 | |
| Founded | 1915 |
|---|---|
| Folded | 1926 |
| Based in | Racine, Wisconsin, United States |
| League | Independent (1915–1922) National Football League (1922–1924, 1926) |
| Team history | Racine Regulars (1915) Racine Battery C (1916–1918) Horlick-Racine Legion (1919–1922) Racine Legion (1922–1925) Racine Tornadoes (1926) |
| Team colors | Crimson, white |
| Nickname(s) | [1] |
| Head coaches | Babe Ruetz (1922–1924) Shorty Barr &Wally McIlwain (1926) |
| General managers | Babe Ruetz |
| Owner(s) | William Horlick (1919–1924) Racine Exchange Club (1925–1926) |
| Named for | The 1st Wisconsin Reserve Artillery Battery C William Horlick Racine American Legion Post |
| Home field(s) | Horlick Field |
TheRacine Legion was a professionalAmerican football team based inRacine, Wisconsin, of theNational Football League from 1922 to 1924. Its official name was the Horlick-Racine Legion.[2] The team then operated as theRacine Tornadoes in 1926.
In 1915, theRacine Regulars formedWisconsin's first important semi-professional team. They primarily played against teams fromIllinois andIndiana. The team became known as theRacine Battery C in 1916 after many of the players joined theFirst Wisconsin Reserve Artillery Battery C.
Because ofWorld War I and theSpanish flu pandemic of 1918 the team took a break. It was reorganized in 1919 with sponsorship from the localAmerican Legion post andWilliam Horlick, president of his family's malted milk company. The reorganized team was known as theHorlick-Racine Legion.
In 1922, theAmerican Professional Football Association changed its name to the National Football League. Racine, now known simply as the Racine Legion, although its official name remained the Horlick-Racine Legion, was one of four new teams admitted to membership that season.
Led by the fullback-kickerHank Gillo, who led the league in scoring with 52 points, Racine finished sixth in the 18-team league with a 6–4–1 record. Despite two more respectable seasons, the team failed because of finances. In 1925, the franchise was held over by the NFL, but they did not field a team that season.
Milton "Mitt" Romney, team captain at theUniversity of Chicago in 1922, became a quarterback for the Racine Legion before later joining theChicago Bears. He was a cousin ofMichigan GovernorGeorge W. Romney, and his nickname inspired that of George Romney's son, 2012 U.S. presidential candidateMitt Romney.
Facing the threat ofRed Grange'sAmerican Football League in 1926, the NFL was eager to get as many teams and players as possible into the fold to keep them away from the AFL. The Racine franchise was reactivated. The team, now called the Tornadoes, had a few of the same players as the Legion but many stars went to other teams in 1925. After winning their first game, the Tornadoes lost four in a row and disbanded in late October because of struggling finances.
| Year | W | L | T | Finish | Coach | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Legion | 1922 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 6th | Babe Ruetz |
| 1923 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 9th | ||
| 1924 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 7th | ||
| 1925 | Suspended Operations | |||||
| Tornadoes | 1926 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 16th | Shorty Barr,Wally McIlwain |
The Racine Legion have the distinction of winning the only NFL game where one team scored exactly 4 points. On November 25, 1923, the Legion beat theChicago Cardinals by a score of 10–4.[3] Further, the Cardinals franchise had used Racine as its geographic name until 1922, referring to Racine Ave. on which the team's home field was located.