In this definitive history of an early National Football League franchise, discover how independent football flourished in Minneapolis, and how the University of Minnesota Gophers' winningest coach, Dr. Henry L. Williams, influenced the trajectory of a group of teenagers from south Minneapolis, who found their way to the biggest professional football stages in the nation. Mill City Scrum follows the entire history of the Minneapolis Marines, from their first game in 1905, through their last game in 1930, when they were called the Minneapolis Red Jackets. And just like the U.S. Marine Corps, which has a motto, "Once a Marine, Always a Marine," many Marines players who left the team found their way back or remained within the team's circle of influence. This book follows their careers and the interconnected lives of players from the University of Minnesota and other local colleges, especially the University of St. Thomas, but also the lives of men who never played organized football until they joined the Marines. Long before Minnesota had the Minnesota Vikings, they had the Minneapolis Marines.

Includes 24 illustrations