These days when asked about the legends of the game of football we think of Jim Brown, Dick Butkus, Walter Peyton... the very young will say John Elway or Dan Marino! I want to take you back when factory workers and school teachers would pad-up on the weekends to play in cow pastures or factory yards... before the league... before the huge contracts. Portsmouth Ohio is my hometown, birthplace of the Detroit Lions (formerly known as the Portsmouth Spartans) One of my friends was a real legend, Glen Presnell... Glen was an All American out of Nebraska, came to the Ironton Tanks a semi-pro team along the banks of the Ohio River. The Ironton Tanks organization folded and Glen was invited to play professionally for the Portsmouth Spartans... just follow the river banks west for approximately 30 miles. Glen was the NFL scoring leader in 1933... held the NFL kicking record of 54 yds. for 19 yrs., selected the colors for the Detroit Lions. My friend Glen died July '04 at 99 yrs. of age... My friends and I (Portsmouth Spartan Historical Sociey) have had a drive for several years to get Glen back on the Hall of Fame ballot; we need your help to continue our drive! Please visit our website and check out our link to Southern Ohio Football History - www.brownsbacker.cc or go directly to www.portsmouthspartans.org and sign the petition... Thanks!
I signed the petition... Here's the direct link to it if anyone else is on board: http://www.portsmouthspartans.org/Presnell_Petition.html Only takes a few seconds...
My Father is from Portsmouth Ohio! He has told me about the Spartans and I think thats awsome that they originated from a smaller town like that.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (FLORIDA PACKER)</div><div class='quotemain'>My Father is from Portsmouth Ohio! He has told me about the Spartans and I think thats awsome that they originated from a smaller town like that.</div> Portsmouth might be a small town today; but in it's hay-day was a booming steel town! By the way, our murals reflect an NFL championship game between the Portsmouth Spartans and the Green Bay Packers.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>By the way, our murals reflect an NFL championship game between the Portsmouth Spartans and the Green Bay Packers.</div> Who won?
Here's some history... The Portsmouth Spartans were victorious over over the Green Bay Packers in 1932 by a score of 19-0. In the game known as the ?iron man game? because the Spartan coach, Potsy Clark, refused to use a substitute in restitution for the Green Bay Packers being named champions of the NFL in 1931 after they refused to play Portsmouth in a championship game. The Spartans were admitted to the NFL in 1930. The first night football game in the NFL was played between the Spartans and the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1930. The first NFL Championship game and the first indoor football game was played in December 1932 between the Portsmouth Spartans and the Chicago Bears. Dutch Clark, former Spartan, is a Charter Member of the National Professional Football Hall of Fame. The Portsmouth Spartans franchise became the Detroit Lions in 1934. In 1935, the Lions, with mostly former Spartans in their starting line-up, won the NFL Championship. More information can be found at www.portsmouthspartans.org
