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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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In the next few days, the series will provide multiple quick facts of each player. Today’s player is:
1921 passport photo of Bill Hendry
Bill Hendry (1895-1961)
Freshman right tackle from Enid, Okla.
A former Tucson High School standout, he became captain of Arizona’s 1916 team that finished 5-3 and won the Southwestern title by beating New Mexico State and Texas-El Paso by a combined score of 114-0. He played both offensive and defensive tackle. In 1925, 10 alumni of the Arizona program chose the “All-Time” team, which was published by the Arizona Wildcat. The program was celebrating its 25th anniversary.
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THE LAST WEEK IN THE SERIES:
— No. 45: James Vinton Hammels, left end
— No. 46: Albert “Bumps” Crawford, quarterback
— No. 47: Leo F. Cloud, halfback
— No. 48: George Clawson, left guard
— No. 49: Charles Pablo Beach, senior right guard
— No. 50: The Father of the Arizona Wildcats
— No. 51: Captain makes claim for 1914 All-Southwestern Eleven
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The only members from the 1914 team that made the list were Hendry and center Emzy “Swede” Lynch. Arizona coach J.F. “Pop” McKale did not take part in selecting the mythical eleven but provided information about the players to the panel. McKale reported that Hendry was consistent and dependable on both sides of the ball.
Hendry, who was also the captain of Tucson High’s 1912 state title team with McKale as coach, was part of the U.S. Army Medical Corps in Allentown, Pa., during World War I in 1918. He later became a businessman in Tucson.
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
Thursday, July 16, 1914
Frenchman Georges Carpentier won his heavyweight bout over American Gunboat Smith by decision after Smith accidentally delivered an illegal blow in the sixth round. Smith landed a punch while the Frenchman was on the ground and was disqualified in the bout at Olympia, London. Observers claimed that Carpentier lost his footing and fell to his knees. Smith tried to recoil but landed a soft blow. At stake was the “White Heavyweight Championship of the World”. This title, created by boxing promoters due to the unpopularity of African-American heavyweight champion Jack Johnson, was never widely recognized.
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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.
