Peggy Parratt

[JuggernautJ]

Peggy Parratt is on the ballot for the Hall of Very Good this year.
He was a stand-out in the pre-NFL (or -APFA) world of The Ohio Leagues of 1905-16.
Parratt played Quarterback and was an early master of the forward pass. He was also a Head Coach and Owner and later served on two important NFL commissions.

This PFRA article by Milt Roberts (Coffin Corner Vol 1 No 6) tells Peggy's story better than I could:
http://www.profootballresearchers.org/c ... 06-008.pdf

Extracted from the article (and the story that first made me aware of Peggy Parratt):

In 1911, Peggy continued to swell Shelby's roster with name players, many of whom
drifted in from schools outside Ohio... Massillon attempted a revival in 1911 and
challenged Canton, also resurging and awakening hopes that the area might again
become a prominant pro football battleground.

Canton handled Massillon's challenge rather easily, but lost their new-found hopes for
the state crown when they forfeited the all-important title game to Shelby, 1-0, after a
heated dispute over an offside ruling.
Actually, Shelby's Parratt was willing to compromise with Canton over the official's call,
but Canton Captain Harry Turner angrily called his team off the field and refused to
continue the contest.

In a post-game statement, Captain Turner told the Canton Repository, "Right or wrong,
no more football for me after this; these old football duds, mud and dirt, go up to the
attic to rot ... I'm done!" Harry Turner made his vow to quit pro football on November
26, 1911. It would have been better for him if he had kept his word. As it turned out, he
wanted so badly to beat Peggy Parratt that he returned to play for Canton for the next
three years. It proved a fatal error in 1914....

Fast forward to:
Peggy really went all out in his 1914 recruiting efforts. Besides the usual big names
from the East and Midwest, he employed several former Notre Dame stars. In fact, in
some of the late season games, the entire left side of his Akron Indian line was from
Notre Dame, including the legendary Knute Rockne. Parratt had "Rock" playing both
end and halfback and teamed with him on several successful forward pass plays during
their title drive. But in spite of their impressive lineup, the Indians lost a shocker to
Canton, 6-0, in a mid-November contest. The date should be clearly marked; it was
November 15, 1914, and tragedy stalked the gridiron.

Canton's popular center, Harry Turner, died shortly after the game, his spine broken
while tackling Akron's fullback Collins, another ex-Notre Dame player. It was the first
fatal accident involving a major professional football team in Ohio, and it recalled
Turner's unfulfilled vow to quit football forever made after the forfeit to Parratt's Shelby
team in 1911.

It was Canton's first victory ever over Peggy's Akron Indians. According to Jack
Cusack, Turner on his deathbed whispered, "I know I must go, but I'm satisfied, for we
beat Peggy Parratt!"

[RyanChristiansen]

Parratt is on the ballot again this year.

Parratt played eleven years of professional football at end, halfback, and quarterback, before the National Football League existed. He played for the Shelby Blues and Lorain Pros (1905), the Massillon Tigers (1906), All-Massillons and the Franklin Athletic Club (1907), Shelby Blues again (1908-1911), Parratt's Akron Indians (1912-1915), and the Cleveland Tigers (1916). As a player-manager, his teams were recognized as "Ohio league" champions in 1906, 1911, 1913-1914. Parratt is recognized as having completed the first forward pass in professional football history on October 26, 1906, for the Massillon Tigers. Parratt later served as an NFL representative to the Intercollegiate Committee of Athletics (pre-NCAA).

[Brian wolf]

The guy had to be tough as hell with a name like Peggy ...

Like Sacksteder, another pre-nfl star that could be considered a contributor for the HOF as well being a central organizer-coach-owner besides player ...

[rewing84]

The guy had to be tough as hell with a name like Peggy ...

Like Sacksteder, another pre-nfl star that could be considered a contributor for the HOF as well being a central organizer-coach-owner besides player ...

i could see that brian wth Parratt and also sacksteder

[JuggernautJ]

With the beginning of the HoVG voting "season" I would like to encourage everyone to read the article linked below and please consider voting for Peggy Parrott.
Peggy was a pioneer of the early, pre-APFA/NFL days and a stalwart on the field as a player, as an owner and a coach.

In my opinion he is important to the history of the sport and that is, after all, what our organization is about.

Thanks for you consideration in this manner!

http://www.profootballresearchers.org/c ... 06-008.pdf

[Brian wolf]

Good call JuggernautJ ... Time for Christensen as well ...

[sluggermatt15]

It's definitely nice to see some oldies as 2022 HOVG finalists... Parratt, George Christensen, Bucko Kilroy.

Hopefully one or more makes it!

[TanksAndSpartans]

I thought this was an interesting game. On 10-20-06, Massillon defeated Shelby 57-0. The Canton Morning News provided this boxscore:

18.png (109.19 KiB) Viewed 6703 times

On the Shelby side, the most familiar names are Charles Follis and Nesser. Does anyone know which Nesser brother this would be? Maybe John?

We find more familiar names on the Massillon side where we see Nesser, who I assume is Ted since he played with them that season, Tiny Maxwell, Bob Shirring, and others. Note under "Touchdowns", Parratt had 8!!

[Sonny9]

I think it should be a 3. Should be 11 total TDs as they were 5 points back then.

[TanksAndSpartans]

I think it should be a 3. Should be 11 total TDs as they were 5 points back then.

Good Catch! I didn't add it it up. Thanks.

Parratt 3
McAllister 2
Maxwell 2
Nesser 1
Thomas 1
Wightman 1
East 1
TD = 11*5=55+ 2 (PAT) = 57