Early history One of the first professional football teams, the Independents were founded in
Rock Island, Illinois, in 1907 by Demetrius Clements as an independent football club. The independent team had no athletic club affiliation, no social club ties and no corporate company backing or sponsorship. As a result, the team was named the "Independents." The Independents played in
Douglas Park (1907–1925) and
Browning Field (1926). The 1910 team went undefeated and were not scored on in five games. A year of hiatus seems to have followed. The team reorganized in 1912, seeking to compete with the neighboring community of
Moline on the gridiron. Many of the players from the 1910 team reunited in that year and, under Coach John Roche, the team won eight games without giving up a score.
Walter Flanigan was the owner of the Independents 1915 to 1923. Dale Johnson then owned the team from 1924 until it folded, along with the rest of the
American Football League in 1926. Walter Flanigan had joined the Independents as a backup
end in 1912. For the following two seasons, he served as the team's assistant manager, under then-manager Jack Roche. In 1915, Flanigan became the owner of the team and later promoted the Independents by scheduling two home games in 1917 against the
Minneapolis Marines. This contest helped the Independents gain legitimacy. Rock Island lost to the Marines by a score of 7–3 in front of over 6,400 fans at Douglas Park in the first game on November 4. The two teams played again on November 18 and Rock Island lost again, 33–7, in the second game in front of 4,500 fans. However,
World War I and the
military draft put a temporary halt to Flanigan's plans of expanding the team into new markets. In 1919, Flanigan hired
Rube Ursella of the Minneapolis Marines to serve as a
player-coach. Ursella brought several other Minneapolis players with him. These new players would help improve play and help secure the team an invitation to join the NFL. The Independents lost only to the
Hammond Pros, led by
George Halas in 1919. Flanigan then challenged the
Canton Bulldogs to a "championship" game, offering a $5,000 guarantee if they would come to Rock Island for the game. But Canton, which had already won the "
Ohio League" championship by defeating the
Massillon Tigers, turned down the offer. It is likely that Canton's player/coach
Jim Thorpe and owner
Ralph Hay felt that Flanigan could not deliver on his $5,000 guarantee. However, the Independents still had defeated the
Columbus Panhandles 49–0 and the Indians 17–0 that season. In 1919, the season prior to the establishment of the
National Football League, they claimed to be "Champions of the USA". The invitation to Canton led to the Independents being invited to the September 17, 1920 historic meeting on the formation of the National Football League. A second and considerably larger meeting was held on September 17, 1920. The meeting was again at Canton owner
Ralph Hay's
Hupmobile dealership in Canton and Independents owner
Walter Flanigan was present to represent the Independents. Representatives of eleven teams were present at the second meeting: the four teams from the first meeting, plus the
Decatur Staleys,
Chicago Cardinals,
Massillon Tigers,
Hammond Pros,
Muncie Flyers, Rock Island Independents and
Rochester Jeffersons. The minutes of this meeting are in
Pro Football Hall of Fame archives. The league was renamed to the American Professional Football Association (APFA), and the number of teams was expanded, with league play to begin in 1920. , home venue of the Independents, in 1920. Football yard lines can be seen carved in the infield grass, giving an idea of field configuration for football. The newly formed league elected
Jim Thorpe as its first President and consisted of 14 teams. The
Buffalo All-Americans,
Chicago Tigers,
Columbus Panhandles, and
Detroit Heralds joined the league during the year. The
Massillon Tigers from
Massillon, Ohio was also at the September 17 meeting, but did not field a team in 1920. After the formation of the league, Flanigan was named to the committee that created the league's constitution. Today, only two of these franchises, the Decatur Staleys (now the
Chicago Bears) and the Chicago Cardinals (now the
Arizona Cardinals), remain as NFL franchises. On
September 26, 1920, the Independents hosted the
first official game featuring a team from the APFA. Thus, the Independents'
Douglas Park became the site of the first ever
National Football League contest. Just nine days after the league had formed, on September 26, 1920, the Independents defeated the St. Paul Ideals 48–0 in the first contest involving a member team of the APFA. 3,100 fans were in attendance as Arnie Wyman, former
Minnesota great, made his debut for the Islanders, scoring three touchdowns. This might have been the first NFL game ever played between two NFL teams, however, NFL historical records don't indicate the kickoff time for this game or the other APFA game played that day between the
Dayton Triangles and the
Columbus Panhandles in
Dayton, Ohio. The Independents posted 4–2–1 records in the league's first year. They had the same record the next two seasons, with five of their six losses in three years coming to
George Halas and the
Decatur Staleys/Chicago Staleys/Chicago Bears. On June 24, 1922, the APFA changed its name to the
National Football League (NFL). On October 16, 1921, the Independents battled back from a 7–0 deficit against the
Chicago Cardinals to lead 14–7 in the second quarter. The comeback was sparked by two
touchdowns, scored by player-coach
Frank Coughlin. Flanigan then ordered the team's
tackle,
Ed Healey relieve Coughlin. Once Coughlin was safely on his way toward the sideline, Healey delivered a message to
Jimmy Conzelman from Flanigan, it read:
"Coughlin was fired! The new coach was Conzelman!" This act marked the first and only time an owner hired a new coach in the middle of a game. In 1922, Flanigan sold the contract of
Ed Healey, to Halas and the Chicago Bears for $100. However, Healey soon became a star for the Bears and would later be inducted into the
Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1964. In
1923, Flanigan left the Independents to concentrate on his real estate and insurance businesses. The Independents' overall NFL record was 26–14–9, with five winning seasons in six years. After finishing fourth in 1920, their best overall finish in the National Football League standings was fifth, which they accomplished three times: in
1921 and
1922 under
Jimmy Conzelman, and in
1924 under
Johnny Armstrong.
American Football League In 1926, football star
Red Grange and his agent,
C. C. Pyle, formed the
American Football League (AFL) after Pyle was denied ownership of an NFL franchise in
New York City. In what proved to be a fatal move, after the 1925 season Johnson moved the team to the American Football League. Johnson felt that the American Football League, which featured
Red Grange, would out-perform the NFL. The Independents then signed
Elmer Layden, one of the
Four Horsemen of
Notre Dame for 1926. Founding American Football League teams for 1926 were the
Boston Bulldogs,
Brooklyn Horsemen,
Chicago Bulls,
Cleveland Panthers,
Los Angeles Wildcats,
Newark Bears,
New York Yankees,
Philadelphia Quakers and the Rock Island Independents. Rock Island left the NFL to join the new league. The Independents also moved from
Douglas Park in Rock Island to
Browning Field in neighboring
Moline, Illinois for the 1926 season. The Independents were the only NFL team to make the jump to the rival league. The AFL did not pay as much as the NFL did a year prior and Independents players left the team for bigger salaries with other NFL teams. As a result, the Independents ended their season with a 2–6–1 record. Coached by
Johnny Armstrong, the Independents played their first three games at Browning Field and then played the rest of their 1926 games as a
traveling team. The AFL folded after the season and the Independents were rejected in their attempt to rejoin the NFL. They played as a semi-pro team in 1927, and then went out of business. ==Stadium==