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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:
Albert Condron became Arizona’s student body president the year after the fateful 1914 game against Occidental
Albert Harlan Condron (1890-1984)
Junior left tackle from Leadville, Colo.
Condron came to Tucson as a youth to enter the University of Arizona in 1912. A native of Leadville, Colo., he spent many years of his life there and also lived in Los Angeles eight years prior to coming to Tucson. Condron and his friend Charlie Beach were lured to Tucson by accounts of Tucson and the Arizona campus, by a couple of his classmates from L.A. High School who had graduated the year before. He earned a Civil Engineering degree at Arizona.
Condron is the mastermind behind “A” Mountain. The evolution started on Nov. 6, 1914, after the Varsity beat Pomona College in a stirring 7-6 game that was the first homecoming game in school history. Condron suggested to a professor that an “A” be constructed on Sentinel Peak.
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THE LAST WEEK IN THE SERIES:
— No. 34: Richard Meyer, quarterback
— 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
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A clipping of a Tucson Citizen article detailing Condron’s plan for “A” Mountain
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
Monday, July 27, 1914
The Boston Braves, in last place in the National League on July 4, 15 games back, climb to fourth in the standings after winning 10 of 14 games. They are nine games behind the New York Giants for first place. Their trek to the NL pennant will continue and they eventually win the World Series.
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Another victory over Pomona the following season increased the popularity of the project. As new student body president, Condron, students and members of the community began constructing the 70-foot wide, 106-foot long “A” on the mountain known as Sentinel Peak on Nov. 13, 1915. The construction took over 4 months. The “A” was finally completed on March 4, 1916. The cost of the project was $397, paid for with donations from the student body.
Condron later became the Secretary of the Tucson Chamber of Commerce. Progressive in Tucson’s development, Condron put forth effort to establish roads. He also became heavily involved with the success and development of Tucson’s rodeo (La Fiesta de los Vaqueros).
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.
