Canton Bulldogs
From Ohio History Central
Revision as of 17:11, 27 April 2013 by Unknown user (talk)
 Photograph of Olympic athlete and professional football player Jim Thorpe, ca. 1920-1929. Thorpe was a Native American of Sac and Fox descent and played football at the Carlisle Indian School in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. In 1912 he was the Olympic decathlon champion. Thorpe was one of the early superstars of the National Football League and served as the League's first president. He played for several professional football teams in Ohio: the Canton Bull Dogs, Cleveland Indians and Oorang Indians. |
The Canton Bulldogs were a professional football team in Canton, Ohio. The first team known as the Canton Bulldogs played from 1904 to 1906, although it did not become known as the Bulldogs until 1906. Following the 1906 season, the team disbanded. In 1911, a new professional football team, the Professionals, began play in Canton. In 1915, this team changed its name to the Bulldogs in honor of the earlier team.
The new Canton Bulldogs became the unofficial world champions in 1916, 1917, and 1919. In 1920, the Canton Bulldogs joined the newly created National Football League. Jim Thorpe, a Bulldogs player, was this league