Counties

Below is a complete listing of all Ohio Historical Markers. To find a detailed marker listing including text, photographs, and locations, click on a county below. Our listing is updated by the markers program as new markers are installed and older markers are reported damaged or missing.

7-51 Home of the Oorang Indians, NFL’s Most Colorful Franchise

Side A: The Oorang Indian football team was founded by LaRue native Walter Lingo (1890-1966), owner of the Oorang Airedale Dog Kennels. The team, comprised of Native American Indians, played in the National Football League (NFL) in 1922-23. The star player and coach was Jim Thorpe (1887-1953), a Sac and Fox Indian. Thorpe gained international fame as a two-time gold medal winner (decathlon and pentathlon) in the 1912 Olympics and was acclaimed as the “World’s Greatest Athlete.” The team gave LaRue the distinction of being the smallest community ever to have an NFL franchise.
Side B: Same
Sponsors: Marion County Historical Society and The Ohio Historical Society
Address: 300 S. High Street (OH 37), 
LaRue, 
OH, 
43332
Location: On W side of OH 37, in a small woodline just N of bridge over the Scioto River
Latitude: 40.5728540
Longitude: -83.3843530