Massillon Tigers The Massillon Tigers were an early professional football team from Massillon , Ohio . Playing in the " Ohio League " , the team was a rival to the pre - National Football League version of the Canton Bulldogs . The Tigers won Ohio League championships in 1903 , 1904 , 1905 , and 1906 , then merged to become " All - Massillons " to win another title in 1907 . The team returned as the Tigers in 1915 but , with the reemergence of the Bulldogs , only won one more Ohio League title . Pro football was popularized in Ohio when the amateur Massillon Tigers , hired four Pittsburgh pros to play in the season - ending game against Akron . At the same time , pro football declined in the Pittsburgh area , and the emphasis on the pro game moved west from Pennsylvania to Ohio . The team opted not to join the APFA ( later renamed the NFL ) in 1920 ; it remained an independent club through 1923 , when the Tigers folded . During their time as an independent , the Tigers never played against any team in the NFL , even though several other independent teams did . The Massillon Tigers team name was transferred to Massillon Washington High School , who still uses it today . Season - by - season . Origins . The Massillon area had fielded several amateur football teams featuring only local players since the early 1890s . However while some had performed well , the others were more likely to be defeated when they played their cross - county arch - rival , Canton . Therefore a group of 35 area businessmen meet on September 3 , 1903 , at the Hotel Sailor in Massillon to form the area ' s first professional football team . Jack Goodrich , who expected to play halfback for the new team , was named manager . Meanwhile Ed J . Stewart , a young and ambitious editor of the city newspaper " The Evening Independent " , was named as the team ' s first coach . Stewart had playing experience while attending Western Reserve College and Mount Union College . Apart from being the team ' s coach , he later appointed himself as the team ' s quarterback . Name origin . J . J . Wise , who was the Massillon Clerk of Courts , led a committee to secure the necessary funds for a new football and jerseys that were nearly the same color . The local venders only had a sufficient quantity of one jersey style to outfit an entire team . Those jerseys imitated the orange and black striped attire of the Princeton Tigers . So the new Massillon team was christened the " Tigers . " 1900s . Inaugural season . When the Tigers began play in 1903 , several of the expected starters hadn ' t touched a football in eight or more years . According to locals belief , Baldy Wittman , 32 - year - old proprietor of a local cigar store and a spare - time police officer , had never played the game at all . Charles " Cy " Rigler , who later became a famous major league baseball umpire started at tackle . Wittman opened at an end and was elected the team captain . Meanwhile Stewart lined himself up at quarterback . The Tigers first game against Wooster College ended in a 6 - 0 defeat . A biased official was the excuse for the loss . The Tigers followed their first ever game with a 16 - 0 victory over Stewart ' s alma mater , Mount Union College , a 6 - 0 victory over the Akron Imperials , and a 38 - 0 over the Akron Blues . After a 34 - 0 victory over the Dennison Panhandles , the Tigers prepared for their cross - county rivals , a sandlot team from Canton . Betting on the games , during the early 1900s was common . It is believed that over $ 1000 was risked on the game ' s outcome . The Tigers held on to a 16 - 0 score to win the first game between the two clubs . After the Canton - Massillon game , the Tigers began to look at winning the mythical " Ohio League " championship . On Thanksgiving Day 1903 , the Tigers avenged their only loss of the season against Wooster College with a 34 - 0 score . This outcome gave legitimacy to the belief that the Tigers were robbed by a corrupt official in their inaugural game . On December 5 , an agreement was signed by Massillon and the Akron East Ends to play . The contract called for a 75 - 25 split of the gate , with the winner taking the 75 % of the gate . However Massillon soon found itself in a troubling situation due to injuries to several of their star players . The team ' s management decided to replace the injured players with " ringers " . Several pro football players from the Pittsburgh area soon traveled to Ohio to play for Massillon . Among them was Bob Shiring and Harry McChesney , who played in 1902 with the Pittsburgh Stars of the first National Football League . These player developments did not sit well with the Akron media , most notably the " Akron Beacon - Journal " . Massillon would go on to the win the championship game 12 - 0 , however the " Akron Beacon - Journal " later stated that most of Massillon ' s 75 % gate money went to the Pittsburgh ringers . Plans were soon in the mix for spending $ 1 , 000 on a 1904 Tigers team . 1904 . In 1904 the Tigers repeated as Ohio League champions . It was during this time that a least seven teams in Ohio began hiring players for games . Most of these " ringers " were from Pittsburgh . Many players were hired on a per game basis and were never signed to any written contract . Ted Nesser , of the infamous Nesser Brothers , played for the Shelby Blues until he was hired to play one game for the Tigers . For the next two season he remained in the Tigers lineup . However after the Tigers began the 1904 season , many Massillonians were bored with the ease of the Tigers ' wins , even at this early stage . That season the Tigers defeated a club from Marion 148 - 0 . Also keep in mind that a touchdown counted only five points until 1912 . However under the rules of the time , the team that scored turned around and received the next kickoff ( traditionally , onside kick s were far more commonplace — and easier — at this time , but Marion chose not to use them for reasons unexplained ) . During the game a Massillon end named Walt Roepke ran a punt back for a touchdown . Marion never got another chance to handle the ball , as Massillon took kickoff after kickoff and moved down the field to touchdown after touchdown . The Tigers defeated the Akron East Ends again ( now renamed the Akron Athletic Club ) 6 - 5 after Akron ' s Joe Fogg missed an extra point kick on the last play of the game . Bulldogs - Tigers rivalry : 1905 - 1906 . By 1905 the Tigers were considered one of the top three teams in the country , along with the Latrobe Athletic Association and the Canton Bulldogs . Both teams were constantly fighting for the best players in football . In fact the Bulldogs , or Canton Athletic Club as it was called at the time , formed their football team in 1905 with sole objective of beating the Tigers , who had won every Ohio League championship since 1903 . 1905 championship . Both teams spent lavish amounts of money to bring in ringers from out of town . The teams first played each other twice in 1905 , with Massillon winning the first game 14 - 4 . The second game saw a 10 - 0 Massillon win , however the win drew protests from Canton coach Blondy Wallace , who argued against a 10 - ounce ball used by Massillon during the game , instead of the regular 16 - ounce ball . The 10 - ounce ball was provided to the Tigers by their owner , a Massillon newspaper editor . The protest fell on deaf ears , and Massillon was named the 1905 Ohio League champions . 1906 financial charges . In the off - season prior to the 1906 season , a news story in the " Cleveland Plain Dealer " alleged that the Canton Athletic Club was financially broke and could not pay its players for that final game . The club denied the allegation and insisted that every dollar promised had indeed been delivered . Many Canton followers believed the story had originated in Massillon as a trick to discredit their team and make it tougher for Canton to recruit players for 1906 . Massillon coach , Ed Stewart , who had newspaper connections was believed by Canton to have planted the story . However , while Canton was in fact losing money in 1905 , a group of area businessmen shouldered the losses . In a counter - charge , Canton insisted that the Tigers were also deeply in debt . However , a statement by the Tigers showed $ 16 , 037 . 90 in receipts and only $ 16 , 015 . 65 in expenditures . The only problem with Massillon ' s figures was that they only listed salaries , including railroad fare , at $ 6 , 740 . 95 , which means the players were getting only about $ 50 per game . However , it is believed , like with Canton , that Massillon ' s area boosters picked up whatever losses the Tigers accured during 1905 . Recruitment . For the 1906 season , Canton coach Wallace signed the entire backfield of the Tigers to the Canton team . While in Massillion , Ed Stewart was promoted from head coach to manager . Sherburn Wightman , who played under Amos Alonzo Stagg at the University of Chicago , was named the team ' s new coach . 1906 scandal . However , by 1906 , the Bulldogs and Tigers were involved in a game - rigging scandal that effectively killed both teams . was the first major scandal in professional football . It was more notably the first known case of professional gamblers ' attempting to fix a professional sport . It refers to an allegation made by the " Massillon Independent " newspaper charging the Bulldogs coach , Blondy Wallace , and Tigers end , Walter East , of conspiring to fix a two game series between the two clubs . The scandal called for Canton to win the first game and Massillon was to win the second , forcing a third game - with the biggest gate - to be played legitimately , with the 1906 Ohio League championship at stake . Canton denied the charges , maintaining that Massillon only wanted to damage the club ' s reputation . Although Massillon could not prove that Canton had indeed thrown the second game , the scandal tarnished the Bulldogs and Tigers names and reportedly helped ruin professional football in Ohio until the mid 1910s . To this day the details of the scandal consist of charges and counter - charges . " All - Massillons " . A reorganized " All - Massillons " played in 1907 , after which professional football in Massillon effectively stopped . The team was made up of many of the former Tigers players and was managed by Sherburn Wightman . The team defeated the Columbus Panhandles , with the Nesser Brothers in the line - up , 13 - 4 , and celebrated its fifth consecutive state championship . Because of the game ' s importance , Massillon brought in two ringers , Peggy Parratt and Bob Shiring . In 1911 a Canton - Massillon game was hyped beforehand as a return of the 1905 - 06 . However after seeing the 57 - 0 Canton victory , it became apparent that this Massillon team bore little resemblance to the Tigers ' teams of the past . However the Massillon lineup did consist of Tigers greats Baldy Wittmann and Frank Bast . Resurrection . Dispute with Cusack . During the summer of 1914 , members of the Massillon Chamber of Commerce asked Jack Cusack , the manager of the re - organized Canton Bulldogs , to attend a secret meeting to discuss a proposed new Massillon Tigers football team . Cusack believed that a game against a strong Massillon team and a restart of the historic Canton - Massillon rivalry was bound to bring in fans to Canton . However in order to get the team fielded , Massillon planned to raid the Akron Indians roster of its key players . Because of this , Cusack refused to help Massillon restart their club . In 1914 , an unwritten agreement existed among Ohio League managers that refrained them from raiding other teams . Also a raid of players would start a bidding war , raise players ' salaries for all teams , and destroy the fragile profit margin already established . Cusack refused to provide a Canton - Massillon game if players from the Indians were raided . Plans for a new " Tigers " were put on hold until 1915 . New Tigers . 1915 . The Tigers returned to the Ohio League in 1915 . They were backed by local businessmen , Jack Donahue and Jack Whalen . Massillon did end up raiding the Indians team of their top players . In turn Cusack took in the Akron players , and raided the Youngstown Patricians , hoping to improve his team . Massillon hired new ringers for a new bidding war with Canton , however Cusack signed the legendary Jim Thorpe to his squad . The Tigers ended their 1915 season with a share of the 1915 championship with Canton . Both teams finished the season 5 - 2 - 0 . One anonymous Massillon official revealed it had taken between $ 1 , 500 and $ 2 , 000 to bring in the Tigers lineup that opposed Canton in the final game . This would be Massillon ' s last " Ohio League " title , and a disputed one at that — the very Patricians squad that the Tigers had raided earlier in the season had racked up an even more impressive 9 - 0 - 1 record against lesser talent , including a win against the Washington Vigilants , one of the East Coast ' s top professional teams , leading many observers to give Youngstown the title instead . 1916 . The Tigers rebirth , saw the team incorporate many of the top players of the era . For example Knute Rockne , Charles Brickley , Gus Dorais , Bob Nash , Stan Cofall , and , future Hall of Famer , Greasy Neale . The 1916 season saw the Tigers end up in second place of the " Ohio League " standings behind the Canton Bulldogs . However despite record crowds for two Bulldog - Tigers match - ups , Massillon lost money on the season , while Canton barely made a profit . Most of the Midwestern major teams were running into debt . Since every player knew Jim Thorpe was being paid $ 250 a game , many players of considerably less talent were holding out for $ 100 or $ 125 a game . Team managers had to produce stars to draw crowds , but the crowds could never be big enough to pay for the stars . Teams desperately needed something like the old " Ohio League " sub - rosa agreement where the managers agreed to not raid other team rosters . Only that sort of agreement could hold salaries at a responsible level . 1917 . In 1917 , Bob Nash promised an " Ohio League " championship to the fans in Massillon . In doing so he put together an offensive line that included Charlie Copley at tackle and Al Wesbecher at center . However after storming out to a 4 - 0 start , the Tigers were defeated by Stan Cofall and the Youngstown Patricians 14 - 6 . However later that season Cofall and Bob Peck decided to play for Massillon which prematurely ended the Pats 1917 campaign . However despite their winning seasons and star talent , Massillon was still losing money . One reason for the disparity is that Massillon was smaller than Canton , meaning it had a smaller fan base to support its football team . The Tigers had highly devoted following , however they weren ' t enough of them . Also the city lacked a decent ballpark . as a result many of the Tigers ' biggest home games were undersold . The only way to make the Tigers profitable was to use Peggy Parratt ' s old Akron scheme of bringing in just enough high - priced stars to win . Even then , the Tigers would have probably operated at a loss , but one small enough that it could be made up for by the team ' s backers . However Massillon did upset the Bulldogs in their second game of the season series 6 - 0 , behind two field goals kicked by Cofall . But despite the upset , Canton was regarded as the U . S . champion ; Massillon couldn ' t make a serious claim . The Tigers had lost their first game with the Bulldogs by a larger margin and dropped two other games to lesser opponents . It had not been a good season for Massillon . They lost three games on the field , and their backers dropped $ 4 , 700 at the gate . After the season , a " Cleveland critic " chose an all - pro team from among the four major northeastern Ohio teams . The Massillon players listed on the all - pr listing were Bob Nash , Bob Peck , Pike Johnson , Charley Copley , and Stan Cofall . One of the teams Massillon would play ( and defeat soundly ) in 1917 was the Buffalo All - Stars , who would later join the NFL as the Buffalo All - Americans in 1917 . The team suspended operations in 1918 due to a flu pandemic and the Great War , but returned in 1919 . 1919 . Many of the top teams of the " Ohio League " returned to action in 1919 . At a meeting on July 14 , 1919 , the managers held a " get - together " at Canton ' s Courtland Hotel . The managers decided on a pay scale for officials and agreed to refrain from stealing each others players for the upcoming season . However the big surprise came when Massillon backer Jack Donahue refused to go along with a proposal to limit salaries . Massillon had trouble with the increasing cost of players and would profit more by a salary cap than anyone else . Donahue insisted , " If a manager wants to pay $ 10 , 000 for a player , that ' s his business . " The Tigers were set to begin their 1919 season in New York City against the New York Brickley Giants , organized by the same Charles Brickley that had played for Massillon in 1917 . However due to a dispute over the application of New York ' s blue law s , that prohibited playing football on Sundays , Brickley ' s Giants were forced to fold . ( The Giants team would however regroup and play in the National Football League in 1921 and as an independent until 1923 ; a second , unrelated New York Giants would join the league for 1925 and this is the New York Giants team that is in the NFL today . ) The Tigers did play well in 1919 , however once again the came in second to Canton in the " Ohio League " standings . The team ' s backers then decided to fold the team after losing over $ 5 , 000 during the season . Stan Cofall also abandoned the Tigers after the season . He and many of the now former - Tigers players left to play for the Cleveland Tigers . Formation of the NFL . Attempts to restart the Tigers . During the August 20 , 1920 the first meeting aimed at establishing the American Professional Football Association ( renamed the National Football League in 1922 ) , there was hope that F . J . Griffiths , of the Massillon steel industry , would resurrect the franchise , but the meeting passed with no word from Griffiths . During late August and early September of that same year , Ralph Hay and Jim Thorpe tried without success to find a backer for a new Massillon team . While the Tigers consistently lost money for themselves , they were always a good draw for others . In fact it was a strong rivalry with Massillion that helped lead Jim Thorpe to Canton . Cupid Black , an All - America guard from Yale , was also rumored to restart the Tigers franchise , however he later turned down the offer . Vernon Maginnis issue . On September 17 , 1920 at Ralph Hay ' s Hupmobile dealership in Canton , the charter members of the future NFL formally established the new league . During that meeting , the first order of business was to decided the future of the Massillon franchise . It was then that the managers were confronted by Vernon Maginnis , the manager of the unsuccessful Akron Indians in 1919 , who wanted to field a traveling team and call it the " Massillon Tigers " . Hay and the other managers turned down the offer because they didn ' t feel the franchise would pan out and because nobody wanted to see the proud Massillon Tigers name taken in vain and made a road attraction . The current Akron owners , now renamed the Pros , Art Ranney and Frank Nied were also associated with Maginnis during his ownership of the team in 1919 , and had many problems with him during that season . Maginnis ' representative was not admitted to the meeting , however the Massillon Tigers were counted as present at the charter meeting of the NFL . Hay , who ' d tried to get a real Massillon team restarted , considered himself as their spokesman . Once the meeting started , he stood up and announced that Massillon was withdrawing from professional football for the season of 1920 . And to resure that Maginnis wouldn ' t try to reestablish a Massillon " franchise " , Hay told the American Professional Football Association managers : " Do not schedule any ` other ' Massillon team " . Charter NFL member ? The 10 teams represented at the September 17 meeting are considered charter members of the AFPA , and , by extension , of the National Football league . Massillon is usually counted on a technicality . The team , under Hay , were there , they just never played in the new league .