ISLANDERS’ TOO MUCH SPEED FOR HEAVY CHICAGOANS
Initial Rock Island Victory in Forth Year of Bitter Fighting

“They said it couldn’t be done, but it was. That is many of the fans who watched the Independents and Bears battle for three years with Rock Island always coming out on the bottom of the heap with the exception of once, when the conflict ended in a scoreless tie. The first victory over the Bears was what everyone was talking about in Rock Island last night. It was gained by a 3 to 0 count. The three points made by Rock Island were the result of a pretty place kick off the shoe of Captain Herb Sies a few seconds before the second quarter came to a close. The ball was held by Waddy Kuehl, and although the field was just about as slippery as it could be without floating away, the pigskin sailed in a prefect course over the cross bar.”

Game Summary by RII.com

On the last day of September, on a cool gloomy day, 3,000 gridiron fans arrived at Douglas Park hoping to see the Independents give the Chicago Bears a good fight. The field was still wet and as the Independents lined up to kick the ball away. On the sidelines was Herb Sies, ready to coach his first NFL game. Sies had played in Dayton for the Triangles the past 2 seasons and was hired to replace Jim Conzelman who had led the Independents to a successful 4-2-2 1922 season. Also new on the sidelines were RV “Bull” Lowe and Sol Butler. Both players had just arrived the day prior and had played together with the teams new quarterback, Johnny Armstrong at the University of Debuque. Solomon Butler was a former Rock Island High star and with his addition the Independents were likely the only team in the NFL with two African American players. Duke Slater of the University of Iowa was the other African American on the roster.

Captain Sies set the ball on the tee and booted a deep kick to the Bears 10-yard line. Sternaman took the kick and ran through a broken field crossing mid-field to the Independents 48-yard line. Not a good start for the men in green and white. Bryant opened the game with a 1 yard gain and then Lanum added another 8. On 3rd and 1, Duke Slater hit and tackled Bolan for no gain. Lanum punted on 4th down and the kick sailed over the goalline for a touchback. Waddy Kuehl started the game off with a 2 yard run behind Duke Slater at right tackle. Phelan the full back ran for 4 more through center but Armstrong could only gain 2 on 3rd and 4. Phelan punted to the 50-yard line. Once again the Bears were starting with great field position. On 4th and 5 from the Independents 45 Bryant smashed through right tackle for 6 yards and a first down. Herb Sies threw Sternaman for a 2 yard loss. On 3rd down. Sternaman punted to Kuehl and the Independents took over deep in their own territory. Starting from their own 7 the Independents were held and after 2 plays punted it away. Phelan got off a better kick, Sternaman fielded the ball at mid-field and got down to the Independents 34-yard line.

This was the third consecutive drive starting at mid-field or better for the Bears and the fans at Douglas park were getting nervous.. Wilson opened a hole for Kuehl who ran through the hole in the Bears line and threw Lanum for a 1 yard loss. Wilson then broke into the Bears backfield on a pass attempt, Bryant was tackled for a big loss and as he was tackled he threw the ball away. The result was a 10 yard penalty for throwing the ball after being tackled. After an incomplete pass by Bryant the Bears punted. Kuehl returned the short kick 10 yards out to his 35.

The Second quarter started with the Independents still trying for their first 1st down. The Independents lost the ball in the backfield but Armstrong recovered. With not much going their way, on 3rd down Rock Island finally kicked the ball out of their territory. The Bears took the ball at their own 44. Le Fleur substituted for Lanum at left half. Cotton tackled Sternaman for no gain. Sternaman completed a pass to Bryant who was thrown by Kolls after a gain of 7. After a incomplete pass by Sternaman, La Fleur punted the ball back to the home team. On the first play from the 25-yard line, Giaver made 7 yards on a criss-cross play around Garvey at left end.  Kuehl took the ball for 6 more and the Independents first 1st down of the game. Armstrong hit Giaver for a 9 yard gain. Phelan took the ball around the end and was thrown out of bounds for no gain. On 3rd and 1, Armstrong burrowed through for ½ a yard. The Independents line up and on 4th and half a yard, Armstrong gained another first down. The Independents were finding their rhythm and just to throw the Bears off, Armstrong again threw the ball on first down. This pass was completed to Kuehl for 7 yards. The next pass was incomplete but on 3rd down Armstrong carried the ball 7 yards to the Bears 38 and another first down. The newest member of the Independents, speedy Sol Butler came on for Giaver. On his first play of his NFL career Butler fumbled for a 6 yard loss. With not one practice under his belt with his new team, there could have been some confusion in the backfield. After a incomplete pass the Independents took advantage of their new field position and on 3rd and long punted the ball back to Chicago. The punt sailed over the goal line for a touchback. Sternaman carried for 1 and on second down Sternaman looked to pass.  Butler used his speed and intercepted the Bear pass at the Independents 29-yard line. With time winding down on the half the Independents needed to be aggressive. Butler was tackled for a loss of 2, on the next play Armstrong was thrown for a loss of 5. On 3rd and 17 from the Bear 36 Armstrong hit Butler for a gain of 9 yards. With only a minute or so left in the half the Independents did no want to try a long kick and felt it might be worth it to try for the first down. On 4th and 8 Armstrong again threw to Butler who hauled in the pass. The hope was for the shifty Butler to make a play but instead he was literally beat up by the Bears. Referee Cahn was aware of the Bears intentions and penalized them for roughness. With time running out the Independents quickly line up on the soggy field for a place kick. The crowd was breathless as they watched to see if the Independents could get another play off. Kolls snapped the ball, a perfect pass back to Kuehl who held the ball for Captain Sies. The ball came off the ground perfectly and went spinning over the crossbar. ROCK ISLAND 3; CHICAGO 0. Sies kicked to La Fleur who returned in 18 yards and the half ended.

The teams took the field for the second half. Lowe had substituted for Kuehl at left half, Giaver for Butler at right half. The Bears subbed Rydzewski for Trafton and Flaherty for Halas. La Fleur kicked off for the Bears and the second half was under way. Lowe in his first action with the Independents took the ball at the 10-yard line. Lowe criss-crossed the ball to Armstrong who took it out to the 31-yard line The Independents took the field on offense and Armstrong started the half with a pss completion to Gaiver for a gain of 1. On the next play, Kadesky received a forward pass. The left end took the ball and broke across midfield. One of the most exciting plays of the day ended tragically when Kadesky lost control of the ball and Sternaman recovered it at his 28-yard line. The Bears offense took over on offense. Sternaman for 5 and then the Independents held. La Fleur’s punt was a good one, Armstrong caught the ball at the 22 and made his way out to the 42-yard line. Lowe fumbled for a 5 yard loss. On the next play Lowe threw a bad pass which was intercepted by Anderson the left guard. The Bears took over at the Independents 36-yard line. With not much happening for the Bears, this was a great opportunity to tie things up or even take the lead. Sternaman smashed through Thompson for a gain of 7. On 3rd and short, Bryant hit Garvey with a pass and he carried the ball to the Rock Island 22-yard line and a Bears first down. Left half Le Fleur carried the ball across the 20 and then fumbled the ball; Phelan recovered. The Independents had escaped the scoring threat and took over on offense at their own 15-yard line. Phelan then took the first carry after the turnover and broke through for a gain of 20. Giaver took a criss-cross but failed to gain any yards.  Armstrong hit Kadesky for a gain of 7. On 3rd and short Phelan, the full back punted a deep kick. The Bears must have not been expecting the kick because the ball went into the endzone for a touchback. The Bears lined up for a punt, it was a fake but the Independents were able to read the play and tackled the ball carrier for a loss of 2. La Fleur punted away to Armstrong who returned the great kick 15 yards out to the Independents 40-yard line. Phelan tried end but was thrown out of bounds for a 1 yard loss. Armstrong threw a deep pass which was intercepted by Trafton at the Bear 37. The Bears passed on first down, Bryant to Sternaman who broke across mid-field and was not dragged down by Cotton until he reached the Independents 35-yard line. As it had been for most of the third quarter, the Bears were on the verge of scoring. After a incomplete pass the Bears decided to keep going with what had worked. Instead Kadesky intercepted Sternaman’s pass at the Rock Island 31-yard line. The quarter ended with Rock Island in possession and facing a 3rd and 9 from their own 32. To start the forth quarter Kuehl came in for Lowe at left half, Butler replaced Gaiver at right half. Halas put himself in for Flaherty at right end. Sol Butler, the player that had taken the penalty right before the half and appeared to be a marked man, took the ball on 3rd and long. Butler had no where to go and fumbled the ball back 15 yards behind the line of scrimmage. Luckily he was able to scoop on the loose ball and he pivoted, dodged and darted around make the Bears miss. Sol was able to get back the 15 yards and then he had an opening and went for 16 more and an Independents first down.

Armstrong took the ball on a criss-cross playt from Butler. The Bears did not fall for the trick and Armstrong was tackled for a loss of 2. Phelan made 3 yards on a fake punt. Phelan then kick the ball away, down to the Bears 37-yard line. Halas called his own number and Bryant hit him for a gain of 17 yards to the Rock Island 46. The Bears tried to get off another pass but it was blocked, Trafton snatched the ball on the rebound and ran for 9 yards. After LeFleur ran for a first down the Independents realized they had to put a stop to the drive. The Bears were known for pulling out games late and with the Independents never beating the Bears, the crowd was almost expecting the worse. With the field conditions still soggy the Bears were still not quite in scoring position. On third and 9 from the Independents 24, Webber crashed through the Bear’s line and just as Bryant was ready to let the ball go he was grabbed and thrown for a 15 yard loss. Not feeling confident that a kick would make it over the crossbar, Bears went for it on 4th down. Bryant tried but  the pass fell incomplete and the Independents had stopped the mighty Bears. With only a few minutes remaining the Independents needed to get some first downs and keep the ball. Butler was thrown for a loss of 5, Phelan got 3 of those yards back. On 3rd and 12 Armstrong failed to gain a yard and the Independents were penalized for roughness and the ball was set back at the 19-yard line. Phelan carried for 3 and then on the next play from the 22 he got off a awful punt which fell dead at the Rock Island 39-yard line. The Bears once again were just outside scoring range. The first pass by Bryant was incomplete. Bryant pulled up again for a pass and this time Waddy Kuehl intercepted the pass and was tackled at the Independents 32-yard line. The Bears sent in Fetz for Bolan. Phelan ran for 2, Keuhl was held for no gain, Armstrong ran for 4, all of this taking more time off the clock. Phelan got off another poor kick which only traveled 13 yards. Maybe by design because Sternaman had no where to go. The game ended on that play. ROCK ISLAND 3, CHICAGO 0.

Source -Rock Island Argus September 30, 1923 - Art Williams