Nick Lassa
American football player (1898–1964)
title: "Nick Lassa" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1898-births", "1964-deaths", "carlisle-indians-football-players", "haskell-indian-nations-fighting-indians-football-players", "oorang-indians-players", "american-male-professional-wrestlers", "players-of-american-football-from-montana", "professional-wrestlers-from-montana", "native-american-professional-wrestlers", "native-american-players-of-american-football", "people-from-larue,-ohio", "blackfoot-people", "20th-century-american-people"] description: "American football player (1898–1964)" topic_path: "technology/web" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nick_Lassa" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary American football player (1898–1964) ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox gridiron football person"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Nick Lassa |
| image | Nick Lassa.jpg |
| birth_date | |
| birth_place | Flathead Indian Reservation, Montana |
| death_date | |
| position1 | Tackle, center, guard, end |
| uniform_number | 14 (1922) |
| 7 (1923) | |
| height_ft | 5 |
| height_in | 10 |
| weight_lb | 205 |
| high_school | Carlisle Indian |
| Haskell Indian | |
| playing_years1 | 1922–1923 |
| playing_team1 | Oorang Indians |
| career_highlights | * Wrestled a bear in one of the first ever halftime shows |
| :: |
| name = Nick Lassa | image = Nick Lassa.jpg | alt = | caption = | birth_date = | birth_place = Flathead Indian Reservation, Montana | death_date = | death_place = | team = | number = | status = | position1 = Tackle, center, guard, end | uniform_number = 14 (1922) 7 (1923) | height_ft = 5 | height_in = 10 | weight_lb = 205 | high_school = Carlisle Indian Haskell Indian | playing_years1 = 1922–1923 | playing_team1 = Oorang Indians | career_highlights = * Wrestled a bear in one of the first ever halftime shows Nicholas Anthony Lassa, (July 11, 1898 – September 4, 1964) more popularly referred to as Long Time Sleep, was a professional American football player from the Flathead Indian Reservation in Montana.
Biography
Born on July 11, 1898, Lassa was Native American and a member of the Pend d'Orielle tribe, one of three members of the confederated tribes of the Flathead reservation in Montana. He was given the name, Long Time Sleep, by his teammates because he was difficult to wake up in the morning.
Lassa attended and played college football at the Carlisle Indian School and Haskell Institute. Lassa eventually played in the National Football League in 1922 with the Oorang Indians.
The Oorang Indians were an all-Native American football team based in La Rue, Ohio and formed by Walter Lingo in 1922 to help promote his Airedale kennel. The team was organized by Jim Thorpe, who served the team as a player-coach. When the team formed, Lassa was the first player to arrive in La Rue.
Aside from football, Lassa enjoyed wrestling. He would make up to $50 () for wrestling matches throughout the area. In fact he is most remembered for wrestling a bear as part of a halftime show of one of the Indians' games. Lassa would usually win $10–$20 (equivalent to $–$ in ) per match, which would allow the whole team to go out partying all night.
After the team folded in 1923, Lassa stayed near LaRue, earning his living as a professional wrestler and strongman. He also stayed on working for Lingo and several of the other farmers in the area. He finally left the area in the early 1930s. He reportedly gave up drinking, raised a family, and became a respected member of his community. Lassa died on September 4, 1964.
References
References
- "NFL History: CSKT Member Nick Lasso And The Oorong Indian Football Team Were A Crowd Favorite In 1922–1923". S&K News Journal.
- "NFL Players who attended Haskell Indian Nations University". databaseSports.com.
- Braunwart, Bob. (1981). "The Oorang Indians". Professional Football Researchers Association.
- Willis, Chris. "Remembering the Oorang Indians". Professional Football Researchers Association.
- D'Ambrosio, Brian. (March 8, 2021). "The Forgotten Legend of Nick Lassa". Flathead Beacon Productions.
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