WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.859 Welcome to the deep dive. We are we are really 00:00:03.859 --> 00:00:05.639 so glad you're here with us today because we 00:00:05.639 --> 00:00:08.119 have a story that is just going to completely 00:00:08.119 --> 00:00:10.839 blow your mind. Oh, absolutely. It's a wild one. 00:00:10.900 --> 00:00:13.619 It really is. And I am holding exactly one source 00:00:13.619 --> 00:00:17.320 today. Just a single solitary Wikipedia article, 00:00:17.420 --> 00:00:19.980 which is pretty rare for us. Right. Yeah. Usually, 00:00:20.019 --> 00:00:23.140 you know, we pull from dozens of books or research 00:00:23.140 --> 00:00:25.899 papers and interviews to build these deep dives 00:00:25.899 --> 00:00:29.769 for you. But today, this single page. has enough 00:00:29.769 --> 00:00:33.030 unbelievable material to fill, I mean, an entire 00:00:33.030 --> 00:00:35.750 season of a television show. Easily. It honestly 00:00:35.750 --> 00:00:38.469 reads like the script of a sports movie that 00:00:38.469 --> 00:00:40.810 a Hollywood studio would just reject for being 00:00:40.810 --> 00:00:43.270 way too unrealistic. They'd say it's too over 00:00:43.270 --> 00:00:45.270 the top. Exactly. Seriously, you'd watch this 00:00:45.270 --> 00:00:47.070 movie and say, come on, nobody is actually that 00:00:47.070 --> 00:00:50.579 good. But our mission today is to explore the 00:00:50.579 --> 00:00:54.420 very real, yet somehow largely forgotten, athletic 00:00:54.420 --> 00:00:57.460 supremacy of a man named Luis Weller. Known as 00:00:57.460 --> 00:01:00.000 Rabbit Weller. Rabbit Weller, yes. He was a member 00:01:00.000 --> 00:01:02.399 of the Caddo tribe and just an absolute sports 00:01:02.399 --> 00:01:05.000 phenomenon in the early 20th century. Okay, let's 00:01:05.000 --> 00:01:07.260 unpack this. It is such a remarkable piece of 00:01:07.260 --> 00:01:09.819 history. And just to give you a quick tease of 00:01:09.819 --> 00:01:12.019 what we are about to get into, you are about 00:01:12.019 --> 00:01:16.140 to hear about a man who somehow managed to impress 00:01:16.140 --> 00:01:21.510 the literal, actual inventor of basketball. Which 00:01:21.510 --> 00:01:24.409 is insane on its own. Right. A man who scored 00:01:24.409 --> 00:01:27.730 points at a pace that looks like a glitch in 00:01:27.730 --> 00:01:31.590 a video game. And an athlete who, I kid you not, 00:01:31.650 --> 00:01:34.329 once played a football game against his own team. 00:01:35.019 --> 00:01:36.799 Right in the middle of a matchup. Right in the 00:01:36.799 --> 00:01:38.480 middle of the game. It's just incredible. But 00:01:38.480 --> 00:01:40.780 to truly understand the legend of Rabbit Weller, 00:01:40.799 --> 00:01:44.159 we need to go back to the beginning and set the 00:01:44.159 --> 00:01:46.000 scene. Can you walk us through where his story 00:01:46.000 --> 00:01:48.140 actually starts? Yeah, the story begins before 00:01:48.140 --> 00:01:50.760 Oklahoma was even officially a state. Wow, okay. 00:01:51.120 --> 00:01:53.939 Lewis Weller was born on March 10, 1904. This 00:01:53.939 --> 00:01:56.680 was in Anadarko in the Oklahoma Territory. He 00:01:56.680 --> 00:01:58.700 grew up to become a multi -sport athlete at Arkansas 00:01:58.700 --> 00:02:00.900 City High School in Kansas. Okay. But the early 00:02:00.900 --> 00:02:02.920 dominance, the stuff that really starts turning 00:02:02.920 --> 00:02:04.819 heads, becomes apparent. when he moves on to 00:02:04.819 --> 00:02:06.980 play football for Arkansas City Junior College. 00:02:07.200 --> 00:02:10.419 And this is around what, 1925? Exactly. From 00:02:10.419 --> 00:02:14.620 1925 to 1926. The numbers he put up in just those 00:02:14.620 --> 00:02:17.419 two seasons are staggering. We're talking about 00:02:17.419 --> 00:02:21.219 190 total points and 28 touchdowns. Just, I want 00:02:21.219 --> 00:02:22.939 you to hold onto your seat for those numbers 00:02:22.939 --> 00:02:24.819 because to put that in perspective for you, if 00:02:24.819 --> 00:02:27.460 you play fantasy football today, having a player 00:02:27.460 --> 00:02:30.780 who scores 14 touchdowns in a single modern 17 00:02:30.780 --> 00:02:33.500 game season is like finding a cheat card. It 00:02:33.500 --> 00:02:35.900 wins you your whole league. It does. And while 00:02:35.900 --> 00:02:38.240 I was doing this in the 1920s, for someone who 00:02:38.240 --> 00:02:40.599 doesn't watch a lot of old school football, can 00:02:40.599 --> 00:02:43.020 you break down what the game actually looked 00:02:43.020 --> 00:02:45.719 like back then? Like what did his role as a halfback? 00:02:45.930 --> 00:02:49.210 actually entail. Football in the 1920s was essentially 00:02:49.210 --> 00:02:53.030 a grinding, brutal, ground -bound battle of attrition. 00:02:53.129 --> 00:02:55.229 Nothing like today's game. Not at all. The forward 00:02:55.229 --> 00:02:57.270 pass was barely a suggestion at that point. It 00:02:57.270 --> 00:02:59.370 was mostly running. And the equipment was incredibly 00:02:59.370 --> 00:03:03.069 heavy. They wore these thick wool jerseys, rudimentary 00:03:03.069 --> 00:03:05.830 leather helmets that offered, I mean, almost 00:03:05.830 --> 00:03:08.409 zero actual protection. Just leather caps, basically. 00:03:08.669 --> 00:03:11.949 Pretty much. Weller played halfback, which meant 00:03:11.949 --> 00:03:14.490 he was the primary ball carrier. And because 00:03:14.490 --> 00:03:16.689 everyone in the stadium knew a run was coming, 00:03:16.849 --> 00:03:20.330 defenses stacked the box. Stacked the box, meaning 00:03:20.330 --> 00:03:22.509 they pinned almost all their players right up 00:03:22.509 --> 00:03:24.469 at the line of scrimmage just waiting to hit 00:03:24.469 --> 00:03:27.169 whoever took the handoff. Precisely. You have 00:03:27.169 --> 00:03:30.449 11 massive guys crowding the line just waiting 00:03:30.449 --> 00:03:32.960 for the halfback. Ouch. Yeah. So for a single 00:03:32.960 --> 00:03:35.259 player to cross the goal line 28 times in that 00:03:35.259 --> 00:03:38.340 specific environment means he wasn't just slightly 00:03:38.340 --> 00:03:40.460 faster or slightly stronger than the opposition. 00:03:40.599 --> 00:03:43.199 He was operating on a physical plane that his 00:03:43.199 --> 00:03:46.240 peers simply couldn't access. Which brings us 00:03:46.240 --> 00:03:49.960 to 1927. He is now attending the Chiloco Indian 00:03:49.960 --> 00:03:52.979 School in Oklahoma. Yes. And during one of his 00:03:52.979 --> 00:03:55.819 games there, he recorded a statistic that I genuinely 00:03:55.819 --> 00:03:58.139 had to read four times to make sure my eyes were 00:03:58.139 --> 00:04:00.960 working correctly. It's unbelievable. What exactly 00:04:00.960 --> 00:04:03.439 did he do in that single game? In one single 00:04:03.439 --> 00:04:06.539 game, Louis Rabbit Weller returned seven punts 00:04:06.539 --> 00:04:08.759 for touchdowns. Seven. Seven. For someone who 00:04:08.759 --> 00:04:11.099 might only tune into football during the Super 00:04:11.099 --> 00:04:13.469 Bowl. Can you break down why returning seven 00:04:13.469 --> 00:04:16.089 punts in a single game is mathematically and 00:04:16.089 --> 00:04:19.329 physically so absurd? What's fascinating here 00:04:19.329 --> 00:04:22.370 is the sheer physical impossibility of that feat. 00:04:22.839 --> 00:04:25.000 when you break down the mechanics of a punt return. 00:04:25.180 --> 00:04:27.600 Right, because it's not a normal play. Not at 00:04:27.600 --> 00:04:29.939 all. I want you to really think about what a 00:04:29.939 --> 00:04:33.100 punt return is. The opposing team kicks the ball 00:04:33.100 --> 00:04:35.420 high into the air, and you have to stand there 00:04:35.420 --> 00:04:38.579 waiting for it while 11 men sprint down the field 00:04:38.579 --> 00:04:41.259 with the sole violent intention of knocking you 00:04:41.259 --> 00:04:43.560 to the ground. Just a wall of guys running full 00:04:43.560 --> 00:04:46.620 speed at you. Exactly. In modern sports, returning 00:04:46.620 --> 00:04:49.279 just one punt for a touchdown in a game is a 00:04:49.279 --> 00:04:52.050 massive highlight. It often defines the entire 00:04:52.050 --> 00:04:55.310 week of football. Returning two in a season is 00:04:55.310 --> 00:04:57.889 considered a Pro Bowl -level achievement. And 00:04:57.889 --> 00:05:00.910 he did seven in one afternoon. The physical endurance 00:05:00.910 --> 00:05:04.209 required to sprint, weave, take hits, break tackles, 00:05:04.209 --> 00:05:05.810 and run the length of the field seven distinct 00:05:05.810 --> 00:05:09.370 times is beyond comprehension. It speaks to a 00:05:09.370 --> 00:05:11.870 level of breakaway speed and cardiovascular stamina 00:05:11.870 --> 00:05:14.970 that is almost mythical. Mythical is the right 00:05:14.970 --> 00:05:17.230 word. He was quite literally running circles 00:05:17.230 --> 00:05:19.959 around the opposition. It's like he was playing 00:05:19.959 --> 00:05:22.019 against people whose feet were stuck in the mud. 00:05:22.279 --> 00:05:25.279 And that mythological status only grew when he 00:05:25.279 --> 00:05:27.480 transitioned to his time at the Haskell Institute. 00:05:27.920 --> 00:05:30.399 This is where he went from being a regional phenomenon 00:05:30.399 --> 00:05:33.240 to a legitimate sports legend. He really did. 00:05:33.399 --> 00:05:35.699 But before we get into the stats, what was the 00:05:35.699 --> 00:05:38.920 significance of playing for places like the Chiloco 00:05:38.920 --> 00:05:41.420 Indian School and the Haskell Institute? Because 00:05:41.420 --> 00:05:44.060 that context matters, right? It does. It's really 00:05:44.060 --> 00:05:46.439 important to understand the context of Native 00:05:46.439 --> 00:05:49.259 American boarding schools during this era. These 00:05:49.259 --> 00:05:51.600 were federal institutions originally designed 00:05:51.600 --> 00:05:54.100 with the explicit goal of assimilating Native 00:05:54.100 --> 00:05:57.220 American youth. The environments were notoriously 00:05:57.220 --> 00:06:00.339 regimented, incredibly strict, and often very 00:06:00.339 --> 00:06:03.579 harsh. Navigating that system required a profound 00:06:03.579 --> 00:06:06.800 level of psychological resilience. So for Weller 00:06:06.800 --> 00:06:08.699 to not only survive in that environment, but 00:06:08.699 --> 00:06:11.839 to thrive, to become an athletic icon and a unifying 00:06:11.839 --> 00:06:14.920 figure for his peers, it tells you a lot about 00:06:14.920 --> 00:06:18.529 his internal fortitude. That context makes his 00:06:18.529 --> 00:06:21.089 achievements there even more impactful, I think. 00:06:21.389 --> 00:06:24.449 At Haskell, he was their first ever three -time 00:06:24.449 --> 00:06:26.810 football captain. The first ever. And he recorded 00:06:26.810 --> 00:06:29.790 13 touchdowns of 60 yards or more. That means 00:06:29.790 --> 00:06:33.069 13 different times he just blew past the entire 00:06:33.069 --> 00:06:35.129 defense for more than half the length of the 00:06:35.129 --> 00:06:38.009 field. What does being a three -time captain 00:06:38.009 --> 00:06:40.470 tell us about him beyond just the foot speed? 00:06:40.730 --> 00:06:43.490 It tells us that Weller was a profound leader 00:06:43.490 --> 00:06:47.540 in a sport. as physically demanding and team 00:06:47.540 --> 00:06:50.100 -oriented as football, you don't get named captain 00:06:50.100 --> 00:06:52.360 three times just because you're fast. You get 00:06:52.360 --> 00:06:54.879 named captain because you command respect, because 00:06:54.879 --> 00:06:57.160 you understand the game at a deeper level, and 00:06:57.160 --> 00:06:59.019 because your teammates trust you implicitly. 00:06:59.230 --> 00:07:00.750 With all those records, you'd think he'd just 00:07:00.750 --> 00:07:03.370 coast on his reputation. But what did he do in 00:07:03.370 --> 00:07:06.009 1930 that took things to an entirely new level? 00:07:06.230 --> 00:07:09.689 The year 1930 produced what is arguably his masterpiece. 00:07:10.370 --> 00:07:12.750 Haskell is going up against the Oklahoma A &M 00:07:12.750 --> 00:07:15.449 Cowboys. Okay. And this is a team that was completely 00:07:15.449 --> 00:07:18.029 undefeated at the time. This is a massive, high 00:07:18.029 --> 00:07:20.750 -pressure game. The tension is palpable. The 00:07:20.750 --> 00:07:22.490 offense is really struggling to move the ball 00:07:22.490 --> 00:07:24.639 conventionally. And I want to remind you, the 00:07:24.639 --> 00:07:27.540 listener, that in 1930, games were incredibly 00:07:27.540 --> 00:07:30.740 low scoring. A single touchdown could easily 00:07:30.740 --> 00:07:32.920 decide the outcome of a matchup. Every single 00:07:32.920 --> 00:07:36.040 yard was an absolute battle. Right. So knowing 00:07:36.040 --> 00:07:38.720 that points are at an absolute premium, Weller 00:07:38.720 --> 00:07:41.139 just completely takes over. First, he returns 00:07:41.139 --> 00:07:43.980 a kickoff, 90 yards for a touchdown. Wow. He 00:07:43.980 --> 00:07:45.879 just takes the ball near his own end zone and 00:07:45.879 --> 00:07:48.759 runs through the entire undefeated Oklahoma A 00:07:48.759 --> 00:07:52.180 &M team. But the game remains incredibly close. 00:07:52.810 --> 00:07:55.850 It comes down to the wire, and his team desperately 00:07:55.850 --> 00:07:58.569 needs a miracle. So what does he do? We'll have 00:07:58.569 --> 00:08:00.509 to leave it at another one. He returns a punt 00:08:00.509 --> 00:08:03.149 95 yards for the winning touchdown. Haskell wins 00:08:03.149 --> 00:08:06.490 the game 13 -12. He provided literally all the 00:08:06.490 --> 00:08:08.550 points needed for the victory. You really have 00:08:08.550 --> 00:08:11.410 to appreciate the immense pressure of that specific 00:08:11.410 --> 00:08:14.329 situation. Every single person in the stadium 00:08:14.329 --> 00:08:17.029 knows that if Haskell is going to win, Lewis 00:08:17.029 --> 00:08:19.110 Weller has to do something extraordinary. The 00:08:19.110 --> 00:08:21.310 defense definitely knew it. The Oklahoma A &M 00:08:21.310 --> 00:08:23.290 players know it. The coaches know it. Yeah. And 00:08:23.290 --> 00:08:26.110 even knowing that he is the primary threat, even 00:08:26.110 --> 00:08:28.250 with all 11 defenders keying in on him, they 00:08:28.250 --> 00:08:30.550 still couldn't stop him. It's the kind of game 00:08:30.550 --> 00:08:33.669 that cements a legacy forever. But OK, here's 00:08:33.669 --> 00:08:36.299 where it gets really interesting. Oh, yes. In 00:08:36.299 --> 00:08:40.539 that very same year, 1930, Weller participated 00:08:40.539 --> 00:08:44.080 in a charity football game. The game featured 00:08:44.080 --> 00:08:46.879 the Chiloco Indian School playing against Arkansas 00:08:46.879 --> 00:08:49.759 City Junior College. Now, if you remember from 00:08:49.759 --> 00:08:51.720 earlier, Weller had played for both of these 00:08:51.720 --> 00:08:54.299 institutions. He had ties to both. How did they 00:08:54.299 --> 00:08:57.259 resolve the issue of which team he would play 00:08:57.259 --> 00:09:00.120 for in the charity exhibition? The solution was 00:09:00.120 --> 00:09:03.059 delightfully bizarre. He represented Arkansas 00:09:03.059 --> 00:09:06.330 City Junior College in the first half. And then 00:09:06.330 --> 00:09:08.070 at halftime. Wait, don't tell me he switched 00:09:08.070 --> 00:09:10.509 sides. He changed jerseys and played for the 00:09:10.509 --> 00:09:12.570 Chiloco Indian School in the second half. That 00:09:12.570 --> 00:09:14.730 is genuinely one of the funniest facts I've ever 00:09:14.730 --> 00:09:16.809 heard in sports history. Imagine the psychological 00:09:16.809 --> 00:09:20.009 absurdity of this scenario. For the first hour 00:09:20.009 --> 00:09:22.029 of the game, you are in the huddle with one group 00:09:22.029 --> 00:09:24.970 of guys. You are blocking for them. You are strategizing 00:09:24.970 --> 00:09:27.690 with them. Then the halftime whistle blows. You 00:09:27.690 --> 00:09:29.970 walk into the other locker room. Put on the jersey 00:09:29.970 --> 00:09:32.639 of the guys you were just tackling. and head 00:09:32.639 --> 00:09:34.580 back out onto the field to hit the teammates 00:09:34.580 --> 00:09:37.179 you were just protecting. From a competitive 00:09:37.179 --> 00:09:40.340 standpoint, it requires a fascinating mental 00:09:40.340 --> 00:09:43.740 shift. You have to essentially compartmentalize 00:09:43.740 --> 00:09:46.379 your loyalties quarter by quarter. It's wild. 00:09:46.639 --> 00:09:50.039 And from a physical standpoint, the sheer stamina 00:09:50.039 --> 00:09:53.659 required to play a full football game is immense 00:09:53.659 --> 00:09:56.960 anyway. But to do it as the focal point for both 00:09:56.960 --> 00:09:59.779 offenses, it is a testament to his boundless 00:09:59.779 --> 00:10:03.080 energy, which, appropriately enough, aligns perfectly 00:10:03.080 --> 00:10:06.320 with his nickname, Rabbit. It's hilarious to 00:10:06.320 --> 00:10:08.039 picture the guys on the sideline in the third 00:10:08.039 --> 00:10:10.259 quarter just watching him tear through their 00:10:10.259 --> 00:10:11.820 own defense and thinking, well, it was a lot 00:10:11.820 --> 00:10:13.639 more fun when he was doing that for us an hour 00:10:13.639 --> 00:10:15.820 ago. I'm sure they felt exactly like that. But 00:10:15.820 --> 00:10:17.240 we need to make sure we don't just paint him 00:10:17.240 --> 00:10:19.139 as a football player. The source notes he was 00:10:19.139 --> 00:10:21.519 the ultimate multi -sport threat, excelling in 00:10:21.519 --> 00:10:23.799 track and baseball as well. What did it mean 00:10:23.799 --> 00:10:26.019 to be a star in those sports back then? Track 00:10:26.019 --> 00:10:28.559 requires that explosive, fast -twitch muscle 00:10:28.559 --> 00:10:31.600 fiber, which obviously translated to his football 00:10:31.600 --> 00:10:34.480 speed. Makes sense. Baseball requires an entirely 00:10:34.480 --> 00:10:37.259 different skill set. You need elite hand -eye 00:10:37.259 --> 00:10:40.240 coordination, spatial awareness, and rotational 00:10:40.240 --> 00:10:43.100 power. The fact that he was dominating in all 00:10:43.100 --> 00:10:45.519 three arenas shows that he wasn't just relying 00:10:45.519 --> 00:10:48.320 on one physical trick. He had a comprehensive 00:10:48.320 --> 00:10:51.230 athletic toolkit. And that athletic toolkit brings 00:10:51.230 --> 00:10:53.210 us to the most surprising quote in this entire 00:10:53.210 --> 00:10:55.789 Wikipedia article. We are talking about a man 00:10:55.789 --> 00:10:58.950 who is a football legend. But the article mentions 00:10:58.950 --> 00:11:01.409 James Naismith. For those who might not know, 00:11:01.490 --> 00:11:04.029 who is James Naismith? James Naismith is the 00:11:04.029 --> 00:11:06.429 man who literally invented the sport of basketball 00:11:06.429 --> 00:11:09.950 in 1891. The actual inventor. He dreamed up the 00:11:09.950 --> 00:11:12.429 game, nailed the original peach basket to the 00:11:12.429 --> 00:11:15.440 wall, and wrote the founding rules. This absolute 00:11:15.440 --> 00:11:17.580 founding father of a totally different sport 00:11:17.580 --> 00:11:20.399 watched Louis Weller play and went on the record 00:11:20.399 --> 00:11:23.620 calling him the most expert dribbler I have ever 00:11:23.620 --> 00:11:25.899 seen. If we connect this to the bigger picture, 00:11:26.039 --> 00:11:28.759 the weight of that compliment is almost impossible 00:11:28.759 --> 00:11:32.940 to overstate. By the 1930s, basketball had been 00:11:32.940 --> 00:11:36.100 around for a few decades. James Naismith had 00:11:36.100 --> 00:11:38.799 seen the game evolve. He had seen the earliest 00:11:38.799 --> 00:11:41.659 specialized basketball stars emerge. He knew 00:11:41.659 --> 00:11:43.580 what he was looking at. He had spent his life 00:11:43.580 --> 00:11:45.940 analyzing the mechanics of the sport he created. 00:11:46.080 --> 00:11:48.600 For him to look at a man whose primary claim 00:11:48.600 --> 00:11:51.899 to fame was being an unstockable football halfback 00:11:51.899 --> 00:11:54.980 and declare that this football player possessed 00:11:54.980 --> 00:11:58.279 the greatest dribbling skills he had ever witnessed. 00:11:59.000 --> 00:12:01.779 It reframes our entire understanding of Weller's 00:12:01.779 --> 00:12:03.860 athleticism. It's like if the inventor of the 00:12:03.860 --> 00:12:06.419 guitar watched a famous drummer play a solo and 00:12:06.419 --> 00:12:08.740 said, that is the best guitar playing I've ever 00:12:08.740 --> 00:12:11.080 heard. That's a great analogy. Why do you think 00:12:11.080 --> 00:12:13.240 sports allowed for this kind of multi -sport 00:12:13.240 --> 00:12:15.559 dominance back then compared to what we see today? 00:12:15.759 --> 00:12:17.759 We're so accustomed to the highly specialized 00:12:17.759 --> 00:12:20.950 athletes of the modern era. Today, you are funneled 00:12:20.950 --> 00:12:23.090 into a single sport by the time you are 10 years 00:12:23.090 --> 00:12:25.710 old. Oh, absolutely. Year -round travel teams 00:12:25.710 --> 00:12:28.149 and everything. Exactly. You train specific muscle 00:12:28.149 --> 00:12:30.190 groups, you hire specialized coaches, and you 00:12:30.190 --> 00:12:33.110 dedicate 10 ,000 hours to one specific craft. 00:12:34.629 --> 00:12:37.809 Luis Weller represents an era of generalized 00:12:37.809 --> 00:12:41.470 athletic mastery. Generalized athletic mastery. 00:12:41.669 --> 00:12:43.789 His nervous system, his hand -eye coordination, 00:12:44.250 --> 00:12:48.169 his spatial awareness. These traits were so profoundly 00:12:48.169 --> 00:12:51.029 developed that they translated seamlessly across 00:12:51.029 --> 00:12:53.669 completely different physical disciplines. He 00:12:53.669 --> 00:12:55.809 didn't just play multiple sports. He mastered 00:12:55.809 --> 00:12:57.769 the fundamental mechanics of them. That is a 00:12:57.769 --> 00:12:59.730 great way to look at it. And naturally, that 00:12:59.730 --> 00:13:01.850 kind of mastery couldn't stay contained in the 00:13:01.850 --> 00:13:04.830 amateur ranks forever. After college, Weller 00:13:04.830 --> 00:13:07.679 made the professional jump. He did. In 1933, 00:13:08.000 --> 00:13:09.600 he took his talents to the National Football 00:13:09.600 --> 00:13:11.980 League, joining the Boston Redskins to play halfback. 00:13:12.159 --> 00:13:15.019 What was the transition to the NFL like in 1933? 00:13:15.460 --> 00:13:18.200 The NFL in 1933 was a completely different beast 00:13:18.200 --> 00:13:20.100 than the billion -dollar spectacle we know today. 00:13:20.340 --> 00:13:23.200 It was a gritty, fledgling league trying to find 00:13:23.200 --> 00:13:24.860 its footing during the Great Depression. Not 00:13:24.860 --> 00:13:28.000 a lot of glamour. None at all. The pay was minimal, 00:13:28.200 --> 00:13:31.379 the travel was grueling, and the physical toll... 00:13:31.450 --> 00:13:34.889 was immense. It was a league of tough, hard -nosed 00:13:34.889 --> 00:13:37.590 men fighting for every single inch. And what 00:13:37.590 --> 00:13:40.190 makes his time in Boston so cool is the reunion 00:13:40.190 --> 00:13:42.809 it brought about. He ended up playing under his 00:13:42.809 --> 00:13:45.350 former coach from Haskell, William Henry Lone 00:13:45.350 --> 00:13:47.950 Star Dietz. That's right. Not only that, but 00:13:47.950 --> 00:13:50.610 he was joined by two other Native American football 00:13:50.610 --> 00:13:53.769 players on the team, Chief Larry Johnson and 00:13:53.769 --> 00:13:56.769 John Orion Crow. It's amazing to think about 00:13:56.769 --> 00:13:59.509 these guys who had shared this unique collegiate 00:13:59.509 --> 00:14:02.029 experience at Haskell, taking the field together 00:14:02.029 --> 00:14:04.129 at the highest professional level of the sport. 00:14:04.269 --> 00:14:07.470 He spent the 1933 season in the NFL, and then 00:14:07.470 --> 00:14:10.210 in 1934, he played in the American Football League 00:14:10.210 --> 00:14:13.049 for the Tulsa Oilers. He reached the absolute 00:14:13.049 --> 00:14:16.190 pinnacle of the gridiron. But an athlete's playing 00:14:16.190 --> 00:14:19.230 days are only one chapter of their life. Can 00:14:19.230 --> 00:14:20.929 you break down what working for the Bureau of 00:14:20.929 --> 00:14:22.950 Indian Affairs actually meant for him after he 00:14:22.950 --> 00:14:25.389 hung up his cleats? The transition out of professional 00:14:25.389 --> 00:14:27.690 sports can be incredibly difficult for athletes. 00:14:27.789 --> 00:14:29.789 You lose that everyday structure. Yeah, that 00:14:29.789 --> 00:14:32.269 makes sense. But Weller channeled his drive into 00:14:32.269 --> 00:14:34.970 serving his community. The Bureau of Indian Affairs 00:14:34.970 --> 00:14:37.750 is the federal agency responsible for the administration 00:14:37.750 --> 00:14:40.269 and management of land held in trust by the United 00:14:40.269 --> 00:14:43.129 States for Native American tribes. Very important 00:14:43.129 --> 00:14:47.820 role. This was highly complex, often fraught 00:14:47.820 --> 00:14:50.960 work involving shifting federal policies. For 00:14:50.960 --> 00:14:53.379 a former Native athlete to step into that agency 00:14:53.379 --> 00:14:56.659 meant shifting from a physical hero on the field 00:14:56.659 --> 00:14:59.259 to an administrative advocate for his people. 00:14:59.379 --> 00:15:01.980 He was navigating federal bureaucracy to support 00:15:01.980 --> 00:15:04.419 Native communities. He moved from being a leader 00:15:04.419 --> 00:15:06.259 in the locker room to being a leader for his 00:15:06.259 --> 00:15:08.179 community. And this brings us to the end of his 00:15:08.179 --> 00:15:09.840 story, which is actually incredibly poignant. 00:15:10.220 --> 00:15:12.879 Louie Rabbit Weller passed away on April 17th, 00:15:12.879 --> 00:15:16.860 1979 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He was 75 years 00:15:16.860 --> 00:15:19.360 old. The cause was a heart attack. Right. But 00:15:19.360 --> 00:15:21.740 the detail that really got me was what he was 00:15:21.740 --> 00:15:24.049 doing when he passed and who he was with. He 00:15:24.049 --> 00:15:25.830 suffered that heart attack while playing a round 00:15:25.830 --> 00:15:29.049 of golf. And his golf partner that day was none 00:15:29.049 --> 00:15:31.909 other than John Orion Crow. The exact same John 00:15:31.909 --> 00:15:34.389 Orion Crow, who was his teammate back on the 00:15:34.389 --> 00:15:38.090 Boston Redskins in 1933 and who had gone on to 00:15:38.090 --> 00:15:39.750 become the commissioner of the Bureau of Indian 00:15:39.750 --> 00:15:43.590 Affairs. So what does this all mean? When you 00:15:43.590 --> 00:15:46.250 look at the arc of Louise Weller's life, you 00:15:46.250 --> 00:15:48.789 see a beautiful full circle journey. We spend 00:15:48.789 --> 00:15:51.610 so much time marveling at the statistics, the 00:15:51.610 --> 00:15:54.929 seven punt returns, the 28 touchdowns, the undeniable 00:15:54.929 --> 00:15:57.149 speed. Sure, the flashiest stuff. But the fact 00:15:57.149 --> 00:15:59.320 that. Nearly half a century after they lined 00:15:59.320 --> 00:16:02.080 up in an NFL backfield together, Weller and Crow 00:16:02.080 --> 00:16:03.639 were still spending their afternoons playing 00:16:03.639 --> 00:16:07.039 golf together. It emphasizes the deep, enduring 00:16:07.039 --> 00:16:09.960 bonds forged through sports and shared heritage. 00:16:10.220 --> 00:16:12.820 It's a real brotherhood. Exactly. These weren't 00:16:12.820 --> 00:16:14.600 just guys who worked together for a season or 00:16:14.600 --> 00:16:17.100 two. They were brothers who shared a unique cultural 00:16:17.100 --> 00:16:20.000 background, navigated the complexities of early 00:16:20.000 --> 00:16:22.580 professional sports together, and then dedicated 00:16:22.580 --> 00:16:24.820 their post -football lives to serving Native 00:16:24.820 --> 00:16:27.669 American communities. The statistics eventually 00:16:27.669 --> 00:16:30.330 fade into the record books, but those relationships, 00:16:30.429 --> 00:16:32.970 that shared sense of purpose, lasted a lifetime. 00:16:33.250 --> 00:16:36.090 And it's that human element that makes his induction 00:16:36.090 --> 00:16:39.169 as a charter member of the American Indian Athletic 00:16:39.169 --> 00:16:43.870 Hall of Fame in 1972 so well deserved. To summarize 00:16:43.870 --> 00:16:46.470 this incredible journey for you, Louie Rabbitweller 00:16:46.470 --> 00:16:49.509 was a man who seemed to completely defy athletic 00:16:49.509 --> 00:16:52.470 logic. A multi -sport legend who dominated high 00:16:52.470 --> 00:16:54.570 school, junior college, and the Haskell Institute, 00:16:54.929 --> 00:16:57.389 lighting up undefeated teams and scoring at a 00:16:57.389 --> 00:16:59.629 rate that is frankly hard to wrap your head around. 00:16:59.809 --> 00:17:01.389 Very hard to wrap your head around. He was a 00:17:01.389 --> 00:17:04.190 pioneer in the early days of the NFL, a community 00:17:04.190 --> 00:17:06.690 leader, and a man whose dribbling skills left 00:17:06.690 --> 00:17:09.390 the creator of basketball speechless. He was 00:17:09.390 --> 00:17:12.369 an absolute titan of his era. This raises an 00:17:12.369 --> 00:17:14.839 important question. We live in a hyper -connected, 00:17:14.839 --> 00:17:17.259 hyper -analyzed modern era. We are completely 00:17:17.259 --> 00:17:19.420 obsessed with tracking every single athletic 00:17:19.420 --> 00:17:21.759 metric. We measure everything now. Everything. 00:17:21.900 --> 00:17:24.619 We have high definition cameras capturing every 00:17:24.619 --> 00:17:27.160 angle, sensors in the equipment measuring speed 00:17:27.160 --> 00:17:29.740 and launch angles, and entire databases dedicated 00:17:29.740 --> 00:17:33.049 to preserving every fraction of a second. But 00:17:33.049 --> 00:17:35.609 looking back at the staggering, almost mythical 00:17:35.609 --> 00:17:39.269 feats of Louis Weller -like returning seven punts 00:17:39.269 --> 00:17:42.309 for a touchdown in an era before everything was 00:17:42.309 --> 00:17:45.269 filmed or digitized, it makes you wonder. What 00:17:45.269 --> 00:17:47.490 else is out there? How many other superhuman 00:17:47.490 --> 00:17:50.130 performances from human history have completely 00:17:50.130 --> 00:17:53.390 faded into obscurity simply because there wasn't 00:17:53.390 --> 00:17:56.019 a camera around to capture them? How many other 00:17:56.019 --> 00:17:58.539 athletes played games that defied the laws of 00:17:58.539 --> 00:18:00.720 physics, only to have those memories lost to 00:18:00.720 --> 00:18:03.319 time? What other legends are hiding deep in the 00:18:03.319 --> 00:18:05.579 archives, waiting for their story to be told? 00:18:05.740 --> 00:18:08.039 That is an incredibly profound thought to end 00:18:08.039 --> 00:18:09.680 on. It really does make you want to go digging 00:18:09.680 --> 00:18:11.599 through old newspaper clippings just to see what 00:18:11.599 --> 00:18:13.970 else we've forgotten. Thank you so much for joining 00:18:13.970 --> 00:18:16.410 us on this deep dive into the extraordinary life 00:18:16.410 --> 00:18:19.230 of Louie Rabbitweller. We hope you enjoyed uncovering 00:18:19.230 --> 00:18:21.230 this hidden gem of sports history as much as 00:18:21.230 --> 00:18:23.349 we did. Until next time, keep exploring, keep 00:18:23.349 --> 00:18:25.109 questioning, and we'll see you on the next deep 00:18:25.109 --> 00:18:25.890 dive. Take care.