Duluth Eskimos

Duluth Eskimos
Founded	1923
Folded	1927
Based in	Duluth, Minnesota, United States
League	National Football League
Team history	Duluth Kelleys (1923–1925) ; Duluth Eskimos (1926–1927) ; Orange Tornadoes (1929) ; Newark Tornadoes (1930)
Team colors	Red, white (Duluth Kelleys) ; ; Midnight blue, white (Duluth Eskimos) ;
Head coaches	Joey Sternaman (1923) ; Dewey Scanlon (1924–1926) ; Ernie Nevers (1927)
Owner(s)	Ole Haugsrud
Named for	Kelley-Duluth Hardware Store ; Ernie Nevers
Home field(s)	Athletic Park, Traveling team

The Duluth Eskimos were a professional football team from Duluth, Minnesota in the National Football League (NFL). After spending most of their time as a traveling team, they withdrew from the league after the 1927 season.

A distinction of the Eskimos is they were one of the first NFL teams to use a logo.^[1]

History

Initial formation

The team initially formed in 1923 as the Kelleys (officially the Kelley Duluths, after the Kelley-Duluth Hardware Store^[2]). The team joined the National Football League on July 28, 1923. The team was put together by Kelley-Duluth Hardware Store owner M. C. Gebert with the help of Dewey Scanlon,^[3] a college graduate who played football at Valparaiso University in Indiana.^[4]

The Kelleys, residing in the northernmost city in the NFL at the time, had the disadvantage of not being able to play at home during late November and early December, due to the harsh winters in northern Minnesota. This meant that Duluth either played unusually short seasons (they played only 16 games in three years as the Kelleys—seven in 1923, six in 1924 and three in 1925) or had to play on the road (as the Eskimos did, which allowed them to have much longer schedules). Duluth's best season came in 1924, when the Kelleys went 5–1, putting the Kelleys in fourth place.

Team renames

The Kelleys lost their name sponsorship in 1926, but signed star running back Ernie Nevers. The team renamed^{[citation needed]} themselves Ernie Nevers's Eskimos in response to these developments. The 1926 NFL season saw an increased emphasis on traveling teams: the Los Angeles Buccaneers represented the West Coast, the Louisville Colonels represented the Southeast, and the Buffalo Rangers represented Texas and the Desert Southwest^{[dubious – discuss]}. The Eskimos joined in on the trend, becoming a traveling team (assumably representing the far northern states) and allowing themselves to play a far longer season than the Kelleys did. After one home game at the beginning of the 1926 season, the Eskimos never played in Duluth again. The team finished in the middle of the NFL standings in 1926, prompting the Eskimos to continue the traveling team setup. In 1927, the results were far more negative: winning only one game. Owner Ole Haugsrud then sold the team back to the league at the end of the season. Haugsrud was able to buy 10% of the Minnesota Vikings (90% of the team was owned by an ownership group that had originally planned to launch a separate team in the American Football League).^{[citation needed]}

Later years

Due to various transactions, the Kelleys/Eskimos have a tenuous link to the modern NFL. Edwin Simandl, a promoter in Orange, New Jersey; bought the defunct franchise on July 27, 1929, for the 1929 season and used it to promote his decades-old Orange Tornadoes to the major leagues. The NFL, however, did not consider the Tornadoes to be the successors of the Eskimos. The Tornadoes moved to Newark for the 1930 season before going back to the minors. When Simandl handed the franchise rights back to the league, it was understood that the first new expansion team of the 1931 season would receive the Tornadoes' old franchise. Because of the Great Depression, no buyer was found, and the league ended up putting the franchise on the field as the Cleveland Indians under collective ownership.

In 1932, a Boston group received the next expansion franchise; strong circumstantial evidence indicates that it was awarded the assets of the failed Tornadoes/Indians organization.^[5] This group used it to start the Boston Braves. In 1933, the team was renamed the Redskins, and in 1937 it moved to Washington, D.C. where it still plays as the Washington Commanders. However, due to the two-year period of dormancy, the Washington Commanders and the NFL consider the Boston/Washington franchise as a separate organization dating to 1932, and not as a continuation of the Tornadoes nor the Eskimos/Kelleys.

A second, unrelated, Duluth football team carried the "Eskimos" name, and played at the Northwest Football League in 1936.

Legacy

The 2008 film Leatherheads is partially based on the story of the Duluth Eskimos.^[6]

On May 18, 2015, local lawmakers of one town in the Duluth-Superior area passed a motion to bring the NFL back to the region via team relocation and also voted in favor of an outdoor football stadium despite no current means of financing it.^[7] It is unclear if their proposal was ever formally submitted to the NFL.^[2]^[4]^[3]

Pro Football Hall of Famers

Duluth Eskimos Hall of Famers
Players
No.	Name	Position	Tenure	Inducted
—	Walt Kiesling	G/T	1926–1927	1966
—	John "Blood" McNally	HB	1926–1927	1963
—	Ernie Nevers	FB Coach	1926–1927	1963

Season-by-season

	Year	W	L	T	Finish	Coach
Kelleys	1923	4	3	0	7th	Joey Sternaman
	1924	5	1	0	4th	Dewey Scanlon
	1925	0	3	0	16th
Eskimos	1926	6	5	3	8th
Eskimos	1927	1	8	0	11th	Ernie Nevers

References

^ Sandager, David (November 22, 2016). "When the NFL came to Duluth: The story of the Eskimos". The Growler. Archived from the original on June 27, 2022. Retrieved May 8, 2022.
^ ^a ^b "Kelley-How-Thomson Company (1902-1958)". Archives and Special Collections, Kathryn A. Martin Library, University of Minnesota Duluth. Retrieved May 8, 2022.
^ ^a ^b "Dewey Scanlon". Pro-Football-History.com. Retrieved May 8, 2022.
^ ^a ^b "Sports Legend Revealed: Did a $1 investment turn into 10% ownership of the Minnesota Vikings?". The Los Angeles Times. October 6, 2010. Retrieved May 8, 2022.
^ Horrigan, Joe (1982). "National Football League Franchise Transactions" (PDF). The Coffin Corner. 4. Pro Football Research Association. Retrieved May 8, 2022.
^ Kelleher, Bob (March 24, 2008). "Hundred of fans welcome Clooney, Zellweger to Duluth". Minnesota Public Radio. Retrieved May 8, 2022.
^ "An NFL team in Duluth-Superior? Proctor is going long". TwinCities.com. May 17, 2015. Retrieved May 8, 2022.

[1] Sandager, David (November 22, 2016). "When the NFL came to Duluth: The story of the Eskimos". The Growler. Archived from the original on June 27, 2022. Retrieved May 8, 2022.

[KHT-2] "Kelley-How-Thomson Company (1902-1958)". Archives and Special Collections, Kathryn A. Martin Library, University of Minnesota Duluth. Retrieved May 8, 2022.

[Dewey-3] "Dewey Scanlon". Pro-Football-History.com. Retrieved May 8, 2022.

[SportsLegend-4] "Sports Legend Revealed: Did a $1 investment turn into 10% ownership of the Minnesota Vikings?". The Los Angeles Times. October 6, 2010. Retrieved May 8, 2022.

[5] Horrigan, Joe (1982). "National Football League Franchise Transactions" (PDF). The Coffin Corner. 4. Pro Football Research Association. Retrieved May 8, 2022.

[6] Kelleher, Bob (March 24, 2008). "Hundred of fans welcome Clooney, Zellweger to Duluth". Minnesota Public Radio. Retrieved May 8, 2022.

[7] "An NFL team in Duluth-Superior? Proctor is going long". TwinCities.com. May 17, 2015. Retrieved May 8, 2022.

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v t e Duluth Kelleys-Eskimos
Defunct National Football League club 1923–27 Based in Duluth, Minnesota
Franchise	History Orange/Newark Tornadoes
Stadium	Athletic Park
Lore	Duluth Hardware Kellys Leatherheads 10% Owners of the Minnesota Vikings Ties to the Washington Redskins
Head coaches	Sternaman Scanlon Nevers
Owners	Ole Haugsrud
Seasons	1923 1924 1925 1926 1927

v t e Orange Athletic Club – Orange Tornadoes – Newark Tornadoes – Newark Bears – Orlando Panthers
Defunct National Football League club 1929–30 Based in Orange, New Jersey (1887–1929, 1931–39) Based in Newark, New Jersey (1930, 1937–65) Based in Orlando, Florida (1966–71)
The Franchise	History in New Jersey History in Orlando Orange players Newark players
Lore	World Series of Football (1902–03) Duluth Kelleys/Eskimos
Stadia	Orange Oval (1887–?) Grove Street Grounds (1889) East Orange Stadium (?-1925) Knights of Columbus Stadium (1926–1929, 1931–1936) Newark Schools Stadium (1930, 1937–1965) Newark Velodrome (1930) Citrus Bowl (1966–1969)
Notable players	Sid Luckman Don Jonas Patricia Palinkas
Head Coaches	Jack Depler Jack Fish Al McGall Andy Salata
Owners	Edwin Simandl (NFL) George Halas (AA) Sol Rosen (ACFL/ContFL)
Independent seasons	1887 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935
AFU seasons	1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895
NFL seasons	1929 1930
AA seasons	1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941
ACFL seasons	1963 1964 1970
CFL seasons	1965 1966 1967 1968 1969
League affiliations	American Football Union National Football League American Association Atlantic Coast Football League Continental Football League

v t e Defunct NFL franchises
Charter teams	Chicago Tigers (1920) Cleveland Tigers / Indians (1920–1921) Muncie Flyers (1920–1921) Rochester Jeffersons (1920–1925) Rock Island Independents (1920–1925) Akron Pros / Indians (1920–1926) Canton Bulldogs (1920–1926) Columbus Panhandles / Tigers (1920–1926) Hammond Pros (1920–1926) Detroit Heralds / Tigers / Panthers / Wolverines (1920–1928) Buffalo All-Americans / Bisons / Rangers (1920–1929) Dayton Triangles (1920–1929)
1920s	Cincinnati Celts (1921) New York Brickley Giants (1921) Tonawanda Kardex Lumbermen (1921) Washington Senators (1921) Evansville Crimson Giants (1921–1922) Louisville Breckenridges / Colonels (1921–1923, 1926) Minneapolis Marines / Red Jackets (1921–1924, 1929–1930) Oorang Indians (1922–1923) Toledo Maroons (1922–1923) Racine Legion / Tornadoes (1922–1924, 1926) Milwaukee Badgers (1922–1926) St. Louis All-Stars (1923) Cleveland Indians / Bulldogs (1923–1927) Duluth Kelleys / Eskimos (1923–1927) Kenosha Maroons (1924) Kansas City Blues (1924) Kansas City Cowboys (1925–1926) Frankford Yellow Jackets (1924–1931) Pottsville Maroons / Boston Bulldogs (1925–1929) Providence Steam Roller (1925–1931) Brooklyn Lions (1926) Hartford Blues (1926) Los Angeles Buccaneers (1926) New York Yankees (1927–1928) Orange / Newark Tornadoes (1929–1930) Staten Island Stapletons (1929–1932)
1930s–50s	Brooklyn Dodgers / Tigers (1930–1944) Cleveland Indians (1931) Cincinnati Reds (1933–1934) St. Louis Gunners (1934) Boston Yanks (1944–1948) Baltimore Colts (1947–1950) New York Bulldogs / Yanks (1949–1951) Dallas Texans (1952)