Nick Lassa

Nick Lassa aka Long Time Sleep
Date of birth	July 11, 1895(1895-07-11)
Place of birth	Flathead Indian Reservation, Montana, United States
Date of death	Unknown
Height	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight	205 pounds (93 kg)
Position(s)	Offensive Lineman
College	Carlisle Indian School Haskell Indian Nations University
Jersey Number	14 (1922) 7 (1923)
Statistics	Pro Football Reference NFL.com DatabaseFootball
Teams
1922-1923	Oorang Indians

Nicholas Anthony Lassa, more popularly referred to as Long Time Sleep, was a professional American football player from the Flathead Indian Reservation in Montana. He was Native American and a member of the Blackfoot tribe, however some sources have him listed as a Cherokee or a Flathead.^[1] He was given the name, Long Time Sleep, by his teammates because he was so hard to wake up in the morning. Lassa attended and played college football at the Carlisle Indian School and Haskell Indian Nations University. 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 $50.00 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 between 10-20 dollars per match and that money would allow the whole team to go out drinking all night.

After the 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.

References

1. ^ http://www.profootballresearchers.org/Coffin_Corner/03-01-057.pdf

• Willis, Chris. "Remembering the Oorang Indians". Coffin Corner (Professional Football Researchers Association) 24 (3): 1–3. http://www.profootballresearchers.org/Coffin_Corner/24-03-943.pdf. 
• Braunwart, Bob; Bob Carroll; Joe Horrigan (1981). "The Oorang Indians". Coffin Corner (Professional Football Researchers Association) 3 (1): 1–17. http://www.profootballresearchers.org/Coffin_Corner/03-01-057.pdf. 
• Ongoing Research Project Uniform Numbers of the NFL Pre-1933

Persondata
Name	Lassa, Nick
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1895-07-11
Place of birth	Flathead Indian Reservation, Montana, United States
Date of death
Place of death