The NFL elected Elmer Layden to be the league's first commissioner on March 1, 1941. It seems a bit odd that the NFL would be around for twenty years before they decided to finally elect a commissioner. That's because the post was renamed upon Layden taking the job. Prior to 1941, the owner-elected leader of the NFL was called the President of the NFL. Jim Thorpe gave the new league a big name when he became the first president in 1920. He was president in name only as he spent most of his time playing football for the Canton Bulldogs. Thorpe fronted the new league for only one year. The first "real" president came in 1921 when Columbus Panhandles manager Joe Carr was elected. It can be argued that Joe Carr is the most significant figure in the history of the NFL. The new league, and all of it's teams, struggled mightily to survive the 1920s only to enter the Depression Era of the 1930s. Carr somehow managed to guide the NFL through those tough, long years. The league more than survived those early years. It got stronger. Carr cleaned up much of the "seedy" side of the game. That improved the league's reputation from sideshow circus to a legitimate sport. He pushed for more stable ownership in bigger cities. The still new league had a future. When Carr died suddenly in 1939, long-time league treasurer Carl Storck stepped in as interim president. For some reason, he remained in the role as interim president for nearly three years. I've never quite understood the lack of appreciation for Carl Storck. He was one of the league's founding fathers as he represented the Dayton Triangles at that first meeting in Canton. He was right there with Carr for nearly twenty years as the league's treasurer. I've always felt that Storck's presence was kind of taken for granted by the rest of the league. They were comfortable with him but were never quite sold on him. They appreciated his service to the league but he was just keeping the seat warm following Carr's passing. I've read that Storck stepped aside in 1941 due to health reasons. I've also read that the health issues started after his NFL friends elected Elmer Layden to be the NFL's first commissioner instead of him.
Elmer Layden gained football fame as one of the Four Horsemen of Notre Dame. I used to think that Layden was elected to be a name and a face for the league much like Thorpe. Unlike Thorpe, Layden had some administrative experience. He had been a coach and Athletic Director at Notre Dame prior to his election as NFL commissioner. He had the name but he also had the qualifications. He faced significant challenges almost immediately as the country was soon involved in World War II. Layden was the first head of the league to not be a founding father of the league. Maybe the owners wanted an "outsider" at that time. Who knows? It is interesting to note that every commissioner elected since Layden has come from within the league or team offices. The owners decided not renew his contract in 1946. Layden's five years in office is the shortest stint of any commissioner. When the owners elected Bert Bell to replace Layden in 1946 they once again elected one of their own. Bell brilliantly guided the league to the top of the professional food chain. Those heights were taken even higher by Pete Rozelle, in particular, Paul Tagliabue, and now Roger Goodell.
Throughout it's history, the NFL has truly been blessed by tremendous leadership at the top. Pete Rozelle gets a ton of much deserved credit. Joe Carr and Bert Bell did the hard work through extremely tough times to set an unbelievably stable stage for Rozelle. Elmer Layden probably gets the least amount of credit among the league's leaders through history. Jim Thorpe may have done the least to lead but his name made headlines. His name brought much needed attention. Carl Storck only had a couple of years to lead but he'd been a significant NFL figure for the first two decades of the league's history. He's one of the founding fathers. He was an asset for Carr in the league offices. While Layden gets little to no credit for the building of the NFL to the powerhouse that it is today, the first commissioner did guide the league through the difficulties of World War II. That's pretty significant. He's still better known as one of the Four Horseman than the NFL's first commissioner.
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