History
The St. Louis All-Stars were one of the few teams organized specifically to play in the NFL in its early days. Ollie Kraehe had been team captain at Washington University of St. Louis in 1921 and had spent a season playing for the Rock Island Independents. Then he paid $100 for a franchise and began organizing a team, about a month before the 1923 season was to start.
Kraehe was so optimistic about pro football prospects in St. Louis that he signed a lease with the St. Louis Browns (then an American League team) for Sportsman's Park. The Browns would get 15 to 20 percent of gross revenue from every football game.
The team Kraehe put together was big but slow, very much defense-oriented. His "All-Stars" gave up only 15 points in their first five games, but they didn't score any points at all. They did manage to salvage two scoreless ties. Then after beating the Oorang Indians, 14-7, they reverted to form in a 17-0 loss to the Milwaukee Badgers and Kraehe's former college teammate, Jimmy Conzelman.
At that point, the team had lost $6,300, according to Kraehe. A season-ending game against the Cleveland Indians was canceled and the St. Louis All-Stars were history.