124 - 1903 Franklin All Stars - NFL

Sports' Forgotten Heroes

There have been so many dominant teams in the history of professional football and, in particular, teams with dominant defenses. In recent times, the 2007 New England Patriots who went 16-0 before losing in the Super Bowl. This year (the 2023 season), the Baltimore Ravens defense has been somewhat dominant, and their teams of the early 2000s were as tough as nails. Back in the 80s there were the Chicago Bears of Mike Singletary and Richard Dent, the New York Giants with Lawrence Taylor and Harry Carson, in 70s you had the Doomsday Defense of the Dallas Cowboys, the Steel Curtain of the Pittsburgh Steeles and the no-name defense of the 1972 Miami Dolphins who went 17-0 and won the Super Bowl. There have been several. But as far as the most dominant defense in the history of professional football is concerned, you would hard-pressed to find one that was more dominant than the 1903 Franklin All Stars. They didn't just dominate, you basically couldn't move the ball against them at all. In fact, over the course of their 12-game season, only twice did the opposition cross over the 50-yard line. And, it's not like they were playing against the Little Sisters of the Bleeding Hangnail. They were playing against the very best. So, how did this team come together? What was the impetus for forming such an incredible conglomerate of talent? Darin Hayes, the host of the Pigskin Dispatch podcast recently authored the book, "The World's Greatest Professional Gridiron Team, The 1903 Franklin All Stars," and not only does he share with us the assembly of the team, but he makes a very compelling argument for this team being the greatest of all-time.