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A few members of the 1914 football team spent some of their time representing cadet battalions on campus (The Desert yearbook photo)
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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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1914 football team member Leo Cloud was a cadet captain at Arizona in 1914-15
Some members of the Hall of Fame 1914 football team did not have much time to recuperate and salvage the moral victory at Occidental on Sat., Nov. 7, 1914. Two days after the 14-0 loss to the mighty Tigers (and one day after arriving back to Tucson from the 6-hour train ride from Los Angeles), some of the Varsity were bound for Phoenix to take part in Camp Von Kleinsmid.
The camp, named after Arizona’s president at the time (Rufus Von Kleinsmid), was a military excursion filled with drills and competition.
In accordance to requests of the U.S. War Department and Bureau of Education, the curriculum for men at the University of Arizona 100 years ago required courses that included military instruction. The military staff at Arizona in the 1914-15 school year included 50 men divided in six groups — Instructors, Tactic Commanders, Company A, Company B, Company C and Company D.
Thankfully for the members of the Varsity, torrential rainfall in the Phoenix area cancelled most of the Camp Von Kleinsmid activities until the Thursday of that week. On Friday, after experiencing much-needed rest, they headed back to campus in time to take part in a big rally before the New Mexico State game that Saturday.
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THE LAST WEEK IN THE SERIES:
— No. 25: More 1914 love for the “Wild Cat”
— No. 26: Formation of “A” Club also evolved 100 years ago
— No. 27: McKale established identity for Arizona in first season
— No. 28: Unlike Rodriguez today, McKale afforded three preseason games in 1914
— No. 29: The “Wildcat Yell” hits Arizona’s campus in 1914-15
— No. 30: Update of player size then and now
— No. 31: Raymond Miller, left tackle
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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
Wednesday, Aug. 5, 1914
The first traffic light is installed in the United States at Euclid Avenue and E. 105th Street in Cleveland. … Cuba, Uruguay, Mexico and Argentina proclaim neutrality in World War I. … Montenegro declares war against Austria-Hungary in World War I. … U.S. and Nicaragua sign treaty granting Panama Canal rights to the U.S.
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The rest from Monday through Wednesday in Phoenix was welcomed by football players Verne G. LaTourrette (Cadet Major/Instructor of Rifle Practice), Leo F. Cloud (Company A Cadet Captain), Charles P. Beach (Company B Cadet First Lieutenant), Orville S. McPherson (Company B Cadet First Sergeant) and Albert Crawford (Company C First Sergeant).
The Desert yearbook described the rainfall in Phoenix this way:
“All day Tuesday the deluge continued and the sun was neither seen nor heard from until late Wednesday. Many of the tents had not been properly drained, and in some the water was laying in pools for several days. Most of the cadets, however, made light of the whole thing, enjoyed as much of it as they could, and endured the rest. All military work was of course prevented. Some of the companies could not even be formed for roll call without running the risk of losing a few men by drowning. The mess suffered in common with everything else. Sometimes the fellows would be standing out in the rain, eating, when they would suddenly notice that their erstwhile eggs had become soup by mixing with rain water. By Thursday things were fairly well dried out and the track was good enough to run the scheduled races. The Cadets left on Friday in order to be back for a big rally before the Aggie game.”
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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