History
In addition to being a physician, Dr. Alva Young of Hammond, Indiana, was a boxing promoter, the owner of a racing stable and, from 1915 to 1917, the doctor and trainer for a semi-pro football operated by the Hammond Clabby Athletic Association.
After a hiatus because of World War I and the flu epidemic, the Hammond Pros were established by Paul Parduhn. It's believed that Dr. Young was part owner of the team, which starred George Halas at end and played most of its games in Chicago's Cub Park, which is now known as Wrigley Field. In any event, Dr. Young took over the team in 1920, and went to the meeting in Canton, Ohio, at which the American Professional Football Association was formed.
Despite the name, the Pros were never really more than a semi-pro team. Most of the players were locals who had full-time jobs and couldn't practice much, so Hammond was simply no match for most other NFL teams.
It didn't help that the Pros played most of their games on the road because Hammond lacked a field with any kind of seating capacity. Nevertheless, Dr. Young kept the team going in the NFL for seven years, during which they won only 5 games against 26 losses and 4 ties. They managed to reach .500 only once, with a 2-2-record in 1924.
He might have kept it going even longer, but after winning the 1926 battle with the American Football League, the NFL decided to scale down to 12 teams, getting rid of many of the smaller franchises, including the Hammond Pros.