1922 Racine Legion season
Sports season
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Although organized in the previous year, the 1922 Horlick-Racine Legion season marked the club's inaugural season in the National Football League (NFL). The team finished 6â4â1, good for sixth place in the 18-team league.[1]
| 1922 Racine Legion season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Babe Ruetz |
| Home stadium | Horlick Field |
| Results | |
| Record | 6â4â1 |
| League place | 6th in NFL |
Background
The Racine Legion football team did not suddenly spring from the soil in 1922. The club was first formed by the Racine post of the American Legion in the summer of 1921.[2] Having already sponsored teams in other sports' the team's initial goal seemed modest: to make the team the best in Racine.[2] Assisting in the creation was William Horlick, president of his family's eponymous malted milk company, a profitable firm of the day. Horlick was a financial angel and provided use of his company's employee ball yard, Horlick Athletic Field, for home games.
The football club was officially named Horlick-Racine Legion in recognition of this dual sponsorship. The team was sometimes referred to as "The Horlicks" in the contemporary press. It remained a project of the local American Legion post, however, and it was the post which accrued the team's financial losses, which were significant in 1922 and 1923.[3] The post solicited donations from local fans and hosted fundraising event in an effort to offset this negative cash flow.[3]
Schedule
| Game | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Recap | Sources | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | October 1 | Chicago Bears | L 0â6 | 0â1 | Horlick Field | 4,000 [4] | Recap | [5][6] | |
| 2 | October 8 | at Green Bay Packers | W 10â6 | 1â1 | Hagemeister Park | 8,000 | Recap | ||
| 3 | October 15 | at Milwaukee Badgers | L 0â20 | 1â2 | Athletic Park | 6,000 | Recap | [7] | |
| 4 | October 22 | Toledo Maroons | L 0â7 | 1â3 | Horlick Field | 3,500 | Recap | ||
| 5 | October 29 | Rochester Jeffersons | W 9â0 | 2â3 | Horlick Field | Recap | [8] | ||
| 6 | November 5 | Louisville Brecks | W 57â0 | 3â3 | Horlick Field | Recap | |||
| 7 | November 11 | Columbus Panhandles | W 34â0 | 4â3 | Horlick Field | "not up to expectations" | Recap | [9] | |
| 8 | November 19 | Green Bay Packers | T 3â3 | 4â3â1 | Horlick Field | 3,000 | Recap | [10][11][12] | |
| 9 | November 26 | Hammond Pros | W 6â0 | 5â3â1 | Horlick Field | 1,034 | Recap | [13] | |
| 10 | November 30 | Milwaukee Badgers | W 3â0 | 6â3â1 | Horlick Field | 3,500 | Recap | ||
| 11 | December 3 | Green Bay Packers | L 0â14 | 6â4â1 | Horlick Field | 4,500 | Recap | ||
| Note: Armistice Day: November 11. Thanksgiving Day: November 30. | |||||||||
Standings
| NFL standings | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA | STK | |||
| Canton Bulldogs | 10 | 0 | 2 | 1.000 | 184 | 15 | W6 | ||
| Chicago Bears | 9 | 3 | 0 | .750 | 123 | 44 | L1 | ||
| Chicago Cardinals | 8 | 3 | 0 | .727 | 96 | 50 | W1 | ||
| Toledo Maroons | 5 | 2 | 2 | .714 | 94 | 59 | L2 | ||
| Rock Island Independents | 4 | 2 | 1 | .667 | 154 | 27 | L1 | ||
| Racine Legion | 6 | 4 | 1 | .600 | 122 | 56 | L1 | ||
| Dayton Triangles | 4 | 3 | 1 | .571 | 80 | 62 | W1 | ||
| Green Bay Packers | 4 | 3 | 3 | .571 | 70 | 54 | W2 | ||
| Buffalo All-Americans | 5 | 4 | 1 | .556 | 87 | 41 | W2 | ||
| Akron Pros | 3 | 5 | 2 | .375 | 146 | 95 | L3 | ||
| Milwaukee Badgers | 2 | 4 | 3 | .333 | 51 | 71 | L3 | ||
| Oorang Indians | 3 | 6 | 0 | .333 | 69 | 190 | W2 | ||
| Minneapolis Marines | 1 | 3 | 0 | .250 | 19 | 40 | L1 | ||
| Louisville Brecks | 1 | 3 | 0 | .250 | 13 | 140 | W1 | ||
| Evansville Crimson Giants | 0 | 3 | 0 | .000 | 6 | 88 | L3 | ||
| Rochester Jeffersons | 0 | 4 | 1 | .000 | 13 | 76 | L4 | ||
| Hammond Pros | 0 | 5 | 1 | .000 | 0 | 69 | L2 | ||
| Columbus Panhandles | 0 | 8 | 0 | .000 | 24 | 174 | L8 | ||
- Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.
Roster
The following individuals played at least one NFL game for the Horlick-Racine Legion football team in 1922.[14] The total number of NFL game appearances in 1922 follows in parentheses.
While no player on the 1922 Racine roster made the Pro Football Hall of Fame, quarterback Chuck Dressen went on to have a 50 year career as a player and manager in Major League Baseball.
Linemen
- Buddy Baumann (4)
- George Berry (2)
- Art Braman (8)
- Bob Foster (10)
- Carl George (3)
- Norm Glockson (1)
- Earl Gorman (11)
- Norbert Hayes (11)
- Jack Hueller (9)
- Frank Linnan (3)
- George McGill (3)
- Ray "Candy" Miller (8)
- Jack Mintun (7)
- Jab Murray (8)
- Don Murry (4)
- Elmer "Swede" Rhenstrom (6)
- Fritz Roeseler (11)
- Vincent Shekleton (3)
- Whitey Woodin (4)
Backs
- Moxie Dalton (5)
- Chuck Dressen (7)
- Al Elliott (11)
- Hank Gillo (11)
- Fritz Heinisch (5)
- Jerry Johnson (3)
- Irv Langhoff (11)
- Dudley Pearson (4)
- Wally Sieb (2)