Duluth Kelleys
The Duluth Kelleys were an American football team that was part of the National Football League (NFL). From 1926 the team called itself Duluth Eskimos .
history
In 1923, 11 football players formed the Duluth Kelleys team in Minnesota . The players shared the revenue equally. The name "Kelleys" was derived from the team's shirt sponsor - a hardware store from Duluth . The Kelleys were inducted into the NFL. They played their home games in Athletic Park - a 6,000-seat stadium in Duluth. Although the team's home games were attended by an average of 4,100 spectators, the team's economic success was low. The team's sporting success in 1923 was also not impressive. The team finished seventh in the NFL table after the season. In 1924 things went much better. The Kelleys were able to play five of six games victoriously and finished the season in fourth place. In 1925 all games were lost and the team was sold to Ole Haugsrud, a local investor, after the season for a purchase price of one US dollar . Haugsrud managed to significantly strengthen the team. He was able to tie the later members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame , Ernie Nevers , Walt Kiesling and John McNally to the team. Nevers had already become a national celebrity in college . To emphasize this status, the Kelleys called themselves from 1926 "Ernie Nevers Duluth Eskimos" . The team only played away games in 1926 and 1927. This increased the economic success of the team, in 1926 the profit of the team was 4,000 US dollars and in 1927 1,000 US dollars, but the sporting success failed to materialize. After the 1927 season, Haugsrud returned the license to the Eskimos to the NFL and in 1929 acquired shares in the Minnesota Red Jackets . The Duluth team's sports franchise was resold by the NFL to an Orange investor who started the Orange Tornadoes .
Others
The 2008 film A Tempting Game is very similar to the story of the Duluth Eskimos. In the film are George Clooney and Renée Zellweger seen in the lead roles.
Members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame
Other well-known players
table
| year | victory | defeat | draw | Standings | Trainer | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kelleys | 1923 | 4th | 3 | 0 | 7th | Joey Sternaman |
| 1924 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4th | Dewey Scanlon | |
| 1925 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 16 | Dewey Scanlon | |
| Eskimos | 1926 | 6th | 5 | 3 | 8th | Dewey Scanlon |
| 1927 | 1 | 8th | 0 | 11 | Ernie Nevers |
Individual evidence
- ↑ Bob Kelleher: Hundred of fans welcome Clooney, Zellweger to Duluth. In: MPR News. March 24, 2008.
Web links
- Short story ( page no longer available , search in web archives )
- Club statistics
literature
- Chuck Frederick: Leatherheads of the North: The True Story of Ernie Nevers & the Duluth Eskimos. 2007, ISBN 978-1-887317-32-0 .
- Frank P. Jozsa, John Maxymuk: Football Fortunes: The Business, Organization, and Strategy of the NFL. 2010, ISBN 978-0-7864-4641-4 .