On The Road Again And Again...

So the Eskimos ran a most unusual play. Haugsrud described it: "Russ Method, a terrific blocker, threw a block at the referee that knocked him out. Five of our linemen put five of their linemen out of action. Jimmy Manion had this trick of jumping into the air feetfirst and kicking a guy in the teeth, and he did it to the umpire. Meanwhile, Johnny Blood just ran right over the field judge."

One official still had his whistle; he blew it and called off the game. It ended in a scoreless tie.

After the exhibition swing, the Eskimos finally got back to Duluth in early February 1927. The NFL had barely been saved. The AFL folded that year, but so did 11 of the 22 NFL franchises. For the 1927 season, Haugsrud could schedule only nine games, and he lost money. He held on to the franchise without fielding a team in 1928, then he and Scanlon sold it for $2,000. Haugsrud also got an agreement from the NFL that he would have an option on the next league franchise in Minnesota.

In 1961, the Minnesota Vikings were born. According to Haugsrud, he brought out his option and was allowed to buy 10% of the team's stock for $60,000. At his death in March 1976, his share was worth nearly $2 million, a nice return on that one-dollar investment he and Scanlon had made in 1926.