This Day in History – October 3rd, 1920

On October 3rd, 1920, the Dayton Triangles beat the Columbus Panhandles in what was the first game of the NFL.

The American Professional Football Association, renamed the NFL in 1922, was formed in Canton, Ohio on September 17, 1920. The first game was played right here in Dayton, Ohio.

Workers from local factories such as Dayton Engineering Laboratories Company (Delco), Dayton Metal Products (DMP Co), and Domestic Engineering Company (Deco, later renamed Delco-Light) made up the roster of the team. The three factories formed an industrial triangle, which lead to the name of the team.

The first game was played at Triangle Park. During that game, Triangles Player Louis Partlow scored the first touchdown of the NFL and Triangles Kicker George “Hobby” Kinderdine kicked the first extra point. The other touchdown of the game was scored by Francis Bacon, with another kick by Kinderdine. With a 14-0 victory, the Dayton Triangles won the first game of the NFL.

Asahel Wright

While driving through downtown Centerville, you may have noticed a little sign on the side of the road denoting the Asahel Wright Museum.

Asahel Wright was born in 1786 in New Hampshire and moved to Centerville with his parents in 1814. In November of 1814, Asahel leased a farm of seven acres of land from Aaron Nutt, located near the southeast corner of Far Hills and Alex-Bell Road. Later, in August of 1816, he then purchased a portion of Lot # 3 of the Nutt Platt for $150, making the first recorded purchase of the property.

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The Night Run starring Dion McElrath

Another Late Night show is coming to Dayton! The Night Run starring Dion McElrath will be premiering soon on DATV!

We had a chance to sit down with the host, Dion McElrath, to talk about the show. Born and raised in Dayton, Dion is a long-time lover of all things Late Night, and during our chat, he regaled us with many interesting trivia facts about all of the Late Night greats. And now with The Night Run starring Dion McElrath, Dion hopes to join those names with his vibrant young energy, and he wants us to know that he won’t be the run-of-the-mill Late Night host.

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Dan the Hermit

During the course of our research here at Dayton Unknown, we come across many authors over and over again, leading us to search their writings for more information and idea for future posts. One such author is a <em>Dayton Daily News</em> reporter from the 1930s, Howard Burba. Burba was always able to weave an interesting story, including this one about Daniel the Hermit.

The following is an excerpt of an article written by Howard Burba, which appeared in the Dayton Daily News on March 4, 1934.

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“Due to recent events, we must cancel…..”

Are you tired of hearing this? We are! Things have been tough the past several months and there are many events, festivals, and parties being cancelled this year in order to prevent the spread of Covid 19. Among the many were Sideshow, Yellow Springs Street Fair, Crafty-Con, Renaissance Festival, and too many more to name. It’s frustrating to sit inside all day every day or to wear a mask everywhere you go. So what can you do?

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Just Another Saturday by Matt Penny

Released today, Matt Penny’s third album is his best one yet! Although his title is Just Another Saturday, this is not just another album! Support our local music scene and check him out! You can find his music on Amazon Music, Spotify, YouTube, etc..

In Matt’s words:

JUST ANOTHER SATURDAY was sort of a unique project for me. On my first two ventures, REALIGN and THE SECOND STORY REVIVAL, I would just write songs, and if I thought they were good enough, I put them on the record. It didn’t matter what style/genre they were.

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Matt Penny – The Second Story Revival

While we were busy back in January restarting our year and focusing on New Year resolutions, Matt Penny was also busy, releasing his second instrumental album, The Second Story Revival. We caught up with Matt and asked him for a description of his second album:

The Second Story Revival

After people responded so kindly to my first EP, REALIGN, I was so hyped that I pretty quickly started working on the follow up – which would become “The Second Story Revival”.

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The Murder of Jesse Kelsey, Jr.

Born in 1829 to one of Centerville’s most prosperous farmers, Jesse Kelsey Sr., Jesse Kelsey Jr. was the 9th of 12 children. He married Unity Stokes on September 4th, 1856, and lived on a farm in Centerville on the southwest corner of what is now Spring Valley Pike and Dayton-Lebanon Pike, near the Kroger Marketplace. In September of 1862, Jesse Jr. and Unity were expecting their first child.

On the night of September 7th, 1862, just 3 days after celebrating their 6th wedding anniversary, Unity woke up to see a man standing over her and Jesse Jr. while they slept. She woke Jesse Jr. up, and he shouted at the man, who then fired a pistol at him. Jesse Jr. rushed Unity out of the room to safety and was struck by another pistol shot, and fell to the ground, dead.

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8.4.2019 – One Year Later

One year ago, tragedy struck Dayton in a way that will remain in our memories forever. Over the past year, we have watched the city heal and rally together in the midst of a lot of trials.Today we would like to honor the victims of the shooting that took place in the Oregon District on August 4th, 2019.

  • Megan Betts, age 22
  • Nicholas Cumer, age 25
  • Thomas “Teejay” McNichols, age 25
  • Lois “Lola” Oglesby, age 27
  • Logan Turner, age 30
  • Beatrice “Nicole” Warren-Curtis, age 36
  • Saheed Saleh, age 38
  • Monica Brickhouse, age 39
  • Derrick Fudge, age 57

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