Virtual Scrapbook: Thorpe's Cardinals, 1925

Ghosts of the Gridiron - Virtual Scrapbook Library

Vol. 8: Thorpe's Cardinals

Note: This virtual scrapbook has been added to the Ghosts of the Gridiron library because, although not a Philadelphia area club, Thorpe's Cardinals did play several games against a team whose line-up consisted primarily of players from two prominent clubs in the region - the Frankford Yellow Jackets and Millville (NJ) Big Blue. In addition, there is surprisingly little information available regarding Thorpe's games in Florida during January of 1926. Hopefully this scrapbook will help to fill that void.

In late December of 1925 Jim Thorpe arrived in Florida to participate in a much publicized New Year's Day football exhibition against the NFL’s Chicago Bears. The Bears, featuring newly signed college sensation Red Grange, had recently embarked on a post-season barnstorming tour. The contest against Thorpe’s team, dubbed the Tampa Cardinals and composed primarily of Big Jim’s teammates from the NFL’s Rock Island Independents, was the second of the tour. The game itself was billed as a clash of old vs. new, with Grange, the rising star, taking on Thorpe, the aging legend. Youth won out, as the Red lead Bears coasted to a 17-3 victory. Undeterred by their defeat at Tampa, Thorpe and the core of his Cardinals team remained in Florida to play a few mercenary games under various banners.

In first of these contests, the Cards were hired to supplement the line-up of the Haven-Villas, a local club playing out of Winter Haven. The Villas were set to square-off against the Millville Big Blue, a successful independent club from New Jersey. Millville was headed by Thorpe's old friend and former Canton Bulldogs teammate, Guy Chamberlin. Despite being scheduled to appear, Thorpe did not take the field during the game. The exact reason for his absence is not clear. His fellow Cardinals, however, did play, losing to the Jersey boys by a score of 28-7.

Thorpe & company next headed to St. Petersburg. There, billed as the St. Petersburg Cardinals, they again faced Chamberlin’s club, which had now been hired to represent Haven-Villa. Although held at the St. Petersburg Kennel Club in order to accommodate an anticipated large crowd, the game drew barely 300 paying fans. On the up-side, the Cards fared a little better with Big Jim back in the line-up, holding the visitors to a scoreless draw. A rematch was arranged for a few days later at Winter Haven. Another disappointing crowd - this time just 500 - turned out at the local high school stadium to witness the Cardinals come out on the short end of a 38-0 drubbing.

The following afternoon the two teams met again, at Adair Park in Lakeland, in what appears to have been the Cards final game in Florida. This time Thorpe’s team took to the field under the banner of the “Lena Vistas,” while Chamberlin’s squad was advertised as the “Eastern States All-Stars.” It quickly became clear that little changed in the 24 hours or so since the previous contest. At the final whistle the tally stood at Eastern States - 24, Lena Vistas - 0.

Below is a collection of digitized newspaper clippings reporting on Thorpe's Cardinals games in Florida during January of 1926. Simply click on an individual image to view a full sized version of that article.

1926 (0-4-1)

1/1/1926 @ Tampa: Tampa Cardinals - 3 vs. Chicago Bears - 17

	Game Program 1/1/1926		Philadelphia Record Philadelphia, PA 1/2/1926		Public Ledger Philadelphia, PA 1/2/1926

1/7/1926 @ Winter Haven: Haven Villas - 7 vs. Millville Big Blue - 28

	Winter Haven Daily Chief Winter Haven, FL 1/5/1926		Millville Daily Republican Millville, NJ 1/7/1926		Winter Haven Daily Chief Winter Haven, FL 1/7/1926		Winter Haven Daily Chief Winter Haven, FL 1/8/1926

1/14/1926 @ St. Petersburg: Thorpe's Cardinals - 0 vs. Haven Villas - 0

	Winter Haven Daily Chief Winter Haven, FL 1/13/1926		Winter Haven Daily Chief Winter Haven, FL 1/14/1926		Winter Haven Daily Chief Winter Haven, FL 1/15/1926

1/20/1926 @ Winter Haven: Thorpe's Cardinals - 0 @ Haven Villas - 38

	Winter Haven Daily Chief Winter Haven, FL 1/19/1926		Winter Haven Daily Chief Winter Haven, FL 1/21/1926

1/21/1926 @ Lakeland: Lena Vistas - 0 vs. Eastern States All-Stars - 24

Lakeland Evening Ledger Lakeland, FL 1/20/1926	Lakeland Star-Telegram Lakeland, FL 1/20/1926	Lakeland Star-Telegram Lakeland, FL 1/21/1926	Lakeland Evening Ledger Lakeland, FL 1/22/1926	Lakeland Star-Telegram Lakeland, FL 1/22/1926

Millville Daily Republican Millville, NJ 1/22/1926