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." 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. The results were split; the first was a 2–6 loss while the second was a 12–6 win. 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." 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. 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. 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. The Panhandles' 1903 season ended with a 5–3 record.
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. However, the Panhandles didn't take off and the team played just two games. 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. 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. The Panhandles adopted an amateur sandlot mentality for their playing style. Since the team was composed mainly of railroad workers, the scenario gave the players limited time to practice and prepare for games. The Panhandles did the majority of their preparation during their lunch breaks. 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. An athletic field behind the railroad shops in Columbus became the team's practice field.
The Nessers . However Carr knew that if his team was to succeed, he needed an attraction. Carr built his team around pro football's most famous family, the
Nesser Brothers, who were already drawing crowds throughout the country. 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. None of the Nessers attended college, despite many offers. They all were exceptionally great athletes for their time. Carr took out ads describing his Panhandles as the toughest professional team in football, led by the famous Nesser brothers. 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. 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. ==NFL==