In a February 1966 interview by The Canton Repository writer Charlie Powell, Joe Guyon shared his version of the often-told story of Knute Rockne’s crashing collision with Jim Thorpe in the November 1915 Canton-Massillon game. The difference in this telling of the tale is that Joe injected himself as “a blocking back” into the story:
“Thorpe returned to the huddle after Rockne stopped him for the second time at the line of scrimmage and turned to his would-be blocker [Guyon] and said, ‘You gotta push him inside. We run the play again, but you block like you have.’
“The blocker took the advice, goofing up purposely, and Rockne came barreling in to meet Thorpe. This time, though, Thorpe was ready and Rockne was sent flying.”
The rest of the telling followed familiar lines.
How could sportswriters and football historians have missed Joe Guyon’s presence in this game? His name didn’t appear in newspaper reports but that isn’t unexpected because players often appeared under assumed names. Fisher, for one example, was listed in the Canton line-up at right halfback but no one actually named Fisher was on the field. The other three in the backfield, Skeet Lambert, Jim Thorpe, and Carp Julian, were real people. Could Guyon have been playing as Fisher? Right halfback, wingback in the single and double wing formations Guyon and Thorpe ran at Carlisle Indian School under the tutelage of Pop Warner, was responsible for blocking the defensive end on an end sweep play. If Joe Guyon was playing as Fisher, this story could be true. But was Guyon able to play in the game?
In 1915, Joe Guyon was attending Keewatin Academy in Wisconsin and starred on its football team. That factor alone might have made his attendance impossible. Looking a little deeper, Keewatin played DePaul University in Chicago on Thanksgiving Day. After the game, Guyon would likely have had the rest of the week off school and could have made his way to Canton by Saturday to practice for the Sunday game with Massillon.
Jack Cusack was no help in determining if Guyon played. His recollection was that most players, other than Thorpe, played under assumed names. Profootballarchives.com includes a roster for the 1915 Canton Bulldogs. As expected, Fisher wasn’t listed but Don Peters a 220-pound fullback from Carlisle Indian School was. However, Carlisle Indian School files include nothing about Don/Donald Peters. It might have been Joe Guyon but Pete Calac played fullback and played for Canton after leaving Carlisle at the end of the 1916 football season. Carlisle’s 1915 season ended on Thanksgiving Day, leaving him time to go to Canton, Ohio if he could slip away.
Researchers with The Professional Football Researchers Association disagreed in their article, “Thorpe Arrives: 1915”: “Most Cantonites quickly discovered that ‘Fisher’ was really Earle ‘Greasy’ Neale, the head coach at West Virginia Wesleyan.” Unfortunately, the authors of that 15-year-old article have died so we can’t ask them any questions. We may never know for certain who set up Rockne for Thorpe to annihilate.
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