Gridiron Legacy: Pro Football's Missing Origin Story

Professional football’s lost origin story has finally been found. The birth of professional football—what would evolve into the National Football League—emerged in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1892, only to collapse in scandal in Ohio in 1906. Nearly a decade later, it rose again, leading to the formation of the NFL in Canton, Ohio, in 1920. Yet few today know the rich narrative of this dramatic and turbulent history—its early stars, fierce rivalries, or the brutality that shaped the sport’s beginnings. After pro football’s initial demise in Pennsylvania, enthusiasm and media excitement began sweeping the nation after the turn of the century, centering on the powerhouse teams of the Canton Bulldogs and Massillon Tigers of the Ohio League. But just as the sport began reaching new heights, it imploded under an alleged gambling scandal. Who caused the collapse—and who saved the game—remained a mystery. Reputations were destroyed, pro football nearly died, and the pioneers and heroes of pro football’s creation were lost for more than a century. Gridiron Legacy restores this missing chapter with groundbreaking research and a remarkable cache of previously unpublished photographs from one of the sport’s early champions. It is, quite simply, the greatest sports story never told. Author Gregg Ficery is the great-grandson of Bob Shiring, captain of the 1906 world champion Massillon Tigers, widely regarded as the premier center of the pre-NFL era. Growing up in Pittsburgh in the 1970s, Ficery heard family lore about Shiring from his grandmother and saw photos of the Tigers in her home, also featured in Robert Smith’s Illustrated History of Pro Football. From that moment, Ficery sensed that his great-grandfather was part of a story waiting to be told. While sorting through his grandmother’s home after her passing in 2007, Ficery uncovered a treasure trove of early football history: Shiring’s photo collection, untouched for over a century. With guidance from historian Bob Carroll of the Pro Football Researchers Association, Ficery began tracing the significance of the images. His research revealed that they included some of the greatest teams and players from pro football’s earliest days. Through persistence and luck, he uncovered missing links and treasures to reconstruct the dramatic saga of the game’s first era. In 2012, Ficery presented his findings to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, where Executive Vice President Joe Horrigan remarked, “To us, this is like finding an original Constitution.” View Less