Walter Lingo - First Halftime Shows

First Halftime Shows

Many football historians credit Lingo with creating the halftime show. He would lure audiences to his games with the promise of an outrageous halftime show, instead of the promise of a good football game. Entertainment, both prior to the games and during halftimes, was provided by the players and the Airedale dogs. There were shooting exhibitions with the dogs retrieving the targets. There were Indian dances and tomahawk and knife-throwing demonstrations. One halftime event was showcased an Indians player, named Long Time Sleep, wrestled a live bear. Another show was a demonstration of the United States Indian scouts actions during World War I. The show promoted Lingo's kennels by showing the Airedale Red Cross dogs administering first aid to wound soldier. Many of the scouts and Red Cross dogs taking part in the event were real veterans of the war, while the German troops were impersonated by local American Legion men who wore German uniforms furnished by Lingo. The halftime activities soon became more important than the results of the game for the Indians fanbase. The Indians only won 3 games in their two seasons of existence.