Clem is a basketball player of no little ability and this makes him right at home when it comes to handling the forward pass. Neacy is pretty fast and you will find that he will get under punts as well as any end in the league."...MAKEUP OF TEAM: Aside from Captain Lambeau, the Big Bay Blues have twenty players under contract. The makeup of the squad is at the present time is as follows:

Centers - Earpe, Rose

Guards - Gardner, Abramson, Jean

Tackles - Cyre, Cahoon, Rosatti, Dilcher

Ends - O'Donnell, Flaherty, Neacy

Quarterbacks - Purdy, Mathys, McAuliffe

Halfbacks - Lewellen, Basing, Kotal, Captain Lambeau

Fullbacks - Enright, Lidberg

The Packer management is still hot on the trail of two more players, one of whom is an end, and there is a strong possibility that these two gridders may put the name on the dotted line before the end of the week.

BUCK TO CARRY BALL IN IRON MOUNTAIN GAME - AS REFEREE

SEPT 1 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Howard "Cub" Buck, long famous as the biggest football player in captivity, will not wear the Packer uniform this season for the first time in six years. However, there is good news for the fans in the announcement that he will be seen on the field here when the Packers hook up with the Iron Mountaineers, Sunday, September 12., Cub was a sizeable footballer, big in every way, broadminded, and of aldermanic girth measure, wide between the eyes, and a bit odd in shoe size. He was quick thinker and a good guesser. He could kick, and charge and block, but his greatest box office attraction was his style of running with the ball. If the management could  have advertised that Cub would have certainly carried the ball once in each game, the crowds would have been doubled. However, the giant tackle always pulled his prize stunt by mere chance and when least expected. His  only opportunity to run with the ball came when he received a kickoff, picked up a fumble, or when he was back to kick and was crowded too hard. One Green Bay fan, lamenting the passing of Mr. Buck, pointed out that last year the Packer team got along with 15 players and Cub Buck, and that this year they will try to worry along with 22 men. This estimate gives the "Cubber" a rating of about 7 h.p. at the drawbar, or at the brake band, or wherever pigskin chasers are measured. However, the big fellow will be on the field again at the opening game and the management guarantees that he will occasionally carry the ball - but not as a contestant. Instead, Cub is to referee.

FOOTBALL DIRECTORS MEET TONIGHT; TEAM STARTS WORK SUNDAY

SEPT 2 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - There is an air of activity in Packer football circles due to the fact that the squad starts its regular practice sessions on Sunday and that the opening of the season is only about ten days off. A meeting of the corporation's board of directors is called for  tonight at the Press-Gazette. The clean up drive in the sale of season tickets will be mapped. Other matters of utmost important pertaining to the season, which is right at hand, will be discussed..SPEED UP TICKET HANDLING: The Packer ticket handlers are speeding up their work, and the season books, both for box and reserved seats, will be ready for distribution by the end of the week. The public sale of tickets for the Iron Mountain game on September 12 will  be underway at the usual places about town next Tuesday. The Iron Mountain management intends to bring quite a delegation of followers here a week from Sunday as a request for 400 tickets has been received. The Moutaineer followers will be parked, as last year, in the east end of the north stands...LEGION BAND OFFERS SERVICES: The American Legion band has again offered its service to the Packer management and the musicians will be on the job each Sunday when the Big Bay Blues are performing at the City Stadium. Some "between halves" features are being worked out for several of the big games. Some of the

Green Bay Press-Gazette - August 21st

Green Bay Press-Gazette - August 24th

Green Bay Press-Gazette - August 28th

Green Bay Press-Gazette - August 31st

Green Bay Press-Gazette - September 9th

PACKERS TO OPEN FOOTBALL SEASON HERE ON SUNDAY

SEPT 11 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - The Packer football machine,1926 model, starts tearing along the gridiron highway Sunday afternoon in the City stadium by attempting to bump off the Iron Mountain, Mich., eleven in the first game of the Big Bay Blues' schedule. Skirmishing on the chalk marked field will get underway promptly at 2 o'clock. More than ordinary interest has been shown in this inaugural fray as the Packers' army of followers are more than anxious to see the team do their stuff in actual competition. If ever, Green Bay has a national championship team in the making, it is this fall as the management has gone the limit is rounding out an outfit that will be hitting on all eleven all the time...SEVEN NEW PLAYERS: Seven players will make their debut in a Packer uniform. They are Cyre and Cahoon, a pair of crack linemen from the Pacific coast; Enright and Lidberg, two fullbacks who should rate among the best in the NFL; Flaherty, a big strapping end from Michigan; Rose, who made a name for himself at Ripon, and Jack MacAuliffe, a speed demon backfielder who helped put Beloit on the football map. There is a wealth of veteran material again on hand. Dick O'Donnell and Jack Harris are available for end duty.Rosatti, after taking a year off, is back again at tackle. Jean, Gardner, Abramson, and Woodin are the experienced guards back in togs. Jug Earpe will again snap the ball at center while in the backfield, Captain Lambeau, Mathys, Basing, Kotal and Lewellen are again slated for duty...HAVE PRACTICED HARD: For a week, these cowhide chasers have been going through their daily workouts, with one night session of skull practice thrown in and the squad is ready to take the field and teach the Michiganders a few lessons about the correct way to handle a football. However the Wolverines have no intention of being led to slaughter. Instead the Mountaineers are coming here with a well trained outfit and, according to reports sifting in here from the north, they intend to spring a surprise on the chesty 

for the Bay players calls for some extra long workouts this coming week and several "skull practices" at the Continuation school building. Due to the fact that there are a number of new players in the Packer machine this season, Captain Lambeau will drill the squad at top speed so as to have the club hitting on all eleven in the September 12 encounter against Iron Mountain. Among the players who are expected to be on hand for the initial workout are Cyre, Flaherty, Gardner, Abramson, McAuliffe, Lewellen, Cahoon, Kotal, Lidberg, Basing, Enright, O'Donnell, Mathys, Rose, Jean, Earpe, Rosatti, Neacy and Captain Lambeau.

FIRST ARRIVALS

SEPTEMBER 4 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - George Abramson and Swede Lidberg, teammates on Minnesota's great team of 1924, were the first Packer players to blow in this morning. Abramson is a veterans Packer guard while Lidberg is credited with being one of the greatest fullbacks in Conference history. Both players looked fit for action as they have been working out in Minneapolis for several weeks.

PACKER GRIDDERS LOOK GOOD IN OPENING PRACTICES

SEPT 7 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - The Packers are at it again. In other words, Green Bay's entry in the NFL has started preparation for the 1926 season. Regular practice started Sunday afternoon; the squad labored again Labor Day morning and this morning they were busy once more. There will be skull practice this evening at the Continuation school building. Captain Lambeau is driving the team at top speed in order for the inaugural fray with Iron Mountain which is scheduled for the City stadium on Sunday afternoon. The Mountaineers are coming down here with a fast aggregation which will include several Packers of olden days...GRIDDERS LOOK GOOD: Large crowds saw the Bays go through their stuff at the opening practices and the new players, as well as the veterans, came in for plenty of attention from the football fans. This means the gridders look in much better shape than ever before. There is an absence of extra poundage and this is paving the way for plenty of speed in the workouts. Lewellen, Mathys and Captain Lambeau were the veterans back on the job while Enright, Lidberg and MacAuliffe were the newcomers. Basing and Kotal failed to put in appearance but are expected here soon. The two Dicks, O'Donnell and Flaherty, held down the wing positions with Cyre, Cahoon and Rosatti at the tackles. Woodin, Moose Gardner and Abramson performed at the guards with Earpe, Jean and Rose taking a turn at snapping the ball...WOODIN ACCEPTS TERMS: Dilcher is expected to arrive here today. The big West Virginia tackle should boost the Packer football stock considerably. It was announced that Woodin, a member of the Packer squad for a number of season, came to terms with the Packer management on Saturday. Announcement that Milwaukee has filed claim to Neacy created considerable surprise. The Football corporation has presented its side of the case to President Joe F. Carr. Jack Harris, fighting backfielder of last year's team, will probably be in togs here again. Harris is employed in Chicago but hopes to get a three months leave of absence. Negotiations with the former Wisconsin captain are nearing completion and it is very likely that he will blow in here before the end of the week. Jack is slated for duty in the backfield and at end...PLAYED GOOD END: Harris should make a corking good wingman. He saw some service at an end position during the eastern trip and did everything that was asked of him and a little bit more besides. For over three months the Packers have been on the trail of Jack Murray, a big six foot end, who was the sensation of the Minnesota conference with St. Thomas. The Bay management has finally got set with Murray but it is doubtful if he will be able to report here before October 1 as he is employed on a construction job near Superior. If Murray half lives up advance notices, he will be a whiz. He tips the beam at 200 pounds yet can step the hundred in about 11 flat. Murray is a basketball player and naturally this makes him a superb receiver of the forward pass. Dilcher is expected to arrive here today. The big West Virginia tackle should boost the Packer football stock considerably. It was announced that Woodin, a member of the Packer squad for a number of season, came to terms with the Packer management on Saturday. Announcement that Milwaukee has filed claim to Neacy created considerable surprise. The Football corporation has presented its side of the case to President Joe F. Carr. Jack Harris, fighting backfielder of last year's team, will probably be in togs here again. Harris is employed in Chicago but hopes to get a three months leave of absence. Negotiations with the former Wisconsin captain are nearing completion and it is very likely that he will blow in here before the end of the week. Jack is slated for duty in the backfield and at end...PLAYED GOOD END: Harris should make a corking 

IRON MOUNTAIN COMING HERE SUNDAY WITH GOOD TEAM

SEPT 8 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Iron Mountain is coming here on Sunday for the opening football game against the Packers with a team that is liable to make things interesting for the Big Bay Blues. Several familiar faces will be seen with the invaders from Upper Michigan. Richard (Jab) Murray is going to play tackle for the invaders while Wally Niemann will snap the ball from center. Les Hearden is going to cavort in a halfback job. Sammy Powers and Toody McLean will also be with the Mountaineers, but not in the starting lineup as they have been assigned to bench duty...KAMPINE AND REINDAHL: Kampine and Reindahl, a pair of Marquette varsity players, will hold down the guard positions for Iron Mountain. Mauer of St. Edwards is to play on the other side of the line to Jab Murray at tackle. Ryan, who played here against the Packers with Hibbing, is one of the Iron Mountain ends; Dondulac, the other. La Plant of Carlisle is the extra wingman. Gibbons, formerly with the Kelly Duluths, is to call the signals at quarterback. Hearden is at one of the halves and Dunsmore of Lake Forest, a corking good ball carrier, will play opposite him. Peterson of St. Edwards is the fullback with Geronomine, a husky Brave from Carlisle as his substitute. The Mountaineers have been working out all week and, reports from up north, have it that they expect to give the Packers a scrap from the first to last whistle. Quite a delegation of fans are coming down here from Iron Mountain for the game, it is said...STARTS AT 2 O'CLOCK: The opening game, as well as all the others at home this season, will start promptly at 2 o'clock. Gates at the City stadium will swing open about 12:15. Cub Buck is a referee; Icky Edrlitz will umpire and Murph White, West high coach, will be in charge of the line sticks. The public sale of tickets for the Iron Mountain skirmish got underway Tuesday night and a brisk demand is reported. Holders of the season box and reserved tickets are picking up their reservations rapidly. These ducats can be secured at The Press-Gazette each evening from 7 to 9 o'clock. And in the meantime the Packers are working out every day and the team is beginning to like a great football machine.

FIGHTING JACK HARRIS WILL PLAY WITH PACKERS

SEPT 9 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Here is some more good news for the Packer football fans. Fighting Jack Harris, former Wisconsin captain and a star member of the 1925 Big Bay Blue football machine, will again chase the cowhide for the Badger state champions. The big end and backfielder should arrive here today. A couple of days of drill and he will be in shape to increase the worries of the Iron Mountain eleven booked to play here Sunday afternoon in the opening game of the season at City stadium...KEPT AFTER HARRIS: The Packer management has been after Harris since last spring as it is figured that Jack will be in the spotlight on the pro gridiron this season. However, the former Wisconsin captain wasn't much interest as he was tending strictly to his business connections with a motor coach concern in Chicago. About two weeks ago, the "gridiron call" hit Jack hard and he applied to the company for a leave of absence. His application was held in abeyance for a few days but, Wednesday morning, Harris received word that he could take three months off and play football. He didn't wait long to wire the Bay management that he would arrive Thursday...PLAYED GREAT GAME: Last season, Harris was bothered by injuries in the early games but when he got off the hospital list, he went like a house on fire. Jack is a smashing backfielder and a great defensive end. He started his brilliant play on the wing in the Bear game at Chicago and then kept it up in the eastern trip against Pottsville, Philadelphia and Providence. The arrival of Harris will just about round out the Packers for the time being. Murray, another end prospect, is not scheduled to arrive until October 1 and that is about the same time that Pid Purdy, who is now playing with the White Sox, is slated to blow in. Dilcher, the West Virginia tackle, according to reports got lost in Chicago and he may not be here while claims and counterclaims in the Milwaukee-Green Bay dispute over the ownership of Clem Neacy have been laid before President Joe Carr of the NFL, but no decision is expected for, at least, a week.

STAGE SET FOR OPENING GAME WITH IRON MOUNTAIN

SEPT 10 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - The stage is all set for the opening game of the 1926 football season, which will be played Sunday afternoon at the City stadium between 

PID PURDY, BACKFIELD SENSATION, SIGNS WITH PACKERS

AUG 25 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - This story starts off in Beatrice, Neb., back in 1920 on Thanksgiving Day. Beatrice, like Green Bay, is a football town. The only difference is that the cornhusking community specializes only in high school footballers while Green Bay features in both scholastic and pro gridders. In 1920, Beatrice boasted the greatest high school team it ever turned out and, looking for more worlds to conquer, hurled a challenge at Appleton high, which had an eleven that was way above the average. The defy was accepted by the Valley aggregation much to their regret...PURDY 27, APPLETON 0: When the final whistle blew, the score read: Beatrice 27, Appleton 0, but it should have read: Purdy 27, Appleton 0. The Beatrice quarterback, then a junior in high school, made two touchdowns, booted a field goal from the 35-yard line, and goals after touchdown and, bringing the story up to date, has been doing it ever since. This should serve as a pretty good introduction to the newest member of the Packer machine. His full name is E. "Pid" Purdy and right now he is playing center field for the Lincoln, Neb. club of the Western league and clouting the pill at a .372 clip. It is understood that the Cleveland Americans have an option on his baseball services...NEBRASKA FROSH STAR: After graduation from Beatrice high, Purdy entered Nebraska and that was where Guy Chamberlain first heard of him. He was a sensation on the freshman team. The next summer Purdy went out and joined the Smiths and Jones playing summer ball. However, he was caught in the act and Nebraska was unable to use him again. Purdy went to the Pacific coast and played a year at one of the southern California colleges. Then he came back and continued his baseball career. During the fall of 1924, Purdy saw service with the Omaha Olympics, one of the stronger teams in the country outside of the pro league. Rock Island went to Omaha for a game and emerged victorious but not without a battle as the Independents had to score two touchdowns to nose out a touchdown and field goal which Purdy rung up...BURNED UP GRIDIRON: Early in the spring of 1925, Purdy entered Beloit and last fall was declared eligible for football. In the few games he played with Tommy Mills' eleven, he burned up the gridiron. As a matter of fact, he was such an outstanding star that some of the other schools in the Little Five began to look him up. As a result, some technicalities were uncovered and the "Wicked Toe" Purdy was ruled ineligible for further competition. Packer authorities got in touch with Tommy Mills and asked about Purdy. The football coach, who is now assistant to Knute Rockne at Notre Dame, penned this reply: "Purdy, in my estimation, is one of the greatest football players I have ever laid eyes on. He is a natural on the gridiron. Purdy would fight his weight in wildcats if it meant another yard or two and, when he comes to booting the ball, either dropkicking or punting, he sure is a wizard."...CHAMBERLAIN WANTED PURDY: When Guy Chamberlain of Philadelphia heard that Green Bay had completed a deal getting pro football rights on Purdy, he immediately wrote the Packer management offering any kind of trade or buy for the backfielder whom he claimed would be another Joe Sternaman. According to Chamberlain, Purdy will be able to kick with any bootsmith on the professional gridiron. The Yellowjackets helmsman has long wanted a field goal kicker of the Purdy type. Aside from Captain Lambeau, there are eight other backfielders in the Packer roost: Purdy, Mathys, Enright, Kotal, Lidberg, MacAuliffe, Lewellen and Basing. There are two ends signed. O'Donnell and Flaherty. Two tackles, Cahoon and Cyre; three guards, Gardner, Abramson and Jean; two centers, Earpe and Rose.

PACKER SIGN CHARLIE DILCHER, WEST VIRGINIA TACKLE

AUG 27 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Charlie Dilcher, varsity tackle for three years at the University of West Virginia, is the newest addition to the Packer machine of 1926. The Mountaineers had one of the best elevens in the country last year and experts claimed that Coach Rodgers' team was without a peer on the defense. Spaulding's 1925 Football Guide in its review of the teams had this to say about West Virginia:...INVINCIBLE LINE PLAY: "Another highly successful season resulted with victories in eight of the nine games. Invincible line play featured the work of the team. Only 18 points were scored against the eleven and the goal line was not crossed in the last five games. West Virginia lost its only game to Pittsburgh, 15 to 7. Notable victories were scored over Boston college, Washington and Lee, Penn state and W. & J. Leading players were McHenry and Mahan, guards; Dilcher and Davis, tackles; Latham, center, and Oliker, end. Coach Rodgers, who replaced Fat Spears, produced one of the smartest elevens that West Virginia ever had." Dilcher had two years of football under Spears, who is now head coach Minnesota. Last season, one of the Minneapolis papers interviewed Spears about football in general and he commented on the fact that he thought Dilcher and Davis were one of the greatest pair of tackles in the history of the game...FACE OLD TEAMMATES: The big lineman will be playing against several of his old teammates when the Packers tackle the Philadelphia Yellowjackets in Quakertown on Thanksgiving day as Davis and Mahan are with Guy Chamberlain's crew. Oliker, West Virginia's star end, is as yet undecided about playing pro football but several of the clubs are steaming full blast for his services. Dilcher is built just right for a tackle. He goes over 6 feet and tips the beam at about 220 pounds. He is of the rangy type and fast on his feet for a big fellow. Last year at West Virginia, he often beats the ends down the field under punts. Dilcher jumped center on the West Virginia basketball team. This squad was rated as one of the leading fives in the college caging world...WORKING IN WEEHAWKEN: Dilcher has been working in Weehawken, N.J., since he graduated in June. However, this coming week he will hit the trail for Green Bay and should be on hand for the opening practice a week from Sunday. The big West Virginian is the eighteenth Packer to sign a contract. If negotiations now being conducted by the Packer management terminate, there will be several more additions to the squad within the next ten days.

that there were more than twenty spokes in Joe Carr's wheel. The Packers started off their league season with a creditable 21 to 0 victory over Detroit. Sure shot forward passing played a lead role in the Panthers defeat. Then came the Bears and it was a tie game. The Bays had a 6 to 0 margin until a fumble paved the way for Paddy Driscoll to tie the score after grabbing a toss...BEAT MILWAUKEE 7 TO 0: Following the Bear game, Duluth appeared on the scene and it was another no decision argument. Playing on a rain soaked field, neither team was able to score. Milwaukee came after the Eskimos and the Bays tucked away a 7 to 0 victory thanks to a dash for a touchdown by Lewellen in the closing stages of the fray. The Blues cinched the state championship the next Sunday by whipping the Racine outfit, 35 to 0. It was a rout and the Horlickville tribe were whipped to a frazzle. The next Sunday found the Packers fighting their way to glory in Chicago over the Cardinals, 3 to 0. Young Mr. Purdy's dropkick spilled the beans for Chris O'Brien. This was the first game that the Packers had ever won on a Chicago gridiron. A week later, the Bays invaded Milwaukee. There was no scoring in the first half but the Packers came back strong in the closing periods and brought home the bacon, 21 to 0. The following week, Green Bay was billed at Racine but Babe Reutz & Co. threw up the sponge so Louisville was brought here for a game. With seven regulars on the sideline, the Packers chalked up a 14 to 0 victory...TOO MUCH DRISCOLL: Nov. 21 found the Packers back in Chicago again facing the Bears at Cubs' park. After outplaying the Bruins all the way, a fumble in the closing minutes of play enabled Paddy Driscoll to prance along for the winning touchdown, 19 to 13. The Packers did their Thanksgiving Day footballing in Philadelphia and like the Bear game, their opponents came from behind with but four minutes to go, and nosed out a 20 to 14 win. The Sunday after Turkey Day, the Bays invaded Detroit and administered a 7 to 0 defeat to Jimmy Conzelman's Panthers. Then after several weeks vacation, they donned the moleskins again and battled the Bears to a 3 to 3 tie. The Bays had their 3-point lead wiped out in the closing minutes of play when Paddy Driscoll made good on what looked like an impossible dropkick...LEAVE FOR HOMES: After the Carr benefit game in Chicago, the squad broke ranks and the players left for their homes. Dick O'Donnell is going to Duluth for awhile and may play some pro basketball. Jack Harris will resume his job with a transit company in Chicago. Flaherty is back working on his books in the medic course at Marquette. Tiny Cahoon has left for his home at Baraboo, Wis., while Rosatti will winter at Norway, Mich., his hometown. Cyre is in Akron where he has taken a job with a well known rubber company. Moose Gardner is once more selling automobiles in Ashland, Wis. Whitey Woodin is back here working and Jug Earpe takes up his old job after returning from Monmouth, Ill., where he is spending the Christmas holidays. Lewellen and Lambeau are home and have settled to work again after three strenuous months on the gridiron. Pid Purdy plans to winter at Beatrice, Neb.; Max MacAuliffe is going to play some pro basketball, Eddie Kotal hopes to land a job in Appleton. Rex Enright expects to enter business in Rockford, Ill., while Cully Lidberg is going back to Minnesota and take up some extra work. It is quite possible that late in the spring, Lidberg will come to Green Bay and make his home here. 

​ARMORY BURNS CHRISTMAS DAY

DEC 27 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Fire of unknown origin destroyed the Armory at east end of Cherry st. early Christmas day and caused an estimated loss of $72,500. Insurance will cover about $11,000 of the loss. The loss is distributed as follows:

United State government property, $60,000

Building (owned by the city of Green Bay), $7,500, covered by insurance

Hazel Umberhaum, skating rink equipment, $3,000, partially covered by insurance

Pete Biemeret, household goods, $2,000, partially insured

Awakened by smoke and excessive heat at 5:15 o'clock Saturday morning, Peter Biemeret, sergeant of Battery B, Green Bay unit of Wisconsin National Guard, tenant of the building, rushed into the main section of the structure to find it ablaze. There was no time to fight the flames, for they had already begun to burn their way through the walls

and roof. Mr. Biemeret's sons had first seen the fire when it started to work into their rooms, immediately adjacent to the Armory proper. The family had just time to dress hurriedly and rush from the building when the fire swept into their home and the walls and roof went up like tinder. The fire department rushed all equipment to the fire and​and every man on the force was summoned. The building was doomed when they arrived at 5:30. They threw what lines they had immediately over the fire and worked desperately until noon to keep the blaze from spreading to the gunshed nearby, and the residences across the street...TWO BIG GUNS WRECKED: Investigations made yesterday and today brought out the information that Battery B, equipped with 50 uniforms and thousands of dollars worth of guns, ammunition and other army supplies, sustained the heaviest loss, while several other tenants lost hundreds of dollars worth of material. According to the estimate of Colonel N.N. Schantz, here from Milwaukee to investigate the damage, the loss to the Battery equipment will run easily to $60,000, half of which was caused by the loss of two 6-inch howitzers and two Browning machine guns. The building itself, the fireman reported, was a mere shell. Once ignited, it burned like tinder and it was not surprising that the attendants had no time in which to fight the flames until the firemen arrived. The firemen were called as soon as possible and, once there, they put up a stubborn fight to keep the blaze from spreading to nearby buildings. Everything in the armory was a total loss. The fire burned with such rapidity that the none of the owners of property had any opportunity to save their belongings. According to Mr. Biemeret, the fire was first discovered and seemed to be burning the hardest in the stage end of the building. No idea could be graced from the investigation as to what caused the fire and neither the firemen nor the investigators would make any statement...43 FIREMEN FIGHT FIRE: Arriving on the scene at 5:30 with engines from all three companies and with 43 men ready to fight the blaze, the firemen were greeted by the most spectacular fire Green Bay has seen since the burning of the Cargill grain elevator. A lurid glare lighted up the neighborhood for blocks around and fully a half dozen calls were received at the fire station from person who, seeing the flaming reflection on houses next door, believed their own homes to be on fire. The firemen pulled their engines as near as possible and threw five lines of water over the blazing building. All attempts to check the fire before it had eaten away every stick of inflammable material were futile and they concentrated their efforts on the task of holding the flames back, to keep the other building in the vicinity from catching fire. And they accomplished this well for the intense heat is said to have turned the metal outside of the gunshed to a dull red while the fence surrounding the football stadium, standing out more than 35 feet from the armory, smoked and cracked as the scorching fury of the fire was thrown against it. Only the steady streams of water kept these building from going up in smoke with the main building...USED AS SKATING RINK: The Armory has been, for the past few years, a hall rented for many different events but at present those particularly interested in it were the Battery, the city of Green Bay as owners, and Miss Hazel Umberhaum, who conducted roller skating parties there. These parties sustained the heaviest loss, together with the Green Bay Football corporation whose loss consisted of uniforms and football equipment stored there. The government loss, running about $60,000, was without insurance, the government carrying its own liabilities. The school board, owners of the building, quoted the estimated value of the Armory at $7,500, all of which is covered. Miss Umberhaum, who reported that an electric organ and 300 pairs of skated had been destroyed, said the damage of her equipment would run about $3,000 and that only a part of it was covered by insurance. The latter announced that all holiday novelties had been destroyed by the flames and that plans were already underway to secure another location for the holiday parties. The principal items of value that were destroyed by the fire were the two 6-inch Howitzers owned by the government and valued at about $15,000 each. These were burned until they were of absolutely no use. They lay in a crumpled pile of junk at the east entrance to the building where all about them were ruins of lockers and trunks that had contained in the neighborhood of 90 battery uniforms, a corresponding number of pistols, and all of the other Battery equipment with the exception of the tractors, the remainder of the big guns and the trucks. Two machine guns and some machine gun ammunition lay in the smoking mass when the fire was finally put down...PACKERS LOSE EQUIPMENT: Football togs of the Green Bay Packers, which were stored in the locker room of the Armory, went up in smoke. Trunks in which the equipment was packed had been taken back to the Armory on Tuesday following the December 19 game in Chicago against the Bears at Soldiers' field. Aside from the headgears and the few remaining blankets, the actual loss to the Football corporation was not large. As a matter of fact, new outfits had been planned for the 1927 season. However, the personal loss to the players was fairly heavy. Nearly all members of the team had their own pants, shoulder pads, knee and ankle braces and shoes packed away in the big trunks of which only ashes remain. The Spanish-American War veterans lost their charter in the blaze.

FIRE DESTROYS PRO GRID CAMP AT GREEN BAY

DEC 26 (Chicago Tribune) - It wasn't a merry Christmas for the Green Bay Packers. A blaze swept the park armory, which served as the Badger State champions' training quarters, and destroyed all the gridiron equipment. The well known blue and gold jerseys and blankets which have gained fame for Green Bay all over the country on postgraduate gridirons went up in smoke, along with a string of old footballs won in games since 1918.

The 1926 Green Bay Packers - 7-3-3 (5th)

Head Coach: Curly Lambeau

PRO FOOTBALL MEETING IN PHILADELPHIA, JULY 10-11

JUN 17 (Columbus) - President Joe F. Carr of the NFL has issued the call for the annual summer meeting of the pro gridiron moguls to be held in Philadelphia on July 10 and 11. The sessions are to be held at the Benjamin Franklin hotel, starting at 1 p.m., on Saturday July 10. In his letter to the club heads, President Carr urged that representatives from every team in the circuit be in attendance as matters of utmost important to the league would be taken up.

CALL RECEIVED HERE

JUN 17 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - The call for the pro league meeting was received here by officials of the Green Bay Football corporation Wednesday afternoon from President Joe F. Carr. A.B. Turnbull, president of the Green Bay Football corporation and Captain Lambeau of the Packers will be the Green Bay representatives at the meeting....BOOK GOOD GAMES: The football officials here expect to be able to book games again with the best teams in the country. Negotiations with several crack institutions have practically been completed but no definite announcement can be made until after the schedule is adopted at the meeting in Philadelphia next month. It is also quite possible that during the sessions in Philadelphia, the Green Bay management will be able to put across several deals for players whom the Packers have been after since last fall. Several of the "pointed" paragraphs included in the call for the meeting sent out by President Carr are as follows: "As you are probably aware the Sesquicentennial is operating in Philadelphia at the present time, hence the hotel accommodations are somewhat strained. Reservations have been made at the above hotel for fifty rooms for the membership of the league but the management advises it will be well for all members to write direct for reservations, stating in their letters that they are member of the NFL."...POST FORFEIT MONEY: "In keeping with a resolution adopted at the annual meeting held in Detroit in February, each club must post in cash or its equivalent, the sum of $1,500 as a guarantee. Any club failing to post this amount will not be placed on the schedule and may forfeit its franchise. It is needless to impress on you that the coming meeting is a very important one, and that matters of vital importance to every club will come before the body for action. Hence every member should arrange to be present without fail.

DICK FLAHERTY TO PLAY WITH PACKER ELEVEN THIS FALL

JUN 18 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Richard T. Flaherty. Spokane, Wash., is the second new Packers to sign his contract for the 1926 football season. Jack McAuliffe, Beloit backfielder, was No. 1. More additions are expected within the next few days. "Fighting Dick" Flaherty played varsity end at Marquette for three years, and it was only the unusual brilliance of one La Verne Dilweg, all-American, who kept the son of Erin from the far west in the background..."PRAISED TO SKIES": Flaherty's teammates praised him to the skies. Bader, Gavin and Gerv Clarke, who have been "footballing" with him at Marquette, claim that it won't take Flaherty long to win a home with the Green Bay army of football fans. No less than a sport authority than George Downer of Milwaukee gave Flaherty quite a boost, remarking that Dick would be a valuable addition to any team in the country. Downer must know what he is talking about because he watched the new Packers for three years at the Milwaukee Hilltop. Flaherty completed his four year course at Marquette but he is going to return to Milwaukee in the fall and put the finishing touches on his medical education. Arrangements, however, have been completed so that he will camp in Green Bay nearly all the fall...SIGNED HIS CONTRACT: The former Marquette star made a flying trip to sign his contract and he is now en route

CHICAGO CARDINALS TO PLAY PACKERS HERE OCTOBER 10

JUL 12 (Philadelphia) - The Green Bay Packers, football champions of Wisconsin since 1917, drew a tough assignment of games at the schedule meeting of the NFL held here over the weekend at the Benjamin Franklin hotel. The league season opens on September 19 and Green Bay will play at home with Jimmy Conzelman's Detroit Tigers as the opposition. Last year, Detroit tied for the league leadership. September 26, the famous Chicago Bears are to make their annual trip to Green Bay....NEVERS WITH DULUTH: Sunday, October 3, the re-organized Duluth team, headed by Ernie Nevers, wonder fullback from the coast, will play in Green Bay. The next weekend, October 10, the Chicago Cardinals are booked to appear in the Wisconsin city. This is the first time that Chris O'Brien's team has ever shown in Packertown. October 17, the Packers play their first game of the Badger state championship series at home with Milwaukee. Racine is back in the pro football league gain and the "Horlicks" are billed for action at the Bay on Sunday October 24. This completes the Packers' at home schedule of league games. There are six in a row. October 31, the Green Bay eleven starts traveling by playing the Cardinals in White Sox park, Chicago. The following weekend, November 7, the Bays perform in Milwaukee and on November 14, the Green Bay eleven exhibits its gridiron skill in Racine...THREE GAME TRIP: Sunday November 21, the Packers open a three game road trip by facing the Bears in Chicago at Cubs' park. Then they jump to Philadelphia for the Thanksgiving Day fracas and, on the homeward trip, stop off in Detroit for a game on Sunday, November 28. The first two Sundays in December, the fifth and twelfth, are held open for league championship games.

PRO LEAGUE MEETING HELD HERE IN 1927

SUCCESSFUL SEASON OF PRO FOOTBALL IS FORECAST

JUY 14 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - "Pro football is going to experience its most successful year and the Packers will have to have their strongest team in history to keep pace among the leaders in the NFL," stated A.B. Turnbill, president of the Green Bay Football corporation on his return from the league meeting in Philadelphia over the last weekend. "An air of optimism prevailed at the meeting," continued Mr. Turnbull, "and it was the prevailing opinion of the managers that pro football in 1926 would boom as it never did before. President Carr checked the situation closely in each city and he reported that every team was financially sound and awaiting the opening whistle."...COMPETITION GETTING STRONGER: "Each year the competition is getting stronger. Gradually, the weaker teams are being eliminated and some stronger spokes added to the wheel. Of the older clubs, Rochester, Minnesota and Rock Island have decided to lay idle this fall. However, Racine and Louisville are back in the fold again while the new additions, Brooklun, New Britain, and Los Angeles, should add considerable strength to our organization. The situation at Duluth has been greatly improved. A group of businessmen are backing the club and they have raised a big purse which paved the way for the hiring of Ernie Never, the Superior boy who gained fame as a footballer in the Pacific coast. Nevers is going to surround himself with an aggregation of all stars. The Duluth club is going to play all of its games on the road and the first stop will be here on October 4. It is unofficially reported that Nevers is to receive $2,500 for his season's work."...RACINE AND MILWAUKEE: "We are glad to have Racine back in the league because it will insure a spirited chase for the Wisconsin championship. Babe Reutz will direct activities at Racine with Milt Romney as field captain. This is a combination which we have learned in the past is difficult to beat. New life has been installed at Milwaukee and Johnny Bryan, former Chicago player, who saw a lot of service with the Bears, will have the team. He is getting together an aggregation, it is said, that will win a lot of games. The slogan at Milwaukee is "Beat Green Bay". The Packers of 1926 will have to be bigger and better than ever before, according to the local football executive and he is counting on the support of every football fan in Green Bay and the immediate vicinity."...FACE STIFFEST COMPETITION: "This season we are facing the stiffest schedule ever arranged for a Packer team," asserted Mr. Turnbull. "There isn't a weak spot on the schedule and right from the opening league game, Captain Lambeau and his players will be forced to meet the best teams in the pro football world. This year's eleven will have to face the toughest kind of competition in order to retain the state championship, finish high in the league race, and take a fall out of the Chicago teams in their own backyards. For years, Green Bay has been most loyal in its support of the Packers. This year we have got to ask the fans to stretch their backing a little bit more, if that is possible. In order to combat the grade of teams that was are called upon to meet this fall, the class of the Big Bay Blues must be improved, somewhat, and this will cost more money."...BEST TEAM IN HISTORY: "The board of directors of the Green Bay Football corporation has voted unanimously to put the best team in the history of the Packers on the field and this is just what the executives are aiming to do. We have arranged a schedule with the best teams in the circuit and our home attractions can't be beat. There isn't a team in the circuit that has a better string of home games than those offered to the fans of Green Bay. Detroit, Bears, Duluth, Cardinals, Milwaukee and Racine are a half dozen corking good squads. Within the next two or three weeks we will have some important announcements for the football fans. Contracts with a half dozen big time footballers are in the making and, with these players in the lineup, the Packer stock should climb high. We completed some important player deals at the league meeting and are now only waiting confirmation from the individuals themselves. If the plans already laid materialize as expected, I feel safe in saying that the Packers of 1926 will be the greatest team that ever represented Green Bay on the pro football field."...RUMORS ABOUT GRANGE: When questioned about the Grange rumors at the Philadelphia meeting, Mr. Turnbull said: "None of the league officials had anything definite about the Grange-Pyle league although it was the general opinion that this league would attempt to start. So far as was known, there were only two clubs set for that circuit. One team was to play in the Yankee stadium in New York and the other in Newark, N.J., with a possibility of a team in Chicago. It was understood that the promoters of this circuit intended holding a meeting in New York this week." According to the Packer executive, Jimmy Conzelman, captain of the Detroit team - and formerly with Milwaukee, paved the way for the 1927 schedule meeting to be held in Green Bay. "When it came time to select a convention city for next July," Mr. Turnbull said. "Conzelman suggested that the league pay honor to one of the best football cities in the country and he named Green Bay. Immediately, I extended an invitation and to my surprise, some of the other cities wanting the gathering, withdrew their bids and the Bay was selected unanimously..."INCREASE OUR PRESTIGE: "This gathering will bring delegates from Los Angeles, Louisville, Brooklyn, Providence, New York and all the other cities in the league. It certainly will tend to increase our prestige as a football community." Mr. Turnbull announced that when Captain Lambeau and himself returned from the league meeting, they stopped off in Chicago long enough to get George Abramson's name to a contract for the 1926 season. "Mr. Abramson is doing pretty good in the real estate business in Chicago," Mr. Turnbull said. "But he wants to play some more football and, according to his own expression, he knows no better place than Green Bay. It didn't take us long to come to terms. Abramson is a great guard and there were a number of clubs in the loop that wanted to make deals for him."

MOOSE GARDNER TO PLAY WITH PACKERS ELEVEN THIS FALL

JUL 15 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Moose Gardner, veteran guard on the Packer eleven, will be among those present again when the Big Bay Blues start chasing the "cowhide" again this fall. The husky lineman drove down from Ashland, Wis., where he has an automobile agency, and put his name on the dotted line. The army of Packer followers have always been strong for Gardner. Moose likes to play football and he is always giving his best at all times. Gardner is steady as a clock but every once in a while breaks into the limelight. He did this last fall in the Bear game here when he blocked Hanney's punt and fell on it behind the goal line for a touchdown. Moose has played a lot of football. He saw four years of the game at Ashland high. Then he went to Wisconsin where he played one year of freshman and three seasons of varsity football. After graduating from the "U", he entered pro ball and performed for the Detroit and Buffalo teams, before joining the Packers four years ago. Gardner is the fourth 1936 Packer to sign his contract. The others being Flaherty, McAuliffe and Abramson. This is the "open season" for contract signing and a number of important announcements will be forthcoming in the immediate future, according to officials of the Green Bay Football corporation. 

CYRE, PACIFIC COAST STAR, JOINS PACKERS

JUL 17 (Green Bay) - Hector Cyre, three year varsity footballer at Gonzaga U, Spokane, Wash., will play left tackle for the Green Bay Packers this season. The signed contract of the Pacific coast star was received Friday. Early in the spring when it became known that Cub Buck was sort of figuring on a coaching job in Florida, the Packer management opened negotiations with Cyre, who was placed on the Associated Press third All American team, with such stars as Edwards of Michigan, Hutchinson of Nebraska and Mahan of West Virginia. According to reports Hutchinson is going to play with the Milwaukee Badgers; Edwards will be with Detroit and Mahan has signed a contract with the Philadelphia Yellowjackets...PLAYED WITH STOCKTON: Cyre was a teammate for two years of Andy Stockton, famous Gonzaga star, who burned up the gridiron last season with Guy Chamberlain's Quaker City team. Chamberlain wanted Cyre in the worst way but the big tackle decided to cast his lot with the Bays instead of going farther east. The new Packer tips the beam at about 210 pounds and is over six feet in height. Aside from football, Cyre is a track star and, like Ed Weir, the well known Nebraskan, he specializes inn the hurdle events. Cyre has been running logs in a lumber camp outside of Spokane, since college closed and he should be "hard as nails" when he reports here for practice with the Packers on September 5...PICKED BY GLENN WARNER: Aside from his All American mention by the Associated Press, Cyre was selected on the All-Washington for three years and Glenn Warner, noted football authority, has picked him twice on the All-Pacific selection. Cyre placed for two years under Gus Dorais, who coached at Gonzaga before he accepted the football mentor's job at Detroit last fall. Dorais is a former Notre Dame star and he knows a football player when he sees one. When negotiations were opened with Cyre, he named Dorais as one of his references in the football line. Captain Lambeau of the Packers, who knows Dorais personally, dropped the Detroit coach a line to get some facts on Cyre. In his reply to the Packer captain, Dorais gave Cyre a "100 percent' recommendation and closed by

the cleats again...CHAMBERLAIN WANTED THEM: During the pro league meeting in Philadelphia, Guy Chamberlain, manager of the Yellowjackets, in discussing new players this season, made a remark which caused the Packer representatives to step lively. Chamberlain said that he hoped to sign the best pair of tackles in the northwest, mentioning the names of Cyre and Cahoon as the gridders he was after. But Chamberlain's hopes have gone up in smoke as both their contracts are tucked away in the Packers' safety deposit box. The honor lists in Spalding's football guides of 1924 and 1925 include the name of Ivan Cahoon, Gonzaga. The late Andy Smith, California coach, put Cahoon on his Pacific coast team and the sport writers of Spokane were unanimous in naming Cahoon on their all-Washington teams two years in a row....PRAISED BY DORAIS: Football was not Cahoon's only sport specialty as he played standing guard on Gonzaga's basketball squad and was a member of the track team as a weight thrower. When Gus Dorais, the former Gonzaga coach, answered Captain Lambeau's query about Cyre, he added a postscript saying "there was another big tackle out there in the West" named Cahoon, who was every bit as good as the player the Packers were after. Aside from Cahoon, the other players who have signed 1926 Packer contracts are: Cyre, Flaherty, Gardner, Abramson, MacAuliffe and Lewellen. The Packer management hopes to make several other important announcements about players next week.

EDDIE KOTAL SIGNS FOOTBALL CONTRACT WITH BAY PACKERS

JUL 30 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Eddie Kotal, who made his pro football debut with the Packers towards the close of last season, has signed his contract to perform with the Big Bay Blues this fall. Great things are expected of the former Lawrence flash if he uncorks the class of play that he did for Green Bay during the final lap of the 1925 schedule. Kotal had an excellent athletic record in college. He is a Chicago product, where he played high school football for three years. Eddie first entered Illinois. When he reported for frosh football practice at the Sucker institution, he was placed at the opposite halfback to Red Grange...SWITCHED TO LAWRENCE: However, Kotal had a change of heart. He left Illinois and entered Lawrence college where he immediately bobbed into the sport limelight. According to Marc Catlin, Lawrence football mentor, Kotal was one of the greatest backfielders he ever had under tow. Kotal entered the Packer roost several days before the Cardinal game last fall. The following week, he broke into the lineup against Dayton and gave a good account of himself. It was on the eastern trip that Eddie made a name for himself as a pro gridder. With the Packer backfield crippled, Eddie stepped into action against Pottsville and did a man sized job. As a matter of fact he played so brilliantly that the coal miners in the Pennsylvania hamlet thought Kotal was Jimmy Crowley...RAN FOR TOUCHDOWN: Kotal did everything that was asked of him against the Philadelphia Yellowjackets and several of the Philadelphia papers commented on the "headguard-less" youngster who ran wild for the Packers. Kotal got into the headlines during the Providence game. In the third quarter with the Packers trailing, Kotal grabbed a pass out of Fritz Pollard's hands and dashed down the field for a touchdown. Pollard and Cy Wentworth, two of the fastest men in pro football, chased Eddie but he sprinted away from both of them. Eddie is the eighth Packer to sign his contract for 1926 as Lewellen, Abramson, Gardner, McAuliffe, Cyre and Cahoon are already in the fold. Within the next week, there will be plenty of good news for the gridiron, according to officials of the football corporation.

SWEDE LIDBERG, MINNESOTA, JOINS PACKERS

JUL 31 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Swede Lidberg, ranked as one of the greatest fullbacks that ever stepped on a Western Conference field, will do his gridiron stuff for the Packers this fall. The three-year varsity footballer at Minnesota finally came to terms with the Green Bay management after several months of negotiations. Green Bay was after Lidberg in June 1925 when he completed his course in the Forestry school at the University of Minnesota but the big footballer wanted to take a P.G. course in wood cutting and, instead, served as one of the big field coaches at the Gopher U, while adding the finishing touches to his forestry courses...HOW IT STARTED: After last year's football season was completed, George Abramson paid a visit to his alma mater and, on seeing Lidberg, started singing the "Green Bay song" again. Abramson dropped a line to the local football officials saying that he thought Lidberg might be interested. This paved the way for the All Western fullback to come here and, according to Abramson who played beside the Swede for three years, there won't be a better fullback on the pro gridiron. Last year when George Little was in Green Bay, he was asked his opinion on Western Conference fullbacks and the Badger coach replied without a minute's hesitation: "I think Lidberg of Minnesota was one of the greatest fullbacks that ever played on a Big Ten team. When it came to line crashing, he was in a class by himself."...HALL SINGS HIS PRAISES: Halsey Hall, sport editor of the St. Paul Pioneer Press, who has officiated in pro league games here for several years, claims Lidberg was Minnesota's best fullback. One Sunday evening, after a game here last fall, Hall was speaking of football players and he remarked that if Swede Lidberg could be induced to play pro football, he would be a sensation on the postgraduate grid. Lidberg will tip the beam pretty close to 200 pounds and he is nearly six feet tall. He has a lot of drive in his legs which he brings into good use when it comes to pounding through for needed gains. Lidberg is a savage tackler and there is nothing he likes better than to back up a  line...DUMPED RED GRANGE: Red Grange, the Wheaton Ice-man, knows how hard Lidberg dumps 'em. In the 1924 Illinois-Minnesota game, Pyle's present day "money ticket" hit the dust with a terrible thud. George Abramson, who is a Packer guard, was playing the same position for Minnesota. Abramson chased the "Phantom gridder" towards the sidelines and Lidberg, tearing in from nowhere, smacked Grange down. The Redhead didn't get up for a while. Newspapers throughout the country made considerable of the "dumping of Grange" and up around the Minnesota campus, the Swede was in a select hero class. Ever since the Packers have been playing big time football, they have needed a line plunging fullback who could get a couple when they were needed. Officials of the Football corporation feel confident that Lidberg will fill the bill to a nicety because on advance notices he is one of the greatest players that ever signed a Packer contract. Lidberg is the ninth member of the '26 Packers to be under contract. The others are Kotal, Lewellen, McAuliffe, Gardner, Cyre, Cahoon, Abramson and Flaherty. It is safe to say that within two weeks, the family of the Big Bay Blues will be rounded out nicely and, in the meantime, several other good football stories will be breaking here.

BASING, VETERAN BAY BACKFIELDER, SIGNS UP FOR 1926 SEASON

AUG 2 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Myrt (Biff) Basing, Packer backfielder for three years, has come to terms with the Green Bay management and he will again chase the cowhide over the chalk marked field for the Badger state champions. Back in 1923 one M.L. Basing got his sheepskin at Lawrence college where he starred for four years in football and basketball, and two months later turned down a coaching job and signed with the Packers. During his last two years in college, Basing was coached by Cub Buck, who was doubling as football mentor at Lawrence and left tackle for the Packers. Buck claimed "Bas" would go good in pro football and his prediction was fulfilled...HAS IMPROVED HIS GAME: Basing came through nicely for a beginner in the first year and each season has seen him improve his game. Last fall, he was one of the Packer stars. Basing especially enjoys "Bear Meat" and he always turns into a bang up game against the Bruins from the Windy City. In the 1925 game here, Basing was the most consistent ground gainer on the Bay squad as he punctured the Chicago line for plenty of yardage. The former Lawrence star is a first class blocker and a first class receiver of forward passes. His defensive play has improved a lot in the past two years. This should be Basing's greatest season on the gridiron and Captain Lambeau is counting on him for some splendid performances. Basing would rather play football than eat and when it comes to team spirit, there isn't a better example on the Green Bay eleven...TENTH PLAYER TO SIGN: The veteran backfielder is the tenth link in the Packer football chain, as the following other players have already signed contracts: Abramson and Gardner, guards; Cyre and Cahoon, tackles; Flaherty, end; McAuliffe, Lewellen, Kotal and Lidberg, backs. Negotiations for the opening game, a non-league affair, on Sunday, September 12, have just 

PACKERS OPEN SEASON WITH IRON MOUNTAIN SEPTEMBER 12

AUG 6 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Iron Mountain will face the Packers here in the opening game of the football season on Sunday, September 12, at the City Stadium. President Joe Carr of the NFL has sanctioned the contest with Iron Mountain. It is the only non-league game on the Green Bay schedule. As in past years, the Big Bay Blues have always opened with a team from up north. In 1923, Hibbing played here. Ironwood was the opener in 1924 and last season Iron Mountain assisted in lifting the lid on the gridiron schedule...HAVE COLLEGE PLAYERS: Ever since last fall, the football backers in the Upper Michigan city have been looking for revenge and early this spring they opened negotiations for the encounter. It is understood that Mountaineers are going to have a real football machine this fall. A number of former college players are working at the Ford plant near Iron Mountain and they are going to be drafted into service on the gridiron. Iron Mountain is one of the best football towns in Upper Michigan and already the fans are beginning to lay plans for their Green Bay pilgrimage. Last year, the Mountaineer rooters made a big hit with the crowd and their so-called jazz band, etc. did a whole lot to pep up the game. Closing of the contest with Iron Mountain has rounded out the Packers' schedule with the exception of several dates in December which are held open for league championship games. If the Big Bay Blues are up there, they will probably have to engage in several intersectional tilts.SEVEN GAMES AT HOME: There will be seven contests on the home lot this season and the Packers have never played to a tougher schedule in their  own backyard. Following the Iron Mountain game, Detroit comes here on September 19 and the Chicago Bears make their annual invasion one week later, September 26. The first Sunday in October, the third, sees Ernie Nevers' Duluth Eskimos performing at the City stadium, and the following Sunday, October 10, the Chicago Cardinals will make their first pro football visit to Green Bay. The Packers' first game of the Badger state championship series is scheduled here October 17 with Milwaukee and then comes Racine, another contender for the Wisconsin pro title on October 24. After the Racine game, the Big Bay Blues hit the road for the remainder of the season. Notices will be sent out to the Packer players within the next two weeks ordering them to report here for practice Sunday September 5. This will give Captain Lambeau a week to whip his team in shape for the Iron Mountain encounter. To date, eleven of the 1926 Packers have singed their contracts and it is expected that several other players will be within the fold inside of a week or two. Negotiations with three newcomers are still in the making.

DICK O'DONNELL HAS SIGNED CONTRACT TO PLAY FOOTBALL HERE

AUG 12 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Dick O'Donnell will start his third season with the Packers next month as

he has signed his contract to chase the cowhide for the Big Bay Blues on Wednesday. O'Donnell has a raft of friends in this city and the football followers will surely welcome his return to the fold because he has always been a consistent performer on the gridiron for Green Bay. O'Donnell came here from Duluth in 1924 and it didn't take him long to win a regular job on the eleven. Last season, Dick played a bang up game all the way despite the fact that in the closing games he was carrying enough injuries to put the average player on the bench...VETERAN ON GRIDIRON: The Packer veteran has seen plenty of service on the gridiron. He played four years at Duluth Central high and then performed with the Minnesota veteran for one season. Following this, he was with the Duluth pro team for three years before coming to Green Bay. There isn't a better defensive wingman in the pro league than O'Donnell. He is a deadly tackler in the open field. Last season, Dick dumped Red Dunn so hard in the Cardinal game that the former Marquette star was still talking about it when he came here for a basketball contest during the winter. To date, the Packers have twelve men all set for the 1926 season.

CHARLIE MATHYS TO AGAIN PERFORM FOR GREEN BAY PACKERS

AUG 14 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Charlie Mathys will again do his stuff for the Packers. The quarterback came to terms with the management on Friday. Aside from Captain Lambeau, Mathys is the only Green Bay High school graduate on the Big Bay Blues. Some years back when West was mopping up everything in sight Charlie started his football career. He played several years for the purple and white and then entered Ripon. Mathys stayed there for a year and made his letter in football. He switched over to Indiana and saw two years of service on the conference gridiron...PLAYED WITH INDIANA: After graduation from the Hoosier institution, Mathys played one season with Hammond and he joined the Packers in 1922. He has been here ever since. Charlie has been a member of the Packer squad longer than any player except Captain Lambeau. Charlie has taken more than his share of banging for the Big Bay Blues and, until last year, when injuries laid him on the shelf a bit, he hardly lost a minute of action. The veteran will have easier going this year as McAuliffe and possibly Kotal are to be worked in at the quarterback's job. This will enable Charlie to catch his breath after being tossed about on the football sea...IS STEADY FOOTBALLER: Mathys is a steady footballer and he knows the ins and outs of the pro game like a book. He is a mighty handy receiver of the forward pass and it wasn't so long ago that the Lambeau-Mathys combination used to run their opponents ragged.

Packers' "early arrivals" are expected in here today or tomorrow. Cahoon and Cyre are already on their way from the Pacific coast; Lidberg is driving down from Minneapolis while Rex Enright will leave Rockford for the Bay on Friday. Flaherty and Neacy come up from Milwaukee on Saturday while Rosatti is scheduled to get in here Sunday morning. Moose Gardner and George Abramson, two of the veterans, haven't been heard from in the last week but it is a certainty that they will be here on time. Dilcher, who is coming from Weehawken, N.J., is slated to get in on Monday. Sunday afternoon's practice will start about 2 o'clock and the players will do their cowhide chasing at Joannes park.

FOOTBALL DIRECTORS PLAN TO SPEED BOX AND RESERVE SEAT SEASON TICKET SALES

SEPTEMBER 3 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Directors of the Green Bay Football corporation met Thursday evening at the Press Gazette and the financial side of the Packer 1926 football season was discussed. Reports from the season box and reserved ticket solicitors were filed and it showed that business was about normal although there are still many choice reservations to be disposed of. Members of the finance committee intend to speed up their efforts within the next week and it is hoped to go "over the top" of last year's preseason ticket sale...URGE SUPPORT OF FANS: Speaking of the football corporation, a member of the board of directors said: "We urge the football fans to go the limit this year in supporting the Packers. Early this spring, we made a plea for 'better than ever' backing and we are repeating the appeal. We are trying to personally solicit every football fan in Green Bay but, of course, it is difficult to reach every one so we are counting on volunteers to help swell the nest egg which enables the club to go through the season sound as a dollar financially."...TEAM EXPENSE HIGHER: "We are not asking for out and out donations but instead we want to bring our season ticket sale up to the highest point in the history of the corporation. This year the Packers are going to carry eighteen instead of sixteen players and this means a considerable increase in our expenses for the season. Competition this year is going to be keener than ever and we have tried to keep pace with other clubs who have greatly boosted their strength. And it is well to remember that like anything else, good football players cost plenty of money."...GENERAL ADMISSION $1.00: The price for season box seats is $25 and the cost of season reserved seats is $15. The general admission will be as usual, $1.00, and the management intends to set up some additional bleachers. All the season reserved seats will be Sections F and G, located on the south side of the field between the 40 and 50 yard lines. Seats in these two sections, which are not taken by season ticket holders, will be sold to the public at $2 per game. All the other reserved seats will be at the usual price, $1.00. Subscribers of season box and reserved seats can secure their tickets by calling at the Press-Gazette any evening next week between seven and nine o'clock on presentation of their receipted subscription blank. Those desiring season tickets and, who have not been called on, can purchase some at the Press-Gazette. It is the aim of the management to offer seat holders of last year the choice reservations and these tickets, which have been set aside even though not ordered, will be held until Friday, at least...PLACES SELLING TICKETS: The public sale of tickets for the Iron Mountain game will be open on Tuesday. The following places will handle the sale of Packer tickets this season: Schweger drug store, Broadway hotel, Newport Billiard parlots, Beaumont hotel, Congress, Goodfellows, Empire Drug store, Coffeens, Bunkers, Bosse's news depot, Gilles, North Side Community club.

PURDY REPORTS TO WHITE SOX MONDAY

SEPTEMBER 3 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Pid Purdy, backfield sensation, will not be on hand for the opening workouts of the Packers. Instead of reporting here, he joins the Chicago White Sox of the American League. Purdy, who starred in the Western league with Lincoln as an outfielder. was recently purchased by the White Sox and ordered to report immediately. This will delay his arrival here until about October 1, it is understood.

PACKER SQUAD BEGINS PRACTICE SUNDAY

SEPTEMBER 4 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - The Packers start their 1926 football campaign at the City stadium Sunday afternoon. Reporting orders, which were mailed to every man on the squad, asked them to be on hand not later than 1:30. It is expected that Captain Lambeau will have nearly two complete team in uniform. Bud Jorgenson, the property man, had been matching up the equipment for a week so that the togs will be all ready for the players to hop into without delay. Pete Biemert has the lockers in readiness for the season and Jake Miller has been doing some fussing around on the playing field. The gridiron is in a hundred percent better playing condition that last year...ONLY TWO MISSING: So far as is known the only two players will be missing when the bugle blows are Purdy and Dilcher. Purdy instead of reporting here went to Chicago to play with the White Sox. It will probably be the last of the month before he checks in with the Packer squad. Dillcher is on his way from Weehawken, N.J., and should arrive Monday morning. The practice schedule for 

good wingman. He saw some service at an end position during the eastern trip and did everything that was asked of him and a little bit more besides. For over three months the Packers have been on the trail of Jack Murray, a big six foot end, who was the sensation of the Minnesota conference with St. Thomas. The Bay management has finally got set with Murray but it is doubtful if he will be able to report here before October 1 as he is employed on a construction job near Superior. If Murray half lives up advance notices, he will be a whiz. He tips the beam at 200 pounds yet can step the hundred in about 11 flat. Murray is a basketball player and naturally this makes him a superb receiver of the forward pass.

the Green Bay Packers and Iron Mountain. The kickoff is at 2 o'clock sharp. Indications points to a good sized turnout as a brisk ticket sale has been reported about town. The demand for season reserved and box seats has been better than usual although there are still a number of choice reservations still available. The season tickets can be secured at The Press-Gazette tonight or Saturday evening from 7 to 9 o'clock...GETTING STADIUM IN SHAPE: A crew of men is busily engaged in putting the City stadium in shape for the game. The bleachers are being set up and will be in readiness for the opening encounter. The grounds are being cleaned up, ticket windows looked over and the gridiron smoothed down. Jake Miller and his corps of assistants are going to touch up the playing field so that it will be fast. The layout of the park is the same as last year. The entrances and exits remained unchanged and the Knot Hole gang will continue to do business at the north end of the field. Experienced ushers and gatemen will again be on the job. As usual, the doors of the park will be opened about 12:15...BAND OFFERS SERVICES: The American Legion band has offered their services and the musicians will be parked in the north stands. The American Legion will be a company of veterans on the job to see the city policemen in handling the crowds at the park. The motorcycle cops will handle the traffic after the game.  Tickets will be on sale at the usual places about town until about 8:30 Saturday evening. A downtown ticket office will

be opened in the Empire Drug store Sunday morning and it will also be possible to purchase reserved seats at the park after 10 a.m....BUCK WILL REFEREE: Howard (Cub) Buck will referee the game while Icky Erdlitz is to umpire. Last season, Buck was playing as a member of the Packers while Erdlitz served as coach of the Iron Mountain team. Murph White will be the linesman.

PRO FOOTBALL GOSSIP

SEPT 10 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - A week from Sunday, the National pro league opens its 1926 schedule with a trio of contests. The Chicago Bears will invade Milwaukee; Columbus is slated to face the Chicago Cardinals while Detroit performs in Green Bay...The Milwaukee and Green Bay teams are billed for games this Sunday against non-league aggregations. Green Bay will rub noses with Iron Mountain, Mich., while the Brewers also tackle an outfit from the Wolverine state...Ernie Nevers, who will be the big ace of the Duluth Eskimos this season, is going to spend a couple of weeks getting in shape for the gridiron roughing by working as a stevedore on the docks at the head of the lakes...The Buffalo club in the pro wheels is to be known as the Cowboys this fall. Kendricks, who is to come as field captain, hails from Texas and his club is to be composed entirely of southwestern collegiate products...Guy Chamberlain, boss of the Philadelphia Yellowjackets, is already laying claim to one of the best lines in the country. He has the best of his veterans back besides Mahan and Davis, West Virginia stars in 1925...Plummer, a Missouri valley product who played brilliantly with the Cardinals last fall until put on the shelf with an injury, was the first member of Chris O'Brien's 1926 to put his John Hancock on the dotted line...New York is looking for another big year of postgraduate football. Tim Mara and his associates along Broadway expect to pack the Polo Grounds for a number of the games. The Giants will have a first class machine again...In Edwards and Sonnenberg, Detroit should have as good a pair of pro tackles as there is in the pro wheel. Sonnenberg has been a star for several seasons while Edwards was one of the best in the Big Ten last fall...Dutch Sternaman and George Halas, co-bosses of the Chicago Bears, have not been saying much for publicity about the Bruins but it is known that the majority of last year's great eleven will again be back in the moleskins...Aaron Oliker, rated as one of West Virginia's greatest ends, is to appear in the Pottsville uniform this season. Doc Streigle, who manages the Maroons, had to stretch a point to beat some other clubs to the Mountaineer...In Rex Enright and Swede Lidberg, the Green Bay Packers have two corking good fullbacks. Enright was a Notre Dame All Western backfielder in 1924. Lidberg was picked by all critics for the All Conference team...Walter McIllwain, assistant coach at Illinois in 1925, is to perform with Racine this fall. Mac starred with the Suckers in 1923 and '24 when Red Grange wrote football history all over the middle west gridirons..Hartford, Conn., expects to cut quite a figure in pro football. The Nutmeg state city is a great pro football center and the Blues' management is going the limit to line up a team that will place among the leaders..There will be two tourist elevens in Joe Carr's loop this fall. The Los Angeles club, headed by Brick Mueller, will travel until December when they go back home for some games. Duluth will be abroad for ten contests...Red Bryan, who has seen several years of service for the Chicago Bears, is running the club in Milwaukee. Bryan is rounding up a good machine. He has Slater of Washington state at full and Ashmore, Gonzaga, at tackle...The Brooklyn club was hot on the heels of Notre Dame's Four Horsemen but coaching jobs held by Layden and Crowley prevented the deal from going through. Both Stuhldreher and Don Miller are all set to do their stuff...Jimmy Conzelman is trying to kill two birds with one stone in the early part of the season. He is taking his club on a training trip into Wisconsin and playing two league clubs in the Badger state at the same time...Howard (Cub) Buck, former Wisconsin All-American tackle, has forsaken active competition on the pro grid this fall. Buck has accepted a coaching job and leaves the last of the month to build at Miami university...Bill Harley, brother of the famous Chick, is rounding up a healthy aggregation of gridders with which he hopes to put Louisville back on the football map. Harley has fourteen ex-collegians under contract...The Providence Steam Rollers have a couple of tough games first up on their schedule. September 26, Brooklyn is scheduled to perform in the Rhode Island town and a week later New York blows in for a skirmish on the gridiron...Chris O'Brien isn't going to keep his Cardinals in their own backyards this season all the time as has been his custom in the past. The Cards have out of town games booked with Milwaukee, Green Bay and the New York Giants...Andrews & Co., from Kansas City, should furnish some keen competition on the gridiron as the Kaws have rounded up some of the best players from the Mississippi valley conference and Pacific coast collegiate elevens.

Packers. Jab Murray, Wally Neimann and Hearden, former Green Bay players, are with the invaders and they can be counted on to make things hot for the Big Bay Blues. Spectators who attend Sunday's game will see Cub Buck in a new role. The Packers' big lineman for the past five years is to referee the game instead of tasting the dirt. Buck leaves for the south in two weeks where he will coach Miami university. Icky Erdlitz, who coached Iron Mountain last season, will umpire while Murph White will be the head linesman...LEGION BAND TO PLAY: Packer management has done its best to set the stage perfectly for tomorrow's game. The City stadium has been fixed up nicely and the gridiron is in 75 percent better shape than last season. The American Legion band will be out in full force at tomorrow's game. There is no change in the seating arrangements and the entrances and exits are the same as last year. The usual police protection will again be on deck and every effort will be made to handle the crowd with as least confusion as possible. The gates at the park swing back about 12:15. A reserved seat ticket window will be opened at the park at 10 a.m., and seats also will be sold at the Empire Drug Store Sunday morning. Tickets on sale at the other places about town will be picked up by 9 p.m. Saturday night.

THE PACKERS

SEPT 11 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Tomorrow the Packers will open the professional football season in Green Bay with Iron Mountain as the opponent in a non-league contest. The NFL season officially opens on September 18 and on that date Green Bay will play Detroit, last year's champions. Prospects are bright for a successful season here. The management has spared no expense in strengthening the team and feels confident that this year's squad will be the greatest that ever wore a Green Bay uniform. Other teams in the professional league have been strengthened and the Packers had to do likewise if they expected to win any games this season, even though it meant additional overhead expenses. Green Bay is not sentimental where its football team is concerned; it wants a winner, not a loser, and refuses to extend its support to a mediocre aggregation. The Packer management has found this out through experience and is determined to leave no stone unturned to give Green Bay a team of which it may feel proud, and one that can be depended upon to never give up until the last whistle has blown. The Packers have the means of getting much good publicity for Green Bay. They have played in nearly every city of any consequence in the middle West and have made a favorable impression, both for he team and the town. Green Bay, because of its great football teams in the past, is perhaps better known throughout the middle West, and East, than any other Wisconsin city, with the exception of Milwaukee. In addition to this, the team brings thousands of Northeastern and Upper Michigan fans here every season, and they spend a not inconsiderable sum of money in our business establishments, all of which makes the Packers a real asset and worth their cost. The Packer management had issued an appeal to the public for its wholehearted support this year. They should have it. Anyone is sure of his money's worth at these games for the teams that play here are as good, if not better, than the average college eleven. Furthermore, if the team is to be made a financial success, it must have good attendance at the games, even more so this season than last, for expenses are considerably  higher due to the fact that several outstanding former college and university stars have been signed up in an effort to keep the Packers right up there in the top positions in the percentage column. None of the officers or directors of the football corporation receives a penny in salaries; they are giving their time and services, because they are football enthusiasts, want to see Green Bay hold its own on the gridiron, and believe the sport is a wholesome and valuable asset to the city. If the public extends its full support, these men will feel that they have been repaid for their efforts in looking after the affairs of the Packers, and in trying to give Green Bay the best brand of football obtainable.

FOOTBALL PLAYERS TO START PRACTICE THURSDAY MORNING

AUG 18 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - The thud of the pigskin will be heard Thursday morning at Joannes park as Captain Lambeau and a number of the Packers will start kicking the horsehide around in preparation for the coming season of the gridiron. It is the intention of the Packer captain to continue this unofficial practice season until September 5 when the regular grind gets underway. At that time, all players under contract to the Big Bay Blues will be on hand. For the present only the local Packers and some of the college gridders will be out for drill. Basing and Kotal, two of the Packer backfielders from Appleton, will be down at least twice a week for the workouts. Reporting orders to the Packer players will be mailed out this week and it is expected that several of the gridders will arrive here a few days before the scheduled time. If this is the case, they will immediately get in togs, and participate in the preliminary practice. Captain Lambeau figures that these early drills will enable his team to steal a lap on some of the other clubs in the pro wheel. Reports have it that the other two contenders for the state championship, Racine and Milwaukee, are going to get started ahead of time but at that they will be whole lot behind the Big Bay Blues in the preliminary drills.

ROSE, RIPON CENTER, SIGNS HIS CONTRACT WITH PACKER SQUAD

AUG 19 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Bob Rose, varsity center at Ripon for three years, has signed his Packer football contract and will report with the gang when regular practice gets underway on September 5. Rose comes here highly recommended as a footballer and last season was recognized as one of the best snapper backs in the Little Five. Doehling, the Ripon coach, was loud in praising of Rose's work, saying that the new Packer was the most consistent passer he had ever coached. Last season when Marty Norton was acting assistant coach at Ripon, he told the Packer officials that Rose had all the earmarks of a real football player...ALL AROUND ATHLETE: Rose is connected with a hardware concern at Bonduel. He is a graduate of Shawano high where he played four years of scholastic football. Rose is something of an all around athlete. He played varsity basketball at Ripon and now is pitching for Bonduel in a Wisconsin valley wheel. The former Ripon star will tip the beam at about 180 pounds when in playing condition. Rose is the fourteenth Packer to sign a 1926 contract.

WALTER JEAN SIGNS FOOTBALL CONTRACT WITH PACKER SQUAD

AUG 21 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Walter Jean, who saw service last season with the Packers at guard and tackle, will again be in the Green Bay moleskins when Captain Lambeau puts his huskies to work on September 5. Jean signed his contract on Friday. The Packer lineman is a veteran on the gridiron and he had a lot of pro action before joining the Bays last season. He came here from Milwaukee and, previous to his year in the Cream City, had been with Akron for two seasons. Jean is another one of the Packers who came here for football and then liked the Bay so well that he made his home here the year round. After graduation from college, Jean coached several schools in the Ohio conference before taking up the pro game. He performs well either at tackle or guard and, in a pinch, can step into the snapperback's job...WENT GOOD AGAINST CARDS: Jean turned in his best game for the Bays last season against the Cardinals. When he started action against Chris O'Brien's crew, he caused them plenty of trouble. He also earned his salt on the eastern trip. Guy Chamberlain of the Yellowjackets borrowed Jean for the Chicago Bears' fray in Philadelphia and he went the whole route against the Bruins. Several of the Quakertown papers commented on his good work. The Packers now have fifteen players under contract.

DILWEG, MARQUETTE CRACK, TO PLAY FOR MILWAUKEE BADGERS

AUG 21 (Milwaukee) - The most important move to solidly establish and popularize professional football since its inception here a few years ago was made yesterday in the announcement that La Verne (Lavvie) Dilweg had been signed by Johnny Bryant to play with the Milwaukee Badgers this fall. Dilweg's decision to sign with the local pro gridders came as no surprise, as it was known that he desired to play in the city, but a lucrative contract offered by the Green Bay Packers almost won its point. For three years Dilweg has been a great star at Marquette university and in the last two seasons has been picked by several leading football critics as an All-American end. He undoubtedly is one of the greatest wingmen of the last decade, smart, courageous and dependable upon the defense, and a constant threat on the offense...RECOGNITION COMES LATE: Due to the lack of big time competition while at the Hilltop, Dilweg secured but little of the prominence rightfully due him until the celebrated east-west all-star game on the coast last Christmas, when he astounded a section abounding with football stars with the greatest exhibition of end play seen west of the Rockies. He was credited with having outplayed the great Brick Muller defensively, and had Dilweg's eleven boasted a better running and aerial attack, it is conceivable that he would has shaded Mueller in that department as well. Lavvie came out of the game hailed as "the end without a fault", and while the acclaim was a bit tardy it was none the less worthy. His decision to play locally is certain to stimulate interest in the paid pigskin profession here, which has suffered no little harm with haphazard promotion and management. As a drawing card, Dilweg will probably succeed where no other would and will help the new owners to step off on the right foot financially...OTHER HILLTOPPERS SIGN: The Badgers are now practically ready for the long grind with most of the candidates signed and in three weeks the first practice will be held. Besides Dilweg there will be several other former Marquette stars, Frank (Ox) Lane, a tackle, and Clarke Fischer, a halfback. Red Bryant will also play in the backfield in addition to coaching and managing the team. The terms of Dilweg's contract with the Badgers is not known but must read in large figures, the Packer having offered, it is understood, the largest sum ever dangled under the nose of a pro

​PACKERS GRID TOGS PUT AWAY FOR ANOTHER SEASON

DEC 21 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - "Well, Jorgey, get the togs cleaned up, check over all the equipment and pack it way in the trunks." These orders from Capt. Lambeau of the Packers to Bud Jorgenson, the property man, officially closed the Big Bay Blues' 1926 football season. And what a season it was. Tackling the heaviest schedule of any team in the National league, the Bays emerged in a blaze of glory as they won seven games, tied three and lost three. Aside from this, Green Bay piled up a mountain high score against Iron Mountain in a non-league opener...BAYS GREATEST TEAM: There is no doubt but that the Packers of 1926 was the greatest football eleven that Green Bay ever placed on the field. And this is saying a lot because ever since 1918 the Bay has been turning out teams that ranked high in the football world. The Bays got more than their share of tough breaks this past fall but they carried on with a fighting spirit that couldn't be beaten down. Just before the opening game, Dilcher, who was figured on to hold a line berth, decided not to play pro football even after he had got to Chicago en route here...LOSS OF ABRAMSON: Then in the first play of the opening game against Iron Mountain, George Abramson, as good a guard as there was in the league, injured his knee so badly that he was out of the game all fall. The injury jinx camped tight on the Packers' tail all the way and in some of the games there were at least three or four players on the hospital list. Dame Fortune didn't smile any too brightly on the Packers. Costly fumbles in the closing minutes of the second game with the Bears and the tilt in Philadelphia turned victories into defeats. If the Bays had won these contests, they would have been mighty close to the top of the heap. As it was, they finished in fifth place, which is a remarkable showing considering