Author: Bruce Smith

The Dayton Triangles football team, which would become a founding member of the National Football League in 1920, open their inaugural season of play in 1916 under coach Nelson “Bud” Talbott. Led by rifle-armed quarterback and field general Al Mahrt, and featuring running backs Norb Sacksteder, Lou Partlow and George “Babe” Zimmerman, the Triangles formed a Dayton “dream team” that set out to capture the championship of the Ohio League.

This episode covers the 1915 season, when the former Saint Mary’s Cadets became the Dayton Gym-Cadets. It was the last year they played football under the Cadet name. The following season they merged into the Dayton Triangles. The episode also covers Nelson Talbott’s preparations for the next phase of his career, and the events leading to the birth of the Triangles.

The Saint Mary’s Cadets, forerunners of the Dayton Triangles, set out to defend their city independent football championship in 1914. However, winning the title was one thing; defending it proved quite another. Meanwhile, Nelson Talbott sought to cap his college career by leading Yale to the top of the Ivy League. Norb Sacksteder goes west and begins to build a football legend.

The big game was now set. The Saint Mary’s Cadets, forerunners of the Dayton Triangles, would face off against long-standing champions the Olt’s-Superba Oakwoods for the independent football championship of Dayton in 1913. Meanwhile, Nelson Talbott was finishing an All-America year at Yale.

This episode is the first of two that covers the development of the Saint Mary’s Cadets football team, whose members later formed the nucleus of the Dayton Triangles, into city independent champions. Episode date: May 23, 2019.