Tuesday, April 18, 2023

In 1920, Granville, Ohio, resident Wilike Moody, a McMinnville College alumnus, played in first NFL game







By Kevin Bennett, Newark, Ohio, Advocate, Sept. 18, 2020

With the eagerly awaited advent of another football season, it is worthwhile to note that what has become today’s National Football League (NFL) was “born” in Ohio 100 years ago this fall.

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On Oct. 3, 1920 a crowd of around 5,000 witnessed two professional teams compete in Dayton, Ohio, in what has been designated as the first game of the NFL.

One of the players competing that day was Granville resident and Denison University alumnus Wilkie Osgood Moody.

The son of missionaries

Long overshadowed by the accomplishments of his wife, noted journalist and author, Minnie Hite Moody, Wilkie Moody led an extraordinary life.

Born in 1897 to missionary parents at Irabo, Belgian Congo, he and his parents barely survived the attack of a cannibal tribe when he was but 6 months old.

Obviously concerned with the safety of their child and resolutely focused on their mission work, Moody’s parents consigned him to the care of grandparents in Canada. Over the remainder of his childhood, Moody and his sister Grace were largely raised by relatives and family friends, sometimes apart.

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On the average, the Moody children saw their parents every five years. His parent’s single- minded dedication to missionary work spanned over 50 years and earned them personal recognition by King Leopold of Belgium. His mother, Elizabeth Wilkie Moody, died and was buried at her mission in the Congo in 1938.

Wilkie was afforded excellent educational opportunities, attending the Grand Island (Neb) Academy and the Colby (NH) Academy. He attended Linfield College in McMinnville, Oregon before transferring to Denison University for his sophomore year in 1915.

It appears that he had never played organized football until encouraged by legendary Denison coach Walter Livingston to try out for the team for the 1916 season.

At 5-foot-seven, 185 pounds, Moody was hardly an imposing physical presence, yet his agility and toughness earned him a starter’s role as both a guard on the offensive line and a defensive back.

Football standout at Denison University

Wilkie Moody’s gridiron accomplishments helped the 1916 Denison squad to a standout season in which they were Ohio Conference champions.

During this period Denison football competed at a higher level and routinely played against such giants as Ohio State, Miami and Cincinnati to name a few. As such, there was considerable fan interest in the local area and it was rare game in which Deeds Field was not packed with spectators.

Among the admiring fans in the stands that year was Miss Minnie Hite of Granville, who lived with her grandmother and mother at nearby Tannery Hill.  Although she was several years younger than Moody, they began seeing each other socially after the season.

Soldier in World War I

Unfortunately, the events of nations often times interfere with personal lives and the looming involvement of the United States in World War I did so with Wilkie Moody and Minnie Hite. In early 1917 he enlisted in the Ohio National Guard as a Private, quickly rising to the rank of Sergeant in several months.

His military duties being full time, he was absent for considerable periods for training and was forced to suspend his attendance at Denison. In July 1918 he was commissioned as a Lieutenant in the Army While feverishly working to prepare his unit for war, Moody found time to have recently graduated Granville High School student Miss Minnie Hite travel by train to Fort Jackson, South Carolina.

In early September 1918 they were wed at the Post Chapel. After the briefest of honeymoons, the new Mrs. Moody returned to her family home in Granville while Lt. Moody resumed his military duties.

He remained on active duty until discharged in late July 1919. Wilkie Moody returned to his home in Granville and re-enrolled at Denison in early 1920 to complete his degree requirements.

Signs with pro football

His resumption of studies at Denison did not include a return to the football team. With the birth of his first child in December 1919, Moody was faced with the financial responsibilities of supporting his family. Instead of college ball, he decided to use his gridiron talents in the newly emerging professional arena. He signed a contract with the nearby Columbus Panhandles.

This team was one of the charter members of the American Professional Football Association, consisting of teams in 14 different cities.

This league which was initially headed by the legendary Jim Thorpe and was the forerunner of the NFL, changing the league name in 1922. As noted, the first game of the league was played on Oct. 3, 1920 with the Columbus team playing the host Dayton Triangles and losing a 14-0 decision. The site is now marked by an Ohio Historical marker denoting it as the first football contest in the NFL.

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Wilkie Moody started the game, playing both offense and defense. Primarily a lineman on offense, he also played wingback, carrying the ball twice, netting 7 yards.

Moody played the entire 1920 season with the Columbus Panhandles although they did not enjoy the level of success he experienced at Denison, finishing 13 out of the 14 teams in the league.

Recruited primarily from local men employed at the shops and rail yards of the Pennsylvania Railroad, the team found it hard to compete against those teams recruiting and signing top college players. Unlike the lucrative pro contracts of today, Moody played under an incentive contract: $100 for each win, $75 for each tie, and $50 for each loss. Equipment rental fees were deducted from each paycheck.

Graduating from Denison in 1921 with a degree in physical education, Wilkie Moody signed with the Dayton Triangles for the 1921 season. At Dayton, he joined another noted Denison alumni, George Roudebush, who played an instrumental role in introducing the forward pass into the college game.

After a one year hiatus from the professional game, Moody re-signed with the Columbus team (now the Tigers) for the 1924 and 1925 seasons. Now 28, Moody quit the NFL for good after the 1925 season and took a position as the football coach and instructor at Warren High School in Ohio.

The next year he coached at Clarion State College in Pennsylvania. Following his stint there, he took his family to Atlanta, Georgia where he served until the 1960’s as an instructor, coach and athletic director in the city high schools.

It was also there that his wife Minnie’s career as a journalist and author flourished.

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Later Years

After his retirement, the “Coach” and Minnie returned to live at the family home at Tannery Hill, adjacent to the Granville Golf Course.

An avid golfer, he was content to let Minnie absorb public attention as a noted columnist with the Newark Advocate while he enjoyed retirement. Wilkie O. Moody passed on Feb. 22, 1976 and is buried along with Minnie in the peaceful and rolling Welsh Hills cemetery outside Granville.

Self-effacing, he appears to have made little mention of his professional football career or his involvement in the historic first NFL game. This hopefully will shed a long overdue spotlight on the life of this remarkable educator, coach, soldier and athlete.

Kevin Bennett is a noted local historian and Granville Township Trustee.

https://www.newarkadvocate.com/story/news/local/granville/2020/09/18/nfl-2020-100-years-ago-granville-resident-played-first-game/5746111002