Blondy Wallace Charles Edgar " Blondy " Wallace was an early professional football player . He was a 240 - pound , former Walter Camp second - team All - American tackle from the University of Pennsylvania . He also played two years at Peddie Institute , in New Jersey , winning state championships in 1896 and 1897 . During his professional playing career he was involved in almost every major event in professional football between 1902 and 1907 . Over that timespan he played for the independent Philadelphia Athletic Club , the Philadelphia Athletics of the first National Football League , the " New York " team and the Syracuse Athletic Club in the 1902 World Series of Football , the Franklin Athletic Club and the Canton Bulldogs of the Ohio League . Football career . 1902 NFL season . In 1902 Col . John Rogers , owner of the National League ' s Philadelphia Phillies decided to bankroll a football team . Upon hearing of this , Wallace approached Ben Shibe of the rivial American League ' s Philadelphia Athletics to see whether the Athletics would be following suit and fielding a football team . Not wanting his rivials to be unchallenged , Shibe decided to form a team with Wallace as the team ' s player - coach . The Athletics baseball manager , Connie Mack , was then named the team ' s manager . The football Philadelphia Athletics finished the 1902 NFL season with a 5 - 2 - 2 record for controversial second - place finish behind the Pittsburgh Stars . The league then folded immediately after the season . 1902 World Series of Football . After the NFL season , Wallace played in the World Series of Football in 1902 at Madison Square Garden . He played on a team that consisted of former players from the football Athletics and the football Philadelphia Phillies of the NFL . The name of their team was simply called the " New York " team by Series organizer , Tom O ' Rourke , expected to give his patrons the pleasure of watching a " home team " win . Syracuse defeated Wallace and the " New York " club in what has been called the first indoor pro football game . However Blondy would get a second chance winning the series after Glenn " Pop " Warner of the Syracuse Athletic Club suffered a head injury and was replace by Wallace . Syracuse would go on to win the series championship by a score of 36 - 0 . Franklin Athletic Club . In 1903 , Bill Prince , the manager of the Franklin Athletic Club , loaded his team with every star football player available . That year , Wallace became the team ' s captain . That year Franklin posted a 12 - 0 record and won the 1903 World Series of Football . This accomplishment makes Blondy a winner on both the 1902 and 1903 World Series teams . Canton Bulldogs . In 1905 Wallace became the second coach of the Canton Athletic Club ( renamed the Canton Bulldogs in 1906 ) . That year Wallace , signed an agreement with the Latrobe Athletic Association , led by quarterback John Brallier , to play against Canton in Latrobe . Latrobe , under Brallier , was not only the current Pennsylvania football champion , but were undefeated for the last three seasons . They were also considered the only professional team capable of competing at the same level as Canton and the Massillon Tigers . Canton would go on to lose the game to Latrobe , however the team was the runner - up in the Ohio League standings for the 1905 season . Wallace added four former Massillon players to his team in 1906 . That year the Bulldogs was able to win their first game against Massillon , during a 2 game home - and - home series at Canton , however they lost the second game at Massillon , and the Tigers again claimed the Ohio championship . Shortly afterward that second game , a Massillon newspaper charged Wallace with fixing the 1906 championship game . The Bulldogs and Wallace denied the charges , maintaining that Massillon only wanted to ruin the club ' s reputation before their final game against Latrobe . Wallace later filed a libel lawsuit against the Massillon paper . However , Wallace was in need of money , and the case was reportedly settled out of court . Referee . Wallace also held the job of referee . In 1904 he served as a Head Linesman for a game between Lafayette College and Swarthmore College . Lafayette would go on to win the game 4 - 0 . Bootlegger . Wallace later became a bootlegger in Atlantic City . Harry March his 1934 a book titled " " , which documented the Canton - Massillon betting scandal , called Wallace " The King of the Bootleggers " . In 1933 he was convicted of evading income tax payments and sentenced to one year in a federal penitentiary . He was formally accused of evading payment to the government of $ 4 , 196 . 72 in 1929 and $ 1 , 953 . 52 in 1930 . He was indicted when books and records from the Egg Harbor Brewery which disclosed , according to the government , income tax evasions in 1929 and 1930 .