His name was Tamanend. In more recent times, he is known better as Tammany, or Saint/King Tammany. He was a 17th-century Lenni Lenape (Delaware) chief who befriended English Quaker William Penn when he settled the region in 1682.
Sadly, most people today, don't know him at all.
From Wikipedia:
"Tamanend, reputedly took part in a meeting between the leaders of the Lenni-Lenape nation, and the leaders of the Pennsylvania colony held under a large elm tree at Shakamaxon in the early 1680s. William Penn and Tamanend continued to sign seven more documents assuring each other, and their peoples, of peaceable understanding after the initial one in 1683. Tamanend is recorded as having said that the Lenni-Lenape and the English colonists would "live in peace as long as the waters run in the rivers and creeks and as long as the stars and moon endure." These words have been memorialized on the statue of Tamanend that still stands in Philadelphia. It is believed that Tamanend died in 1701. Over the next century, many folk legends surrounded Tamanend, and his fame assumed mythical proportions among the people of Philadelphia, who began to call him "King Tammany," "Saint Tammany," and the "Patron Saint of America." The people of Philadelphia organized a Tammany society and an annual Tammany festival. These traditions soon spread across America. Tammany's popular status was partly due to the desire by colonists to express a distinct "American" identity, in place of their former European nationalities. Tammany provided an apt symbol for this kind of patriotism.
Because of Philadelphia's prominence during the American Revolution and subsequent decades, Tammany soon became a national symbol throughout much of the newly formed country.".
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| The only known portrait of Tammany. This is an idealized composite portrait by Fritz Bade from descriptions of the man, as featured in the 1938 book, "The Tammany Legend" by Joseph White Norwood. (Fritz Bade/Public Domain) |
According to DelawareTribe.org (official website of the Delaware tribe of Indians), "Tamanend … played a prominent role in the establishment of peaceful relations among the Native American tribes and the English settlers who established Pennsylvania,".
After passing away in 1701, Tamanend became such a beloved figure in America, he was celebrated every year on May 1st and the American army even planted flags with his likeness on it.
On May 1, 1777, John Adams wrote to, Abigail, the future first lady, who had remained in Boston, "This is King Tammany’s Day … The People here have sainted him and keep his day.".
Tammany Hall, the powerful Democrat Party machine of Boss Tweed fame that ruled New York City for decades, was one of MANY organizations that were named in his honor and featured a statue of him at the rooftop.
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| The original Tammany Hall. This was built under the influence of Boss Tweed in 1867 and was torn down in 1927. |
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| Tammany Hall today (same location), built in 1927. This image is from google.com/maps. |
King Tammany entered American professional sports through James Gaffney, a Democrat operative from Tammany Hall in New York City. Gaffney purchased the Boston Rustlers baseball team in 1912 and rebranded them the Boston Braves to honor King Tammany and Gaffney's own Tammany Hall. He added the image of the Indian, inspired by Tamanend, to the sleeves of the teams uniform.
It is interesting to note that in 1935, Babe Ruth played his final season of baseball, but he wasn't wearing the famous NY Yankees stripes, he was wearing the uniform featuring the Patron Saint of America on it's sleeve!
The Milwaukee Braves obviously moved to become the Atlanta Braves and in the late 1980's, and the Atlanta Braves caved to pressure to remove the image from their uniforms.
But lets jump back in time to 1932 when George Preston Marshall brought the, then 12 year old NFL, into Boston.
Marshall needed a name for his new team so the obvious choice was to piggy-back off of the Boston Braves and christen his new team the Boston Football Braves, exactly how the New York Football Giants got their name. They even kept the primary colors and the logo of the Boston Braves and on top of that, even played at Braves Field in Boston. King Tammany was in the NFL.
The deal for the Boston Football Braves to play at Braves Field was only a 1 year deal and there's some confusion as to why. In 1933, Marshall struck a deal with Fenway Park and moved the team to the home of the American League team, the Boston Red Sox. Marshall thought the team needed a new name so again, he piggy-backed off of the baseball team and named his team, the Boston Redskins. This was at a time when there was sincere reverence for King Tammany and no racist intent whatsoever.
In 1937, Marshall would move his team to Washington D.C. and take the proud image of Tammany with him.
George Marshall died in 1969. In 1971, his football team worked with Walter "Blackie" Wetzel along with input and approval from Native American groups to come up with a new logo, which adorned the side of their helmets beginning in 1972. While the image is not of Tammany himself, (it was reportedly modeled off a an image of Blackfeet Chief, Two Guns White Calf, and it could be... image below) it bears quite a resemblance to Tammany as well.
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| Redskins Helmet |
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| Blackfeet Chief, Two Guns White Calf |
In 2020, America was in an uproar after the George Floyd fiasco and the Washington Redskins, under ownership of Dan Snyder, caved to outside pressure from groups who didn't bother to learn, or research, history and as such, labeled EVERYTHING they disagreed with or simply don't understand, as racist. The franchise became the ridiculously named, "The Washington Football Team" for a couple of years before becoming the equally goofy, Washington Commanders. George Marshall was unceremoniously, and falsely, branded a racist when he wasn't even here to defend himself!
In July of 2023, the Commanders were purchased by Josh Hall (and other investors) and Dan Snyder was finally shown the exit door of the NFL with the franchise, and it's stadium, in shambles.
This provides a great opportunity to rebrand the franchise bringing back the Redskins name with the blessings of Native American leaders after meeting with them and discussing the history and legacy of King Tammany, Two Guns White Calf and the football team. If they don't agree, come up with an even more similar likeness of Tammany and call the franchise The Washington Tammanies after Tamanend and the Tammany influenced societies (both white and Native American) that popped up in the 1700's.
Whatever the case, bring back the image of the Native American Indian. He is missed, Dan Snyder is not.
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