Origins
The earliest existence of the Panhandles was in 1900; the Columbus Press-Post reported Jack Walsh creating the "Panhandle railroad team" consisting of "big hardy railroad men."[2] No other articles in 1900 were written about the Panhandles. A game was scheduled for October 19 of next year, however, no source provided an outcome.[3] In 1901, managed by William Butler of the Ohio Medical University, the Panhandles played two games against the Columbus Barracks, a team consisting of local soldiers.[3] The results were split; the first was a 2–6 loss while the second was a 12–6 win.[4]
Butler left the Panhandles for unknown reasons, and the new manager for the 1902 season was Harry Greenwood. Greenwood placed advertisements in every newspaper he could in order to schedule games against local opponents. His ad read "The Panhandle Athletic Club has organized a football team and would like to play any college, high school or manufacturing team on Saturday or Sunday."[5] As a result, the Panhandles scheduled four games in 1902: three against the Columbus Barracks and one against the Dennison Panhandles, and finished with a 0–3–1 record.[6]
Again, the Panhandles got a new manager for the 1903 season, E. E. Griest. Griest needed help with the team, so he hired Ben Chamberlain to coach the team.[7] After an exhibition game against the Ohio State Buckeyes, the Panhandles won their first game of the season, a 38–0 victory over Neil Avenue Athletic Club. This victory gave the team some unexpected press; the Columbus Citizen wrote the first article praising the team.[8] The Panhandles 1903 season ended with a 5–3 record.[9]
Joe Carr
In 1904, Joseph Carr, who was a sports writer for the Ohio State Journal and manager of the railroad's baseball team the Famous Panhandle White Sox, took over the football team.[10] However, the Panhandles didn’t take off and the team played just two games.[11] Carr tried again three years later in 1907. Carr saw the potential for professional football not only to be a great spectator sport but also to become a successful business venture and envisioned pro football being just as popular as Major League Baseball.[12]
One of the first things Carr did when he became the owner of the Panhandles was to exploit one of the railroad's policies. Since most of the team's players were employed by the railroad, they could ride the train free of charge.[13] Because of this perk, Carr was able to schedule mostly road games, eliminating the expenses of stadium rental, game promotion, and security for the field.[13] While the team did play the majority of their games on the road as a traveling team, their home games were played at Indianola Park.[13][14]
The Panhandles adopted an amateur sandlot mentality for their playing style.[citation needed] Since the team was composed mainly of railroad workers, the scenario gave the players limited time to practice and prepare for games.[citation needed] The Panhandles did the majority of their preparation during their lunch breaks.[citation needed] Workers had a one-hour break during a normal workday, and the players on the team usually took the first 15 minutes to eat lunch and used the remaining 45 minutes to practice football.[citation needed] An athletic field behind the railroad shops in Columbus became the team's practice field.[citation needed]
The Nessers
However Carr knew that if his team was to succeed, he needed an attraction.[citation needed] Carr built his team around pro football's most famous family the Nesser Brothers, who were already drawing crowds throughout the country.[citation needed] Carr used the seven Nesser brothers as the backbone of the Panhandles, and the football-playing family remained in that role for nearly 20 years.[citation needed] None of the Nessers attended college, despite many offers.[15] The seven Nesser brothers, who worked as boilermakers for the Pennsylvania Railroad, were exceptionally large and strong for people living in the early 20th century. Frank Nesser was 6-foot 1-inch tall and weighed 235 pounds.[16] They all were exceptionally great athletes for their time.[citation needed] Carr took out ads describing his Panhandles as the toughest professional team in football, led by the famous Nesser brothers.[citation needed] In 1921 the Panhandles line-up included player-coach Ted Nesser and his son Charlie. It is the only time in NFL history a father and son played together on the same team.[13] The Nesser brothers nephew, Ted Hopkins and brother-in-law, John Schneider, also played on the team.[citation needed]
The Panhandles' rosters did not include many former college players or All-Americans, so the athletic field in the railroad yards was the place where the team found out who could play.[citation needed] The team's "dirty" reputation[by whom?] was learned and developed on the railroad yards, not in college stadiums.[citation needed] The press sometimes criticized the Panhandles for their rough play; but it was a big draw for the fans and a main reason many paid to attend games.[citation needed]
Columbus city champs era
Over a span of 20 years, the Panhandles were considered[by whom?] the best pro team in the city of Columbus.[citation needed] The team compiled a 33–5 record against opponents from Columbus, including a 32–1 record over their last 33 games.[citation needed]
Between 1914 and 1916, which were seen as best years of the franchise, the Nesser-led team went a combined 22–10–1.[citation needed] The majority of the early pro teams would go out of their way to schedule the Panhandles, as they knew it would be easy to advertise a game featuring the famous Nessers.[citation needed] In 1915, The Panhandles were rumored to have played against the legendary Knute Rockne six times in 1915. According to the team, each time they played Rockne, he was on a different team.[17] This rumor, however, is false; Rockne was too much of a family man to play that much pro football, and Notre Dame had most of its home games during the pro football season.[18]
