Founded 75 years ago by Walter Lingo, owner of The Oorang Kennel Company of LaRue, Ohio, the Oorang Indians were a unique team.  Coached and recruited by Jim Thorpe, the team was comprised entirely of Native American players.  Lingo established the team in 1922 as a way to generate publicity for his business.  It was part of the fledgling National Football League during the 1922 and 1923 seasons.  The team disbanded in 1924.  LaRue has the distinction of being the smallest community to have a National Football League franchise.  Two members of the Oorang Indians, Jim Thorpe and Joe Guyon, were named charter members of the National Football League Hall of Fame. 
     In 1997, The Marion County Historical Society erected an Ohio Historic Marker on the site of the Oorang Indians’ practice field in LaRue. 

     Walter Lingo spent most of his time breeding and training his championship Oorang Airedale dogs in LaRue, Ohio.  He invited celebrities, such as Ty Cobb of the Detroit Tigers, boxer Jack Dempsey, actor Gary Cooper, Tris Speaker of the Cleveland Indians, and Olympic sprinter Charles Paddock to LaRue to hunt with him and his dogs.  The Oorang Kennel Company and its Oorang Airedales became known throughout the world. 
     Lingo and Jim Thorpe, world-famous athlete, became friends through the hunting excursions.  The two developed the idea of creating a football team composed entirely of Native American players.  Players would also work as trainers for Lingo’s Oorang Airedales. 
      In June, 1922, Walter Lingo traveled to Canton, Ohio and purchased a National Football League franchise for $100.00.  He named his team the Oorang Indians.  Lingo served as business manager.  Thorpe recruited, coached, and played on the team.  The Oorang Indians played two seasons in the NFL. 
     It is believed that Walter Lingo began the tradition of halftime shows at football games.  Rather than retiring to the locker room at halftime, the Oorang Indians showed Lingo’s Airedales to the crowd. 
     Although the Oorang Indians disbanded in 1924, Lingo’s kennels continued to thrive until the stock market crash of 1929.  Lingo then traveled to Minneapolis, Minnesota to promote Oorang dog biscuits.  Back in LaRue, Lingo’s wife, Beryl, office secretary Belva Bowdre, and kennel superintendent Carl Sharpe revived the kennels.  Although never reaching the success enjoyed in the 1920s, The Oorang Kennel Company continued until Walter Lingo’s death in 1969. 

  To visit our Oorang Indians page, Click Here

      A Sac-and-Fox Indian, Jim Thorpe captured the world’s attention by winning gold medals in both the decathlon and pentathlon in the 1912 Olympic games.  Sweden’s King Gustav V proclaimed Thorpe “the greatest athlete in the world” – and this declaration stayed with Thorpe his entire life. 
     Jim Thorpe was born May 28, 1887 at Bellemont, Oklahoma.  At age sixteen, Jim entered Carlisle Institute.  There, his natural athletic abilities flourished as he competed in football and track and field.  His outstanding record at Carlisle led to his participation in the 1912 Olympic games. 
     Between 1915 and 1929, Thorpe played with eight professional football teams, including the Oorang Indians.  He played professional baseball between 1913 and 1919.  Thorpe was elected president of the American Professional Football League (now the National Football League) in 1919.  Thorpe’s athletic excellence inspired the NFL to name its Most Valuable Player award the “Jim Thorpe Trophy.” 

Click Here  To learn more about Jim Thorpe. 

Click Here  To learn how to order Jim Thorpe and the Oorang Indians: The NFL’s Most Colorful Franchise by Robert L. Whitman.
 

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