Hartford Blues

Did You Know?

• Only 18 players attended training camp at the Connecticut State Armory, and they practiced in golf pants due to a scarcity of uniforms.
• Hec Garvey only dressed for games because he was simultaneously filming a movie called The Quarterback.
• The Blues' final scheduled game, a 'New England Championship' against the Providence Steam Rollers, was cancelled when a deep snow blanketed the Northeast and the team could not reach the field in time.
• After being dropped by the NFL, Mulligan renamed the team the Hartford Giants and posted a 7–1 record in 1927 before disbanding.

History

The team originated in 1924 as the Waterbury Blues, founded by sports promoter George Mulligan in Waterbury, Connecticut. It was one of five professional football teams in the state, with only the All-New Britain and the Hartford West Siders seriously competing for supremacy. All five teams paid local former college players and sandlotters on a per-game wage, but the NFL could support only one Connecticut franchise. To draw attention, Mulligan signed Harry Stuhldreher, a member of Notre Dame's Four Horsemen, to an unprecedented $7,500 contract plus a $500 signing bonus—the first high-profile player for any Connecticut team.

He also added players from Holy Cross and Villanova, as well as Ed "Hec" Garvey of the Chicago Bears. After a victory over a Yonkers team, Mulligan signed another Horseman, Jim Crowley, to defeat a team from Adams, Massachusetts. Meanwhile, the All-New Britain routed the Hartford West Siders, who reportedly considered leaving the city. The Blues played only one NFL opponent in 1924, the Rochester Jeffersons, winning 7–6.

The West Siders later lost 3–0 to All-New Britain with a completely new roster and soon folded; Mulligan then took over their lease on Clarkin Field and moved the team to Hartford as the Hartford Blues.