1925 Detroit Panthers season


The 1925 Detroit Panthers season marked the team's debut in the National Football League, following a four year hiatus after the termination of the league's first Motor City franchise, the Detroit Tigers.
The team played 11 of their 12 games at home at Navin Field, later known as Tiger Stadium, finishing with a record of 8 wins, 2 losses, and 2 ties. The Panthers' record was good enough for a third place finish in the league.
The Panthers played in the first Wednesday game in NFL history against the Cleveland Bulldogs, and won 22–13. Future Pro Football Hall of Famer Jimmy Conzelman scored two touchdowns in the first quarter.

Background

Organization

The Detroit Heralds were an original member of the American Professional Football Association, forerunner of the National Football League. Amidst financial losses ensuing from poor attendance and cancellations, the team ceased operations after the 1921 season, leaving a major franchise vacancy in a major city of the upper Middle West.
NFL President Joe F. Carr, oriented towards placing league teams in large cities rather than smaller communities, anxiously sought a return of an NFL franchise to the Motor City. A suitor was found at last ahead of the 1925 season, when star quarterback Jimmy Conzelman, formerly of the Chicago Staleys, before becoming player-coach of the Rock Island Independents and later the Milwaukee Badgers. In March 1925, Carr made Conzelman a sweetheart deal to gain his commitment, reducing the league's franchise fee from $1,000 to just $50 to get the crafty back on board.
After arriving in Detroit, Conzelman made plans to combine football with show business, getting some local theatrical agents interested in underwriting the team in connection a plan to bring the popular Four Horsemen of Notre Dame to play for the Panthers — making it worth everyone's while by combining the NFL season with a 22-week vaudeville tour before and after. Harry Stuhldreher could sing and Jim Crowley could deliver an entertaining monologue and clog dance, but Don Miller and Elmer Layden had no marketable entertainment skills and Conzelman's outside-the-box scheme ultimately came to nothing.
Conzelman scrambled to find other financial backers capable of funding the team through the ups and downs of an NFL season. He ultimately made use of several of his Chicago connections, bringing on board judge Henry Horner, Cook County sheriff Joe Carr, Chicago city alderman Joe McDonough, and a fan named Frankie Lyons as investors.
Conzelman made arrangements to rent Navin Field at the rate of $1,000 per game.

Season review

When news broke that college football superstar Red Grange had signed with the Chicago Bears for the second half of the 1925 season, Conzelman made use of his connections with team owner George Halas to book an extra Bears game in Detroit. Fans were excited and the ticket pre-sale indicated that the Panthers stood to clear $20,000 profit on the game, enough to wipe out the team's accrued debt for the year. Unfortunately, the Wednesday before the lucrative December 12 date, Halas telephoned Conzelman to tell him that Grange had been injured and was not expected to play. Conzelman felt honor-bound to make the news available to the press, which spurred a massive rush for refunds, eliminating the possibility of 11th-hour financial salvation.
Despite losing money in 1925, the Panthers managed to field a team for one more year, before being forced from the field by a flood of red ink after the 1926 season. Conzelman surrendered the Detroit franchise back to the league for $1,200.

Roster

  • Bill Bucher, end, 1 game, 180 pounds, 5-10, Clarkson
  • Jimmy Conzelman, tailback, 12 games, 175 pounds, 6-0, Washington
  • Al Crook, center, 8 games, 190 pounds, 5-10, Washington & Jefferson
  • Dinger Doane, fullback, 11 games, 190 pounds, 5-10, Tufts
  • Walt Ellis, tackle, 1 game, 224 pounds, 5-11, Univ. of Detroit
  • Jack Fleischman, guard, 9 games, 184 pounds, 5-6, Purdue
  • Al Hadden, back, 12 games, 186 pounds, 5-9, Washington & Jefferson
  • Tom Hogan, tackle, 11 games, 193 pounds, 6-2, Univ. of Detroit, Fordham
  • Vivian Hultman, end, 11 games, 178 pounds, 5-8, Michigan St.
  • Dutch Lauer, tailback, 11 games, 185 pounds, 5-10, Univ. of Detroit
  • Dutch Marion, fullback, 10 games, 180 pounds, 5-9, Washington & Jefferson, Michigan
  • Tom McNamara, guard, 12 games, 210 pounds, 5-10, Tufts, Univ. of Detroit
  • Russ Smith, guard, 9 games, 220 pounds, 5-10, Navy, Southern Illinois, Illinois
  • Gus Sonnenberg, tackle, 12 games, 196 pounds, 5-6, Dartmouth, Univ. of Detroit
  • Dick Vick, back, 11 games, 167 pounds, 5-9, Washington & Jefferson
  • Ernie Vick, center, 10 games, 190 pounds, 5-10, Michigan
  • Tillie Voss, end, 10 games, 207 pounds, 6-3, Univ. of Detroit
  • By Wimberly, tackle, 11 games, 200 pounds, 6-2, Washington & Jefferson