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Muncie’s former pro football team has NFL Draft coming to town Saturday

MUNCIE, Ind. (WISH) — Starting Thursday through the weekend, the NFL Draft will take place, changing hundreds of young men’s lives. This weekend, the Colts’ 6th-round pick will be announced somewhere special: Muncie. 

The reason is because Muncie is the home for one of the original teams in the league that became the NFL. 

In 1920, a meeting in Canton, Ohio changed history. Eleven teams met and signed up to create the American Professional Football Association. 

What had been a neighborhood team called the Congersville Flyers became the Muncie Flyers born into what would become the NFL.

The Delaware County Historical Society has a treasure trove of the county’s history. That includes Muncie’s first ballot box, old posters and old photos. There’s also an exhibit on Muncie’s pro football team. 

For years they’ve searched for and found old photos, gear worn from that time, even a newspaper clipping from the New York Times.  

“A lot of people didn’t have a clue that this team existed,” said Jim Waechter, the historical society’s executive director. 

There’s a reason why: the Muncie Flyers didn’t last long or play very well. In three games over two seasons, they only lost. And then it was over.    

They left the league and now there’s not much left at all. 

“Things like this are lost. And they need to be found and brought back into people’s memory,” said Waechter. 

The Pro Football Hall of Fame has a photo and a couple files on the team. In Muncie everything they have is a copy.

Waechter said they’ll continue to search and ask questions about the Muncie Flyers. He hopes someone has some history hidden about a winless, yet pioneering, short-lived, yet historic team. 

On Saturday, there will be an event for the NFL Draft pick announcment from Muncie. Details are here.