The Richmond Tigers, the Ewbanks, and A Mystery Ringer

Not every story has a happy ending, and this is one of them.

I'm always looking for items that tell a story about football. Many items I acquire are valued for their visual appeal; others because they illustrate a formation, technique, or equipment that is part of the game's history. For items that concern a player or team that I am unfamiliar with, a little research helps determine whether there is a story is worth telling. Most times, there isn't, so I don't bid on the item.

I followed the second approach for the two letters shown below. One letter is from Indiana's semi-pro Richmond Tigers inviting a Portland, Indiana, team to schedule a game during the 1928 season. Early pro and semi-pro teams are not my specialty, so I had never heard of the Richmond Tigers, but the letterhead and signature block showed it came from V. C. Ewbank of 1813 Boyer Street in Richmond.

Richmond, then a town of 30,000, is located in east-central Indiana, close to the Ohio border. Many early settlers were Quakers, leading the city to become the home of Earlham College, a Quaker institution that produced Frank Birch, the creator of football's referee signaling system. Richmond was also home to many lawn mower manufacturers, so many townspeople worked in those factories.

The 1906 Earlham football team included Frank Birch, second from left in the middle row. (RPPC, Personal collection)

Pro football was still rinky-dink in the 1920s. The NFL had teams from small towns and big cities that came and went from one season to the next. Besides the NFL, a host of other leagues and independent teams popped up across the country that lasted a few years, with their success dependent on which local boys chose to play for a few bucks per week. There was no clear separation between semi-pro and pro teams. NFL teams regularly scheduled exhibition games with semi-pro and all-star teams before, during, and after the season. Teams played whoever they could schedule to make a buck.

The Richmond Tigers were one of those semi-pro, bordering on professional, teams, but were not good enough to play NFL teams. They played games in 1924, did not play in 1925, but returned to action in 1926 and were successful, claiming to be Indiana's professional football champion. Like other teams of the era, their money primarily came from home ticket sales, guarantees for playing away games, and sponsorship money. The Tigers' sponsors differed year to year, leading the newspapers to variously call them the Richmond Tigers, the Worthmore Tigers, the Empire Tigers, or the Richmond Merchants. The Tigers' opponents included stalwarts such as the J. J. Cumming All-Stars of Indianapolis (referred to as the J.J.C.s in the letter), the Indianapolis ex-Collegians, the Dunkirk Ita-Nick-Nicks, and the Portland Our Boys.

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