 Guyon at Carlisle in 1913 | |||||||
| No. 27, 11, 10, 26 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Positions | Tackle,halfback | ||||||
| Personal information | |||||||
| Born | (1892-11-26)November 26, 1892 White Earth, Minnesota, U.S. | ||||||
| Died | November 27, 1971(1971-11-27) (aged 79) Louisville, Kentucky, U.S. | ||||||
| Listed height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | ||||||
| Listed weight | 190 lb (86 kg) | ||||||
| Career information | |||||||
| College | Carlisle,Georgia Tech | ||||||
| Career history | |||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||
| |||||||
| Career statistics | |||||||
| |||||||
Joseph Napoleon "Big Chief"Guyon (Anishinaabe:O-Gee-Chidah, translated as "Big Brave";[1] November 26, 1892 – November 27, 1971) was anAmerican Indian from theOjibwa tribe (Chippewa) who was anAmerican football andbaseball player and coach. He playedcollege football at theCarlisle Indian Industrial School from 1912 to 1913 andGeorgia Tech from 1917 to 1918 and with a number of professional clubs from 1919 to 1927. He was inducted into thePro Football Hall of Fame in 1966 and theCollege Football Hall of Fame in 1971.
Guyon was born on theWhite Earth Indian Reservation inWhite Earth, Minnesota.[1] He received only a sixth-grade education from the American government.[1] Guyon also spent time inMagdalena, New Mexico.[2]
Guyon attended and playedcollege football at theCarlisle Indian Industrial School from1912 to1913 under head coachPop Warner.[3] Sportswriters often tried to call him "Injun Joe" after the character inThe Adventures of Tom Sawyer, but it never much caught on outside the press.
The 1912 team posted a 12–1–1 record, scored 454 points, and wasJim Thorpe's greatest season. Guyon played on the team as lefttackle.[4] In the game againstArmy featuring the likes of futureUS PresidentDwight D. Eisenhower,Leland Devore was ejected for manhandling Guyon.[5]
The 1913 team went 10–1–1, scoring 296 points. Guyon shifted to Thorpe's place athalfback and was honored byWalter Camp as a second-teamAll-American.[3]
From 1914 to 1915, Guyon attended the Keewatin Academy inPrairie du Chien, Wisconsin,[6] to regain college eligibility.[7]
Guyon then attended and played football atGeorgia Tech from1917 to1918 under head coachJohn Heisman.[n 1] Guyon was used mainly as a halfback. His brother Charles "Wahoo" Guyon was the assistant coach. For his time spent playing at Georgia Tech, Guyon was a unanimous selection for anAssociated Press Southeast Area All-Time football team 1869-1919 era.[8] FullbackJudy Harlan said about Guyon, "Once in a while the Indian would come out in Joe, such as the nights Heisman gave us a white football and had us working out under the lights. That's when Guyon would give out the blood curdling war whoops."[9]
The 1917 team went 9–0, scored 491 points, was crowned national champion, and was for many years considered "the greatest the South ever produced."[10] Guyon played right halfback, where he was the team's power back and best passer. He was a unanimousAll-Southern selection,[11] and considered by some the South's best back.[12] His first run from scrimmage for Tech was a 75-yard touchdown againstWake Forest.[13]
In a 63–0 rout ofWashington & Lee, Guyon knocked a Washington & Lee player out of the game by "wearing an old horse collar shaped into a shoulder pad but reinforced with a little steel" according to Judy Harlan.[n 2] AgainstVanderbilt University he had arguably his greatest game, running 12 times for 344 yards in an 83–0 blowout.[3] According to sportswriterMorgan Blake, "Guyon has been great in all games this year. But Saturday he was the superman".[15]
Against Tulane, each of the four members of the backfield eclipsed 100 yards rushing. "Strupper, Guyon, Hill, and Harlan form a backfield with no superiors and few equals in football history" wrote theTimes-Picayune.[16] He passed for two touchdowns and ran for one, passing 91 yards and running 112:[16] "Guyon's passing was so accurate it suggest possibilities yet undeveloped in the Tech offense".[16] In the large, 68–7 win over Auburn, Guyon once dove at its starMoon Ducote and missed, but Guyon gave chase from behind and tackled him at the 26-yard line.[17]
The 1918 team went 6–1, scoring 462. Guyon was used mainly as a fullback, though sometimes as a tackle. He was honored as atackle onFrank G. Menke's first All-America team.[3]
Guyon signed to play professional football with theCanton Bulldogs in 1919.[1] After the NFL was organized in 1920, he played seven more seasons with theWashington Senators,Cleveland Indians,Oorang Indians,Rock Island Independents,Kansas City Cowboys, and theNew York Giants. From 1919 to 1924, he teamed with another outstanding Indian halfback,Jim Thorpe. They parted ways late in the 1924 season when Guyon left the Independents to go to Kansas City. He stayed with the Cowboys in 1925 while Thorpe went to the Giants.[1]
Then in 1927, Guyon joined the Giants and helped lead the team to the1927 NFL Championship.[1]
Guyon coached the Bulldogs ofUnion University inJackson, Tennessee in 1919.[18] He returned to Union in 1923 and coached all sports from 1923 to 1927.[19][20] Union inducted Guyon into its sports hall of fame in 2008.[21]
Guyon coached the backfield of the1920 Georgia Tech team.[22] He also coachedhigh school football atSt. Xavier High School inLouisville, Kentucky from 1931 to 1933, with a 16–7–2 record.[3]
Guyon was also a "minor league baseball star".[23]
Guyon had previously hit over .340 three consecutive years for theLouisville Colonels in theAmerican Association, which atAA, was at the highest classification of the era. His playing career as an outfielder extended from 1920 through 1936 with a break during his college coaching career.
Guyon was thehead coach of theClemson Tigers baseball team atClemson University from 1928 to 1931. He managed the Anderson Electrics in thePalmetto League in 1931, theAsheville Tourists in 1932, and theFieldale Towlers in 1936.
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Union (Tennessee) Bulldogs(Independent)(1919) | |||||||||
| 1919 | Union | 2–5 | |||||||
| Union (Tennessee) Bulldogs(Independent)(1923–1924) | |||||||||
| 1923 | Union | 4–4–1 | |||||||
| 1924 | Union | 3–6 | |||||||
| Union (Tennessee) Bulldogs(Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association)(1925–1926) | |||||||||
| 1925 | Union | 5–4 | 1–1 | T–11th | |||||
| 1926 | Union | 3–6 | 1–4 | 22nd | |||||
| Union (Tennessee): | 17–25–1 | 2–5 | |||||||
| Total: | 17–25–1 | ||||||||
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