 | |
| Founded | 1905 |
|---|---|
| Suspended | 1918, 1925–1926 |
| Folded | 1930 |
| Based in | Minneapolis, Minnesota |
| League | sandlot (1905–1909) semi-professional (1910–1912) independent professional (1913–1917, 1919–20) National Football League (1921–1924, 1929–1930) exhibition (1927–28) |
| Team history | Minneapolis Marines (1905–1928) Minneapolis Red Jackets (1929–1930) |
| Team colors | Red, White (1905–1928) |
| Nickname(s) | Marines (1905–1928) Red Jackets (1929–1930) |
| Head coaches | Unknown (1905, 1907–1911) Dutch Gaustad (1906) Reuben Ursella (1912, 1917, 1921) Ossie Solem (1913–1915) Russell Tollefson (1916, 1920, 1922) Harry Mehre (1923) Joe Brandy (1924) Bert Baston (1927) Herb Joesting (1928–1929) Sigmund Harris (1929) George Gibson (1930) |
| General managers | Oscar Benson (1905) Ernest Windblad (1906) Morris Johnson (1907) Archie Hoffman (1908) Einar M. Irgens (1909) Frank Hammer (1910–1914) John Dunn (1915–1917, 1919–1924, 1927–1930) |
| Owner(s) | Marine Athletic Club (1905–1920) John Dunn (1921–1930) Val Ness (1921–1930) |
| Home field(s) | North Minneapolis Athletic Association grounds (1912–1914) Nicollet Park (1915–1930) |
The Minneapolis Marines were an early professional football team that existed from 1905 until 1928. The team did not play in 1918 or 1925 to 1926 and was later resurrected from 1929 to 1930 under the Minneapolis Red Jackets name.[1] The Marines were originally owned by the Marine Athletic Club of Minneapolis and later by Minneapolitans John Dunn and Val Ness. The Marines played their earliest games in the sandlots of Minneapolis and at Minnehaha Park. They made their first appearance at Lexington Park in 1909 and Nicollet Park in 1910. From 1912 to 1914, the team rented the North Minneapolis Athletic Association grounds at 25th Avenue North and Washington Avenue in Minneapolis, a site now overrun by Interstate 94. The Marines moved to Nicollet Park in 1915 and played there until they disbanded as the Red Jackets in 1930.[2] The Minneapolis Marines were the first Minnesota-based team to join the National Football League, predating the Duluth Eskimos (1923) and Minnesota Vikings (1961).[1]
- ^ a b Quirk, Jim (1998). "The Minneapolis Marines: Minnesota's Forgotten NFL Team" (PDF). Coffin Corner. 20 (1). Professional Football Researchers Association: 1–3. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-12-18.
- ^ Christiansen, R. C. (2023). Mill City Scrum: The History of Minnesota's First Team in the National Football League. Independently published. ISBN 979-8398571127.