The US Athletic Hall of Fame - Contributors 2023
Ralph Hay
- Contest: The US Athletic Hall of Fame - Contributors 2023
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- Sport(s): Football Owner
- Statistics: 1 NFL Championship (1922)
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In 1918, 27-year-old Ralph Hay bought the Canton Bulldogs, a member of a loose affiliation of teams that competed in the Ohio League. Canton was one of the better professional teams, but pro football, which was far behind college football in the national consciousness, needed a better organizational structure to move forward. This is where Hay came in.
Hay arranged a meeting with the Akron Pros, Cleveland Tigers, and Dayton Triangles managers to form the American Professional Football Conference. Four team does not a league make, and Hay, acting as the secretary, sent off letters to other football teams in the Midwest looking to form a league and request a meeting in Canton on September 17.
Representatives from ten teams would be there, all in the automobile showroom of Hay's dealership. The American Professional Football Conference now had ten teams, and the league that would rename itself the National Football League two years later was born. Hay was asked by the owners to be the first president, but instead, he pushed (and got) Jim Thorpe as the first president, which he felt lent the new league credibility.
Canton won the league title in 1922, but Hay could not celebrate for long. The Bulldogs were not profitable, and Hay could not afford to keep the team. He sold the organization before the 1923 season, and Canton would win it all again, though Hay was no longer a part of it.
The Pro Football Hall of Fame would be awarded to Canton, and while Hay was not a part of that decision (he died 20 years before it opened), the vision that Hay had was bred in Canton, Ohio.
We are proud to nominate Ralph Hay for the United States Athletic Hall of Fame.
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