Final Standings
| P | W | L | T | Pct | |
| Merit Table | |||||
| Massillon Tigers | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 |
| Shelby AC | 10 | 8 | 1 | 1 | .889 |
| Akron AC | |||||
| Other Teams | |||||
| Columbus Panhandles | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 |
| All-Stars | |||||
| Columbus Barracks | |||||
| Marion | |||||
| Franklin AC (Cleveland) | |||||
| Lorrain AA | |||||
| Fremont | |||||
| Lima AA | |||||
| Royals | |||||
| Canton Crescents | |||||
| Crestline AA | |||||
| Mansfield AA | |||||
| Cuyahoga Falls | |||||
| Akron North Ends | |||||
| Western Pennsylvania Teams | |||||
| Canal Dover Giants | |||||
| Pittsburgh Lyceum | |||||
| Sharon Buhl Club |
Results
| Date | Home Team | Away Team | ||
| 24.09.1904 | Massillon Tigers | 57 | Canal Dover Giants (W.PA) | 0 |
| Week | ||||
| 07.10.1904 | Massillon Tigers | 56 | Franklin AC (Cleveland) | 6 |
| 09.10.1904 | Columbus Panhandles | 32 | Columbus Barracks | 0 |
| 09.10.1904 | Lorrain AA | 54 | Fremont | 0 |
| 09.10.1904 | Shelby AC | 48 | Akron 2nds | 0 |
| 09.10.1904 | Heidelberg University | 85 | Lima AA | 0 |
| Week | ||||
| 16.10.1904 | Massillon Tigers | 148 | Marion | 0 |
| 16.10.1904 | Columbus Panhandles | 21 | All-Stars | 0 |
| 15.10.1904 | Shelby AC | 29 | Marion | 0 |
| Week | ||||
| 23.10.1904 | Massillon Tigers | 44 | Lyceum AC (Pittsburgh, PA) | 0 |
| 23.10.1904 | Royals | 0 | Canton Crescents | 0 |
| Week | ||||
| 30.10.1904 | Akron AC | 0 | Shelby AC | 0 |
| Week | ||||
| 05.11.1904 | Massillon Tigers | 28 | Shelby AC | 0 |
| Week | ||||
| 13.11.1904 | Massillon Tigers | 63 | Sharon Buhl Club (PA) | 0 |
| 13.11.1904 | Shelby AC | 32 | Lorrain AC | 0 |
| 13.11.1904 | Crestline AA | 33 | Mansfield AA | 0 |
| 13.11.1904 | Franklin AC | 10 | Cuyahoga Falls | 0 |
| Week | ||||
| 20.11.1904 | Cuyahoga Falls | 6 | Akron North Ends | 0 |
| 20.11.1904 | Massillon Tigers | 6 | Akron AC | 5 |
Report
Massillon Tigers won the Ohio League Championship in 1904 with a 7-0-0 record (Wins-Losses-Ties), triumphing 6-5 in darkness in the Final game on Thanksgiving as the Akron Athletic Club’s kicker’s attempts to tie the scores with a last-minute conversion failed from a difficult angle. Akron had scored a touchdown (then worth five points) in the dying seconds despite the Massillon players protests that the scorer had been carried over the line, or that there was an illegal forward pass earlier in the move.
Massillon had racked up huge wins against the other opposition, including a 148-0 win over Marion, which consisted of 26 touchdowns and 18 extra-point kicks. The match on thanksgiving against Akron was the unofficial Championship game, and a tie would have ensured a share of the Championship for Akron.
Massillon Tigers, Shelby AC and Akron AC had on their squads at least half their players who were full-time paid professionals, as the Ohio League moved to full professionalism for the first time. Matches were also played against teams from Western Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh Area) that also provided Professional, or Semi-Professional Football Teams.
References
Bibliography
[1] Professional Football Researchers Association (2011) “The Tigers Pounce Again” The Early History of Professional Football. pg. 199-208. PFRA Publications. Connecticut.
Newspapers
[2] Anon. (1904) “Tigers win again Victorious” Massillon Evening Independent, October 24 1904, pg. 5 [Internet] Available from: https://newspaperarchive.com/massillon-evening-independent-oct-24-1904-p-5/ [accessed 18 August 2020]
[3] Anon. (1904) “Hard” Sandusky Evening Star, October 10 1904, pg. 7 [Internet] Available from: https://newspaperarchive.com/sandusky-evening-star-oct-10-1904-p-7/ [Accessed 18 August 2020]
[4] Anon. (1904) “Mighty: Michigan was scored against” Sandusky Evening Star, October 17 1904, pg. 7 [Internet] Available from: https://newspaperarchive.com/sandusky-evening-star-oct-17-1904-p-7/ [accessed 18 August 2020]
[5] Anon. (1904) “Heavy Ohio State put it onto Case Heavily” Sandusky Evening Star, October 24 1904, pg. 7 [Internet] Available from: https://newspaperarchive.com/sandusky-evening-star-oct-24-1904-p-7/ [accessed 18 August 2020]
[5] Anon. (1904) “More surprises in the Foot Ball World Saturday” Sandusky Evening Star, October 31, 1904, pg. 7 [Internet] Available from: https://newspaperarchive.com/sandusky-evening-star-oct-31-1904-p-7/ [accessed 18 August 2020]
[6] Anon. (1904) “Tigers win again Victorious” Sandusky Evening Star, November 14 1904, pg. 7 [Internet] Available from: https://newspaperarchive.com/sandusky-evening-star-nov-14-1904-p-7/ [accessed 18 August 2020]
[7] Anon. (1904) “Yale won Great Game from Old-Time Rivals” Sandusky Evening Star, November 21 1904, pg. 7 [Internet] Available from: https://newspaperarchive.com/sandusky-evening-star-nov-21-1904-p-7/ [accessed 18 August 2020]
Acknowledgements
Thanks to Sean Douglas of the Dublin Rebels (Irish American Football League).
About this document
Researched, compiled and written by Enda Mulcahy for the
Irish North American and World Sports Archive
Last Updated: 12 August 2020
(c) Copyright Enda Mulcahy and Eirball 2020
You are free to copy this document in whole or part provided that proper acknowledgement is given to the authors. All Rights Reserved.
