Forgotten Franchise Friday

Did you know that the Minnesota Vikings were not the first NFL franchise in the North Star State? The early NFL was the wild wild Midwest, with many teams concentrated in and around Chicago. Ohio had several teams in smaller cities like Canton and Marion, and Wisconsin boasted teams from Kenosha as well as the Packers from Green Bay.

Duluth, a thriving port town on the Southwestern edge of Lake Superior, had an NFL team as early as 1923. They played three weather wracked seasons as the Kelleys, named for a Duluth Hardware Store that sponsored the team. In 1926, Duluth (along with the Los Angeles Buccaneers, the Buffalo Rangers, and the Louisville Colonels) became primarily a traveling team, playing the vast majority of their games on the road. They were able to do this by drafting MN-born Ernie Nevers, who was fresh off a tremendously successful collegiate football career at Stanford. The team called themselves the Duluth Eskimos, or other times just "Ernie Nevers' Eskimos," and tied their fortunes to the star fullback. Injuries derailed his career following the 1927 season, and the Duluth franchise folded with no North Star Statesman to guide them. Nevers returned the following season with the Chicago Cardinals and played 3 more seasons. The Duluth team wasn't the first NFL Franchise from MN, either. Minneapolis had a team called the Minneapolis Marines that formed way back in 1905 and played in the NFL from 1921-1924, then again in 1929 and 1930 (as the Minneapolis Red Jackets).

Do you have a favorite forgotten franchise?  If Duluth had a pro football team today, would that be awesome, or what?