Front Office Football Central - View Single Post - The Curse of Bobby Layne (Second and Ten)

Brian Swartz · 10-08-2023, 03:18 AM

Portsmouth Founding

This tale does not actually begin in Detroit, but in the mid-sized city of Portsmouth in southern Ohio, positioned just northeast of the confluence of the Ohio and Scioto rivers. On July 12, 1930, the Portsmouth Spartans were granted admission to the National Football League. With a population of roughly 42,000, the largest the city would ever grow, Portsmouth was the second-smallest city to host an NFL team at the time, slightly larger than Green Bay. The team had been formed two years earlier, absorbing players from various other defunct independent teams of which there were many to choose from. The idea of a local football team had enough support that in 1929 a bond issue was passed by the residents of Portsmouth to build what would become Universal Stadium - later Spartan Municipal Stadium, with a maximum seating capacity of 8,200. Events beyond their knowledge or control would, of course, have a major hand in deciding the success of this venture. On September 14, 1930, Universal Stadium officially opened.

The Spartans' coach that first year in their new stadium was also a lineman: Center/Tackle Harold 'Hal' Winslow Griffen. The team was mediocre, tying for 7th with a 5-6-3 record. For 25 of the 38 players on the roster, ranging in age from 22 to 35, it was their first year of professional football. Two of the rookies, Chuck Bennett (23) and Mayes McClain (25), scored 7 touchdowns apiece to lead the Spartans in scoring. Both players would have short and undistinguished careers after this, however.

A Man Called Potsy

The next year, George M. 'Potsy' Clark, then 37 years of age, accepted the head coaching job for the Portsmouth Spartans. In time, he would become one of the most influential and successful coaches of the early NFL, and more accomplished in multiple fields than most men are in any one endeavor. Clark picked up the nickname Potsy as a child and it stuck with him. He was a highly successful athlete in multiple sports both in high school and college. He starred alongside none other than Red Grange, Harold Pogue, and other All-Americans at the University of Illinois from 1914-1915, and was a good enough shortstop that he received multiple offers to play professional baseball as well - which he turned down.

After graduating from Illinois, Clark took an assistant football coaching job at the University of Kansas. His coaching career was interrupted by World War I where he served as a second lieutenant, returning to coach as an assistant for his former coach at Illinois, Bob Zuppke. Michigan Agricultural College - later Michigan State University - hired Potsy as their football coach, and also assistant in baseball, in 1920. After a 4-6 record there he was off to the University of Kansas where he would stay for the next five years. 16-17-6 was his overall mark there, tying Nebraska for the MVC title in 1923 before slipping to 2-5-1 each of the final two years.

From '27-'29 he had somewhat more success for independent Butler, 14-9-1 in total, while also being the athletic director. It seems that his relative success there led to Butler gaining notoriety for what was considered by some to be the wrong reasons for an academic institution, and it appeared that this would be the last chapter in Potsy's uneven coaching adventures. He went into the insurance business, apparently successfully, and if he hadn't been offered the Portsmouth Spartans job that may well have been the end of it - for both him in coaching, and the Spartans as a franchise.

1931

In Potsy Clark's first year of being an NFL head coach, he assembled a roster that was even more inexperienced than they'd had the year before, and retained just eight players from the '30 version of the team. What they lacked in continuity, they definitely gained in a disciplined direction and new talent. Portsmouth outscored their opponents better than two to one, allowing fewer points than any other team and fashioning a 11-3 record, second only to the 12-2 Green Bay Packers who were named champions for the third year in a row.

Earl Harry 'Dutch' Clark scored 9 touchdowns to lead the team; he is named First Team All-Pro at the Quarterback position. Glenn Presnell and Bill McKalip scored 4 each, all three players upgrading the team considerably in their first professional seasons. Harry Ebding and John Cavosie were other newcomers making an impact.

And that takes us up to 1932, when Second and Ten will join the tale.

10-08-2023, 03:18 AM	#2
Brian Swartz Grizzled Veteran Join Date: May 2006	Portsmouth Founding This tale does not actually begin in Detroit, but in the mid-sized city of Portsmouth in southern Ohio, positioned just northeast of the confluence of the Ohio and Scioto rivers. On July 12, 1930, the Portsmouth Spartans were granted admission to the National Football League. With a population of roughly 42,000, the largest the city would ever grow, Portsmouth was the second-smallest city to host an NFL team at the time, slightly larger than Green Bay. The team had been formed two years earlier, absorbing players from various other defunct independent teams of which there were many to choose from. The idea of a local football team had enough support that in 1929 a bond issue was passed by the residents of Portsmouth to build what would become Universal Stadium - later Spartan Municipal Stadium, with a maximum seating capacity of 8,200. Events beyond their knowledge or control would, of course, have a major hand in deciding the success of this venture. On September 14, 1930, Universal Stadium officially opened. The Spartans' coach that first year in their new stadium was also a lineman: Center/Tackle Harold 'Hal' Winslow Griffen. The team was mediocre, tying for 7th with a 5-6-3 record. For 25 of the 38 players on the roster, ranging in age from 22 to 35, it was their first year of professional football. Two of the rookies, Chuck Bennett (23) and Mayes McClain (25), scored 7 touchdowns apiece to lead the Spartans in scoring. Both players would have short and undistinguished careers after this, however. A Man Called Potsy The next year, George M. 'Potsy' Clark, then 37 years of age, accepted the head coaching job for the Portsmouth Spartans. In time, he would become one of the most influential and successful coaches of the early NFL, and more accomplished in multiple fields than most men are in any one endeavor. Clark picked up the nickname Potsy as a child and it stuck with him. He was a highly successful athlete in multiple sports both in high school and college. He starred alongside none other than Red Grange, Harold Pogue, and other All-Americans at the University of Illinois from 1914-1915, and was a good enough shortstop that he received multiple offers to play professional baseball as well - which he turned down. After graduating from Illinois, Clark took an assistant football coaching job at the University of Kansas. His coaching career was interrupted by World War I where he served as a second lieutenant, returning to coach as an assistant for his former coach at Illinois, Bob Zuppke. Michigan Agricultural College - later Michigan State University - hired Potsy as their football coach, and also assistant in baseball, in 1920. After a 4-6 record there he was off to the University of Kansas where he would stay for the next five years. 16-17-6 was his overall mark there, tying Nebraska for the MVC title in 1923 before slipping to 2-5-1 each of the final two years. From '27-'29 he had somewhat more success for independent Butler, 14-9-1 in total, while also being the athletic director. It seems that his relative success there led to Butler gaining notoriety for what was considered by some to be the wrong reasons for an academic institution, and it appeared that this would be the last chapter in Potsy's uneven coaching adventures. He went into the insurance business, apparently successfully, and if he hadn't been offered the Portsmouth Spartans job that may well have been the end of it - for both him in coaching, and the Spartans as a franchise. 1931 In Potsy Clark's first year of being an NFL head coach, he assembled a roster that was even more inexperienced than they'd had the year before, and retained just eight players from the '30 version of the team. What they lacked in continuity, they definitely gained in a disciplined direction and new talent. Portsmouth outscored their opponents better than two to one, allowing fewer points than any other team and fashioning a 11-3 record, second only to the 12-2 Green Bay Packers who were named champions for the third year in a row. Earl Harry 'Dutch' Clark scored 9 touchdowns to lead the team; he is named First Team All-Pro at the Quarterback position. Glenn Presnell and Bill McKalip scored 4 each, all three players upgrading the team considerably in their first professional seasons. Harry Ebding and John Cavosie were other newcomers making an impact. And that takes us up to 1932, when Second and Ten will join the tale.