Editing Providence Steamrollers (NFL) (section)

==History==

===Pre-NFL===
The Steam Rollers were established in 1916 by members of the ''[[Providence Journal]]''; sports-editor [[Charles Coppen]] and part-time sports-writer [[Pearce Johnson]]. Three men shared in the ownership and management of the team: Coppen, [[James Dooley (Rhode Island politician)|James Dooley]], and [[Peter Laudati]]. Meanwhile, Johnson stayed on as the team's manager for each year of its existence.<ref name="Pigskin">{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rCnbhSRZpgIC | title=Pigskin: The Early Years of Pro Football | first=Robert W. | last=Peterson | isbn=0-19-511913-4 | publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] | year=1997}}</ref>

The team soon became a regional power and by the mid-1920s was known as the best independent team in the country. By 1919 the team was drawing in more spectators than [[Brown University]] by a margin of 2–1, according to newspaper reports at the time. However, it seemed unlikely since the Steam Rollers crowd was on average 3,000 spectators a game. The players' wages were lower than those of [[Indiana]] and [[Ohio]], so it was harder for the Steam Rollers to bring in "ringers". Several [[college football]] players did play for the Steam Rollers, but under aliases, so as not to jeopardize their amateur status.<ref name="Pigskin" />

In 1924, Providence's schedule featured several NFL teams. The Steam Rollers posted a 3–2–1 record against those teams, defeating the [[Rochester Jeffersons]] (3–0), [[Minneapolis Marines]] (49–0) and [[Dayton Triangles]] (10–7). Both of their losses came against the [[Frankford Yellow Jackets]] (21–10) and (16–3). The team also posted a scoreless tie against the [[Columbus Panhandles|Columbus Tigers]]. The 1924 Steam Rollers then went on to win the mythical "undisputed championship of the Northeast". The team's success that season was enough to make Steam Rollers management and fans start thinking about playing in the NFL.<ref name="Gill" >{{cite news| title=Providence Starts Rolling| publisher=Professional Football Researchers Association| pages=1–3| url=http://www.profootballresearchers.org/Articles/Providence_Starts_Rolling.pdf| author=Gill, Bob| url-status=dead| archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100929064850/http://profootballresearchers.org/Articles/Providence_Starts_Rolling.pdf| archivedate=2010-09-29}}</ref>

===NFL years===
[[File:Football game at Providence Cycledrome 1928.jpg|thumb|right|A 1928 football game at the [[Cycledrome]]]]
Providence joined the NFL in time for the 1925 season. By that time only three players from the 1924 team were still in the line-up when the team's first practice of 1925 was held on September 17. In fact, only about a dozen of them wore Steam Rollers colors for the team's debut in the NFL.<ref name="Gill" /> The Steam Rollers played mediocre football in their first two NFL seasons, but posted a strong 8–5–1 record in 1927 with [[Jim Conzelman]] as the team's head coach. For his per game salary of $292, Conzelman not only coached the team but also played [[quarterback]] in the single-wing formation. The star player for Providence was [[Halfback (American football)|halfback]] [[Wildcat Wilson|George "Wildcat" Wilson]], a 1925 [[All-American]] from the [[University of Washington]] who had spent the 1926 season as the head of the traveling [[Los Angeles Wildcats (AFL)|Los Angeles Wildcats]] of the [[American Football League (1926)|AFL]].<ref name="Roller">{{cite journal | title=The Steam Roller | journal=Coffin Corner | publisher=Professional Football Researchers Association | volume=2 | issue=3 | year=1980 | pages=1–13 | url=http://www.profootballresearchers.org/Coffin_Corner/02-03-029.pdf | author=Hogrogian, John | url-status=dead | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20101127035624/http://profootballresearchers.org/Coffin_Corner/02-03-029.pdf | archivedate=2010-11-27 }}</ref>

====1928 championship season====
[[File:Steam Roller 1928 World Champions pennant.jpg|thumb|1928 World Champions pennant.]]
Providence opened its [[1928 Providence Steam Roller season|1928 season]] against [[Red Grange]] and the [[New York Yankees (NFL)|New York Yankees]], Wilson's rival from the AFL. The Steam Rollers led the Yankees 20–7 at halftime and held that score throughout the second half. However, the team's next game resulted in a 10–6 loss to the Frankford Yellow Jackets. However, the team soon rebounded with a four-game winning streak over the Dayton Triangles (28–0), Yankees (12–6), [[Pottsville Maroons]] (13–6) and [[1928 Detroit Wolverines (NFL) season|Detroit Wolverines]] (7–0). The Steam Rollers faced the Yellow Jackets again at [[Frankford Stadium]] on November 17, which resulted in a scoreless tie. However a week later, at the Cycledrome, Providence finally avenged its only loss of the season with a 6–0 victory over the Yellow Jackets. The team would then post wins over the [[New York Giants]] (16–0) and Pottsville (7–0), before ending its season with a 7–7 tie, against the [[Green Bay Packers]]. Providence was named the 1928 NFL Champions. Prior to the 1932 season, the NFL team with the best winning percentage was named the NFL Champions. Despite the Yellow Jackets winning 3 more games than the Steam Rollers and posting an 11–3–2 record, Providence was awarded the title due to having a better winning percentage with an 8-1-2 season.<ref name="Roller" />

A "victory banquet" at the [[Providence Biltmore|Biltmore Hotel]] took place a week later. At the banquet, each player was rewarded with a gold watch. It was also at this event that Conzelman was given a trophy and named the team's "Most Valuable Player". Five of the Steam Rollers players gained All-NFL honors when the league issued its official honor roll on December 23. Wildcat Wilson and [[Clyde Smith (American football)|Clyde Smith]] were named to the first team, while [[Curly Oden]], [[Milt Rehnquist]], and [[Gus Sonnenberg]] were placed on the second team.<ref name="Roller" /><ref>{{cite journal | title=Steam Rolled | journal=Coffin Corner | publisher=Professional Football Researchers Association | volume=2 | issue=3 | year=1980 | pages=1–4 | url=http://www.profootballresearchers.org/Articles/Steamrollered.pdf | author=Carroll, Bob | url-status=dead | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100929154916/http://profootballresearchers.org/Articles/Steamrollered.pdf | archivedate=2010-09-29 }}
</ref>

====NFL firsts====
Over the course of the next seven years, the team not only won an NFL championship but also established three league "firsts." In 1925, Providence was the first NFL team to play its home games in a bicycle racing stadium (a [[velodrome]]). In 1929, the Steam Rollers established two NFL "firsts." In the six-day period between November 5 and November 10, 1929, Providence played four games. The marathon string began against the [[Staten Island Stapletons]], the [[Chicago Cardinals]] and concluded with a two-game series against the [[Frankford Yellow Jackets]]. Although the Steam Rollers made history, their 0–3–1 record during that six-day stretch proved to be a scheduling disaster. During the second game of that four-game series, Providence hosted the Cardinals on November 6. The game was played at night at nearby [[Kinsley Park]], where floodlights recently had been installed. The teams had originally been scheduled to play on Sunday, November 3, but heavy rains made the Cycledrome field unplayable. Since neither team wanted to lose a payday, the historic night game was hastily scheduled. Because of this, Providence made history again by being the first team to host an NFL game at night under floodlights. Although the Steam Rollers lost 16–0, the game was declared a success because 6,000 fans attended.<ref>http://www.profootballhof.com/history/decades/1920s/providence.aspx Decade-by-Decade: The 1920s and Providence (note: this reference erroneously calls the home field the "''Cyclodome''")</ref>

===Decline===
Despite their 1928 championship, the team experienced troubles in 1929. On January 4, 1929, Sonnenberg defeated [[Strangler Lewis]] in two straight falls to capture the world heavyweight championship in professional wrestling. This caused Sonnenberg to stay out of football, as he could make better money defending his title. Meanwhile, Oden quit pro football to take a job with an insurance company in [[Boston, Massachusetts|Boston]], and Smith decided to return to his native [[Missouri]] and coach football. Conzelman also didn't fully recover from a knee injury sustained in 1928. Rehnquist missed the first half of the season due to illness, and Wildcat Wilson became complacent and turned into an ordinary back. The 1929 Steam Rollers team struggled to a 4–6–2 record, resulting in a 7th place league finish. This caused the fans, who attended each game during the championship season, to stay home. The team posted a 6–4–1 record in 1930 and a 4–4–3 record in 1931.<ref>{{cite journal | title=The Steam Roller | journal=Coffin Corner | publisher=Professional Football Researchers Association | volume=2 | issue=3 | year=1980 | pages=1–13 | url=http://www.profootballresearchers.org/Coffin_Corner/02-03-029.pdf | author=Hogrogian, John | url-status=dead | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20101127035624/http://profootballresearchers.org/Coffin_Corner/02-03-029.pdf | archivedate=2010-11-27 }}</ref>

The lack of interest, coupled with the [[Great Depression]] in 1930, caused Dooley, Coppen and Laudati to suspend operations after the 1931 season. The three owners then gave up and turned the franchise back over to the NFL in 1933.<ref>{{cite journal | title=The Steam Roller | journal=Coffin Corner | publisher=Professional Football Researchers Association | volume=2 | issue=3 | year=1980 | pages=1–13 | url=http://www.profootballresearchers.org/Coffin_Corner/02-03-029.pdf | author=Hogrogian, John | url-status=dead | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20101127035624/http://profootballresearchers.org/Coffin_Corner/02-03-029.pdf | archivedate=2010-11-27 }}</ref>