Wikipedia talk:WikiProject National Football League/Football biography cleanup/Archive 1

Archive 1

Brian Jones

Brian Jones (Canadian football linebacker) - Didn't find any SIGCOV on this one. Appeared in only one CFL game. The deepest coverage I found was this, indicating that he was laid off by the Eskimos and was working nights at the local Keg N' Cleaver. Based on what I'm finding, this one looks like a GNG fail. @Connormah: Let us know if you can find anything with more depth. 22:04, 26 July 2023 (UTC) Cbl62 (talk) 22:04, 26 July 2023 (UTC)

• This/this is probably him. While not sigcov (interview), it seems he later became a musician, so that might help in searches. BeanieFan11 (talk) 22:12, 26 July 2023 (UTC)
• Coverage from his playing career: 1 2 3 4 5 and 6 (only 1-3 are probably sigcov though). BeanieFan11 (talk) 22:21, 26 July 2023 (UTC)

@Connormah: BeanieFan has found some good sources on Jones' college career. Would you be willing to integrate them into the article to put it into compliance with WP:SPORTBASIC #5? Cbl62 (talk) 07:59, 27 July 2023 (UTC)

Clyde Conner

Clyde Conner probably needs more work as none of the sources added is significant coverage. Alvaldi (talk) 21:17, 26 July 2023 (UTC)

I hear you. I looked it over and concluded that the obit (here) had sufficient independence and depth, albeit barely (since it is a local piece written by a newspaper intern). If you think it should be unstricken, I have no objection. Cbl62 (talk) 21:27, 26 July 2023 (UTC)

His career makes it likely that there should be some coverage out there, I'll see if I can't find some sources tomorrow. Alvaldi (talk) 22:15, 26 July 2023 (UTC)

There was a bunch of articles about him on newspapers.com. I added several sources to the article and cleaned up the others, it should be fine now. Alvaldi (talk) 09:25, 27 July 2023 (UTC)

Ryan Considine

Ryan Considine has existed as an unsourced BLP for more than 15 years. And it appers that he was limited to practice squad and never appeared in a regular-season NFL game. My Newspapers.com and google searches turned up zero SIGCOV. I am inclined to AfD it. I'll wait a couple days in case anyone wants to persuade me that SIGCOV exists. @Yunggunn2k3: @BeanieFan11: @Alvaldi: Cbl62 (talk) 21:35, 26 July 2023 (UTC)

• @Cbl62: This (p2), this (p2) and this look like SIGCOV. BeanieFan11 (talk) 22:01, 26 July 2023 (UTC)

Your searches were better than mine. If you get a chance to work those into the article, it will at least address the unsourced BLP issue. 22:07, 26 July 2023 (UTC)

I added the sources to the article. They look good, he seems to pass WP:GNG. Alvaldi (talk) 09:45, 27 July 2023 (UTC)

Marty Norton

For anyone interested at any point (unfortunately I do not have the time to extensively work on this, at least at the moment), there could easily be a DYK-length article written about this early NFL player, who had several run-ins with the law later in his life with accompanying significant coverage - almost an embarrassment of riches. Cheers, Connormah (talk) 19:21, 29 July 2023 (UTC)

Will Anderson

I've tried to clean up a number of the stubs I created. In most cases, I've been successful, but Will Anderson (fullback) is an exception where I've had no success despite searches including the Rochester newspaper. This is surprising since Anderson was a back for both Syracuse (1919-22) and for the Rochester NFL team (1923-24). Not sure why I'm striking out -- maybe a nickname, maybe a spelling variation ... or maybe he just wasn't notable. If anyone is able to find SIGCOV, I'd be indebted. Cbl62 (talk) 16:50, 28 July 2023 (UTC)

• I'll take a look soon. BeanieFan11 (talk) 16:59, 28 July 2023 (UTC)
  • Can't find sigcov at the moment, but I've got a bunch of mentions in newspapers: captain of HS team, described as one of Michigan's 'sensational high school players', seems to have been second in voting for captaincy at Syracuse, Frank Culver won (Frank Culver (NFL)), was awarded the "Corpse and Coffin Football Trophy" (how nice) in 1922, became a high school coach in 1924, then served many years as a HS coach, through at least 1950. Even if we don't find SIGCOV, we still probably have enough for a decent biography qualifying under WP:NBASIC, in my opinion - though I'd be astonished if there were not sigcov for someone with his accomplishments. Taking a break for now. BeanieFan11 (talk) 17:14, 28 July 2023 (UTC)

Thanks, Beanie. I added a couple of those sources. I agree that none of them constitute SIGCOV IMO, but it's a start. Cbl62 (talk) 15:06, 30 July 2023 (UTC)

Jim Kitts

Just so I get an idea of what is desired/acceptable for an article to be stricken, is this edit sufficient? « Gonzo fan2007 (talk) @ 20:40, 28 July 2023 (UTC)

• Our minimum goal is to ensure that each article is compliant with WP:SPORTBASIC #5 which requires at least one source providing significant coverage of the subject. Your edit does that (though I've seen some editors argue it would not qualify because it's a signing announcement). In Kitts' case, there are other sources that could be added as well, if you want to take it a step further. E.g., this, this (part 1/part 2), this, and this. Cbl62 (talk) 12:24, 29 July 2023 (UTC)
• I added the other sources showing beyond question that GNG is met. Cbl62 (talk) 12:46, 29 July 2023 (UTC)
  • Thanks Cbl62, I typically look at those types of articles as sigcov if they are predominantly about one person (not just a list of signings) and provide additional details/quotes about the person. Appreciate the insight. « Gonzo fan2007 (talk) @ 15:06, 31 July 2023 (UTC)

Article Class and Stub Template

Just as a reminder, if you do significantly expand an article, please remove the stub template and update the class on the talk page :) « Gonzo fan2007 (talk) @ 19:20, 2 August 2023 (UTC)

Wilson Raynor

This guy was a long snapper at East Carolina. Never played a down in the NFL. No SIGCOV found. I plan to AfD unless someone persuades me otherwise. Cbl62 (talk) 01:25, 3 August 2023 (UTC)

• Later an umpire. That and these two transactional pieces are the only independent sources I could find (and none of them are close to in-depth). An almost certain failure of GNG. BeanieFan11 (talk) 01:46, 3 August 2023 (UTC)
• If you and I both can't find SIGCOV, that's good enough for me. Taking it to AfD. Cbl62 (talk) 03:22, 3 August 2023 (UTC)
• Nominated at Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Wilson Raynor. Cbl62 (talk) 03:32, 3 August 2023 (UTC)

62 Articles Crossed Off the List Already

Nice work everyone :) « Gonzo fan2007 (talk) @ 22:00, 3 August 2023 (UTC)

Rex Smith (American football)

Thoughts on this one? Not finding really anything on Newspapers.com. Just two games played in 1922 for the Packers. « Gonzo fan2007 (talk) @ 22:22, 4 August 2023 (UTC)

• I'll take a look later. BeanieFan11 (talk) 22:39, 4 August 2023 (UTC)
  • Expanding Doug Turley took a lot longer than I expected so I won't be able to search for sources on Smith tonight. I'll try to do it tomorrow. BeanieFan11 (talk) 03:15, 5 August 2023 (UTC)
• We'll see what Beanie or others find, but the reality is that the short-term NFL players from the 1920s often didn't receive SIGCOV -- even moreso for players on the NFL's early small-market teams (e.g., Duluth, Hammond, Kenosha, Muncie, Pottsville, Racine, Rock Island, Tonawanda). Where the SIGCOV does exist for such players, it's usually from their time in college football, or in some cases from their later life. And in many cases, obits for such players don't even mention the fact that they played briefly in the NFL. The point being that such players probably never warranted a presumption of notability, and we need to be honest with ourselves in evaluating whether they truly pass GNG. Cbl62 (talk) 23:49, 4 August 2023 (UTC)
• I found this from the Green Bay newspaper, a brief "Bulletin" announcing his signing. Albeit promotional in nature, the bulletin describes Smith as a "star" who had "a national reputation as a gridder." Not enough IMO to pass under GNG, but we'll see what others find. Cbl62 (talk) 12:32, 6 August 2023 (UTC)

  That was the only article I could find with a mention. That source is in the article now, but like you said, not much to work off of. « Gonzo fan2007 (talk) @ 13:33, 6 August 2023 (UTC)

• Searching... BeanieFan11 (talk) 15:57, 6 August 2023 (UTC)
  • A modern source mention here. I'd bet "Rex" isn't his common name, as a search of "Rex Smith" "Beloit" brought up nothing in the states he played in (OH, MN, WI) from '15-'25 (according to PFA he lettered in '20, though the Beloit Daily News mentioned him as graduating as part of the class of '19). BeanieFan11 (talk) 16:00, 6 August 2023 (UTC)
    • Finding Beloit's yearbooks would probably be a good help in what he was best known by at the time, though Beloit's website only archives back to '64 and [https://www.ancestry.com/yearbooks/school/23r-Beloit+College Ancestry.com only includes a few unhelpful ones; they do have '17 but it doesn't appear to include our Smith). BeanieFan11 (talk) 16:09, 6 August 2023 (UTC)
      • This is a match (per details from PFR). He was attending Beloit by 1918, and previously was with the "normal school" (Wisconsin-La Crosse?). BeanieFan11 (talk) 16:09, 6 August 2023 (UTC)
        • Bingo! "Matt" did the trick, as I located an in-depth piece of SIGCOV here from The La Crosse Tribune. BeanieFan11 (talk) 16:11, 6 August 2023 (UTC)
          • @Cbl62 and Gonzo fan2007: BeanieFan11 (talk) 16:16, 6 August 2023 (UTC)
• My take: The yearbooks don't count toward notability since they aren't independent. The second, longer piece from the La Crosse Tribune does constitute SIGCOV and satisfies SPORTBASIC #5, but I still don't think it's enough to pass GNG. Smith played two years as a reserve at LaCrosse Teacher's College (a low level program), didn't make the cut there, and transferred to Beloit College (an even lower level program), where he finally did make the cut. IMO Smith doesn't warrant a stand-alone article, but he does pass the lower bar of having at least one piece of SIGCOV in a very local source, so I don't plan on starting an AfD. Cbl62 (talk) 18:01, 6 August 2023 (UTC)
  • I'm not saying the yearbooks count towards notability, I just mentioned that they would help in finding what name he was best known by. That said, we have a pass of SPORTBASIC and many, more smaller mentions which are available are in my view enough to develop a decent biography and thus pass WP:NBASIC, so I would argue that Smith is notable. BeanieFan11 (talk) 18:05, 6 August 2023 (UTC)

I would only invoke NBASIC in exceptional cases where there is some truly notable accomplishment. Playing college football at Beloit isn't that. Nor is two appearances as a backup player in the NFL of 1922. Cbl62 (talk) 20:13, 6 August 2023 (UTC)

NBASIC mentions nothing of "only use this in exceptional circumstances" - all it mentions is that you can combine sources to prove notability. FWIW, though, I would argue if it did have such a requirement that players who previously passed NSPORT by playing in the highest league of football in world history should be able to be kept if a decent biography can be written (I see the potential here for something maybe two-thirds the size of Stan Robb - an early NFL player kept at AFD due to NBASIC which I have brought to GA). BeanieFan11 (talk) 21:13, 6 August 2023 (UTC)

Except that the NFL of 1922 was not "the highest league of football in world history". It was a regional product with teams in many podunk towns. Indeed, it wasn't even the highest league of football in 1922, as leagues like the Big Ten had far more prestige at that time. Cbl62 (talk) 23:05, 6 August 2023 (UTC)

You think you can find more notable Big Ten players from 1922 than you can in the National Football League? I don't know about that. Even if it wasn't as big then, it was still the National Football League and if we can write decent articles on their players we should (IMO) be able to keep them as NBASIC specifically states that we can. But anyway, I don't enjoy arguing with you so I'm finished with this thread. BeanieFan11 (talk) 23:14, 6 August 2023 (UTC)

Thank you both. I don't have a strong opinion either way. I appreciate the extra source that was found and will just be leaving this one alone. Cbl62, do you want to cross this one off the list? « Gonzo fan2007 (talk) @ 15:31, 7 August 2023 (UTC)

I am "ok" with striking Rex Smith, as it now passes the SPORTBASIC #5 standard (doubts about GNG are a separate issue). Cbl62 (talk) 01:12, 8 August 2023 (UTC)

Hub Barker

I expanded Hub Barker a bit but have been unable to find any true SIGCOV -- just passing references and status reports, etc. Given that Barker played four seasons for the Giants, and was startinq QB for the first part of the 1944 season, my inability to find SIGCOV was a surprise. If anyone wants to take a second look and see if I'm missing something, I'd appreciate it. Cbl62 (talk) 23:04, 19 August 2023 (UTC)

• @Cbl62: Finding some decent articles under his nickname "Deadeye," for example [1] and [2] - there's definitely enough coverage to write a good biography here. BeanieFan11 (talk) 00:39, 20 August 2023 (UTC)
  • Thanks. I suspected there was probably a nickname complicating my searches. Cbl62 (talk) 00:43, 20 August 2023 (UTC)