Jump to content

Football Played During the 1918 Flu Pandemic


OldSchoolLion

Recommended Posts


4 minutes ago, DarterBlue2 said:

Do you think this is a good idea? If so, why?

We look at them today and think how crazy they were.  Those folks had no TV, no radio, no AC, etc etc.  I think about how desperate they must have been for some sort of diversion.  We have people today going off the deep end because they cannot get a haircut.  Put folks with today's mindset back in time and I bet they would be sitting in the stands, too. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

22 minutes ago, OldSchoolLion said:

We look at them today and think how crazy they were.  Those folks had no TV, no radio, no AC, etc etc.  I think about how desperate they must have been for some sort of diversion.  We have people today going off the deep end because they cannot get a haircut.  Put folks with today's mindset back in time and I bet they would be sitting in the stands, too. 

For the past 22 seasons, I have gone to a game every week except when I was out of state. This season, I think I am going to take a pass unless there are positive developments between now and the start of the season. I feel I should, both for personal safety, I am not a young man, and because I don't want to condone/support a situation that could end in the death or serious illness of some of the participants, especially since they are all still amateurs in the strictest sense. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

20 hours ago, nolebull813 said:

I do research history for HSFB in the state and found that only a handful of teams played football in 1918. It was less than 10 teams and they only played a couple games at most. I’ll try and find the results from 1918 when I get home

I'll save you the time Nolebull:

1.  Lakeland fielded a team.  First-year coach Bill Castle was able to get every kid in Polk County to play for the Dreadnaughts.  But, back then, that was OK , since they were the only school in Polk County.   The downside, however, was that the school was not yet integrated, so Lakeland went 0-5.

2.  Plant also fielded a team in 1918.  The prospects of a state championship were thwarted, however, as the County A.D. would not permit the team to cross over the County line to play games (with the exception of the one away game against a historically-strong team from Hawaii, but because Hawaii was not yet a state, the win for the Panthers wasn't factored into their RPI).  Instead of playing teams from nearby counties, Plant had to play Hillsborough High School -- the only other school in the county at the time -- eight times.  While the Panthers managed to win seven of the eight games decisively, they did lose one game -- the one that had to be rescheduled because of weather for the Saturday morning after the Homecoming Dance, when several Plant starters were forced to sit the bench because an administrator could not discern the differences between Spanish Flu symptoms and a hangover. 

3.  A small private school from South Florida knew they had to do something to overcome their Spanish-sounding name during the Spanish Flu epidemic, so St. Thomas Aquinas offered 'academic' aid packages to every kid in the state who was at least 6'2" and weighed at least 240 pounds and who could outrace the train leaving the station for the first 200 yards.  The scheme proved successful and allowed STA to go undefeated (3 - 0) and claim the state title in 2A, then the state's largest classification. 

4.  STA's success, however, did not prevent a slew of teams from Central Florida from all finishing 0-0-5 and all claiming the mythical national championship.   If you look closely, you can still see those national championship banners adorning the Orlando-area high school stadiums to this day.

5.  A number of schools from Jacksonville and Miami named after Confederate War heroes reportedly had very successful seasons, but recorded history was wiped clean of these achievements just prior to Al Gore's invention of the Internet, so their success cannot be verified. 

6.  Finally, in the 1A Championship game, a bunch of farm boys from Madison County squeaked out a narrow win over a bunch of farm boys from nearby Columbia County amidst accusations that the Madison team really should have been in 2A.  Madison officials refuted claims that they really had 1,800 eligible farm boys in their school by pointing to their one-room school house that could accommodate no more than 50 kids at a time. 

Well, that's all that I can recall off the top of my head.  B)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 hours ago, Perspective said:

I'll save you the time Nolebull:

1.  Lakeland fielded a team.  First-year coach Bill Castle was able to get every kid in Polk County to play for the Dreadnaughts.  But, back then, that was OK , since they were the only school in Polk County.   The downside, however, was that the school was not yet integrated, so Lakeland went 0-5.

 

C'mon Perspective.  You know Castle wasn't around back then.  That was the era of legendary FL hs coach Dick E. Normus. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 hours ago, Perspective said:

6.  Finally, in the 1A Championship game, a bunch of farm boys from Madison County squeaked out a narrow win over a bunch of farm boys from nearby Columbia County amidst accusations that the Madison team really should have been in 2A.  Madison officials refuted claims that they really had 1,800 eligible farm boys in their school by pointing to their one-room school house that could accommodate no more than 50 kids at a time. 

Well, that's all that I can recall off the top of my head.  B)

Here's one of the players testing out his new helmet before that epic game.

Testing football helmets, 1912

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, gatorman-uf said:

Do you think Rick Darlington just borrowed the single wing playbook from one of those teams and decided it was good enough 100 years ago, it is good enough for today?

Rick always subscribed to the theory that two bad things occur when you throw the ball and only one good thing occurred. So, he figured he did not like those odds. Hence, a run oriented system was a must. After employing the veer for a while, he decided on Single Wing, because no one was using it. I think he figured if no one was employing it, then most team would have a devil of a time stopping it. You can't stop a deceptive system that you never see very effectively. Thus, was born his love affair with the single wing ...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...


  • Posts

    • I was actually itching to treat some wager some money on some sports matches that are happening above-board now. I wanted to let you guys identify that I did spot what I ruminate on to be the kindest site in the USA. If you fall short of to get in on the spirit, check it out-moded: [url=https://pokeronline.guru/online-gambling/]https://pokeronline.guru/online-gambling/[/url]
    • Perhaps the best RB in Tampa Bay iin 2023 saw his program close, and is looking for a home. If he stays in the area,Venice is a good bet. (Lakeland may be as well).
    • And if that same newsletter asked the Osceola County Sheriff Department, what do you think the response would be? If you asked, members of the Chamber of Commerce? (Essentially a union of businesses) If you asked a group of nurses? If you asked a group of lawyers? Also a union cares about the working conditions of their members, but the working conditions of teachers are the learning conditions of students as well. People are attracted to careers because of the values that come with those careers. Political Parties attract people based on their values. So it shouldn't be surprising that certain professions attract certain people in certain careers. You act as if the principal's first question when we have a 5,000+ teachers shortage in this state is "who do you vote for? And are you a member of the union?"
    • I feel like y'all are always solid so I don't see y'all going no worse than 7-3. Biggest question mark for Cocoa is their O-line since they are only returning 1 and on the defensive side they only return their blue chip edge in their front 7 
    • Coach Wiseman, let me just preface this by saying that you were the best HC Sarasota's program has had in the last 20+ years. You brought them from being a perpetual losing program to the doorstep of competing with Venice for a district title and a deep playoff run. SHS will curse the day they fired you now that they are back in a rut. You are a true class act, and nothing will ever convince me otherwise.  Our backfield is certainly sparse right now. We do have Dorian Jones, a rising sophomore runningback whom did considerably well considering his limited playing time last season. Our offense will need an overhaul with the graduation of 3 offensive linemen and almost our entire receiving corps. Our defensive line will be strong with the return of Ke'shawn Vaughn, Elijah Jones, and Asharri Charles. Our linebacking corps graduates virtually everybody but should have at least one bright spot with the return of Ben Zarkawiecz. Our defensive backfield is still a work in progress with the graduation of Lester and Platt. At the moment, we have more question marks than exclamation points. And that's not a good feeling with the kind of competition Venice is going to face. 
  • Popular Contributors

×
×
  • Create New...