Ironton Tanks

The Ironton Tanks were a semi-professional football team organized in 1919 in Ironton, Ohio.

Their historical marker gives the story of the Tanks origin: "Semi-professional football began in Ironton in 1893 with a team known as the Irontonians. The Ironton Tanks, founded in 1919, was a combination of two Ironton cross-town rival football clubs known as the Irish Town Rags and the Lombards." Their name reflected both the town's deep roots in the iron industry and the desire of returning soldiers from World War I to run over their opponents.

Historical significance
Based on their outstanding record of 85 wins, 19 losses, 14 ties, an undefeated season in 1922, a state championship in 1926 and dual victories in 1930 over National Football League (NFL) powerhouses the Chicago Bears and New York Giants, the Tanks have a strong claim to being the best team to not play in the NFL. This motto is reinforced on the wall of Tank Stadium, where the story of the stadium opening proclaims "When the Tanks Were Tops" (2nd picture in photo gallery below). Their unmatched achievements in 1930 are recorded in a Professional Football Researchers Association's report on the 1930 season when talking about non-NFL teams: "None, however, matched the Ironton (Ohio) Tanks' 1930 achievements."

Thanksgiving Day Game Tradition
The Tanks were the originators of what is now the National Football League Detroit Lions Thanksgiving Day Game tradition. The Tanks first played a game the day after Thanksgiving with the Lombards, a crosstown rival on Friday Nov 26, 1920 winning 26-0. They began the actual string of Thanksgiving Day Games by defeating the Huntington Boosters 12-0 on Nov 30, 1922. The Tanks continued playing on this national holiday each year thru 1930, which was the Tanks final season. Several Tank players (including Glenn Presnell) continued their football careers by joining the nearby Portsmouth Spartans who continued the annual tradition until their demise after the 1933 season. The Spartans assets were acquired and moved to Detroit where they were renamed the Lions. Asked by their new owner (G.A. Richards) about ways to improve ticket sales, the players replied that they always got a good turnout on Thanksgiving Day. He promptly scheduled the first Thanksgiving Day Game in Detroit (actually the 13th consecutive game of the series). One thing that made it so notable was arranging NBC to broadcast the game, reaching a larger audience and developing a national clamor for repeats in later years.

Local rivalries

Perhaps more important to Ironton residents at the time were the local rivalries with other cities in the Ohio area, particularly Portsmouth, where the local sentiment was summed up by this quote “ancient and hereditary foes”. Despite being a small town, only about 1/3 the size of Portsmouth, the Tanks are referred to by Carl Becker refers as the dominant team of the era, "In the 1920s, the "famous" Ironton Tanks were the sovereigns of semi-professional football in the upper Ohio Valley, indeed even in the state of Ohio". Other rivals in Ohio were the Ashland Armcos, Dayton Koors, several teams from Cincinnati, Columbus and Akron, but none appeared to have stirred the fans' passion as did the different Portsmouth teams that appeared between 1920 and 1930.

Earle "Greasy" Neale

The most colorful figure to be associated with the Ironton Tanks was their legendary coach Greasy Neale. He is the only person to have coached in the Rose Bowl (1922), won the World Series (Reds vs White Sox, 1919) and won an NFL title (Philadelphia Eagles back to back 1948-49). Greasy insisted his Reds won the scandal-plagued 1919 "Black Sox" Series because of better pitching.

Glenn Presnell

The best player for the Tanks is also not controversial, Glenn Presnell. Besides leading the Tanks to victories over the Giants and Bears, guiding the Portsmouth Spartans to the NFL regular season championship in 1932, he helped the Detroit Lions to their first NFL championship in 1935. Not only did he play both sides of the ball, Glenn Presnell held the NFL longest field goal record for 19 years, with a 54 yarder that beat the Green Bay Packers 3-0. He led the NFL in scoring in 1933 with 64 points from TDs, field goals and points after TDs. He graduated from the University of Nebraska as an All-American in 1928 with a Bachelor's degree in Education and was honored with an Alumni award in 2003 at the age of 97. Glenn was inducted into the Nebraska High School Hall of Fame, citing his three Letters as a Cornhusker, leading the nation in total yards as a senior, All-Missouri Valley two times, and twice being NFL All-pro. He was inducted into the Nebraska Football Hall of Fame in 1973 and named 34th out of Nebraska's top 100 athletes. Interesting trivia is that his wife helped choose the famous powder blue uniforms for the Detroit Lions when the team moved from Portsmouth, Ohio. However, Glenn's memory is challenged by the Lions official site Outside this minor controversy, Glenn and the Lions seemed to have gotten along well. He posed with a football from "Your Friends at the Detroit Lions" crowning him the "LionKing". Many feel his NFL career itself deserved entry into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, while others have said he was unfairly discriminated against because of his years with the Tanks. An online petition to support his entry to the Football Hall of Fame, in nearby Canton, Ohio, has also attracted attention, Note: Glen has been referenced in several publications as being named an All-American while at Nebraska. In studying the Nebraska football media guide, no individual records other than participantion and team win-loss is recorded for that time frame. The Nebraska media guide does show All-American award winners, and Glenn is not shown as on that list. No effort has been made to confirm directly with any sports officials at the University of Nebraska if this is correct. Also the Wikipedia reference for All-American awards for Glenn's years at Nebraska does not show him being awarded the honor. Again, the total evidence confirming his status in unclear. As evidence of Glenn's outstanding careet, it can be shown that his on the field performance both as a Tank, Spartan and Lion were exemplary and it shoud be noted that several other teams had shown interest in signing him unon the Tanks demise. Glenn Presnel was honored by the Lions in 1995 at halftime against the Packers as a member of the 60th anniversary of tht 1935 championship by being driven to the 50 yard ine in a Model T.

Uniforms

The Tanks uniform was also noteworthy, a distinctive blend of khaki pants and red jerseys, reminiscent of the 49ers today. They were nicknamed Big Red and the Big Red Machine and appear to be the first team to sport this intimidating moniker.

The secrets of their success;

1) Recruiting

The answer to the most intriguing question about the Ironton Tanks, "How could they compete year after year with teams from the NFL and much larger cities?" is found primarily with the leader of the early years Charlton "Shorty" Davies (circled in the picture gallery's newspaper article below) and his teammate at Ohio State, Bill Brooks. The early Tanks typically played without helmets and made fifty dollars a game but sometimes were not paid (F.C. "Dutch" McCarthy, private conversation). However, they were able to attract top players by providing coaching and teaching jobs in the surrounding areas. Shorty Davies coached at Ironton High School. Glenn Presnell taught science at Ironton High School and coached at Russel. Other Tanks taught or coached at Hanging Rock, Pedro, Blackfork, South Point, Chesapeake, Coal Grove, Proctorville, Rome and Raceland.

2) Innovative Offense Although the Tanks operated out of the standard formation of the day, the single wing, they were able to use the pass, in part because of Presnell's threat to run from the tailback position. He credited his superior speed more than quick cuts. The ball was more round than today, which made a passing game even more difficult. Still the Tanks were able to innovate with "looping and angle charges still being used today by teams of the National Football League".

Preserving the Tank legend
The town of Ironton has maintained the legend of these proud footballers by designating the stadium with historical status and creating a fund for its maintenance in addition to a Tribute website with their complete schedule and results]. Ironton native Dave Berry wrote a song in tribute to the professional football played in the region.

Tank Stadium
The Ironton Tanks originally played in Beechwood Stadium but following through on local enthusiasm a stadium fund was created and Tank Stadium was built in 1926. This stadium still stands today and is being used by Ironton High School. It is one of the last covered stadiums in use for high school football today.

Tanks Schedule and Record by Year
1919					2-1-1		4-Nov	Tue	New Boston Tigers	9-0	W 11-Nov	Tue	Ashland Playhouse	0-7	L 18-Nov	Tue	Ashland Playhouse	0-0	T 25-Nov	Tue	Portsmouth N & W	12-0	W 1920			5 Wins - 1 Loss - 1 Tie 10-Oct	Sun	Morris Harvey	0-14	L 24-Oct	Sun	Smoke House	6-6	T 6-Nov	Sat	Marshall	13-0	W 8-Nov	Mon	New Boston Tigers	77-0	W 15-Nov	Mon	Nitro	13-0	W 26-Nov	Fri	Lombards	26-0	W	Day After Thanksgiving 29-Nov	Mon	Portsmouth Smoke House	14-0	W 1921			7 Wins - 2 Ties 2-Oct	Sun	Jackson Bearcats	6-0	W 16-Oct	Sun	Charleston Westside	34-0	W 23-Oct	Sun	Ashland Tigers	7-0	W 30-Oct	Sun	Portsmouth Smoke House	0-0	T 13-Nov	Sun	Lombards	21-7	W 20-Nov	Sun	Portsmouth Smoke House	14-0	W 27-Nov	Sun	Wellston Eagles	0-0	T 4-Dec	Sun	Morris Harvey	19-14	W 11-Dec	Sun	Wellston Eagles	7-6	W 1922			9 Wins - 1 Tie 1-Oct	Sun	Columbus Olympians	13-6	W 8-Oct	Sun	Athens	19-0	W 15-Oct	Sun	Huntington Boosters	18-7	W 22-Oct	Sun	Williamson	76-0	W 29-Oct	Sun	Jackson Bearcats	40-0	W 5-Nov	Sun	Huntington Boosters	7-7	T 12-Nov	Sun	Lancaster	38-0	W 26-Nov	Sun	Washington Ct. House	45-0	W 30-Nov	Thurs	Huntington Boosters	12-10	W	First Thanksgiving Day Game 1923			10 Wins - 1 Loss 30-Sep	Sun	Ironton Eagles	46-0	W 7-Oct	Sun	Columbus Seagraves	18-0	W 14-Oct	Sun	Columbus Westside	7-6	W 21-Oct	Sun	Smoke House	40-0	W 28-Oct	Mon	Huntington Boosters	7-0	W 4-Nov	Tue	Logan Wildcats	7-0	W 11-Nov	Wed	Huntington Boosters	6-12	L 18-Nov	Thu	Cincinnati Saints	31-0	W 25-Nov	Fri	Portsmouth Smoke House	21-6	W 29-Nov	Thurs	Cincinnati Harrisons	20-0	W	2nd Thanksgiving Day Game 9-Dec	Sun	Huntington Boosters	26-0	W 1924			11 Wins - 1 Tie 21-Sep	Sun	Ironton Panthers	38-0	W 28-Sep	Mon	Columbus JungleImps	25-6	W 5-Oct	Tue	Murray City Tigers	7-0	W 12-Oct	Wed	Louisville Brecks	31-0	W 19-Oct	Thu	Cincinnati Potters	14-3	W 26-Oct	Fri	Akron Silents	19-0	W 2-Nov	Sat	Huntington Boosters	6-0	W 9-Nov	Sun	Portsmouth Smoke House	44-0	W 16-Nov	Mon	Cincinnati Potters	7-3	W 23-Nov	Tue	Covington C.A.C.	12-0	W 27-Nov	Thurs	Huntington Boosters	21-0	W	3rd Thanksgiving Day Game 29-Nov	Sat	Portsmouth Smoke House	0-0	T 1925			9 Wins - 1 Loss - 2 Ties 27-Sep	Sun	Chillicothe	29-0	W 4-Oct	Mon	Columbus Bobbs	35-0	W 11-Oct	Tue	Cincinnati Potters	15-6	W 18-Oct	Wed	Ashland Armcos	21-6	W 25-Oct	Thu	Huntington Boosters	12-0	W 1-Nov	Fri	Columbus Wagner-Pirates	19-5	W 8-Nov	Sat	Ashland Armcos	9-0	W 15-Nov	Sun	Huntington Boosters	0-0	T 22-Nov	Sun	Dayton Koors	7-7	T 26-Nov	Thurs	Canton Bulldogs	0-12	L	4th Thanksgiving Day Game 29-Nov	Sun	Cincinnati Potters	9-0	W 14-Dec	Mon	Dayton Koors	24-6	W 1926			11 Wins - 1 Loss - 1 Tie 19-Sep	Sun	Columbus All Stars	27-0	W 26-Sep	Sun	Middletown Armcos	27-0	W 3-Oct	Sun	Columbus Wagner Pirates	39-0	W 10-Oct	Sun	Dayton Koors	23-0	W 17-Oct	Sun	Cleveland Indians	47-0	W 24-Oct	Sun	Ashland Armcos	2-0	W 31-Oct	Sun	Akron Silents	27-0	W 7-Nov	Sun	Portsmouth Presidents	9-0	W 14-Nov	Sun	Kokomo American Legion	15-0	W 21-Nov	Sun	Ashland Armcos	7-0	W 25-Nov	Thurs	Kansas City Cowboys	0-0	T	5th Thanksgiving Day Game Beechwood stadium Opens 28-Nov	Sun	Cincinnati Potters	0-28	L 5-Dec	Sun	Portsmouth Presidents	33-0	W 1927			6 Wins - 3 Losses - 2 Ties 18-Sep	Sun	Columbus Bobbs	7-0	W 25-Sep	Sun	Middletown Armcos	0-7	L 2-Oct	Sun	Toledo Boosters	25-7	W 16-Oct	Sun	Shelby Blues	14-0	W 23-Oct	Sun	Ashland Armcos	0-0	T 30-Oct	Sun	Akron Indians	27-0	W 6-Nov	Sun	Portsmouth Shoe Steels	18-0	W 13-Nov	Sun	Ashland Armcos	7-7	T 20-Nov	Sun	Portsmouth Shoe Steels	0-7	L 24-Nov	Thurs	Middletown Armcos	0-8	L	6th Thanksgiving Day Game 27-Nov	Sun	Logan Wildcats	14-0	W 1928			7 Wins - 1 Loss - 3 Ties 30-Sep	Sun	Columbus Bobbs	52-0	W 7-Oct	Sun	Cleveland Panthers	47-0	W 14-Oct	Sun	Akron Awnings	0-0	T 21-Oct	Sun	Portsmouth Spartans	0-0	T 28-Oct	Sun	Ashland Armcos	6-7	L 4-Nov	Sun	Cincinnati Guards	7-0	W 11-Nov	Sun	Portsmouth Spartans	0-0	T 18-Nov	Sun	Middletown Armcos	13-0	W 25-Nov	Sun	Ashland Armcos	3-0	W 29-Nov	Thurs	Akron Awnings	19-0	W	7th Thanksgiving Day Game 9-Dec	Sun	Portsmouth Spartans	14-0	W 1929			5 Wins - 6 Losses 22-Sep	Sun	Columbus Medel Tailers	39-0	W 29-Sep	Sun	Chillicothe Eagles	6-0	W 6-Oct	Sun	Toledo Boosters	78-0	W 13-Oct	Sun	Portsmouth Spartans	3-0	W 20-Oct	Sun	Ashland Armcos	2-7	L 27-Oct	Sun	Akron Awnings	7-5	W 3-Nov	Sun	Portsmouth Spartans	0-20	L 10-Nov	Sun	Cincinnati Guards	0-5	L 17-Nov	Sun	Ashland Armcos	0-7	L 24-Nov	Sun	Portsmouth Spartans	0-38	L 28-Nov	Thurs	Akron Awnings	3-7	L	8th Thanksgiving Day Game 1930			7 Wins - 3 Losses 28-Sep	Sun	Portsmouth Spartans	6-7	L 5-Oct	Sun	Chillicothe Eagles	14-0	W 12-Oct	Sun	Akron Awnings	3-0	W 15-Oct	Sun	Portsmouth Spartans	16-15	W 26-Oct	Sun	Washington Olympics	70-0	W 2-Nov	Sun	Memphis Tigers	0-7	L 11-Nov	Sun	New York Giants	13-12	W	Giants place 2nd in NFL with 13-4 record 16-Nov	Sun	Akron Awnings	13-0	W 23-Nov	Sun	Chicago Bears	26-13	W	Bears place 3rd in NFL with 9-4-1 record 27-Nov	Thurs	Portsmouth Spartans	0-12	L	9th Thanksgiving Day Game Last game of the Ironton Tanks