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— General history
— J.F. “Pop” McKale
— The games
— Comparisons then and now
— Wildcats nickname
— Military service
— Rankings
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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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Arizona’s means of transportation in 1914 for the fateful game against Occidental was not by plane — the first commercial flight was that year — but by Southern Pacific Railroad.
Airports did not open until the 1920s for passenger flights. That meant instead of a relatively quick flight to Los Angeles, J.F. “Pop” McKale and 19 men traveled all day by train to play the mighty Tigers.
The Arizona Sentinel and Yuma Weekly Examiner published a story the week of the Arizona-Occidental game detailing the trip and the welcome-home of two Yuma High School graduates — fullback Orville “Speedy” McPherson and center Emzy “Swede” Lynch — as the Southern Pacific went through that western Arizona town en route to Los Angeles.
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The Southern Pacific Railroad map showing the trek Arizona followed from Tucson to Phoenix to Yuma to Los Angeles to play Occidental (Southern Pacific Railroad graphic)
“The Arizona team will leave Tucson on Friday morning on No. 101, at 8 o’clock, with the coach, trainer and manager, and will pass through Yuma at 2:15 p.m. The high school students will be at the station to greet their alumni and wish them good luck.”
After the brief stop at Yuma, Arizona reportedly arrived at Los Angeles at approximately 5:30 p.m. Therefore, it was a trip that lasted about 9-10 hours. The trip started at the Southern Pacific Depot in downtown Tucson and ended with McKale and his group stretching their legs at the Arcade Station hear downtown Los Angeles.
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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On This Date in 1914
Sat., June 20, 1914
In the 46th Belmont: Merritt Buxton aboard Luke McLuke wins in 2:20. Luke McLuke earned a total of $3,025 (approximately $71,000 comparatively today) for the win.
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A postcard of the Southern Pacific railroad station in Yuma Arizona passed through en route to play Occidental in Los Angeles (photo was taken circa 1910)
Arizona remained on the train and slept in their passenger car overnight before heading to Occidental for the afternoon game.
The Fri., Nov. 6, 1914, edition of the Los Angeles Times, a day before the Arizona-Occidental game offered this report:
“The University of Arizona eleven will arrive tonight. They will not bother looking up a hotel, but will sleep in their berths on side track. There is no way of telling their strength.”
The “Varsity” was strong enough in its 14-0 loss to the powerhouse Tigers to bring home with them on the Southern Pacific railroad the nickname “Wildcats”.
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.
