Over the storied history of Providence’s RI Reds, a number of notable local high school stars earned the privilege of tryouts with the pro team: among them, Billy Thayer, Al Bentley, Roger Bedard, Allan Soares, Jack McGeough, and Billy Christodal. The very first, however, was a young man unchallenged as the most remarkable and accomplished Rhode Island athlete of his era. This is his story.

Olaf Gustave Hazard “Curly” Oden

His surname, reminiscent of a Norse god, had as regal a ring to it as did his appearance. Indeed, he was claimed to be a direct descendent of the Vikings and his athletic prowess in the early years of the twentieth century supported a lineage one might imagine for the greatest living Rhode Island athlete of his time.

Born in Stockholm, Sweden in 1899, he arrived in Rhode Island when he was just 3 months old. Raised in the capitol city, Oden attended Classical High School, where he was class president, starred in football and captained the Purple’s track, baseball and hockey teams.

After graduation, he enrolled at Brown University and continued playing on the gridiron and baseball diamond, while also holding the title of class president in his senior year. This was during the dormant period (1906-1926) when Brown did not suit up a hockey team, but Curly, so nicknamed due to his wavey, golden locks, was also simultaneously starring on local amateur hockey and ice polo teams.

Curly weighed only 150 pounds in college, but he had the legs, the brain, and the heart to become one of Brown’s finest all-time athletes. He was enshrined in the University’s Athletic Hall of Fame in 1971.

A dancing, shifting runner with great speed, Oden electrified the fans at old Andrews Field with his broken field runs. As a senior, the Bruin signal caller scored eight touchdowns and passed for five. And he played both sides of the ball. His 85-yard return of an intercepted pass against Springfield remains the fifth longest in Brown history.

Andrews Field opened in 1899 as the Camp Street Grounds, between Camp and Ivy Streets, north of Hope High School in Providence. It seated about 8,000, with stands which could be moved, depending on the season and the sport. Curly electrified the fans in each season.

(Noteworthy is the fact that Andrews Field was supplanted by the building of the Brown Stadium and athletic complex on Elmgrove Ave in the mid-1920’s. Andrews was where the great Jim Thorpe of the famous Carlisle Indians played his final college game in a blinding snowstorm. Later, Thorpe and Brown’s Fritz Pollard, who never met in college, became bitter rivals in the early NFL.)

On the baseball field, Curly was a spectacular fielding shortstop and timely hitter. After graduation in 1921, he earned a tryout with the National League’s Brooklyn Superbas (the former Dodger’s nickname). He failed to report to Brooklyn’s spring training in 1922 and was suspended. After playing with the Steam Roller in 1923, he returned the following year, having been reinstated by Commissioner Landis. In 1925, he suited up for the Newark Bears/Providence Grays (AA) of the International League, recording a respectable .263 batting average.

From 1926 to 1928, Oden played summer baseball for the Falmouth Commodores in the Cape Cod Baseball League. An all-league shortstop who also managed the team in 1927 and 1928, Oden was known for his “timely hitting and accurate throwing,” and was “the king of the base stealers in the league,” having “thrilled the crowds on several occasions by stealing home.”

Oden’s NFL career began as the starting quarterback for the Providence Steam Roller in 1925 and later became a star running back, punt returner and pass catcher. Most notably, he played both sides of the ball scoring the touchdown that delivered the Steam Roller the 1928 NFL Championship. Curly starred with the Steam Roller through 1931, twice selected 2nd team All-Pro before finishing up with the Boston Braves for one game in 1932.

In his career, Oden rushed for eight touchdowns, caught four more, passed for two, and scored five on kickoff and punt returns, a league record at the time. He accounted for 106 points in his professional career. He was also player/coach for the Providence Huskies, which in 1933 became the only team in professional football up to that time to go undefeated and unscored upon.

What stood Oden apart was his ability to play numerous diverse sports at such a high level. He played hockey brilliantly.

Curly was a fixture in amateur ice hockey and ice polo circles throughout the 1920s. In December of 1926, he was given a tryout with the new Providence Reds of the new Canadian-American Hockey League, which had opened play just two weeks prior.

“If successful,” the Providence Journal reported, “Oden would become the first native son on our Canadian-bred team. The competition amongst other top amateurs and Canadian professionals will be keen.”

Oden was recruited not only because of his hockey and ice polo reputation but because his Steam Roller owner, Judge James E. Dooley, was intimately aware of his athletic ability and ferocious drive – and the Judge also happened to be the owner of the Reds.

“Oden is a clever athlete,” the Journal continued. “One of the best skaters ever developed in Rhode Island.

“Reds Coach Jimmy Gardner knows that skaters possessing speed and courage and with a knowledge of stick-handling can be converted into top-notch hockey players. He inclines to the view that Oden is promising timber, and every chance will be afforded the former Brunonian to make good in league company.”

Gardner had been impressed by the speedy Swede when Curly represented Providence in the demonstration hockey games held the previous March at the opening exhibitions at the new Auditorium. He projected Oden as a defenseman, suggesting that he may be in the rotation for an upcoming game with another Can-Am team, the Boston Tigers.

Although there is a photo of him in a Reds uniform, there is no record as to whether Oden played in the game and he did not make the team, which was ultimately made up exclusively of Montreal Canadiens’ farmhands. Despite the disappointment, Oden remains the first Rhode Islander to earn an official tryout with the Reds and his hockey journey would continue.

Throughout the late 20s, Curly played competitive hockey locally while also rumbling with the Steam Roller, reveling in their NFL title in 1928. He starred on the ice in the Industrial Hockey league at the Auditorium, winning the state championship in 1929 skating with the Newports, champions of the Blackstone Valley. He then became the first coach of the Rhode Island Scarlets, Rhode Island’s longtime amateur all-star hockey team, while also continuing as the focal ice polo player with the New England champion Elmwood Independents.

Curly Oden sadly passed in 1978 but his legend lives on.

Posted by Vin Cimini