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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:
Dick Meyer started at quarterback in J.F. “Pop” McKale’s first game as Arizona coach in 1914
Richard Edmund Meyer (1896-1978)
Freshman quarterback from Galt, Calif.
Meyer was a Tucson High School standout who followed J.F. “Pop” McKale from the Badgers’ program to Arizona. He overcome torn ligaments in his shoulder while playing at Tucson High to succeed with the Varsity. He started at quarterback against the Douglas YMCA in McKale’s coaching debut at Arizona in 1914.
Injuries took a toll and Meyer concentrated only on his academics after his sophomore season. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Arizona in 1918 before serving during World War I. Meyer, who lived to be 82, served as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army during the war. Upon his return to Southern Arizona, he worked as a mining engineer, including some stints in Sonora, Mexico.
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THE LAST WEEK IN THE SERIES:
— No. 35: Harry Ellsworth Turvey, fullback
— No. 36: Orville “Speedy” McPherson, fullback
— No. 37: Turner Church Smith, left guard
— No. 38: Ernest James Renaud, fullback
— No. 39: Franklin Luis, halfback
— No. 40: George Sweeney, right end
— No. 41: Emzy “Swede” Lynch, center
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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, July 26, 1914
Britain attempts to organize a political conference among the major European powers to resolve the dispute between Austria-Hungary and Serbia. France and Italy agree to participate. Russia then agrees. Germany refuses. Austria-Hungary begins to mobilize its troops against Serbia as war looms.
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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.
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