Highlighted Year: Cliff Battles, 1932

Tailback/Defensive Back, Boston Braves

Age: 22

1^st season in pro football

College: West Virginia Wesleyan

Height: 6’1”   Weight: 198

Prelude:

A multi-sport star in college who was also a Phi Beta Kappa student, Battles put up significant numbers playing football for a small school. In 1930, he rushed for 354 yards, totaled 469 all-purpose yards, and scored seven touchdowns in a game against Salem College, and in another contest had three scoring runs of over 80 yards. While the team didn’t do so well when taking on stronger competition, Battles drew interest from several NFL teams and signed with the first-year Braves.

1932 Season Summary

Appeared in 8 of 10 games

[Bracketed numbers indicate league rank in Top 20]

Rushing

Attempts – 148 [1]

Yards – 576 [1]

Yards per attempt – 3.9 [5]

TDs – 3 [2, tied with five others]

Pass Receiving

Receptions – 4

Yards – 60

Yards per catch – 15.0

TDs – 1 [10, tied with fourteen others]

Passing

Attempts – 20 [16, tied with Bob Campiglio & Hap Moran]

Completions – 2

Yards – 42

Completion percentage – 10.0

TD passes – 0

Interceptions – 2 [13, tied with eight others]

All-Purpose yards – 636 [1]

Scoring

TDs – 4 [5, tied with five others]   

Points – 24 [6, tied with four others]

Awards & Honors:

1^st team All-NFL: Collyers Eye

Braves went 4-4-2 to finish fourth in the NFL.

Aftermath:

Battles ranked second in rushing to teammate FB Jim Musick with the re-named Redskins in 1933, gaining 737 yards that included 215 in a single game, making him the first NFL player to reach the 200-yard rushing threshold in a single contest. He was a consensus first-team All-NFL selection for his efforts. Running with a long stride, Battles had excellent cutting ability as well as speed, and was adept at returning kicks. He received primarily second-team All-NFL honors in 1934 and ’35 but was a consensus first-team selection in 1936 as he rushed for 614 yards and the Redskins finished first in the Eastern Division, although he was injured early in the NFL Championship loss to Green Bay. The franchise was shifted to Washington for 1937 and Battles set a league rushing record with 874 yards. The Redskins won the NFL title but, when owner George Preston Marshall refused to give his star runner a raise, Battles retired. Overall, he rushed for 3511 yards on 839 carries (4.2 avg.), caught 38 passes for 546 yards (14.4 avg.), and scored a total of 31 touchdowns. He received consensus first-team All-NFL honors three times and at least some first-team or second-team recognition after three other seasons. Battles, who initially became an assistant coach at Columbia, was later head coach of the AAFC’s Brooklyn Dodgers. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Class of 1968.

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Highlighted Years features players who were consensus first-team All-League* selections or league* or conference** leaders in the following statistical categories:

Rushing: Yards, TDs (min. 10)

Passing: Yards, Completion Pct., Yards per Attempt, TDs, Rating

Receiving: Catches, Yards, TDs (min. 10)

Scoring: TDs, Points, Field Goals (min. 5)

All-Purpose: Total Yards

Defense: Interceptions, Sacks

Kickoff Returns: Average

Punt Returns: Average

Punting: Average

*Leagues include NFL (1920 to date), AFL (1926), AFL (1936-37), AAFC (1946-49), AFL (1960-69), WFL (1974-75), USFL (1983-85)

**NFC/AFC since 1970

1933: Lone Star Dietz Becomes Head Coach of Braves/Redskins

The franchise currently known as the Washington Redskins started out in 1932 as the Boston Braves, coached by Lud Wray and playing at Braves Field. As was common among early pro football teams, they often adopted the name of the major league baseball franchise that they shared a venue with, and that was the case with co-owner George Preston Marshall’s new club. The team went 4-4-2 and had the NFL’s leading rusher in rookie tailback Cliff Battles. It also lost $46,000 and Marshall’s three partners bailed out, leaving him as sole owner.

On the evening of March 7, 1933 it was announced that the Braves would have a new head coach in William “Lone Star” Dietz, as Wray was leaving to become head coach and co-owner of the newly-created Philadelphia Eagles. In short order, the team shifted its home field to Fenway Park and, with a name change necessary, the club was rechristened the Redskins.

The 48-year-old Dietz (he turned 49 prior to the ’33 season) was certainly an interesting and multi-talented character as well as a college football coach who had enjoyed success. While raised by white parents (his father was German), he was certain that his birth mother was Native American (specifically, Oglala Sioux) and adopted the name Lone Star (newspaper reports at the time of his hiring by the Redskins erroneously indicated that he was a full-blooded American Indian; his actual origins became a source of controversy both during his lifetime and for many years afterward). He attended the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Pennsylvania where he played tackle on the football team that was coached by Glenn “Pop” Warner and featured the legendary Jim Thorpe at running back.

From Carlisle, where he remained as an art instructor for a time (and met his first wife), he went into college coaching, becoming head coach at Washington State College (now University). The football team gained national prominence during Dietz’s tenure, most notably winning an upset victory over Brown in the 1916 Rose Bowl. While in California following that contest, Dietz arranged for the players to be hired as extras for the movie “Tom Brown of Harvard” which launched a separate film career for the flamboyant coach (who became a critic of the film industry’s portrayal of American Indians). Fond of fancy clothes, he sometimes wore formal evening wear while coaching the team – photos of him nattily attired in spats, a tuxedo, and top hat on the sidelines made it into newspapers across the country. Occasionally, he would be accompanied by a Russian wolfhound on a leash.


Beneath the trappings, Dietz had a good football mind. He had a thorough knowledge of Warner’s single-wing offense and was also considered to be an excellent defensive strategist. Most of all, he was an outstanding motivator and often was successful with underdog squads.

During World War I Dietz coached a service team of Marines that also reached the Rose Bowl, but became embroiled in controversy when he was brought up on bogus charges of impersonating an Indian in order to avoid the draft. The first trial ended in a hung jury, but he was indicted again on a similar charge and, his money running out, he pleaded no contest. He served a month in jail, a blot on his record that ended his career at Washington State, where his teams had gone 17-2-1 over three seasons and outscored their opponents by 497-38.

From 1921 to ’26 Dietz was head coach at Purdue, Louisiana Tech, and Wyoming before rejoining his mentor Warner, head coach at Stanford, as coach of the freshman team in 1927. His last stop before coming to the NFL was Haskell Institute in Kansas from 1929 to ’32.

Taking over the Redskins (who may or may not have been so named in his honor), Dietz was joined by five Native American players on the roster. The publicity-minded Marshall had the entire team pose in headdresses and war paint on the first day of practice, and he made much of Dietz’s heritage. There was certainly talent available, with Battles and FB Jim Musick in the backfield and star OT Turk Edwards anchoring the line. Dietz had a penchant for using trick plays which often didn’t work and were resented by some of the players (most notably Battles).

The team again broke even at 5-5-2 to finish third in the Eastern Division in what was the first year of divisional play in the NFL. Musick and Battles finished first and second in the league in rushing with 859 and 767 yards, respectively. They also topped the NFL in yards-per-carry, but in reverse order with Battles averaging an impressive 5.4 yards and Musick 4.7. But in this first year of liberalized passing rules (and a more streamlined ball), the Redskins ranked eighth of the ten teams in passing offense.

Expectations were higher for 1934 thanks to an influx of promising rookies, and there were hopes of challenging the Giants for the division title. But the team again went .500 with a 6-6 record. Musick sat out the season and, while Battles again received All-Pro recognition, he gained fewer rushing yards (480). Edwards was still a bulwark on the line, but overall the team underachieved.

While the club did better at the gate, owner Marshall chose to make a change after the season, dismissing Dietz in favor of former Harvard star Eddie Casey. It didn’t work out – the Redskins dropped to 2-8-1 in 1935.

Dietz returned to college coaching, again reuniting with Warner, now at Temple University, in 1935 and then as head coach at Albright College in ’37. He stayed there until 1943, when the football program was suspended during World War II. It marked the end of a coaching career that produced an overall record of 70-47-6 at the college level and 11-11-2 in the NFL. Counting all levels of football, he was 170-71-11.


Dietz was also a talented artist who produced many portraits and illustrations that typically pertained to either Native American themes or football. He founded an art school in Pittsburgh following his coaching career that eventually failed, forcing him into poverty as a result. Still, he was an interesting and accomplished character who numbered Knute Rockne, George Halas, ex-teammate Jim Thorpe, and Walt Disney among his friends, raised show dogs, and was known for his artistic as well as sports achievements.

In more recent years, long after Dietz coached the Redskins and the team moved to Washington, legal action was taken against the club to attempt to force a change of the nickname. The belief that the team was named Redskins in honor of Dietz reopened the question of his actual origins. While it is still a subject of debate (a recent and thorough biographer has concluded that he was indeed half Native American), there can be no question that Lone Star Dietz was one of the most fascinating individuals to coach a NFL team, even if not the most successful.

Past Venue: Braves Field

Boston, MA



Year opened: 1915
Capacity: 40,000

Names:
Braves Field, 1915-36, 42-53
National League Park, 1936-41
Boston University Field, 1953-55

Pro football tenants:
Boston Bulldogs (AFL), 1926
Boston Bulldogs (NFL), 1929
Boston Braves (NFL), 1932
Boston Shamrocks (AFL), 1936-37

Postseason games hosted:
None

Other tenants of note:
Boston Braves/Bees (MLB – NL), 1915-52
Boston University, 1953-55

Notes: Both the AFL Boston Bulldogs and Boston Shamrocks split their home games between Fenway Park and Braves Field. Hosted one home game of NFL Providence Steam Roller, 1925. Stadium was constructed on what had previously been part of a golf course. Was referred to as “The Bee Hive” during the period when major league baseball’s Boston Braves were renamed the Bees. Stadium was sold to Boston University upon departure of Braves to Milwaukee.

Fate: Largely demolished in 1955 and rebuilt by the university into Nickerson Field with portions of the old stadium utilized. Part of grandstand is still in use, as well as portions of outer wall and the ticket office. Remaining area where structure stood is now occupied by campus housing and the Case Physical Education Center.