Akron Pros
| Founded | 1908 |
|---|---|
| Folded | 1927 |
| Based in | Akron, Ohio |
| League |
Ohio League (1908–1919) National Football League (1920–1926) |
| Team history | Akron DEVILS (1908–16) Akron Burkhardts (1916–1917) Akron Indians (1918–1919) Akron Pros (1920–25) Akron Indians (1926) |
| Team colors | Blue, White |
| Head coaches |
Peggy Parratt (1912–1915) Ralph Waldsmith (1916) Suey Welch (1917–1918) Ralph Waldsmith (1919) Elgie Tobin (1920–21) Fritz Pollard (1921) Untz Brewer (1922) Carl Cramer & Dutch Hendrian (1923) Jim Flower (1924) George Barry (1925) Rube Ursella & Al Nesser (1926) |
| General managers | Art Ranney (1919–1927) |
| NFL Championship wins | 1 (1920) |
| Ohio League Championship wins | 4 (1908, 1909, 1913, 1914) |
| Undefeated seasons | 1 (1920) |
| Home field(s) | League Park |
The Akron Pros were a professional football team that played in Akron, Ohio from 1908 to 1926. The team originated in 1908 as a semi-pro team named the Akron Indians, but later became Akron Pros in 1920 as the team set out to become a charter member of the American Professional Football Association. Fritz Pollard, the first black head coach in the NFL, co-coached the Akron Pros in 1921. Paul Robeson played for the team in 1921 as well. He was among the earliest stars of professional football, before football became segregated from 1934 to 1946. In 1926, the name was changed back to the Akron Indians, after the earlier semi-pro team. Due to financial problems, the team suspended operations in 1927 and surrendered its franchise the following year.
Prior to 1908, several semi-pro and amateur teams dominated the Akron football scene. The most dominant of these was a team known as the Akron East Ends. The East Ends' dominance of Ohio football went unmatched until the Massillon Tigers paid several ringers from the recently disbanded Pittsburgh Stars to defeat the East Ends in 1903.
The Akron Indians date as far back as 1908. The early Indians teams went on to win Ohio League championships in 1908, 1909, 1913 and 1914. The team was always referred to as the Indians by the fans. From 1908–1913, the Indians had a reputation of playing more of a style of football seen at the college level than that of the early athletic clubs. For example, the Indians preferred passing the ball as opposed to running. The team tied for the Akron city title in 190
Before the 1912 season, Peggy Parratt, an early football star with the Massillon Tigers, Franklin Athletic Club and the Shelby Blues, joined the Indians. He made the move after realizing that he could make more money in the large football market that Akron provided. When he arrived in Akron, his first move was to change the team name from the "Akron" Indians to "Parratt's Indians". With Peggy as player, coach, and owner-manager, the Indians split their series with Shelby and twice defeated Canton, 14–7 and 19–7. However they were defeated by the unheard of Elyria Athletics, who then took the Ohio championship. The Athletics were mostly former Blues players who formed a team in Elyria after Parratt left for Akron.
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