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Rock Island Independents
The Rock Island Independents were a professional American football team, based in Rock Island, Illinois, from 1907 to 1926. The Independents were a founding National Football League franchise. They hosted what has been retrospectively designated the first National Football League game on September 26, 1920, at Douglas Park. The Independents were founded in 1907 by Demetrius Clements as an independent football club. Hence, the team was named the "Independents."
In 1926, the Independents left the NFL to become a charter member of the first American Football League, the only NFL team to do so. The Independents then folded along with the entire league in 1927.
Pro Football Hall of Fame alumni Jimmy Conzelman (1920–1921), Joe Guyon (1924), Ed Healey (1920–1922), Duke Slater (1922–1926), and Jim Thorpe (1924–1925) played for the Independents.
A second, unrelated, "Rock Island Independents" played at the Northwest Football League in 1936.
One of the first professional football teams, the Independents were founded in Rock Island, Illinois, in 1907 by Demetrius Clements as an independent football club. The independent team had no athletic club affiliation, no social club ties and no corporate company backing or sponsorship. As a result, the team was named the "Independents."
The Independents played in Douglas Park (1907–1925) and Browning Field (1926). The 1910 team went undefeated and were not scored on in five games. A year of hiatus seems to have followed.
The team reorganized in 1912, seeking to compete with the neighboring community of Moline on the gridiron. Many of the players from the 1910 team reunited in that year and, under Coach John Roche, the team won eight games without giving up a score.
Walter Flanigan was the owner of the Independents 1915 to 1923. Dale Johnson then owned the team from 1924 until it folded, along with the rest of the American Football League in 1926.
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Rock Island Independents
The Rock Island Independents were a professional American football team, based in Rock Island, Illinois, from 1907 to 1926. The Independents were a founding National Football League franchise. They hosted what has been retrospectively designated the first National Football League game on September 26, 1920, at Douglas Park. The Independents were founded in 1907 by Demetrius Clements as an independent football club. Hence, the team was named the "Independents."
In 1926, the Independents left the NFL to become a charter member of the first American Football League, the only NFL team to do so. The Independents then folded along with the entire league in 1927.
Pro Football Hall of Fame alumni Jimmy Conzelman (1920–1921), Joe Guyon (1924), Ed Healey (1920–1922), Duke Slater (1922–1926), and Jim Thorpe (1924–1925) played for the Independents.
A second, unrelated, "Rock Island Independents" played at the Northwest Football League in 1936.
One of the first professional football teams, the Independents were founded in Rock Island, Illinois, in 1907 by Demetrius Clements as an independent football club. The independent team had no athletic club affiliation, no social club ties and no corporate company backing or sponsorship. As a result, the team was named the "Independents."
The Independents played in Douglas Park (1907–1925) and Browning Field (1926). The 1910 team went undefeated and were not scored on in five games. A year of hiatus seems to have followed.
The team reorganized in 1912, seeking to compete with the neighboring community of Moline on the gridiron. Many of the players from the 1910 team reunited in that year and, under Coach John Roche, the team won eight games without giving up a score.
Walter Flanigan was the owner of the Independents 1915 to 1923. Dale Johnson then owned the team from 1924 until it folded, along with the rest of the American Football League in 1926.