The 1923 Duluth Kelleys season was their inaugural season in the National Football League (NFL). The team â typically referred to by their official name, KelleyâÂÂDuluth, in the press of the day â finished 4âÂÂ3, seventh place in the 17-team league.
The team was captained by a former and future Chicago Bear, Joey Sternaman, younger brother of that team's co-owner and leading offensive star, Dutch Sternaman.
Sometime in 1922, representatives of what would become the Kelley-Duluth football team made application to the National Football League (NFL) for a franchise. This effort paid dividends in January 1923, when the club was invited to send a representative to the league's annual scheduling meeting, held at the Hotel Sherman in Chicago. Joining Duluth's representative would be the delegates of professional clubs from four other cities: St. Louis, Detroit, and Cleveland.
Four individuals acted in partnership to gain an NFL team for Duluth, each putting up $250 to cover the league's franchise fee. These were Marshall C. Gebert, the manager of Kelley's Hardware of Duluth â a frequent sponsor of sports teams; Dewey Scanlon, a former collegiate quarterback at Valparaiso University; Dan "Doc" Williams, a center from St. Cloud, Minnesota; and Joey Sternaman, a diminutive star quarterback from the University of Illinois.
Membership in the "big time" NFL was seen as a means of increasing the level of competition and interest in local football games. Team manager Dewey Scanlon expressed hope that games could be scheduled with the major professional teams of the region, including the Milwaukee Badgers, Green Bay Packers, Chicago Bears, and Canton Bulldogs. "At least five big games will be played here" with Duluth's admission into the league, it was confidently predicted.
Kelley Hardware became the primary sponsor of the team, providing red-and-white jerseys emblazoned "Kelley Duluth," the formal name of the team.
More than 100 gridiron hopefuls from the Minnesota and Wisconsin area turned up for tryouts for the Kelley-Duluth team.
The 1923 Kelleys featured Joe Sternaman, younger brother of Dutch Sternaman â co-owner and offensive star of the Chicago Bears. The following individuals played at least one game with Kelley-Duluth during the 1923 season. The total number of NFL league games played during the year follows in parentheses.
Linemen
Backs