Providence Steam Roller
The Providence Steam Roller (s) were an American football team that played in the National Football League (NFL) from 1925 to 1931 .
history
The Providence , Rhode Island team was originally formed in 1916 as a non-league football team. The team consisted mostly of professional players who came from New England . In 1924 the team won the New England regional championship . In the same year, the Steam Roller also played unofficially against NFL teams several times. The team won three out of six games and drew once.
In 1925 the Steam Rollers were inducted into the NFL. The team played in the newly built Cyclodome, a bicycle racing track in Providence. The stadium had a capacity of 10,000 spectators.
Her first head coach in the NFL was Archie Golembeski, who was replaced by Jim Laird the following year . From 1927 Jimmy Conzelman coached the team, who also ran up as a player for the team. Laird stayed with the team as a player. In 1928, Conzelman and his team managed to win eight out of 11 games. With this result, the team was able to secure the NFL championship .
In 1929, the Steam Roller played the first floodlit game in NFL history. The game was lost to the Chicago Cardinals 16-0. Conzelman remained the team's coach for four years. In 1931 the Steam Roller had to stop playing due to financial difficulties during the "Great Depression" and finally left the league in 1933.
The name of the Steam Roller was used by other teams. From 1939 to 1941 a team with this name played in the American Association and from 1962 to 1964 in the Atlantic Coast Football Conference.
NFL standings
| year | victory | defeat | draw | Final score | Trainer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1925 | 6th | 5 | 1 | 10 | Archie Golembeski |
| 1926 | 5 | 7th | 1 | 11 | Jim Laird |
| 1927 | 8th | 5 | 1 | 5 | Jimmy Conzelman |
| 1928 | 8th | 1 | 2 | 1 | Jimmy Conzelman |
| 1929 | 4th | 6th | 2 | 8th | Jimmy Conzelman |
| 1930 | 6th | 4th | 1 | 5 | Jimmy Conzelman |
| 1931 | 4th | 4th | 3 | 6th | Ed Robinson |
Other well-known players
- Members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame
Web links
- History of the Providence Steam Roller I.
- History of the Providence Steam Roller II
- Annual statistics of the Steam Roller