1920 NFL Owners Occupations Started by Tod Maher

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1920 NFL Owners Occupations
Started by Tod Maher, Mar 12 2014 03:09 PM

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#1 Tod Maher
PFRA Member
Posted 12 March 2014 - 03:09 PM
I've been doing some research on the 1920 season and was able to track down the occupations (according to the 1920 census) of the 1920 APFA owners/managers. I think it is interesting to see the humble beginnings of the today's multi-billion dollar league:

Akron - Art Ranney
Agent, Real Estate.

Buffalo - Frank McNeil
Sales, Wholesale Lumber

Canton - Ralph Hay
Merchant, Automobile.

Chicago Cardinals - Chris O'Brien
Decorator, Painting & Wallpaper.

Chicago Tigers - Guil Falcon
Wholesale M?, Lumber.

Cleveland - Jimmy O'Donnell
Detective, Department Store.

Columbus - Joe Carr
Salesman, Automobile.

Dayton - Carl Storck
Recreational Manager, City Park.

Decatur - A.E. Staley
Proprietor, Starch Manufacturer.

Detroit - John Roesink
Merchant, Clothing.

Hammond - Doc Young
Physician & Surgeon.

Rochester - Leo Lyons
Clerical Work, Ordinance Department, U.S. Government.

Rock Island - Walter Flanigan
Salesman, Shoe Store

Also, two of the "owners" lived outside the cities of their teams - Art Ranney in Cuyahoga Falls and Guil Falcon in Evanston.

#2 Reaser
PFRA Member
Posted 12 March 2014 - 03:21 PM
Cool list.

#3 classic3283
Forum Visitors
Posted 12 March 2014 - 04:09 PM
Reaser, on 12 Mar 2014 - 3:21 PM, said:
Cool list.

I second that statement.

I didn't know that Guil Falcon was considered the owner/manager of the Chicago Tigers. In that inaugural season I think he was the only owner/manager to be a player as well. It's also interesting to note that Falcon played a game with Hammond that same season. I'm guessing it was a late-season game after the Tigers called it quits for the year - and eventually forever.

#4 rhickok1109
PFRA Member
Posted 12 March 2014 - 04:45 PM
Very interesting! Thanks, Tod

#5 oldecapecod 11
PFRA Member
Posted 13 March 2014 - 12:36 AM
Once again, Tod: Outstanding! ... and certainly consistent with your entire body of work.

#6 Mark L. Ford
Administrators
Posted 13 March 2014 - 09:14 AM
It's surprising that a shoe salesman, or a store detective, would have been able to amass the money to operate a professional football team. Both of the teams (Rock Island and Cleveland) had already been around before the APFA was founded, and from what I see on their schedules, their travel expenses would have been low, with most games at home or close to it. Interesting list. We hear so much about the players and the coaches, but very little about the owners. I think that every pro team owner in history has had an interesting story, with Art Rooney being up there at the top.

#7 Tod Maher
PFRA Member
Posted 13 March 2014 - 12:09 PM
Oops! I left out Earl Ball of the Muncie Flyers.
Occupation: Statistician, Factory.

#8 classic3283
Forum Visitors
Posted 13 March 2014 - 07:17 PM
Tod Maher, on 13 Mar 2014 - 12:09 PM, said:
Oops! I left out Earl Ball of the Muncie Flyers.
Occupation: Statistician, Factory.

Considering he was in Muncie is it safe to assume that Earl Ball was a stakeholder in the Ball Company? I think they still make glass jars to this day.

#9 Tod Maher
Posted 13 March 2014 - 08:28 PM
classic3283, on 13 Mar 2014 - 7:17 PM, said:
Considering he was in Muncie is it safe to assume that Earl Ball was a stakeholder in the Ball Company? I think they still make glass jars to this day.

This is one of those things that has been assumed for years and erroneously published in many places - that he was the owner of the Ball Company. He wasn't (maybe he owned a few shares - who knows?).
Five bothers stated the company in the 1880s (Earl was born on 1885). Earl's father Daniel was NOT one of the five - and according to his obit did not work for the Ball Company. He was probably a relative of the owners and thus he got a job at the Ball Company (where he did work).
If he had been one of the owners I think he would been able to put together better team than the woeful Flyers.
Maybe the other APFA/NFL owners thought he was the owner of the Ball Company and that's how Muncie got invited to be in the league.

#10 classic3283
Forum Visitors
Posted 13 March 2014 - 10:04 PM
Tod Maher, on 13 Mar 2014 - 8:28 PM, said:
This is one of those things that has been assumed for years and erroneously published in many places - that he was the owner of the Ball Company. He wasn't (maybe he owned a few shares - who knows?).
Five bothers stated the company in the 1880s (Earl was born on 1885). Earl's father Daniel was NOT one of the five - and according to his obit did not work for the Ball Company. He was probably a relative of the owners and thus he got a job at the Ball Company (where he did work).
If he had been one of the owners I think he would been able to put together better team than the woeful Flyers.
Maybe the other APFA/NFL owners thought he was the owner of the Ball Company and that's how Muncie got invited to be in the league.

Interesting. I wonder if he did get a team because the owners thought or maybe Earl claimed he was the owner of the Ball Company. I suppose that's something we'll probably never know.

#11 byron
PFRA Member
Posted 13 March 2014 - 10:05 PM
Love this kind of stuff! Good work!

#12 Bryan
Forum Visitors
Posted 14 March 2014 - 08:05 AM
What exactly does a department store detective do? Is it like a customer goes to the department store in need of detective services? Or does the detective investigate internal department store matters, such as shoplifting and misplaced hosiery?

#13 Mark L. Ford
Administrators
Posted 14 March 2014 - 11:56 AM
Basically, the "store detective" was in charge of crime prevention, kind of a combination of a security guard and internal investigator. You hear the term in old movies and TV shows now. Some would confirm that the day's receipts matched the day's sales figures, for instance. Hence, he detained shoplifters, but also was there to deter employees and managers from "misplacing" things like hosiery, bills from the cash register, etc. I have no idea what the job paid. Obviously it would be comparable to the rest of management.

#14 Rupert Patrick
Posted 15 March 2014 - 11:24 PM
Mark L. Ford, on 14 Mar 2014 - 11:56 AM, said:
Basically, the "store detective" was in charge of crime prevention, kind of a combination of a security guard and internal investigator. You hear the term in old movies and TV shows now. Some would confirm that the day's receipts matched the day's sales figures, for instance. Hence, he detained shoplifters, but also was there to deter employees and managers from "misplacing" things like hosiery, bills from the cash register, etc. I have no idea what the job paid. Obviously it would be comparable to the rest of management.

Back in the early part of the 20th century, local law enforcement was still very corrupt in many areas, and a lot of businesses got around having to deal with law enforcement (for the most part) by handling their own security by the use of private detectives, who were one part detective and one part security guard and probably also handled background checks of employees and potential clients, and these security personnel were also known as (pardon my language) "Dicks". In fact, one of the most famous comedies of WC Fields was a 1940 film called "The Bank Dick", where he played a bank security guard who also had the job of watching the till, and he wasn't very good at either. Hotels had Dicks also, as there were still laws in most municipalities against men and women who were not married sharing a room together, and the Dicks enforced these laws in addition to providing security. Department stores had Dicks also, who watched for shoplifters but also made sure the employees didn't skim the money or merchandise. The use of Dicks fell out of favor, I would guess, before WWII, as the corruption was slowly but surely being removed from law enforcement and the profession became more professional, and companies cropped up that handled private security guards for businesses.

#15 rhickok1109
PFRA Member
Posted 16 March 2014 - 08:53 AM
Apparently, the job hasn't fallen completely out of favor:

#16 SixtiesFan
Forum Visitors
Mark L. Ford, on 14 Mar 2014 - 11:56 AM, said:
Basically, the "store detective" was in charge of crime prevention, kind of a combination of a security guard and internal investigator. You hear the term in old movies and TV shows now. Some would confirm that the day's receipts matched the day's sales figures, for instance. Hence, he detained shoplifters, but also was there to deter employees and managers from "misplacing" things like hosiery, bills from the cash register, etc. I have no idea what the job paid. Obviously it would be comparable to the rest of management.

Yes, you hear the term in film noir movies of the 1940's.

#17 Roy Sye
Administrators
Posted 17 March 2014 - 01:15 AM
Here is a link to a bio for Guil Falcon. It states (in 1959) that he was involved in underwater salvage for 41 years.

http://www.independe.../Falcon-Bio.pdf

In addition the 1917 Evanston City Directory has this entry:

"Falcon Guilford W Lumber Crating Co Chi r 818 Reba pl"

Looks like he worked at Lumber Crating Company and lived at 818 Reba Place in Evanston.

#18 Roy Sye
Administrators
Posted 17 March 2014 - 01:34 AM
Regarding Earl Ball, when I tried contacting the Ball family to learn more about their grandfather, I did receive a response that "we don't have any information about the Muncie Flyers".

Ball was involved with the team as far back as 1910 and until at least the mid-1920's.

http://www.independe...ac10picture.htm

#19 Rupert Patrick
PFRA Member
Posted 17 March 2014 - 07:10 AM
classic3283, on 13 Mar 2014 - 7:17 PM, said:
Considering he was in Muncie is it safe to assume that Earl Ball was a stakeholder in the Ball Company? I think they still make glass jars to this day.

I've done some canning and Ball is still the big name in canning, although they got out of the glass jar business a few years back. They put out an annual booklet called the Ball Blue Book which is a how to for canning. The Ball Blue Book is considered the Bible of canning and has been for 100 years; everybody who cans has a copy of the Ball Blue Book.

#20 Mark L. Ford
Administrators
Posted 17 March 2014 - 08:55 AM
And, of course, Ball State University in Muncie-- without looking it up, I don't know anything about its founding, or whether any of the Flyers were alumni.

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oldecapecod 11

1920 NFL Owners Occupations
Started by Tod Maher, Mar 12 2014 03:09 PM

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22 replies to this topic

#21 oldecapecod 11
PFRA Member
Posted 17 March 2014 - 02:02 PM
aka: "Fruit Jar Tech"
Whoops! I see this has started a new page. Ball State University has been known as FJT for a long time - maybe even before it became BSU.

#22 Teo
PFRA Member
Posted 20 March 2014 - 11:13 PM
Who was considered the wealthiest owner back then?

Of the current owners, is Paul Allen the wealthiest?

#23 Rupert Patrick
PFRA Member
Posted 21 March 2014 - 12:09 AM
Teo, on 20 Mar 2014 - 11:13 PM, said:
Who was considered the wealthiest owner back then?

Of the current owners, is Paul Allen the wealthiest?

According to this Forbes article from 2012, 18 of the NFL owners are billionaires, with Paul Allen the wealthiest by far.

http://www.forbes.co...naire-owners-2/

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