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First NFL Championship Trophy Still Missing
Mention pro football in 1920 and you'd get either a quizzical look or one of outright dismissal.* The game simply hadn't existed outside high school and college campuses.* In 1920, though, organizers in Ohio got serious.* Four teams from the state would form a small league that would eventually morph into the NFL.
While there was some controversy, the Akron Pros were awarded the first "AFPA" championship.
According to* meeting minutes taken in the fall of 1920, they were to receive a "silver-loving cup", donated to the Association by a "Mr. Marshall".
Akron lost its team just a few years later due to lack of interest, while teams in Green Bay and Chicago blossomed.* Still, the trophy awarded to what the NFL considers its first league champions would be priceless...if anyone knew where it was.
What became of the Brunswich-Balke Collander Cup remains a mystery.* Mark J. Price of Ohio.com chronicles the team--and the missing football artifact.
More...
While there was some controversy, the Akron Pros were awarded the first "AFPA" championship.According to* meeting minutes taken in the fall of 1920, they were to receive a "silver-loving cup", donated to the Association by a "Mr. Marshall".
Akron lost its team just a few years later due to lack of interest, while teams in Green Bay and Chicago blossomed.* Still, the trophy awarded to what the NFL considers its first league champions would be priceless...if anyone knew where it was.
What became of the Brunswich-Balke Collander Cup remains a mystery.* Mark J. Price of Ohio.com chronicles the team--and the missing football artifact.
More...