Milwaukee Badgers
Encyclopedia
The Milwaukee Badgers were a professional American football
team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
, that played in the National Football League
from 1922 to 1926. The team played its home games at Athletic Park, later known as Borchert Field
, on Milwaukee's north side. The team was notable for having a large number of African-American players for the time.
After the team folded following the 1926 season
(largely due to being left broke because of a $500 fine by the NFL for using four high-school players in a 1925 game
against the Chicago Cardinals, a game arranged after the Badgers had disbanded for the season), many of its members played for the independent semi-pro Milwaukee Eagles. A few of the players from this team went on to play for the original Pittsburgh Pirates
football team in 1933; the team later became the Steelers
. This has led some to mistakenly believe that either the Badgers or Eagles became the Steelers.
The Milwaukee market is now claimed by the Green Bay Packers
, who played several games there from 1931-94, and have their flagship radio station there as well.
and stay in the hunt of the 1925 NFL Championship. As a result, the Cardinals had planned two extra games were scheduled against the Badgers and Hammond Pros
, who were both losing teams in that season. The Pros and the Badgers were both of NFL members but had disbanded for the year. The Badgers, owned by Ambrose McGuirk
, agreed to a game against the Cardinals. However, McGuirk lived in Chicago, and had a tough time putting a team together to play the Cardinals. So Art Folz
, a substitute quarterback for the Cardinals, convinced four players from Chicago's Englewood High School into joining the Badgers for the game under assumed names, thereby ensuring that the Cardinals' opponent was not a pro caliber club. The high schoolers were reported to be W. Thompson, Jack Daniels, Charlie Richardson and J. Snyder.
However NFL President Joseph Carr
later learned that high school players had been used in an NFL game. He then stated that the 59-0 Cardinals win would be stricken from the record. However, the league had never got around to removing it. The game is still apart of the NFL records. Cardinals' owner Chris O'Brien
was also fined $1,000 by Carr for allowing his team play the game. Meanwhile McGuirk was ordered to sell his Milwaukee franchise within 90 days. Folz, for his role, was barred from football for life. However by 1926, Carr toned down his punishment for each party involved in the scandal. Folz's lifetime ban was lifted, probably to prevent him from going the first American Football League, however he chose not to return to pro football. The $1,000 fine against O'Brien was rescinded, probably since the amount would have put the Cardinals out of business. McGuirk though had already sold his Badgers franchise to Johnny Bryan
, a fullback
with the Chicago Bears
. The Englewood players were also forgiven, and two of them, William Thompson and Charles Richardson, earned high school all-star recognition at the end of the season. Folz reportedly told the high schoolers that the game was a "practice game" and would in no part affect their amateur status.
This game would also be used to state that the Pottsville Maroons should have won the 1925 NFL Championship
.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee is the largest city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, the 28th most populous city in the United States and 39th most populous region in the United States. It is the county seat of Milwaukee County and is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan. According to 2010 census data, the...
, that played in the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
from 1922 to 1926. The team played its home games at Athletic Park, later known as Borchert Field
Borchert Field
Borchert Field was a baseball park in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It was the home field for several professional baseball clubs for most of the years from 1888 through 1952....
, on Milwaukee's north side. The team was notable for having a large number of African-American players for the time.
After the team folded following the 1926 season
1926 NFL season
The 1926 NFL season was the 7th regular season of the National Football League. The league grew to 22 teams, a figure that would not be equaled in professional football until 1961, adding the Brooklyn Lions, the Hartford Blues, the Los Angeles Buccaneers, and the Louisville Colonels, with Racine...
(largely due to being left broke because of a $500 fine by the NFL for using four high-school players in a 1925 game
1925 NFL season
The 1925 NFL season was the 6th regular season of the National Football League. Five new teams entered the league: New York Giants, Detroit Panthers, Pottsville Maroons, Providence Steam Roller, and a new Canton Bulldogs team...
against the Chicago Cardinals, a game arranged after the Badgers had disbanded for the season), many of its members played for the independent semi-pro Milwaukee Eagles. A few of the players from this team went on to play for the original Pittsburgh Pirates
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
football team in 1933; the team later became the Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
. This has led some to mistakenly believe that either the Badgers or Eagles became the Steelers.
The Milwaukee market is now claimed by the Green Bay Packers
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...
, who played several games there from 1931-94, and have their flagship radio station there as well.
1925 High School players scandal
In 1925 the Chicago Cardinals were in need of two easy wins to help keep up with the Pottsville MaroonsPottsville Maroons
The Pottsville Maroons were an American football team based in Pottsville, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1920, they went on to play in the National Football League for four seasons, from 1925–1928...
and stay in the hunt of the 1925 NFL Championship. As a result, the Cardinals had planned two extra games were scheduled against the Badgers and Hammond Pros
Hammond Pros
The Hammond Pros from Hammond, Indiana played in the National Football League from 1920 to 1926 as a traveling team.-History:The Pros were established by Paul Parduhn and Dr. Alva Young who was a boxing promoter, owner of a racing stable and a doctor and trainer for a semi-pro football team...
, who were both losing teams in that season. The Pros and the Badgers were both of NFL members but had disbanded for the year. The Badgers, owned by Ambrose McGuirk
Ambrose McGuirk
Ambrose McGuirk was the first owner of the Milwaukee Badgers of the National Football League. He is best known for being ordered to sell the Badgers for his role in the 1925 Chicago Cardinals-Milwaukee Badgers scandal, in which four Chicago-area high school football players were employed by the...
, agreed to a game against the Cardinals. However, McGuirk lived in Chicago, and had a tough time putting a team together to play the Cardinals. So Art Folz
Art Folz
Arthur F. Folz was a professional football player who played with the Chicago Cardinals of the National Football League from 1923 until 1925...
, a substitute quarterback for the Cardinals, convinced four players from Chicago's Englewood High School into joining the Badgers for the game under assumed names, thereby ensuring that the Cardinals' opponent was not a pro caliber club. The high schoolers were reported to be W. Thompson, Jack Daniels, Charlie Richardson and J. Snyder.
However NFL President Joseph Carr
Joseph Carr
Joseph "Joe" F. Carr was the president of the National Football League from 1921 until his death in 1939. Carr was born in Columbus, Ohio. As a mechanic for the Pennsylvania Railroad in Columbus, he directed the Columbus Panhandles football team in 1907 until 1922...
later learned that high school players had been used in an NFL game. He then stated that the 59-0 Cardinals win would be stricken from the record. However, the league had never got around to removing it. The game is still apart of the NFL records. Cardinals' owner Chris O'Brien
Chris O'Brien (American football)
Christopher O'Brien, was a painting and decorating contractor as well as a pro football franchise owner. He is mostly known as the owner of the Chicago Cardinals, and is known as the “Father of Professional Football in Chicago,”...
was also fined $1,000 by Carr for allowing his team play the game. Meanwhile McGuirk was ordered to sell his Milwaukee franchise within 90 days. Folz, for his role, was barred from football for life. However by 1926, Carr toned down his punishment for each party involved in the scandal. Folz's lifetime ban was lifted, probably to prevent him from going the first American Football League, however he chose not to return to pro football. The $1,000 fine against O'Brien was rescinded, probably since the amount would have put the Cardinals out of business. McGuirk though had already sold his Badgers franchise to Johnny Bryan
Johnny Bryan
John Frederick "Johnny" Bryan was a professional football player for the Chicago Cardinals, the Chicago Bears, and the Milwaukee Badgers...
, a fullback
Fullback (American football)
A fullback is a position in the offensive backfield in American and Canadian football, and is one of the two running back positions along with the halfback...
with the Chicago Bears
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
. The Englewood players were also forgiven, and two of them, William Thompson and Charles Richardson, earned high school all-star recognition at the end of the season. Folz reportedly told the high schoolers that the game was a "practice game" and would in no part affect their amateur status.
This game would also be used to state that the Pottsville Maroons should have won the 1925 NFL Championship
1925 NFL Championship controversy
The 1925 National Football League Championship, officially held by the Chicago Cardinals, has been the subject of controversy since it was awarded. The controversy centers around the suspension of the Pottsville Maroons by NFL commissioner Joseph Carr, which prevented them from taking the title.The...
.
Pro Football Hall of Famers
- Jimmy Conzelman, Class of 1964
- Johnny "Blood" McNallyJohn McNallyJohn Victor "Blood" McNally was an American football player who was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.-Early life:...
, Class of 1963 (inaugural member) - Fritz PollardFritz PollardFrederick Douglass "Fritz" Pollard was the first African American head coach in the National Football League . Pollard along with Bobby Marshall were the first two African American players in the NFL in 1920...
, Class of 2005 - Biff Radcliff, Class of 1965
Season-by-season
| Year | W | L | T | Finish | Coach |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1922 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 11th | Jimmy Conzelman, Budge Garrett Budge Garrett Alfred Tennyson Garrett was a professional football player with the Akron Pros of the American Professional Football Association . During his one year with the Pros he won the first AFPA/NFL Championship... |
| 1923 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 3rd | Jimmy Conzelman |
| 1924 | 5 | 8 | 0 | 12th | Hal Erickson Hal Erickson (American football) Harold Ingvald Alexander Erickson was an American football back who played for three teams over eight seasons in the National Football League, four with the Chicago Cardinals, including the 1925 NFL Champion team.... |
| 1925 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 16th | Johnny Bryan Johnny Bryan John Frederick "Johnny" Bryan was a professional football player for the Chicago Cardinals, the Chicago Bears, and the Milwaukee Badgers... |
| 1926 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 15th | Johnny Bryan Johnny Bryan John Frederick "Johnny" Bryan was a professional football player for the Chicago Cardinals, the Chicago Bears, and the Milwaukee Badgers... |