Walter Harrison Flanigan (May 7, 1890 – June 18, 1962) was an American football player and owner of the Rock Island Independents.

[1] Flanigan soon promoted the Independents by scheduling two games in 1917 against the Minneapolis Marines, who were the self-proclaimed "North West Pro Champs".

However World War I and the military draft put a temporary halt to Flanigan's plans of expanding the team into new markets.

However, the Independents still had defeated several "Ohio League" teams that season, such as the Cincinnati Celts (33–0), the Columbus Panhandles (49–0) and the Akron Indians (17–0).

It's likely that Canton's Jim Thorpe and Ralph Hay learned that Rock Island's game against the Akron Indians had drawn only 1,700 spectators and felt that Flanigan could not deliver on his $5,000 guarantee, that was money that came primarily from the gate.

He was present at the September 17, 1920 meeting at Ralph Hay's Hupmobile dealership, located in Canton, Ohio which established the league and made the Independents a charter member of the NFL.

[3] On October 16, 1921, after the Independent battled back from a 7–0 deficit against the Chicago Cardinals to lead 14–7 in the second quarter, due to two touchdowns, scored by player-coach Frank Coughlin.