by Jeffrey Miller
Though he may not be well-known today, Anderson was a college superstar during the World
War I era and later the star halfback of the Buffalo All-Americans of the fledgling American
Professional Football Association (the forerunner to the National Football League). Ockie
Anderson was the first great pro running back in Buffalo’s history, his speed and elusiveness
making him one of the top backs in the entire league. Had his career lasted more than the three
stellar seasons he managed before being forced by injury into early retirement, there’s no telling
what Anderson could have accomplished.
Oscar Carl “Ockie” Anderson was born 1894 to Swedish immigrants. His parents settled in Erie,
Pennsylvania, where Ockie received his schooling. Anderson became a three-letter man at
Colgate, starring in football, basketball (he was captain of the 1920 team), and track (competing
in the 100 and 220-yard dash). It was said that had Ockie not damaged his knees playing football,
he would easily have been a world class sprinter. But football was his best sport, a fact Walter
Camp acknowledged in selecting Anderson as a first-team All-American in 1916. The following
year, Anderson got caught up in the martial fervor sweeping the nation and enlisted in the Army.
In 1917, Camp selected to his elite squad only players serving in the military, and Anderson once
again made the team. He served two years in France during the first World War before returning
to his native Erie, Pennsylvania, where he landed a job as athletic director in the Erie city school
system.
In the fall of 1920, Anderson signed on with the Buffalo franchise of the new professional
football league being put together from a ragtag collection of former semi-pro teams from across
the Great Lakes states. The Buffalo team, led by Barney Lepper and Tommy Hughitt, was to be
made up of former college stars, many of whom had also been named to Walter Camp’s All
American squads. Among the signees were guard Adoplh “Swede” Youngstrom of Dartmouth,
ends Murray Shelton of Cornell and Heinie Miller of Pennsylvania, halfback Bodie Weldon of
Lafayette, and several others. Ockie Anderson fit right in. Dubbed the All-Americans, the team
was perhaps the most aptly named in NFL history.
Right from the get-go, Anderson was the AAs featured back. In Buffalo’s inaugural game,
October 3 vs. West Buffalo, Anderson made several spectacular runs in leading his team to a 32
to 6 victory. The following week, Anderson scored two touchdowns and ripped off several long
runs against All-Buffalo. Buffalo faced the Toledo Maroons in week four, and Ockie continued his
brilliant work by scoring four touchdowns, including dazzling back-to-back returns of 60 (punt) and
50 (kickoff) yards.
As Anderson was establishing himself as one of the top runners in the new pro league, his team
was also establishing itself as one of the best. The All-Americans extended their winning streak
to six games by thrashing All-Tonawanda in front of 7,000 at Canisius Villa. Ockie again stood
out for Buffalo, scoring three touchdowns in a 35 to 0 victory. Columbus was the next victim,
receiving a 43 to 7 thrashing at Canisius Villa. Pat Smith led the way for Buffalo with four TDs,
while Ockie was relatively quiet with just one.
The All-Americans faced their first real test on November 21, when Jim Thorpe and the Canton
Bulldogs came to town. Anticipating a large crowd for Thorpe’s Queen City debut, Buffalo
management moved the game from the usual home site at Canisius Villa to the larger Buffalo
Baseball Park. The move proved a wise one, as the largest crowd ever to witness a pro game,
some 15,000, showed up. Yet for all of the hype leading up to this contest, it proved to be a rather
dull affair, as the field had been rendered a veritable quagmire by heavy rains. Canton came out
on top, handing Buffalo their first shutout and first loss, 3 to 0.
But Buffalo was back on the beam the following week against the Cleveland Tigers. Ockie
scored the lone touchdown, a 15-yard scamper off a fake pass, as Buffalo won 7 to 0.
On December 4, Buffalo met Canton at New York’s Polol Grounds for what was to be a
showcase for the new league, pitted two of the top teams in the media capital of the nation. Led
by Swede Youngstrom’s heroics, Buffalo came out on top, 7 to 3. Immediately following the
game, the AAs jumped the train for Buffalo and a game with Akron for the APFA title scheduled
for the following afternoon. But with the Buffalo players tired and worn from the previous day’s
game and the long train ride, summoning the energy for this tilt with the tough Akronites was a tall
order. Buffalo had an overall record of 9 wins and 1 loss. Akron boasted a record of 7 wins, 3
ties, and no losses. All they had to do was tie and the championship was theirs. Buffalo failed to
muster an offense on the rain-soaked field, and Akron managed to hold on for 0 to 0 deadlock.
Undefeated Akron was awarded the chamionship.
Ockie led the All-Americans in touchdowns (11) and total points (69) in 1920.
The 1921 season was one of great promise. Buffalo bolstered its already powerful offense by
adding Army halfback Elmer Oliphant. With Oliphant, Anderson, quarterback Tommy Hughitt
and fullback Pat Smith, Buffalo had the best backfield in the league. Once again, the AAs came
out smoking, with lop-sided victories over Hammond, Columbus, New York, Rochester and
Detroit all in succession. Anderson tallied three TDs against Columbus, and scored one and threw for another against Rochester.
The All-Americans went into their final game of the season, December 4 versus the Chicago
Staleys, sporting a 9-0-2. Once again, a victory on the season’s last day would give Buffalo the
title. But Buffalo was in poor shape to take on the Staleys after playing the Akron Pros at home
the day before and then riding all night on the rails for this game at Cubs Park. Despite the fact
that the AAs had beaten the Staleys two weeks earlier in Buffalo, Chicago came out on top in this
one, 10 to 7, and claimed the 1921 title with a 9-1-1 record. Buffalo manager Frank McNeil
disputed the Staleys’ claim, but the league affirmed Halas’ assertion that the second game of the
season series, won by the Staleys, carried more weight than the first. Just as the All-Americans
had come within one victory of winning the championship in 1920, the team fell one short again in
1921.
Buffalo’s Elmer Oliphant led the league in scoring with 47 total points, while Ockie finished tied
for second (with Akron’s Fritz Pollard) with 42. Anderson and Pollard also tied for the league lead
in touchdowns scored (7).
Expectations soared as the 1922 season approached. The All-Americans were coming off
back-to-back 9-1 seasons, and were considered one of the top contenders for the title. Buffalo
started off the campaign by going 3-1 in its first four games. But Ockie Anderson was not his old
self—it wasn’t until the fourth game of the season, October 29 against Dayton, that Ock scored
his first touchdown. It would also be his last. Anderson’s knees were shot, and he was forced out
of the lineup just three games later. He played his last game on November 19, 1922, a 3 to 3 tie
with the Akron Pros.
There’s no telling what Anderson could have accomplished had his knees not given out. In
three seasons with the All-Americans, he played 29 games and scored 117 points, an average of
4.0 points per game!
Ockie Anderson retired after the 1922 season. In 1933, he entered the hardware business with
his father-in-law, H. B. Koenig in Tonawanda. Years of heavy smoking, coupled with the
after-effects of poisonous gas inhaled in France during the first World War, left Anderson with
severe emphysema in his later life. He kept a sense of humor about his condition, however,
joking to friends that it was “hard to spell and expensive as hell.” He was still active in the family
business when he succumbed to the disease in January 1962. He is a member of the Colgate
University Hall of Honor.
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