Minneapolis Marines/Red Jackets

The Minneapolis Marines were a football team that existed prior to the Minnesota Red Jackets and later the Minnesota Vikings. The Marines existed between the years of 1905-1924 and were owned locally by Minnesotans John Dunn and Val Ness. Composed primarily of working class teenagers, the Marines did not have an excellent record, however, they were initially triumphant before losing several players to other teams in their league. The Minneapolis Marines are of historical value to Minnesota, as they existed prior to the nationally known Minnesota Vikings. During the early 1920's, many professional football teams had come and gone, yet the Marines, owned locally by Dunn and Ness seemed to be virtually unknown to most football fans.

The Marines started out its football career in the 115-pound weight class and later in 1907 moved up to the 145-pound weight class. Following this change, many key players became interested in the Marines and several of them were acquired between the years of 1907 and 1909. Some of these players include Rube Ursella who was the quarterback and the kicker, Walt "Big Boy" Buland who was a tackle, Clarence "Sheepy" Redeen who was an end, and captain Johhny Dunn who was the Marines halfback. These star players brought several inital wins to the Minneapolis Marines and represented the core of the team for the next ten years. Rube Ursella was the outstanding player for the Marines and had a long and outstanding career with the Marines and the Rock Island Independents. Ursella also played baseball for a minor league team called the Northern League.

The Marines are especially known for their lack of prior football experience and their outstanding ability to still remain one of the best "independent" teams in the upper midwest regions. They worked hard and did everything that they could to gain an edge over the competition and be at the top of their game. They would hold pre-season training camps in order to get in shape and harness their skills, one of which was called Clef Camp located near Pokegama Lake in Grand Rapids,MN. The Marines winning streak went on until World War I. Between the years of 1910 and 1914, the Marines steadily increased their playing abilities and the big game of the Independent Football League was between the Beavers and the Marines. Unlike the Marines, all of the players who played for the Beavers had previous playing experience, yet the undefeated Marines still defeated them 6-0. However, in 1912 the Beavers upset the Marines twice and after these losses, the Marines basically changed their entire team.

Season-by-season

	Year	W	L	T	Finish	Coach
Marines	1921	1	3	1	13th	Rube Ursella
	1922	1	3	0	12th	Russell Tollefson
	1923	2	5	2	13th	Harry Mehre
	1924	0	6	0	16th	Joe Brandy
Red Jackets	1929	1	9	0	11th	Herb Joesting
	1930	1	7	1	10th	George Gibson

• PFRA's article on Minneapolis Marines