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TABLE OF CONTENTS: — General history — J.F. “Pop” McKale — The games — Comparisons then and now — Wildcats nickname — Military service — Rankings |
LAST WEEK: — No. 56: McKale professed American history with vigor — No. 57: Honoring 1914 senior “football heroes” — No. 58: Where most of “Varsity” lived in 1914 — No. 59: Tucson’s entertainment in 1914 — No. 60: Famous people born 100 years ago — No. 61: Other 100-year anniversaries — No. 62: Chain events leading to World War I begin |
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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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Asa Porter lettered for the football, basketball and baseball teams in 1914-15
Athletes 100 years ago participated in multiple sports mostly because of the lack of enrollment. Only 308 students attended the University of Arizona in the 1914-15 school year.
Leo Cloud, a standout tennis player at Arizona, was a reserve quarterback/halfback for the Arizona “Varsity”. He was also the captain for J.F. “Pop” McKale’s first basketball team in 1914-15. That team went 9-0 against mostly Tucson High School and YMCA teams at Herring Hall that season.
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Asa Porter was another football player who played with the basketball team in 1914-15.
Charles Beach, the Varsity’s starting right guard in 1914, was the captain of the Arizona baseball team that school year. Cloud, who sadly lost his life to an accidental electrocution in the summer of 1915, and Porter also lettered for the baseball team.
Porter, a member of the Arizona Sports Hall of Fame, recorded Arizona’s first no-hitter, a 5-1 victory over Tempe Normal (ASU) that school year.
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, July 5, 1914
The Boston Braves were 15 games back and in last place in the National League on this date with a 26-40 record. They went on to win the pennant and the World Series. The Braves became the first team to win a pennant after being in last place on the Fourth of July. Their record over the final 89 games was 70-19 for a winning percentage of .787.
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Other football players who played for the 1915 baseball team: James Vinton Hammels and Richard Meyer.
McKale also coached the baseball team for the first time that year. Porter took over in 1920 and 1921 before McKale resumed duties for 27 years before he hired Frank Sancet in 1950.
McKale’s combined record for the football, basketball and baseball teams in 1914-15: 18-4.
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.
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