They Fought Like Wildcats Centennial (1914-2014): The Father of the Arizona Wildcats

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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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Bill Henry

Adding to the mystique of Arizona’s nickname “Wildcats” is the man who created it in one fateful sentence.

William Mellors “Bill” Henry (1890-1970) was a 24-year-old correspondent with the Los Angeles Times when he was assigned to cover the game between his alma mater and J.F. “Pop” McKale’s Varsity from Arizona. Henry played against Arizona in Tucson in the previous season as a senior with Occidental.

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He knew the “Red and Blue” would be hungry to save face against Occidental after the powerhouse Tigers, the two-time defending Pacific champions, beat Arizona 27-0 in Tucson in 1913.

The L.A. Times ran a short preview of the 1914 game with the headline titled, “Arizona Vows Vengeance On Occidental Tigers”.

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

Friday, July 10, 1914

The Boston Red Sox purchase Babe Ruth from the Baltimore Orioles, which was a minor-league team at that time. Ruth, Eddie Shore and Ben Egan were purchased for approximately $25,000 by the Red Sox. The Baltimore Sun ran two stories on Ruth on this day 100 years ago, one about the trade and the other a biographical sketch. The newspaper claims Ruth will be an instant hit in Boston: “After Ruth has pitched his first contest he will be a favorite for there is no doubt he has the ability to twirl in any league.”

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“They have made this their game of games,” the L.A. Times story reads. “Every effort, every move, every play, has been made with the sole purpose of defeating the Occidental Tigers.

“If they are not in condition, it is not because they have not tried to round into shape.”

Arizona battled to the end and lost 14-0, prompting Henry to write: “The Arizona men showed the fight of wild cats”.

History was born.

An illustrious and distinguished journalism career for Henry also began to blossom.

Henry’s popular column By the Way appeared daily in the Los Angeles Times from 1939 until his death in 1970. He also became an esteemed news broadcaster for several networks throughout his career, including CBS and NBC.

He covered the 1928 Amsterdam Games for the L.A. Times. He used that experience to land the technical director position for the 1932 Los Angeles Olympic Games. He authored the 1948 book An Approved History of the Olympic Games.

Bill Henry’s War Department registration card (Occidental University Library)

Henry traveled the world and reported on numerous presidents including Franklin Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson and Richard Nixon.

In the same week Henry reported about LBJ defeating Arizona senator Barry Goldwater in the 1964 presidential election, he headed to Tucson to participate in Arizona’s homecoming festivities. Arizona bestowed Henry the honor of “Father of the Arizona Wildcats” at the school’s 50th homecoming celebration.

The game against Idaho, won by Arizona 14-7, was played 50 years to the exact date when Henry covered Occidental’s game with the Varsity.

The honor of “Father of the Arizona Wildcats” may get lost in all of the accolades and awards Henry earned during his journalism career. His name also does not roll off the tongue of Arizona fans when discussing the football program.

Henry, however, is the man behind the nickname. One sentence in the third paragraph of a game story 100 years ago changed Arizona’s history.

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.