In the News SITE OF FIRST GAME IN THE NFL
Cradle of Professional Football
Along the walkway between the parking lot and Howell Field at Triangle Park, 2860 Ridge Ave., Dayton
What has become today’s National Football League was “born” in Ohio a century ago this fall. Visiting Canton or Dayton? Check out these Ohio Historical Markers. THE CRADLE OF PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL
Near Pro Football Hall of Fame, 2121 George Halas Dr., N.W., Canton On September 17, 1920, representatives from ten professional football teams met in Canton and formed the American Professional Football Association, which in 1922 became the National Football League (NFL). Pro football evolved from club football in the 1890s, and by the early 1900s had begun to spread across the country, concentrating in the Midwest. Jim Thorpe, the first nationally prominent pro, started with the Canton Bulldogs—an early pro football power—in 1915. In 1959, Canton citizens launched a wellorganized and ultimately successful effort to have their city, “the cradle of professional football,” designated as the site of a monument to the sport’s historic stars. The Professional Football Hall of Fame opened on September 7, 1963, inducting seventeen charter members. The Hall of Fame interprets and promotes the study of the role of professional football in American culture.
6 Echoes | SEPTEMBER & OCTOBER 2020
On October 3, 1920, the first game matching two professional teams of the American Professional Football Association, a league that would become the National Football League (NFL), was held on this field within Triangle Park. In that game, the Dayton Triangles defeated the Columbus Panhandles 14–0. The Triangles’ Lou Partlow scored the first touchdown and George “Hobby” Kinderdine kicked the first extra point. Three factories founded by Dayton businessmen Edward Deeds and Charles Kettering sponsored the Dayton Triangles team. The factories were the Dayton Engineering Laboratories Company (DELCO), Dayton Metal Products Company (D.M.P.Co.), and Domestic Engineering Company (DECO), later called Delco-Light. They formed an industrial triangle of plants in downtown Dayton. Explore Ohio Historical Markers throughout the Buckeye State at remarkableohio.org.
Ohio History Connection | remarkableohio.org
OHIO HISTORICAL MARKERS
OHIO HISTORICAL MARKERS
Remarkable Ohio The Ohio History Connection's familiar brown-and-gold Ohio Historical Markers dot the Buckeye State. No doubt you've spotted one or more on your travels. Maybe there's even one near your home. Have you ever wondered where they all are or what they all say? You can see them all by traveling no farther than Remarkable Ohio, a website that features all of the Ohio Historical Markers, where they're located, what they say and pictures most, some with additional photos. Sort by county (plan you own driving tour) or by a topic of interest to you, or just browse and enjoy the amazing Ohio stories they share! Find Remarkable Ohio at remarkableohio.org.
