Short answers, pulled from the story.
The Massillon Tigers formed on the 3rd of September 1903 when thirty-five local businessmen gathered inside the Hotel Sailor in Massillon, Ohio. Jack Goodrich served as manager and Ed J. Stewart became the first coach for this new franchise.
Local vendors only possessed enough orange and black striped uniforms to outfit the entire squad during the 1903 season. These specific garments inspired the decision to christen the new team the Tigers to project strength and tradition through visual identity.
The Massillon Tigers won four consecutive Ohio League championships between 1903 and 1906 through aggressive player recruitment strategies. They defeated Marion by a score of 148-0 during the 1904 season while scoring touchdowns worth five points each.
In 1906 coaches Blondy Wallace and Walter East conspired to manipulate the outcome of a two-game series between their teams to force a decisive third game. The Massillon Independent newspaper alleged this conspiracy involved professional gamblers attempting to fix the sport even though neither side could prove they threw a specific game.
The original Massillon Tigers remained independent until folding in 1923 without ever joining the American Professional Football Association established on the 17th of September 1920. Vernon Maginnis arrived wanting to field a traveling team under the name Massillon Tigers but managers rejected his proposal because they feared the franchise would fail or become a road attraction.