Louisville Brecks

First Game Played October 2, 1921 Last Game Played Novermber 14, 1926

1899-1920: The Louisville Breckenridge Club first organized a football team at the turn of the century. The Breckenridge club was named after former Vice President John C. Breckinridge, who served under James Buchanan the 15th President of the United States. Breckinridge from Kentucky also served in Congress and the Senate and later was the Confederate Secretary of War. At first the Brecks were an amateur team, but later they became professional, claiming the Falls Cities Title in 1919.

1921: Despite missing out on the American Professional Football Association’s league meeting, Owner, Aaron Hertzman was able to get the Louisville Brecks into the league by pay a $25 franchise fee, beating out several other local teams. The Brecks would split their schedule between local semi-pro teams and the APFA. The Brecks would begin the season with a 21-0 loss to the Evansville Crimson Giants on October 2nd. It would be two months before their next league game a 6-0 loss to the Columbus Panhandles at Eclipse Park on December 4th. A November 6th game against the Cincinnati Celts was cancelled as the Celts failed to fulfill their contract. Despite their 0-2 league record the Brecks would post a record 4-4-1 overall.

1922: The APFA would change its name to the National Football League as the Louisville Brecks suffered a trying season. Playing a tough early road schedule the Brecks were outscored 134-0 in losses to the Canton Bulldogs, Toledo Maroons and Racine Legion. The Brecks would break through and defeat the Evansville Crimsons Giants 13-6 in their first home game. The Brecks had two additional games scheduled at Eclipse Park cancelled after the stadium was destroyed by a fire. The Brecks would have been able to break even financially if they could have finished the season, instead they posted a 1-3 record and lost money.

1923: After the destruction of Eclipse Park, the Brecks would use Parkway Field. However, they could only draw one home game, and played just three games overall and failed to score in any game posting a 0-3 record while being outscored 90-0. The Brecks were going to play an additional game against the Akron Pros, but the game was cancelled due to poor ticket sales. The Brecks lone home game against the Oorang Indians on December 9th would be notable as it would feature the first halftime show. The Brecks would lose the game 19-0 as Walter Lingo provided the entertainment to promote the sale of his Airedale Terriers.

1924: The Brecks would pull out of the NFL playing their final season as members of the Fall Cities Football Federation. Owner Aaron Hertzman would go on to serve as the NFL’s sergeant of arms.

1926: The NFL would nominal return to Louisville in 1926, with team known as the Louisville Colonels. Despite having no official connection to the Louisville Brecks, the NFL record books would consider them a continuation of the original Brecks franchise. The 1926 season saw the NFL expand to 22 teams to prevent a startup league called the American Football League from taking a foothold. The Colonels would operate out of Chicago and play all their games on the road. Much like the Brecks in their final season, the Colonels failed to score any points, posting a 0-4 record under Coach Lenny Sachs as they were outscored 108-0. The NFL would not return to Kentucky, as its close proximity to Cincinnati and market size has never made a viable professional sports market.

©MMXV Tank Productions. Stats researched by Frank Fleming, all information, and team names are property of the National Football League. This site is not affiliated with the Louisville Brecks or Lousiville Colonels or the NFL. This site is maintained for research purposes only. All logos used on this page were from Chris Creamer’s Sports Logos Page.
Page created on February 6, 2015. Last updated on Frebruary 6, 2015 at 9:55 pm ET.