Category: NDN All-Star Profile

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The Carlisle Indians – A Football Dynasty

Carlisle Indians Football Team

In this blog post, I want to change up a little bit and – instead of focusing on one individual athlete, I would like to talk about one the most influential football programs in the storied history of the gridiron.

And, while the tragedies that came along with the whole Indian Boarding School concept (and there were countless horrible things that occurred at those institutions) are still being uncovered, this post is about one of the more positive outcomes from that failed social experiment.

A lot has been written about the Carlisle Indians, Jim Thorpe, Pop Warner and more, and deservedly so.  What was created at Carlisle when you view things through a sports program lens, the accomplishments of the teams from Carlisle are astounding!

Instead of me rehashing a lot of facts and statistics, I would like to point you to some books written by a lot smarter people than me who have researched and dug and discovered all the great information we want to know about Carlisle football.

Check these out:

“Gridiron Gypsies” by Dr. Tom Benjey

“The Real All-Americans” by Sally Jenkins

“Carlisle vs Army” by Lars Anderson

There are many more books about some of the athletes who attended and played at Carlisle – Jim Thorpe, Chief Bender, Joe Guyon, Albert Exendine – the list goes on.  I will talk about some of those when I post about the individuals.

If you have a favorite book about the football program at Carlisle Industrial School, leave a comment and tell me which one and why.  I would love to hear about it.

And – in celebration of the Carlisle Industrial School and their dominant football team, here is the Carlisle School March.  (Imagine if the band played this after every touchdown like colleges do with their Fight Songs today… the band would be exhausted!)

#NDNAllstars #CarlisleFootball #JimThorpe #PopWarner

If you enjoy the content here and would like to help support our mission of celebrating great Native athletes of the past and present, please take a look at our NDN All-Stars Shop. Proceeds from every purchase help us continue to retell these stories. Also, if you would like to donate to this effort, please visit our Patreon page.
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NDN All-Star #8 Tom Longboat (Onondaga)

NDN All-Star #8 Tom Longboat (Onondaga)

NDN All-Star #8 Tom Longboat (Onondaga) was a long-distance runner from Canada. I selected him for the NDN All-Stars line up because of his unbelievable accomplishments, including winning the Boston Marathon in 1907 – shattering the record by a staggering 5 MINUTES (a whole mile’s worth of running time). He also won two Canadian championships, two US championships, and represented Canada in the 1908 Summer Olympics in London.

I will be honest… I didn’t know about Tom Longboat before I started doing research for this whole NDN All-Stars thing.  I could barely believe what I was reading when I came across information about Tom Longboat. I am glad that I found out about him – and can now share his story and accomplishments with all of you!

At the beginning of the 20th Century, long distance running was an international phenomenon – with races being held all over North America and Europe.  And these were not just ANY races… they were true feats of endurance.  Longboat beat an Italian runner named Dorando Pietri of Italy for the “World Professional Running Championship”. The race was held in Madison Square Garden on December 15, 190. Longboat won when Dorando collapsed with half a mile to go. When Longboat crossed the finish line, he had been running for 2 hours, 45 minutes, and 5.2 seconds, and he won a prize of $3,750.

His success as a long-distance runner made him one of Canada’s first sports celebrities and earned him the nickname “The Iron Man”. He was inducted into the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame in 1955 as part of their inaugural class of inductees.

Tom Longboat remains one of Canada’s most celebrated athletes to this day.  Here is a short animated story of NDN All-Star #8 Tom Longboat that is pretty entertaining…

During World War I, Tom Longboat was a messenger, running through heavy fire to deliver communications to Allied Forces.  There is a story that once, when he made a fast journey and delivered the message he was tasked with, the commanding officer said something to the effect of “Wow!  That was fast!  Who do you think you are? Tom Longboat?”  Tom replied simply, “Yes, as a matter of fact.”

A world famous long distance runner, Boston Marathon winner AND war hero!  NDN All-Star #8 Tom Longboat – an NDN All-Star everyone should know about!

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NDN All-Star #7 Billy Mills (Oglala Sioux)

NDN All-Star #7 Billy Mills (Oglala Siouc)

NDN All-Star #7 Billy Mills, a member of the Oglala Sioux, was the winner of the Gold Medal in the 10,000 meter race at the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo. It was an extraordinary achievement, given his humble beginnings on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. His amazing come-from-behind victory has since become a source of inspiration for Native Americans everywhere. Click the link to see him pour on the speed to win the Gold Medal!  It gives me goose bumps every time I see it!

His story is one that shows that anything is possible if you put your mind to it and never give up – regardless of where you come from.  It has been told numerous times, and was even made into a movie in 1983 called “Running Brave“.

Billy has used his celebrity to good effect.  He is the national spokesperson for the “Running Strong for American Indian Youth” foundation, doing great work to provide better lives and opportunities for the next generations of Native youth.  Click the link and see how you can help their efforts.

As the only American to win the Gold Medal in the 10,000 meter race, NDN All-Star #7 Billy Mills is a true NDN All-Star!

If you enjoy the content here and would like to help support our mission of celebrating great Native athletes of the past and present, please take a look at our NDN All-Stars Shop. Proceeds from every purchase help us continue to retell these stories. Also, if you would like to donate to this effort, please visit our Patreon page.
Thank you for your support!

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NDN All-Star #6 – Jack Dempsey (Cherokee)

NDN All-Star #6 Jack Dempsey (Cherokee) porrait painting

I selected Jack Dempsey (Cherokee) for the NDN All-Stars team because – he was the best and toughest boxer of the first half of the 20th Century, and the Undisputed Heavyweight Champion of the World for SEVEN YEARS!

There have been a lot of books written about NDN All-Star #6 Jack Dempsey (Cherokee) so there are tons of resources where you can find out more about his life and his boxing career.  I will provide a short list of some of the books that I have read below.  His story of growing up in poverty and having to fight in bars and back alleys to earn food money gives you an idea of the determination he had to make it to the top.

And on July 4, 1919 – in Toledo, OH, he did just that.  Dempsey shocked the world when he savagely beat the reigning Heavyweight Champion Jess Willard into submission.  The extent of the beating cannot be exaggerated.  Willard’s face was a bloody pulp, he lost teeth, and had his jaw and facial bones broken.  You can see the actual fight here.

After boxing, Jack Dempsey became a successful business man and restaurant owner.  He also dabbled in acting, making a few movies in Hollywood.

NDN All-Star #6 Jack Dempsey’s legacy and impact on the sport of boxing lives on today.  His fighting style is studied and emulated by current fighters of all weight classes.  Former Heavyweight Champion “Iron” Mike Tyson has said many times that his ultimate boxing hero – and the fighter that he tried most to emulate – is Jack Dempsey.

What greater compliment can you get?

NDN All-Star #6 Jack Dempsey (Cherokee) is certainly deserving of a spot on the NDN All-Stars roster.

Suggested reading:

#ndnallstars #jackdempsey #cherokee #boxing #heavyweight #champion

If you enjoy the content here and would like to help support our mission of celebrating great Native athletes of the past and present, please take a look at our NDN All-Stars Shop. Proceeds from every purchase help us continue to retell these stories. Also, if you would like to donate to this effort, please visit our Patreon page.
Thank you for your support!

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NDN All-Star #5 Albert “Chief” Bender (Ojibwe)

NDN All-Star #5 Albert "Chief" Bender (Ojibwe)

I selected “Chief” Bender as NDN All-Star #5 for one simple reason.  He was a brilliant baseball pitcher.  If you need verification of that – here is a link to his lifetime stats: https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/bendech01.shtml

Albert, as he preferred to be called, was another athletic star that came from the Carlisle Indian School.  (Imagine walking down those hallways and seeing athletes like Jim Thorpe, Albert Bender, Lewis Tewanima, Joe Guyon, etc. as part of the student body…)

Bender made his Major League debut on April 20, 1903 when he was just 19 years old.  He would go on to pitch for 15 major league seasons and play in three World Series.

Bender was at his best in high pressure, big-game situations.  In the 1911 World Series he pitched three complete games!  His manager, Hall of Famer Connie Mack, once said “If I had all the men I’ve ever handled and they were in their prime and there was one big game I wanted to win above all others, Albert would be my man.”  Definitely high words of praise and confidence, I would say.

“Chief” Bender was elected to the MLB Hall of Fame in 1953

I just received a book about NDN All-star #5 Albert “Chief” Bender in the mail a few days ago.  It is called “Chief Bender’s Burden” written by Tom Swift and published in 2008.  I look forward to reading it soon and will post more about Bender in a later blog post.

If any of you have read “Chief Bender’s Burden” let me know what you thought of the book – and of NDN All-Star #5 Albert “Chief” Bender (Ojibwe) in the comments.

#ndnallstars #chiefbender #mlb #ojibwe #HOF #tomswift #chiefbendersburden

If you enjoy the content here and would like to help support our mission of celebrating great Native athletes of the past and present, please take a look at our NDN All-Stars Shop. Proceeds from every purchase help us continue to retell these stories. Also, if you would like to donate to this effort, please visit our Patreon page.
Thank you for your support!

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NDN All-Star #4 – Louis Sockalexis (Penobscot)

NDN All-Star #4 - Louis Sockalexis (Penobscot)

There is a lot to be said about being FIRST.

Louis Sockalexis – he should have been as big of a deal as Jackie Robinson.  “Sock” as he was called, broke the major league baseball color barrier in the 1890s, becoming the first Native American to play major league baseball.  Yet – not many people have ever even heard of him!

Sockalexis took the baseball world by storm when he began playing for the then Cleveland Spiders in 1897.  He was a media darling when he began his career and played stellar baseball on the field.  He hit .338 and stole 16 bases in just 66 games his first season.

Sockalexis had to endure endless racial taunts and war whoops from heckling baseball fans.  But he handled them well.

People who saw him play in person said he could hit like Babe Ruth, run like Ty Cobb and throw like Tris Speaker.  Actually, they said “better than” – but I didn’t want to lay it on too thick…

Sadly, Sockalexis’ career was cut short by alcoholism.  While it was said that he could do all of those baseball things better than anyone else, Hall of Fame baseball general manager Ed Barrow also said that he was “also the best drinker.”  His play suffered greatly and after parts of just three major league seasons, his promising career ended.

Oh, what might have been…

He went home to the Penobscot reservation and became a minor league player until 1907, when he played his last game in organized baseball.  After his playing days ended, he coached baseball for the youth on the reservation for a time and worked doing manual labor.  He died in 1913 at the age of 42.

One of the many stories attached to Louis Sockalexis is that the Cleveland Spiders, the team that Sock played for, changed their name to the “Indians” in 1915.  Legend has it that the name was an honor to the bright – although brief – stellar career of Louis Sockalexis.  There are many people who debunk this story – but I have decided to believe it.  ‘Nuff said.

#ndnallstars #louissockalexis #baseball #MLB #cleveland #Penobscot

If you enjoy the content here and would like to help support our mission of celebrating great Native athletes of the past and present, please take a look at our NDN All-Stars Shop. Proceeds from every purchase help us continue to retell these stories. Also, if you would like to donate to this effort, please visit our Patreon page.
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NDN All-Star #3 – Shoni Schimmel (Umatilla)

NDN All-Star #3 - Shoni Schimmel (Umatilla)

As a Pacific Northwest guy, it is easy to root for this basketball phenom from eastern Oregon.

I followed her career to Louisville (along with her sister) where they were college stars – and a “feel good” story to boot.  Two sisters from the “Rez” go to college and have success!  Good stuff!

Some of you may know this – but in case you don’t – there was a documentary made about her basketball journey from tiny Mission, Oregon on the Umatilla Reservation to an NCAA Division 1 college.  It is called “Off the Rez”.  (I found it on Youtube here: https://youtu.be/UEj2WSmDFGQ)

And then, when Schimmel got drafted by the WNBA’s Atlanta Dream in the 1st round, it was great to see her take her talent to the highest level!  A highlight of her professional career was being named the Most Valuable Player of the 2014 WNBA All-Star Game!  Shoni put on a show with her shooting and ball handling skills that day.

Shoni has devoted a lot of time in recent years to running basketball camps for kids in Indian communities throughout the country.  A few girls I know have attended her camps and found a new hero – someone who started out just like them, little girls with a basketball and a dream.

#ndnallstars #shonischimmel #wnba #basketball #umatilla

If you enjoy the content here and would like to help support our mission of celebrating great Native athletes of the past and present, please take a look at our NDN All-Stars Shop. Proceeds from every purchase help us continue to retell these stories. Also, if you would like to donate to this effort, please visit our Patreon page.
Thank you for your support!

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NDN All-Star #2 – Sonny Sixkiller (Cherokee)

NDN All-Star #2 Sonny Sixkiller (Cherokee)

As a huge football fan AND a huge University of Washington Huskies fan, my #2 draft choice for my NDN All-Stars team was pretty easy – the legendary UW quarterback Sonny Sixkiller!

Sonny Sixkiller was one of the first Native American athletes that I knew of or about as a kid.  While my dad wasn’t a huge football fan back in the day, he did make sure that I learned who that Indian kid was that was throwing the football all over the place on tv…

In the early 1970s, Sonny was the face of college football and led the nation in passing!  His winning personality and bright smile made for great publicity and photo ops!  Sports Illustrated featured Sixkiller on their cover, with an article that – looking back thru today’s lens – is almost laughable in places in its attempt to be “cute” using stereotypical “Indian” terms.

Sixkiller was such a sensation that there was even a SONG written about him!  Check it out!

After college, Sonny played professional football in the World Football League for the Philadelphia Bell and The Hawaiians.  After the WFL folded, Sixkiller had a tryout with the San Diego Chargers but then hung up his cleats and moved on to other pursuits.

You may recognize Sonny from his role in the 1974 football movie “The Longest Yard” alongside Burt Reynolds.

If you follow Washington Husky football these days, you are sure to see Sixkiller on tv, or hear him on the radio talking about his beloved Huskies…

Sonny Sixkiller – #2 on the list, and #1 in our hearts!

#ndnallstars #sonnysixkiller #huskies #football #cherokee #quarterback

If you enjoy the content here and would like to help support our mission of celebrating great Native athletes of the past and present, please take a look at our NDN All-Stars Shop. Proceeds from every purchase help us continue to retell these stories. Also, if you would like to donate to this effort, please visit our Patreon page.
Thank you for your support!

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NDN All-Star #1 – Jim Thorpe (Sac & Fox)

NDN All-Star #1 Jim Thorpe (Sac & Fox)

My first selection in the NDN All-Star Draft is… Jim Thorpe.  NFL Hall of Famer, 2 time Olympic Gold Medalist and Major League baseball player… and just about any other athletic activity known to man… Thorpe was just THE BEST!

In this blog post let’s talk about football.  Jim was a BRILLIANT football player!  He was the best runner, the best receiver, the hardest tackler and he even kicked field goals using the old “drop kick” method!  (He frequently toured in later years giving clinics on his drop kicking technique – routinely making field goals from 50+ yards…)

Thorpe dominated the game – and almost single handedly built professional football from a loose, rag tag organiztion with very low attendance to a spectacle almost on par with the king of sports at the time – baseball.  People would come from miles around and pay to see “Ol’ Jim run!”  As a matter of fact, there is a good story about the legendary football coach Knute Rockne, during his playing days, and his encounter with Big Jim.  Rockne bragged how he would stop that big Indian!  And on the first couple of plays, he tackled Thorpe for losses.  Each time, Jim got up and said something to the effect of “Nice tackle.  But – you better let Ol’ Jim run. That’s what people paid to see.”  Rockne laughed!  So, on the third play, “Ol’ Jim” took the ball, planted his foot and turned up field.  He blasted right over Rockne on his way to a long touchdown.  On his way back to his side of the field, Thorpe walked by a crumpled and groggy Rockne who was being helped up by his teammates and said “Good job, Rock.  You really let Ol’ Jim run!”  CLASSIC!

He was so respected in the football world that when the predecessor of the National Football League was formed in 1920, Thorpe was unanimously elected as the first President of the league, as well as being the main superstar and ticket draw!

Jim Thorpe meant so much to pro football, he was elected to the first class of the Pro Football Hall of Fame – there is a cool life sized statue of him right in the middle of it – and was voted to the 50th Anniversary All-Time team!

I could go on and on about NDN All-Star #1 Jim Thorpe (Sac & Fox), but I need to keep a few stories on hand for his two other roster spots, #16 for his baseball career track and #21 for his field exploits.

Jim Thorpe – everyone’s #1 Draft Pick!

Click here for a short video from the NFL about the great Jim Thorpe!

If you enjoy the content here and would like to help support our mission of celebrating great Native athletes of the past and present, please take a look at our NDN All-Stars Shop. Proceeds from every purchase help us continue to retell these stories. Also, if you would like to donate to this effort, please visit our Patreon page.
Thank you for your support!

#ndnallstars #jimthorpe #football #sac&fox #nfl #carlisleindians #cantonbulldogs