"It definitely didn't take long after their arrival to make their presence felt on the gridiron The 1920s By staff@footballhistorian.com - the Keeper of Football History What was most important to the early gridiron teams was helping their newcomers make the transition to profession play. And, our selection of gridiron warriors did just that. * Cup Buck, Tackle, Canton Bulldogs 1920; Green Bay Packers 1921-1926 - fit in nicely to Canton's line-of-attack, Howard 'Buck' Cup gained All-Pro honors as a rookie... Weighing in at 259 pounds and standing 6 feet tall, he was able to push around opposing linemen on both offensive and defense... traded to the Packers, he again excelled in line-of-scrimmage battles.
"Jim Thorpe created sensational headline news as an All-American halfback at the Carlisle Indian School during 1911-1912. In his' final season, he simply outran the opposing defense and chalked-up a phenomenal total of 1,869 yards in only 191 carries - averaging almost 10-yards per/carry. And, he scored an unbelievable 29 touchdowns and 224 points - in one season... 1912. Thorpe then was acclaimed "the best in the world" by winning Gold Medals in the 1912 Olympics in both the decathlon and the pentathlon in Stockholm, Sweden.
