Haven-Villa of Winter Haven
| Founded | 1926 |
|---|---|
| Folded | 1926 |
| Based in | Traveling team |
| League | Independent |
| Team history |
Haven-Villa of Winter Haven w/local players (Game 1) Haven-Villa of Winter Haven w/Cardinals players (Game 2) Haven-Villa of Winter Haven w/Big Blue players (Games 3-4) Eastern States All-Stars w/Big Blue players (Game 5) |
| Team colors | Blue, White |
| Head coaches | Bob Daley |
| Home field(s) | Winter Haven High School |
The Haven-Villa of Winter Haven was a professional football team based in Winter Haven, Florida in 1926. While the team originated as a successful local team. However the team was taken over by members of the Tampa Cardinals, featuring Jim Thorpe, and later the Millville Big Blue, a pro club from Millville, New Jersey, when the teams played a series of exhibition games in the winter of 1926.
When Milleville first came to Florida, it had scheduled a game against Haven-Villa. However the day of the game, Thorpe and several of the other Cardinals, fresh off of a loss against Red Grange and the Chicago Bears of the National Football League, showed up in the Haven-Villa line-up. The game resulted in a lopsided 28-6 victory for Millville. The win, however, proved costly, as Gyp Downey, the team's star kicker, suffered a fractured collar bone, ending his season. The Millville newspapers reported prior to the game that Red Grange would be officiating the game, however there were no reports of Grange doing so. Jim Thorpe also did not play in the game, probably due to his age and health issues, however several of his old teammates from the NFL did play. Those players include Pete Calac, Joe Little Twig and Rube Ursella.
Shortly after the game it was announced that the Millville squad would, for the remainder of its stay in Florida, play under the Haven-Villa name. Art Bulger, a member of the old Haven-Villa lineup, was added to roster. Bob Daley took over as the team's manager. On January 11, the Haven-Villas headed to Palm Beach to square-off against a local club known as the Palm Beach Evergladers led by Jim Kendrick, a regular with the NFL's Buffalo All-Americans. Prior to the game, Palm Beach was reportedly undefeated in seven previous outings and touted as the Southern professional champions. However, Winter Haven still rolled to a 16-0 victory.
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