[3] Lingo was attracted to the fellowship of some of the leading celebrities of his era, including baseball players Ty Cobb and Tris Speaker, athletic legend Jim Thorpe, boxer Jack Dempsey, and actor Gary Cooper — all of whom he was known to hunt with, together with his dogs.
[4] The team made no effort to make Marion, Ohio into a bastion of fan support for the club, playing every NFL game of the 1923 season on the road.
Their one appearance in their ostensible hometown proved to be a debacle, a Thanksgiving day exhibition game against the Marion Athletic Club at the county fairgrounds.
[5][6] Only about 100 fans paid a dollar to attend the game, and many of these remained in their automobiles parked alongside the field rather than endure the cold drizzle of the day.
Only bad football remained — the team scored just one touchdown, one field goal, and a safety in its first 9 games combined.