The Minneapolis Marines were an early professional team that existed from 1905 until 1924.  They were owned locally and were composed primarily of working-class teenagers.  In 1921, the Marines joined the American Professional Football Association.   Despite their lack of prior football experience, The Marines reamined one of the best "independent" teams  in the upper midwest regions, largely due to their implemeatnion of the first pro-football training camp.  They are the first Minnesota-based team to join the National Football League, predating the Duluth Eskimos (1923) and Minnesota Vikings (1961).