Art Folz

Art Folz

Date of birth	(1903-03-31)March 31, 1903
Place of birth	Chicago, Illinois
Date of death
Place of death	Los Angeles, California
Career information
Position(s)	Fullback, halfback, quarterback
Height	5 ft 7 in (170 cm)
Weight	157 lb (71 kg)
College	Chicago
High school	Englewood (IL)
Career history
As player
1923–1925	Chicago Cardinals
Career highlights and awards
NFL Champion (1925) Key figure in the 1925 Chicago Cardinals–Milwaukee Badgers scandal
Career stats
Playing stats at NFL.com Playing stats at DatabaseFootball.com

Arthur F. Folz a.k.a. Art Foltz (March 31, 1903 – August 18, 1965) was a professional American football player who played with the Chicago Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL) from 1923 to 1925. He is best known for his role in the 1925 Chicago Cardinals–Milwaukee Badgers scandal, where Folz hired a group of high school football players from his alma mater, Chicago's Engelwood High School, to play for the Milwaukee Badgers, against the Cardinals. During the recruitment, Folz reportedly told the high schoolers that the game was a "practice game" and would in no part affect their amateur status.

The plan would ensure an inferior opponent for Chicago. The game was then used to help prop up their win-loss percentage and as a chance of wrestling away the 1925 NFL Championship away from the first place Pottsville Maroons. For his involvement, Folz was barred from playing football in the NFL for life by NFL President Joseph Carr. However, in 1926, Folz's lifetime ban was lifted, probably to prevent him from going the first American Football League; even so, he chose not to return to pro football.

The scandal also played a role in the 1925 NFL Championship controversy.

References

• The Greatest High School Rivalry in Illinois
• In Pottsville, Maroons are still champs