Author: Andrew Weicker

Trainer Wildwood lifeguard Jim Mullaney was the Frankford Yellow Jackets team trainer and unofficial mascot.

President 1926 Theodore E. Holden— affectionately known as “Thee”— was born and raised in Frankford and was one of the original Yellow Jackets from the 1899–1909 era. He took over as president for Shep Royle prior to the 1926 season but resigned a day after the championship, stating a desire to focus on his business, […]

President 1909-1925; 1931 H. S. “Shep” Royle was the Frankford Yellow Jackets team president from 1909 to 1925 and returned to guide the team through its final season in 1931. His duties included overseeing the FAA committees, football managers, and sponsorship and fundraising efforts. He served as a gunner in the US Army during World […]

Center / Tackle / GuardMonmouth College (Illinois) 1925 Francis “Jug” Earp appeared in just one game for the Frankford Yellow Jackets in 1925. Jug was a shortened version of his nickname, Juggernaut. He famously had three nonconsecutive stints with the Green Bay Packers, winning three-straight championships with them from 1929 to 1931. For his accomplishments, […]

FullbackUniversity of Pennsylvania; Bucknell University 1928-1930 Glenn Walter “Wally” Diehl was a star player for the Yellow Jackets over his three seasons in Frankford. He played 38 games and scored 11 total touchdowns (9 rushing, 1 receiving, 1 interception return) and was named an All-Pro fullback in 1928.

BackColgate University; Navy 1926 Wolcott “Wooky” Roberts first burst onto the football scene when he was a consensus All-American halfback for Navy in 1918. As an NFL player, he won two championships with the Canton Bulldogs (1922 and 1923), one with the Cleveland Bulldogs (1924), and another with the Frankford Yellow Jackets in 1926.

Guard / TackleGeorgetown University 1926-1929 Rudolph “Rudy” Comstock was a guard from Georgetown University who won four NFL championships in his career (1923, 1924, 1926, 1931). He was known for always being reliable in big games and clutch situations.

GuardGeorgetown University 1927 Henry “Pud” Connaughton was born in Philadelphia, where he played football at St. Joseph’s Prep before becoming an All-American at Georgetown University. At 6′4″ and 250 pounds, he was one of the biggest players of his era and primarily played the guard and center positions.

FullbackUniversity of Minnesota 1930-1931 Herbert Joesting was an All-American fullback at the University of Minnesota in 1926 and 1927, and famously gained 179 yards in 21 minutes of play in a game against Butler University. He scored three touchdowns in 13 games with Frankford during the 1930 and 1931 seasons. Nicknamed “Battering Ram,” “Thunderbolt,” and […]

Tackle / GuardLebanon Valley College; Dickinson College 1924-1925; 1927-1931 Dickinson College captain Russell “Bull” Behman was on the Frankford roster during every season they were in the NFL— except for 1926, when he jumped to the short-lived Philadelphia Quakers of the rival American Football League. Both the Quakers and the Yellow Jackets won league championships […]

Center / Guard / Tackle / EndSyracuse 1923 Dr. Joseph Alexander was a practicing medical doctor with a degree from Syracuse, but he also played guard and center in the National Football League. His description from Pro Football: Its “Ups” and “Downs” is as follows:“ While attached to a leading New York hospital, Dr. Joe […]

Guard / Tackle / End / CenterDartmouth 1926-1927 Adolf “Swede” Youngstrom was a punt-blocking specialist at Dartmouth and later with the Yellow Jackets. He was operating a candy store in Hanover, New Hampshire, with college teammate (and future Hall of Famer) Ed Healey when he was approached to join the NFL’s Buffalo All-Americans in 1920. […]

TackleNebraska 1925 William “Link” Lyman was a Hall of Fame tackle out of Nebraska who played just four games for the Yellow Jackets in 1925 before gaining prominence with George Halas’s Chicago Bears. Lyman was a pioneer in the use of shifting positions to disrupt the blocking assignments of offensive linemen. During his 11 years […]

CoachPennsylvania State University 1924 Robert “Punk” Berryman was born in Philadelphia and attended Edison High School. He went to Penn State and became a third-team All-American halfback in 1915. He was the Yellow Jackets coach when they began playing in the NFL in 1924.

Tackle / EndNebraska 1926-1928 Ed Weir coached the Yellow Jackets in 1927 and played tackle in 36 games for the team over the course of two seasons. An All-American at the University of Nebraska, he famously stopped Notre Dame’s “Four Horsemen” in consecutive years and helped hold Illinois’ Red Grange to negative-yards rushing. View Ed […]

BackIndiana University of Pennsylvania; Grove City College 1925-1926 Ben Jones had nine touchdowns in 1926 and won a total of three NFL championships (1923 Canton Bulldogs, 1924 Cleveland Bulldogs, 1926 Frankford Yellow Jackets). Tragically, Jones died at the age of 30 after he was involved in an explosion in a Cleveland clinic.

BackUniversity of Pennsylvania 1924-1927 Ernest “Tex” Hamer was a 190-pound fullback and defensive back from the University of Pennsylvania and captained the Quakers team. He scored 72 points in 1924 (second-best in the league) and led the NFL in rushing touchdowns that year as well (12). He had a brief career as a professional boxer, […]

End / BackNebraska 1925-1926 Berlin “Guy” Chamberlin coached and played halfback for the Yellow Jackets in 1925 and 1926. His veteran leadership helped propel Frankford to its only championship. He was player-coach of the Canton Bulldogs (1922–1923) and the Cleveland Bulldogs (1924) winning championships with both. An inspirational leader, he was widely recognized as the […]

Center / EndNotre Dame 1927-1929 A native of Philadelphia, Joey Maxwell attended Roman Catholic High School and then Notre Dame. He was part of the Irish’s famed “Seven Mules” offensive line that blocked for the backfield, known as the “Four Horsemen.” He played the center and end positions for the Yellow Jackets during the 1927–1929 […]

CenterBucknell 1926-1927 Max Reed was a favorite of the local fans. He played the center position and was a member of the 1926 championship team. He played 24 games with the team throughout 1926 and 1927.

BackGonzaga 1925-1928 Houston “Hust” Stockton played football at Gonzaga and was known as the “most feared man in the Pacific Coast Conference.” He played 44 games for the Yellow Jackets, scoring six touchdowns. Stockton was on the 1926 championship team, and after his playing career, he was briefly a professional wrestler and then worked for […]

BackSwarthmore College 1923 Les Asplundh was born in Bryn Athyn and became a star football player at Swarthmore College. Standing at 6′3″ and 213 pounds, Asplundh was one of the biggest football players of his time. Known for his booming punts, he played for the Yellow Jackets in 1923. The Asplundh name is a familiar […]

BackLebanon Valley 1925-1930 Henry “Two-Bits” Homan was from Lebanon, Pennsylvania, and attended Lebanon Valley College. Playing both back and quarterback, he stood just 5′5″— one of the smallest players ever in the NFL. Homan played 81 total games for the Yellow Jackets and scored 10 total touchdowns (2 rushing, 7 receiving, 1 punt return). He […]

BackCarnegie Institute of Technology; Grinnell College 1926-1927 Francis “Hap” Moran was a left halfback signed in 1926 out of Carnegie Tech and Grinnell College. His nickname came from the cartoon “Happy Houlihan.” In the course of his career, Moran started at halfback, tail back, wing back, quarterback, blocking back, defensive back ,and linebacker. He was […]

BackUniversity of Pennsylvania 1927-1929 Halfback Charles “Charley” Rogers was an All-American from the University of Pennsylvania. His local ties made him one of the most popular players to ever wear a Yellow Jackets uniform. In 1927, he took over play-calling duties when coach Moran resigned. “The Camden Comet” later became head coach of the Delaware […]

BackSimpson College 1927-1929 Ken Mercer was a star passer and high scorer for the Yellow Jackets throughout the 1927–1929 seasons. He led the NFL in field goals in 1927 with five successful makes. After his playing days, he coached college football and basketball. 

BackCreighton University 1927 Paul Fitzgibbon had an unremarkable career with the Yellow Jackets, just one season with them (1927). Following his football career, he became a neurologist and later one of the seven founding members of the Permanente Medical Group, now called Kaiser Permanente.

BackMuhlenberg College; University of Pennsylvania 1922 Joseph Howard Berry Jr. joined the Yellow Jackets midway through the 1922 season and single-handedly provided the team’s offense in his first two games. In fact, it was his “mighty toe” that beat Akron 6–3 and, the following week, tied Buffalo 3–3 in front of nearly 20,000 spectators. His […]

CenterUniversity of Pennsylvania 1922 Philadelphia native Lud Wray stayed close to home when he attended the University of Pennsylvania. After graduation, he (along with classmates Lou Little and Heinie Miller) played for the Philadelphia Union Quakers and beat the Yellow Jackets for the 1921 city title. The team folded shortly after, and the former Quakers, […]