St. Louis Gunners
 |
|
| Founded | 1931 |
|---|---|
| Folded | 1940 |
| Based in | St. Louis, Missouri, United States |
| League | Independent (1931–34) National Football League (1934) American Football League (1938–39) |
| Division | Western Division |
| Team history | St. Louis Gunners (1931–40) |
| Team colors |
Red, White, Blue |
| Head coaches |
Jimmy Conzelman (1931) Bullet Baker (1932) Gwinn Henry (1933) Chile Walsh (1934) Frosty Peters (1935) Dick Frahm (1937) |
| General managers | Bud Yates (1931, 1933–1934) |
| Home field(s) |
Public Schools Stadium (1931–1933, 1935) Sportsman's Park (1932-1 game, 1934–) Francis Field (1932-1 game, 1933-2 games) Walsh Memorial Stadium (1935, 1937) Maplewood High School Stadium (1940) |
Red, White, Blue
The St. Louis Gunners were an independent professional football team based in St. Louis, Missouri, that played the last three games of the 1934 National Football League season, replacing the Cincinnati Reds on the league schedule after the Reds' league membership was suspended. They won their first game against the Pittsburgh Pirates (now Steelers) 6–0, but lost the last two to the Detroit Lions (40–7) and the Green Bay Packers (21–14). Six of the Reds players joined the team for the last two games. The team was headquartered at the St. Louis National Guard Armory, which accounts for its nickname the 'Gunners'.
In 1931, the 128th Field Artillery of the Missouri National Guard, announced through its spokesman that it would sponsor a team for the upcoming football season. The club was originally called the Batter A Gunners from its association with the Guard. Future Hall-of-Famer Jimmy Conzelman, was named the team's first head coach. Bud Yates was named the team's general manager.
The Gunners posted a 5–2–1 record in 1931. However they lost to the NFL's Chicago Cardinals, 26–6. After the game, Cardinals captain, Ernie Nevers, called the Gunners the "best independent club we have ever faced." A game against a second NFL team, the New York Giants, was scheduled but later canceled that season, to avoid conflict with another game involving a team of Notre Dame All-Stars.
For the team's second season, Bullet Baker was named the team's new coach. While most of the core of the team was kept intact, the Gunners brought in Dick Thornton and Mack Gladden from the University of Missouri. Meanwhile, Yates left the team for the season, for a position with the cross-town St. Louis Veterans. The 1932 Gunners posted a 7–4–1 record. The team was able to play its rival, the Memphis Tigers, to a standoff in three games, St. Louis winning 6–0, Memphis winning 12–0, and the third game ending in a scoreless tie. Later that year, the Tigers, Gunners and the Oklahoma City Chiefs each laid some claim to a mythical "independent championship,". Two of the team's losses that season came against NFL caliber opponents, the Cardinals, 20–7, and the Portsmouth Spartans, 12–0.
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