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TABLE OF CONTENTS:
— General history
— J.F. “Pop” McKale
— The games
— Comparisons then and now
— Wildcats nickname
— Military service
— Rankings
— The players
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Clipping of actual L.A. Times article published Nov. 8, 1914
Excerpt from L.A. Times, Nov. 8, 1914, authored by Bill Henry:
“Arizona’s cactus-fed athletes, despite heroic efforts on the part of their two halfbacks, (Asa) Porter and (Franklin) Luis, went down to defeat before the Occidental Tigers yesterday afternoon, the tally with all precincts heard from being 14 to 0 in favor of the Tigers.
Confident of rolling up a big score, the Tigers took the field with grins on their faces, but before the game was 10 seconds old they knew they had a battle on their hands.
The Arizona men showed the fight of wild cats and displayed before the public gaze a couple of little shrimps in the backfield who defied all attempts of the Tigers to stop them.”This site will conduct a countdown in a 100-day period, leading up to Arizona’s 2014 football season-opener with UNLV on Aug. 29 at Arizona Stadium. The 100 Days ‘Til Kickoff countdown will include information daily about the historic 1914 Arizona team that helped create the school’s nickname of “Wildcats” because of how they played that fateful day against Occidental.
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The first play of the second quarter at Baer Field in Los Angeles between Occidental and Arizona in 1914 was an ominous sign for the error-prone Tigers against the hungry Varsity.
Occidental’s Sid Foster connected with fullback Glenn Coffeen for an 18-yard gain, giving the Tigers what appeared to be a first down on the Arizona 12. But Coffeen fumbled and Arizona recovered, keeping the game close with a scoreless tie.
Later in the quarter, Asa Porter punted to Foster, who ran 70 yards for what seemed to be a touchdown but the play was called back because of a holding penalty.
In an other serious scoring threat in the quarter, Occidental drove the ball to the Arizona 5 but lost the ball on an intercepted pass. Again, the Tigers threatened with the ball at the Arizona 18, but Pete Lenz, who alternated between quarterback and end, fumbled the ball while trying to “buck the line” or run up the middle, according to Los Angeles Times correspondent Bill Henry.
Occidental resorted to trickery seconds before the quarter expired to finally score. Lenz called a double pass with Sam McClung taking the second pitch around end for the touchdown. Coffeen kicked the extra point and Occidental went into halftime with a 7-0 lead.
In those days, the team that scores received the ensuing kickoff. Lenz completed what appeared to be a 60-yard pass to Foster but the play was called back because of illegal use of the hands by Coffeen in the backfield. The half ended.
Arizona, although escaping many disastrous situations, remained confident, trailing only 7-0. The Varsity lost 28-0 to Occidental the previous season. They believed they had an opportunity.
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THE LAST WEEK IN THE SERIES:
— No. 7: Arizona’s “cactus-fed athletes” convincingly introduce themselves to Occidental
— No. 8: Overconfident Occidental suits up for Arizona without head coach, who scouts elsewhere
— No. 9: Varsity’s busy pregame preparation against Occidental includes reading letters from co-eds
— No. 10: Enthusiastic Varsity travels to Los Angeles to face Occidental
— No. 11: Tribute to 1914 team members in lingo of that generation
— No. 12: 1914 team member Condron one of Tucson’s historic developers
— No. 13: Sadness overcomes campus with star’s accidental death
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The 1914 Arizona football team that earned the honor of being named the first “Wildcats” was composed of (front row, left to right): Verne La Tourette, George Seeley, Leo Cloud, Richard Meyer, Asa Porter. Second row: Franklin Luis, Lawrence Jackson, Ray Miller, J.F. “Pop” McKale (coach), Turner Smith, Harry Hobson (manager), Orville McPherson, Albert Crawford, Ernest Renaud. Back row: Albert Condron, Emzy Lynch, Charley Beach, Vinton Hammels, Bill Hendry, George Clawson, Harry Turvey.
(AllSportsTucson.com graphic/Photo from University of Arizona Library Special Collections)
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What they were talking about on this day in 1914
Sunday, Aug. 23, 1914
The emperor of Japan declares war on Germany as World War I continues to spread. The action was taken at the expiration of the time limit of Japan’s ultimatum to Germany demanding the surrender of Kiao-Chau in China. The Japanese government orders the beginning of operations on both land and sea.
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Arizona’s Desert Yearbook explained the second quarter this way:
“With such a team as Foster and Lenz working overtime for a touchdown through this art our boys were fighting for the half to end with a clear slate, but the Oxy backfield star passer slipped a couple of passes and McClung circled the Arizona right end for a tally and Coffeen kicked goal. A few minutes of the half remained, with our Varsity forcing Oxy to defensive.”
Tomorrow: Arizona continues to scrap with Occidental in a closely contested third quarter.
ALLSPORTSTUCSON.com publisher, writer and editor Javier Morales is a former Arizona Press Club award winner. He also writes articles for Bleacher Report and Lindy’s College Sports.
