Union University Athletics

Joe Guyon, an American Indian from the Chippewa Tribe, was born O-Gee-Chidah, on the White Earth Indian Reservation in Minnesota.  He received only a sixth grade education from the American government on the reservation.  Guyon once said, “It was hard trying to make something of yourself. Sports were one of the few ways a youngster could pull himself up.” 

Guyon did the only thing he could do.  He used his athletic skill to gain a college education and a satisfying professional career. After playing on Georgia Tech’s national championship team in 1917, Joe signed to play pro football with the Canton Bulldogs in 1919.  After the NFL was organized in 1920, Guyon played for six different teams. From 1919-24, Joe played with another outstanding Native American halfback, Jim Thorpe. 

The paths of the talented Indian pair parted late in the 1924 season when Guyon left the Rock Island Independents to go to the Kansas City Cowboys.  Guyon stayed with the Cowboys in 1925 while Thorpe, then 37, moved on to the New York Giants. 

Two years later in 1927, Guyon became a Giant and played a major role in leading the New York team to the 1927 NFL championship.  Guyon enjoyed one of his finest seasons and gained the first significant publicity he had enjoyed since his college days.  The 1927 Giants compiled an 11-1-1 record largely on the strength of a superior defense that allowed only 20 points the entire season.  Guyon, displaying his many abilities in passing, running, punting, tackling, and blocking, played a leading role in scoring the necessary points for his team that finished second in scoring that season. 

Joe Guyon coached the Union University football team is 1919 and 1920. He coach all three Union men's sports (football, baseball, basketball) from 1923-27.  He was among the first class of inductees into the National Football League in 1966 along side his life-long friend, Jim Thorpe.  Guyon spent his last years Louisville, Kentucky, until his death in 1971.