Green Bay Packers (0-3-2) 0, Rock Island Independents (3-1-1) 0 (Tie)
Sunday October 29th 1922 (at Green Bay)
GAME RECAP (GREEN BAY PRESS-GAZETTE)
(GREEN BAY) - Fighting like they did against Milwaukee a week ago, Green Bay moved another notch higher on the professional football league by playing the Rock Island Independents to a 0 to 0 game Sunday afternoon at the ball park before a crowd which taxed every inch of the big enclosure. It was a bitterly contested exhibition of football. The Bay squad, knowing that the success of the 1922 season hinged on the result of the game, fought like demons and the much famed Islanders' attack was smashed to smithereens.
PARK IS JAMMED
A capacity crowd jammed the ball park. Seats were at a premium long before the game started and the spectators were standing many deep back of the railing around the gridiron. Green Bay turned out splendidly for the game. It seemed as if everybody was there. Hundreds of cars were parked outside of the grounds. Northeastern Wisconsin was well represented. Oshkosh up north to Escanaba, east to Sturgeon Bay and west to Shawano they all came. Rock Island had its following and whenever the visitors pulled a classy play, they got their share of applause. It was an ideal day for football and the gridiron was lightning. All of which tended to help out over successfully a football game which will long be remembered all those who were fortunate enough to get inside the park.
CONZELMAN CUT SHORT
The much famed Conzelman failed to circle the Bay ends, Gavin and Lauer, the Islanders' plunging backfielders bumped into a stone wall time after time and the visitors' supposed-to-be aerial attack was completely blotted out. They made only one successful forward pass. Rock Island's defense looked good but every now and then Gardella or one of the other Bay backs would puncture it for a gain. The big colored giant who last year was picked by Walter Camp on his All American team had his troubles - and they were numerous.
FIGHT EVERY MINUTE
Considering the fact that the Bays were without the services of Captain Lambeau and that Mills and Gardner were forced to leave the argument early on account of injuries, the big blue team put up as plucky an exhibition as has ever been seen on a home gridiron. It wasn't a one man team. Every player on the squad was in there fighting and scrapping to the limit. Two new stars appeared in the Bay football sky, namely Jug Earps and Siki Gardella. And how they did play. It was a revenge game for Earps. He left the Islanders earlier in the season. Dame Gossip spread some rumors about him in these parts and he squashed 'em all yesterday. Earps played as he never played before. He was in the midst of every scrimmage and generally was at the bottom of the heap. It seemed as if he took special delight in spilling Jimmy Conzelman, the Rock Island captain.
GARDELLA DOES GOOD
It was Gardella's first home game and he made good with a vengeance. He was here, there and everywhere. On the offense, he was a battering ram while on the defense, he would smash through interference and get the runner. Gardella's brilliant exhibition has won him a home in the Bay. He has more than lived up to all the nice things Coach Carey said about him. But Gardella and Earps weren't the only Bay stars. On the ends, Tubby Howard and Dave Hayes worked like a pair of All Americans. They were down the field like a flash under Buck's skyrocket punts and Messrs. Casteel, Conzelman and Johnson will vouch for the fact that they know all the ins and outs about the gentle art of tackling.
BUCK'S FINE KICKING
As always, Buck seemed to be half a team in himself. He played tag with Duke Slater very cleverly, seemed to take a delight in calling the Rock Island plays and, last but not least, booted the ball a mile. Buck kicked
'em so far and high that the Bay ends were generally waiting on the spot when the pigskin settled into the arms of one of the green jerseyed gridders. The Bay center trio showed class galore. Gardner was injured early and had to retire from the game but Davis went in there and played a bangup game. Whitey Woodin took Nadolny's place and filled the bill to a nicety. Wally Niemann starred at center. He played rings around the lumbering Kohls, despite the fact that he was outweighed 40 pounds. Neimann followed the ball every minute and he made several plays on intercepted forward passes which were humdingers.
MATHYS IS STAR
Fight was the middle name of the Bay backfielders. Mathys played a perfect game at quarterback. He handled the team like the field general he really is and played the punts without a sign of a miscue. Charlie was on the receiving end of several forward passes. Glick, Cronin and Regnier did all that could be asked of them. They blocked superbly. On the offense, they marked up some yardage. Mills, who started at full, covered himself with glory until he was taken to the sidelines with a badly injured arm.
VOSS AND LYLE LEAD
Tillie Voss and Duey Lyle were in the limelight for the visitors. Voss gave a great exhibition of football and smeared up many a Green Bay thrust. Lyle showed form on the line and his charging tactics, at times, kicked up considerable trouble. Conzelman showed class as a field general while Buck Gavin was partly responsible for the few first downs made by the Islanders. Both sides presented a stubborn defense and the oval see-sawed between the thirty yard lines. It was generally a case of punt after three downs and in this respect, Buck gained plenty of ground for the Bays.
RAZZ THE REFEREE
Referee Quill came in for a razzing from the crowd in the third quarter when he took the ball away from Green Bay after Gardella had covered and gave it to the visitors. He was booed from all sides of the field and was the target for some verbal threats. The Bays protested violently but Quill, like a porcupine, stood his ground. This decision looked like a bad break for Green Bay but it only served to make them fight harder than ever and it wasn't long before they regained possession of the oval. Conzelman failed in a field goal and the Bays scrimmaged on the 20 yard line. Two gains netted little and then Buck's trusty right boot sailed the pigskin far down the field out of danger.
ROCK ISLAND KICKS OFF
Rock Island kicked off to the Bays. The home team came through with a first down by soon were forced to punt. Rock Island couldn't gain and Brindley returned the kick. Green Bay then smashed its way through for a few yards and booted again. The ball swept back and forth but the play was almost entirely in the visitor's territory. Towards the close of the quarter, Mathys attempted a field goal but the oval went wide of the uprights. In the second quarter, Rock Island started off inside of the 30 yard line. They punted to Mathys who signaled for a fair catch. The Bays found the going a bit rougher and towards the middle of the period, the line came through fast on Buck, who was going to punt. He threw a forward pass which an Islander caught on the 45 yard line. This was the first time in the game that they were in the Bays' territory. The Islanders picked up a bit at this stage of the game and piled up a first down. Then the Bays held and Johnson failed in a field goal attempt. The Bays scrimmaged on the 20 yard mark and got a first down. Buck soon had to kick and the visitors came back with the ball to midfield.
RUSH IN FRESH MEN
Conzelman, Casteel and Weinig were rushed into the game by Rock Island but the newcomers got their bumps just as regularly as the men whom they replaced. On the Bays' 25 yard line, the famous Conzelman took a chance on another dropkick but it went astray. Once more the Bays went at it. Buck had to kick after three rushes were held up. The Islanders got a first down but time was called with the ball on the Bays' 35 yard line. Up until the time, Referee Quill earned the dislike of the fans, the play was pretty well even up with both teams stubbornly fighting for every inch of ground. After Conzelman had failed in his second attempt out of danger, the visitors returned the kick and the pigskin took a bad bounce and rolled to the Bays' 15 yard line. Once more Buck sailed the oval down the gridiron and when time for the quarter was called, it was Green Bay's ball on their 25 yard line. In the final period, Green Bay held the upper hand. The Islanders appeared to be playing it safe although they launched several futile forward passes which Weinig failed to get within a mile of. With about five minutes to go, the Bay's offensive swung into action. Two first downs were pushed through but a costly fumble cut short the Bay "ninth inning" drive. Rock Island couldn't gain and kicked to Mathys once more. The big blue team got another first down, then had to kick. Just before time was called, Casteel fumbled a punt on his 45 yard line and it was Green Bay's ball. Hostilities ended after a few lineups.
ROCK ISLAND - 0 0 0 0 - 0
GREEN BAY - 0 0 0 0 - 0
COLUMBUS PANHANDLES BATTLE GREEN BAY HERE SUNDAY
OCT 31 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - The Columbus Panhandles, for the past ten years one of the most famous professional football teams in the country, will give battle to Green Bay Sunday afternoon at the ball park. This game will make football history here. It will be the first time that an Ohio professional team has ever shown on a Green Bay field and a capacity crowd is expected to greet the Buckeye state pigskin chasers when they prance out on the gridiron here Sunday afternoon...EAST MEETS WEST: This game will be another case of East vs. West. Every man on the Columbus squad learned his football in the eastern colleges, while the Bay players are nearly all products of the western school. These intersectional battles are always interesting to watch because, as a rule, both teams play a distinct different type of football. Joe Carr, president of the Columbus team, was the prime mover in the organization of the NFL and he is president of the wheel. Carr is a pioneer in professional football and it is due greatly to his efforts that the post-graduate game, as Hug Fullerton calls professional football, and it is due greatly to plane...PREDICTS HARD GAME: In a letter to the Bay management, Carr predicts a hard game. Several of his crack players who have been on the injured list for several weeks will again be back in the game, and, according to Carr, this will strengthen his lineup about 50 percent. Among the stars, who will appear in the Columbus lineup are: Stephenson, Bates and Hopkins, Brown, ends; Carney, Colgate, and Mulbarger, Ohio, tackles; Conley, Pittsburgh, and Nesser, Massilon, guards; Woolford, Boston, center. The line averages about 200 pounds. Tickets for the game have been placed on sale at the usual places about town. Last Sunday, the reserved seat section was practically sold out before the ticket windows at the park was opened. Jim Holoway, who worked in
several game here last year, and umpired the Bay-Cardinal fracas at Chicago several weeks ago, has been named as referee on Sunday. Harry Sylvester will again serve as headlinesman.
STAR HALFBACK JOINS BAYS FOR REST OF SEASON
OCT 31 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Eddie Usher, who is considered one of the greatest halfbacks in pro football, has accepted the terms of the Green Bay clubs and will be seen in action here on Sunday against the Columbus Panhandles. Usher's brilliant line smashing stood out prominently in last Sunday's game here. He has been one of the mainstays of the Rock Island team throughout the season. After Sunday's game, Usher asked Manager Flanagan for his release and it was granted. He lost no time putting his "John Hancock" on a Green Bay contract. In 1918, '19, and '20, Usher was in the football limelight at Michigan, where he held down a backfield berth on Coach Yost's Wolverines. Usher was picked on several All Conference teams. Last year, he was a teammate of Moose Gardner's on the Buffalo All Americans. Usher is 23 years old, weighs about 195 pounds and his hometown is Toledo. He is of a smashing type of backfielder and should prove a valuable addition to the Green Bay team.
CAL'S COMMENTS
OCT 31 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - There was a trio of surprising upsets in the professional football world over Sunday and the dope bucket was badly expected. Few thought that the Canton Bulldogs would defeat the Chicago Bears. Hammond's tie game with the Milwaukee All Americans was even more surprising and to cap the climax the mighty Rock Island team more than had their hands full with Green Bay and were fortunate to escape with a tie game...Right now the Green Bay team sizes up as one of the strongest pro aggregations in the country. If you don't believe us, read what Walter Flanagan, manager of the Rock Islanders, has to say: "The fighting spirit of the Green Bay team is the best in the country. From what I have seen and heard, it is like a happy family and take it from me, this is something a bit out of the ordinary with a pro team. We played better football against Green Bay than we did against the Chicago Bears, and yet only got a tie game. Unless I miss my guess, the Green Bay club is going to be way up there in front before the curtain is pulled down."
COLUMBUS PANHANDLES TO PRESENT STRONG LINEUP AGAINST BAYS ON SUNDAY
NOV 1 (Columbus) - Joe Carr's Panhandles resumed their daily practice workouts preparatory for their invasion of Green Bay, Wis., Sunday November 5. The Columbus team will leave here Saturday morning for the Badger football town. They will stop at some city near Green Bay Saturday night, and will reach the scene of action Sunday morning. Carr's team is looking better than at any time this season. The return of several of the regulars, who have been on the hospital list for several weeks, will greatly strenghten the lineup and the Buckeye state gridders are confident of making it mighty interesting for the Badger state pro champions, who now size up as one of the strongest teams in the country...THREE GAME TRIP: The Panhandles' contest at Green Bay will be the first battle of a three game trip into Wisconsin. The Columbus trip won't return home until a week from Monday, November 13. Sunday they mix in Green Bay; Armistice Day, November 11, the Panhandles invade Racine and on the following Sunday, November 12, the Columbus eleven plays at Milwaukee. This will be the first time in the history of the game that a pro league club has ever booked two contests on successive days. However, Manager Carr will carry 22 players on his Wisconsin invasion and this will enable him to shift his lineup frequently in each of the games. Green Bay is the first stumbling block on the Badger jaunt and the Columbus management will shoot their strongest lineup against this team in an attempt to cop the opening game.
NINE GAMES BOOKED SUNDAY IN PRO FOOTBALL LEAGUE; COLUMBUS FACES GREEN BAY
NOV 2 (Columbus) - Nine games are scheduled Sunday in the NFL, according to the outline of contests made public today by President Joe F. Carr of the professional gridiron wheel. There are still three undefeated teams in the race for the championship, the Chicago Cardinals, Canton Bulldogs and Toledo Mudhens. The Toledo glory, however, is a bit shaved through a 12 to 12 tie game with the Milwaukee Badgers earlier in the season...CARDINALS VS. BUFFALO: The Chicago Cardinals will have a tough battle on their hands Sunday when they meet the Buffalo All Americans. Canton rubs noses with Akron, an old time gridiron enemy, while Toledo should have soft picking in the Evansville game. The Green Bay-Columbus game will be watched with interest. The Badger state champions have been showing superb champions have been showing superb form of late and, in their last two games against Milwaukee and Rock Island, sized up as good as any pro aggregation in the country.
OLDEST PRO TEAM
NOV 2 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Football fans of Green Bay will have the opportunity next Sunday to see in action the team that really founded the present day postgraduate or professional football. It was back better than twenty years ago, long before the college had passed their rule the colleges had passed their rule that college teams were forbidden to play with independent teams and in those days the Panhandles under the same management that they will appear here on Sunday, were on the schedule of several college teams. For more than twenty years this team with the same manager always at its head has played continuously, with the exception of the year when most of the payers were in the World's war...WELL KNOWN IN EAST: Long before professional football has been heard of west of Ohio the Panhandle team was known throughout the east and many of the battles with the Duquesne A.C. of Pittsburgh, the famous Pittsburgh Lyceum and other widely known organizations in the east, are still history among football classics of the late nineties. It was the Panhandle team that first engaged the celebrated Massilon Tigers on the gridiron, a game that resulted in a victory for Massilon, but a battle that although played close to fifteen years ago, is still the talk of oldtime fans of football...THREE TIMES CHAMPIONS: All down through the years the Panhandle team that will visit Green Bay on next Sunday has met the greatest and best of them all, three times they carried off the honors of the world, twice they finished second and other years with varying success, but, to this day in any of the eastern cities where they are best known, the Panhandles are the best drawing card in football. To have gone through twenty years of sport, to have a team which at the present time, sons,
whose fathers formerly played on the same team, to continue through all the years under one manager, to still hold the admiration and good will of the always fickle public, is a record that any organization might well be proud of. This is the organization that has been booked for next Sunday, a costly attraction it is true, but in keeping with the promise of the Green Bay management to the public, only the best that could be secured will be shown in Green Bay.
COLUMBUS TEAM ARRIVES HERE SATURDAY AFTERNOON
NOV 3 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - The Columbus Panhandles, twenty strong, headed by Manager Joe Carr, who is also president of the NFL, will arrive here Saturday afternoon over the Northwestern road at 3:50. The famous Buckeye team will be quartered at the Beaumont hotel. In order to shake off their "travel legs", Manager Carr will take his team out for a snappy drill immediately after arriving. The Ohio staters are leaving no stones unturned to be in the pink of condition for the Sabbath Day fracas with Green Bay here on the league grounds...BAYS ARE READY: It is a long road that has no turning and the Bay squad thinks Sunday will be their day. Every member of the team, except Captain Lambeau, Moose Gardner and Mills are in the pink of condition and these three players, it is hoped, will be fit for action when the time for the kickoff rolls around. Eddie Usher, the former Rock Island star halfback, practiced with the Green Bay team this morning at the park. It didn't take Usher very long to fit in with the Green Bay machine and he appears much pleased with his change of pasture. Usher is rated as one of the best backfielders in the pro gridiron wheel....TICKETS SELLING FAST: There is a healthy demand for tickets for the Sabbath Day conflict and many of the reserved seats have already been snapped up. As usual, there will be a flood of out-of-towners here for the game. All roads will lead to Green Bay on Sunday, that is sure. Jim Holloway of Chicago will referee the game, Coach Wiley of East High will be the umpire, while Harry Sylvester of Appleton, the old Lawrence star, is slated to act as head linesman. The kickoff is scheduled promptly at 2:30. Fifteen minutes periods will be played.
CAL'S COMMENTS
NOV 3 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - With the pro league season only half over but three of the teams so far have escaped with a clean bill of health. The Chicago Cardinals, Toledo Mudhens and Canton Bulldogs have to date weathered the storm without any black marks. The teams are so evenly matched that tie games are numerous in postgraduate pigskin chasing. Several of the teams now resting in the second division still have a chance for glory if they win the remainder of their scheduled contest.
ON THEIR WAY
NOV 3 (Columbus) - The Columbus Panhandle football squad left here this morning for Chicago, the first lap of their journey to Green Bay, Wis., where they are scheduled to play Sunday in the pro league game. The Panhandles will lay over in Chicago tonight and will resume their trip to Green Bay Saturday morning. They are scheduled to reach Green Bay Saturday afternoon at 3:50. Every man on the squad is in good shape and Manager Carr hopes to take the crack Green Bay team into camp.
TOOT YOUR HORN
NOV 3 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - There will be a mass meeting of musicians Saturday night at the Elks' club at 9 o'clock for the purpose of getting together a hundred piece band to play at the Green Bay-Columbus game Sunday afternoon. It is hoped to get together the biggest group of musicians in the city's history for Sunday afternoon's game. It is a booster turnout and those behind the stunt want to out it over in big league style.
COLUMBUS PANHANDLES AND BAYS READY FOR WHISTLE
NOV 4 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Professional history will be written in Green Bay Sunday afternoon when the Columbus Panhandles, one of the leading pro teams in the country, step out on the gridiron at Hagemeister park to battle the Green Bay Packers in NFL contest. Never before has an Ohio professional team ever invaded the Badger state. The Panhandles have been famous in the football world for over twenty years and the team which Manager Joe Carr will place on the field is the equal of any in the professional circuit. Carr, who is also president of the NFL, arrived here Saturday afternoon with his club and they were taken immediately to the park where they went through a snappy signal drill...ALL FORMER COLLEGIANS: Every man on the Columbus team is a former college star and several of the players have received All American recognition. Rodgers, the 234 pound fullback, gained fame at West Virginia while Ziegler was one of the best backs turned out at Pennsylvania. One new face will appear in the Packers' lineup. Eddie Usher, former Rock Island gridder, will hold down a backfield berth on the big blue team. Usher is a product of Coach Yost's football school at Michigan and in 1920 was given special mention by Walter Camp...HOLLOWAY TO REFEREE: The game will start at 2:30 and regulation periods of 15 minutes will be played. Holloway, one of the best officials in the middle west, has been named to handle the game. Wiley of Indiana is to umpire and Harry Sylvester of Appleton will be the head linesman. Every indication points to another capacity turnout. There has been a heavy advance sale of tickets and the attendance will probably be equal to the massive throng which witnessed last Sunday's game against Rock Island. Hundred of football fans from all parts of Northeastern Wisconsin are expected to come here for the gridiron tilt. The usual efficient arrangements for handling a big crowd have been completed. An "army" of ushers will be on the job, there will be three entrance gates and parking
space outside the grounds for a thousand cars. The early birds can get in the park at 1:15.
CAL'S COMMENTS
NOV 4 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - The appearance of the Columbus Panhandles in Green Bay Sunday afternoon is a gridiron attraction which deserves the patronage of the pigskin lovers in this part of the state. This famous Buckeye state team has for the past twenty years ranked among the leading organizations in professional football. Every player on the Columbus team is a former collegiate star and the club is headed by Joe Carr, who also serves as president of the NFL.