Unveiling the Legends: The NFL’s First Decade Explored

We have a great episode in store for you tonight as we're going to talk about the first decade of the National Football League and the best players to play in that decade, both from the hall of Fame and a couple modern experts and their opinions.

It's all coming up in just a moment.

This is the Pigskin Daily History Dispatch, a podcast that covers the anniversaries of American football events throughout history.

Your host, Darren Hayes is podcasting from America's North Shore to bring you the memories of the gridiron one day at a time.

Hello my football friends.

This is Darren Hayes of pigskindispatch.com welcome once again to the Pig Pen, your portal to positive football history.

And welcome to an edition where we're going to go back in time a little bit, go back a hundred some years and almost 100 years and talk about the all decade teams of the NFL.

It was part of the celebration to start the Pro Football hall of Fame.

Then at halfbacks you had Red Grange, Joe Guy on and Jim Thorpe and Curly Lambeau, fullback Ernie Nevers.

The ends were Guy Chamberlain, Guy Chamberlain and Lavy Dwig.

George Hallis was also on that list of ends.

The tackles were Pete Henry, Steve Owen and Cal Hubbard and Ed Healey.

The guards were Walt Keling, Mike Michalski, Hunk Anderson and center George Trafton.

Remember, this is single platoon football.

So you played both sides of the ball.

The positions were very similar, called on both sides except for of course, the quarterback.

But that would end up being in the defensive backfield and such.

That was the team that they selected.

Now, every single one of those people remember this is for the Pro Football hall of Fame's inauguration.

All those people I just mentioned are in the hall of Fame, except for two, Hunky Anderson and Lavi Dillwig are not in the Pro Football hall of Fame.

Even to this day, some 65 years later, 60 some years later, after the hall of Fame inception, they're still not in the Pro Football hall of Fame.

Interesting.

So today we're diving into the foundational decade with a fresh perspective from Ken Crippen, founder and elite instructor of the Football Learning Academy and renowned authority on pro football history, previous leader of the pfra, if you remember, also a personal friend of mine.

And it was in a piece that was written by Clark Judge just a few years ago on his talkoffame2.com website.

Also, we're going to look at John Turney, who we've had on this program before, who runs the Pro Football Journal, very good site as well, and a very good historian as well, just like Ken Crippen is.

And these two gentlemen each independently wrote articles or talked in an interview to Clark Judge, as Ken Kripin did, to describe who they feel should be removed and who should stay and who should be added to these all decade teams.

These all decade teams, really, if you think about it, and this has sort of come to light to me over the last few years, is really probably more substantial than who is in the hall of Fame because these are, you know, the closer we are to them.

Those are being selected by sports journalists.

In that era and hall of Fame ballot getters in that era.

And it really goes on some of the stats.

And made many years, many decades later.

Now Ken Crippen suggests that you have to have at least four years of NFL play in the decade to be selected.

I think that's a pretty good criteria to use.

He only played two seasons in the NFL.

And it also, it takes out a few other ones that you would consider.

But he thinks that Tilly Voss and.

Eddie Anderson would make the list of.

Second team selections behind, leaving Lavy Dillwig and Guy Chamberlain on the first team.

So Ken decided to go first team and second team on all his selections.

Well, John Tourney, he concurs with the three names that Crippen suggests and Dwig Chamberlain and the addition of Voss.

So what that does at the ends is that it eliminates George Hallis.

And it's really a good point that they make because George Hallis was not known for so much for his football prowess.

A very good football player indeed, but probably not one of the best ends.

But he got under the mayor of.

His ownership in being a coach and.

The successes he had there all combined, which still should be in the Football hall of Fame, but not as a.

Position in the all decade team that they're talking about.

These are position candidates only.

So I agree with them.

Removing George Hallis and leaving Chamberlain and Dillwig on there, putting Tilly Voss on.

And I, I don't have a problem either with what Ken is saying by.

Adding, you know, the other player there too, as Mr. Voss.

Now let's go to the tackles.

Now the tackles that Cal Hubbard is one that they both had a little bit of a problem with.

And I don't disagree.

He was a legendary figure, an excellent player.

So the four year criteria, he gets eliminated because of that and he really didn't play the position anyway that he's being selected for at tackle.

So the roles of the lineman were often, they were fluid in early football and they could, his tackles could run the ball, they could do a little bit more than they can in a modern game.

But the traditional tackle designation is where they basically they lined up.

So another name that's removed off of there is Steve Owen, whose fame emeritus, a coach May have propelled him past some of the more deserving tackles.

And also suggests for removal by both Ken and John.

In this case, Interplace can suggest Duke Slater and Link Lyman at tackle.

Second team selections and John Turney agrees with them.

So it the tackles in their agreement says that Healy, Pete Henry, Link Lyman and Duke Slater are the four tackles that should go on there.

I fully agree and support what they're saying there too.

I think they're right on with bringing Slater and Lyman on there and removing Hubbard and Healey, who were good, good players, you know, I'm sorry, not Healey, Hubbard and oh, Steve Owen, both good players.

But really, if you're looking at to be consistent with the eligibility factors that Ken brought up, I think that's a very fair way to do this.

Not the guard position.

The hall of Fame chose Walt Keisling, Mike Mahalski and Hunk Anderson.

Similarly, Hunk Anderson had some notable contributions and stronger choices emerged in this elite group, resulting in his removal from contentions.

Mahalski stays on there in the place of Keisling and Hunk Anderson.

We are put.

They are putting Al nesser and Jim McMillan and Swede Youngstrom in their place.

So Youngstrom and Mikulski are first team.

According to Ken Crippen, Al nesser and Jim McMillan are the second team where the order's slightly different with attorney saying mikulski, Swede Youngstrom, McMillan and Al Nesser, all very good choices on there.

And I wouldn't discount Hunk Anderson from being on there.

I think he's probably in that conversation as well.

I don't think those, those guys would.

Disagree, but I don't have a problem with what they're saying there at center.

There's no doubt George Trafton was the only center selected by the hall of Fame.

Now, to be consistent, Ken put a second center on there, and that's Doc Alexander.

John Turney did the same.

So Trafton and Doc Alexander are first and second team in that order by Ken Crippen and Trafton and Alexander are the two centers chosen by John Turney for his recollection of this team.

Now the halfbacks, this is where it gets a little bit interesting and gets some, some change coming up on here.

If you remember, the hall of Fame.

Chose Red Grange, Joe Guyon, Jim Thorpe and Curly Lambeau.

Now, Thorpe really was a, you know, outstanding player mostly in the 19 teens.

He was getting a little bolder by.

Even though he played in some of those early seasons, he really wasn't the same effective player he was 10 years earlier.

You know, we all aren't after 10 years, that's for certain.

So they took Jim Thorpe off of there, basically.

Probably made it because of his, his name and was the face of the NFL that first season, the APFA anyway.

And Curly Lambeau was probably more notable as being the coach that propelled people to championships and not as much as a player.

So they leave Red Grange on Ken Krippin, leaves him on his first team, puts Joe Guy on as a second team all decade.

And he adds in Tony Latone of the Pottsville Maroons as a first team who was sort of played as Ken described, more of a wing back, sometimes fullbackish halfback, little hybrid thing in there.

But as far as halfbacks, puts Tony Leton as a first team and Vern Llewellyn of the Green Bay packers as the second team pretty much in agreement.

John Ty chooses his three.

Red Grange, Vern Llellen and Tony Leton.

Taking Guy on.

Off completely off of that list.

So kind of an interesting matter there, the fullbacks.

Well, he is removed off of there because he really didn't have the.

So in place.

Doc Elliott made first team on Ken Crippin's list.

Jack McBride makes second team.

Rip King and Doc Elliott are the fullbacks on John Tourney.

Selections.

So totally different there.

Totally turns out upside down, these two gentlemen.

But they had some interesting names to put in there.

All of them very good players in their own right.

Quarterback is very similar too.

If you remember, the hall of Fame chooses Jimmy Conelman and Patty Driscoll.

Well, Crippen chooses Patty Driscoll as a first team.

Brings in Benny Freedman of the Detroit Wolverines and the New York Giants fame as his second team quarterback.

We've talked quite a bit about him when we were talking about the Giants 100 series a year ago.

John Tourney, he keeps Patty Driscoll and puts him as his first selection and also keeps Jimmy Conzelman, same as the hall of Fame as his second quarterback.

So he.

John Turney agrees the same.

And that is an interesting thing to talk about because Conzelman not only was a great player, but he coached, he was an owner.

And we sort of did a little review in that, if you want to go back and check that out, podcast out.

But you know, Benny Friedman also, he sort of really started making the quarterback position, what, more modern as we know it today, throwing the ball around the, the football field and not a bad selection either.

And I think that would be all right.

So there you have it.

Some great players.

We have player bios on all of these players in the two articles that we have on Pigskin Dispatch.

I'm sorry, on Clark Judge's website for Ken Crippen and John Turney's profootballjournal.com so there you have it.

There's some great names in football history and some reasons and some historians and their points of view.

And it's also interesting to look about and talk about.

These guys really knew how to play the game and did it well.

Well enough that we're still talking about them almost 100 years later.

So until next time, everybody have a great gridiron day.

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