The Lowell "grid greats" of 1904-5, all from town unless otherwise noted, lined up in uniform at Oakland Park: (front) right tackle Leroy Kelsey, right guard Tim Pattee, center Ed Johnson, lineman Bill Purdy, left guard "Nub" Ray, (middle) right end Wells Ainsworth, quarterback Billy Callahan of Nebraska, left tackle Christopher "Crip" Hill of Chicago and Lowell, left end Charles "Bird" Viant, (back) quarterback Ben Lynch, fullback, Ned Regnier of Hammond, right halfback Ed Brownell, ex-halback and coach Frank Maloy, and left halfback Ralph Trump.
Information from the Souvenir Album of Lake County, 1906:
Lowell has a splendidly organized football team -- swift, scientific and courageous,. The team was organized three seasons ago through the efforts of Messrs. Frank Maloy and Ray Nelson, and while changes have taken place each season, the team of the present season is the original organization. From the beginning this team has played phenomenal ball. The patient coaching of Mr. Maloy and the strict rules observed by Referee Frank L. Hunt has brought the team from the crude state and placed it in the ranks of scientific players. It can no longer be styled the "beef trust," which term was applied to it by the Hammond News, because of a few big, fleshy boys on it. The first manager of the team was Mr. Nelson. Last season's team was managed by Dr. P.L. Rigg. This season's team is managed by Mr. Bart Moxell. Christopher Hill captained the team for two seasons. The present team is captained by Ed Brownell. The team last season, with Billy Callahan as the star quarterback, played brilliant ball, and out of seven games played with Crown Point, Lyon Serpents, Chicago Minoquas, Hammond Iroquois, Pullman Tigers and Renssalaer, Lowell won five, lost one and tied one. The illustration shown represents last season's team.
This photo come from the Souvenir Album of Lake County, 1906. This picture can also be found on the Lowell History CD-Rom, compiled by Gregory Jancosek. This CD-Rom contains photos from the Richard Schmal collection and the Lowell Public Library collection, as well as photos from other sources.
