Butler High School - Magnet Yearbook (Butler, PA)

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28 THE MAGNET by Prof. Bingham. The season was not as successful as that of former years, due to the inexperience of the material. In the lineups of that time appear the names of three former classmates. There are Wright, who did part of the hurling, and McCandless and Cruik-shank, who were seen regularly in infield positions. The season of 1913 was, in many respects, the most successful which Butler High has had for many years. The attendance at the games was good, and the team was able to finish the season free from all financial difficulties. The team was captained by Fred Bernlohr, who also did the receiving behind the bat, the team being coached by Mr. Price. Our former classmates, Wright and “June” O’Donnell, did the twirling. Watson and McCandless, both former classmates, held down regular infield births. In 1913 admission was gained to the W. P. I. A. L., and league baseball was played in the spring of 1914. The battery was composed of Wright, O’Donnell and Watson. Wright was chosen captain, and also did the bulk of the pitching. The season of 1915 was marked by a decided lack of interest on the part of the student body. The powers in charge of the sport decided, at one time, to suspend baseball as a major sport. But their decision was reversed when Butler High defeated the Wilkinsburg team, twice champions of the league by a 3 to 2 score. At this time prospects were good for a winner, and the schedule was played out, with fair success. O’Donnell, captain, did the hurling, while Byerly was stationed behind the bat. CLASS ATHLETICS. Although the class of January 1916 has never won the championship of either the basketball or baseball class leagues, they have always been contenders for championship honors and have been con- sidered worthy opponents by the other class teams. When we entered the basketball league in the fall of 1912, our team ended the season tied with the class of June 1913 for fourth place, having won three out of six games. This team was captained by John Byerly. The team representing the Purple and Gold in 1913 was the fastest which has ever been placed on the floor by our class. This team would, in all probability, have won the championship if it had not been for a stringent rule which says that when a class league player makes a Varsity position, he will not be permitted to play on his class team. This rule did great harm to our team in 1913, as three of our best players, Young, Watson and Wright, were chosen for the Varsity by Coach Price. Their places were ably-filled by Cyril Barr, Bryson Ross and Coral Cunningham. But this new combination was unable to keep up the fast pace set by our former classmates and by the other teams of the league, and the best we could do was to finish in a tie for first place with the classes of January 1914 and June 1914. In the play-off for the championship, the class of June 1914 beat us by a small score, thereby putting us out of the running. That class next defeated the team of January 1914 and were returned the champions of the league. The team which represented our class as A Juniors did not show any true form and the best they could do was to finish in the cellar position, having been defeated in every game. In our A Senior year, when our hopes were soaring high, they were blasted by the announcement that the powers that be had decided that we could not be represented in the league. This was due to the fact that the candidates for the school team needed a great deal of practice to develop players to take the places of those who had been graduated or had left school.

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THE MAGNET 27 One strong factor in the continued success of our team is Coach Price, whose unremitting, never-say-die spirit has undoubtedly been a big cause of the championship being brought to Butler and retained here through so many different years. In the past six years in which he has had charge of the basket ball team in Butler High, he has won four championships of Western Pennsylvania. Three of these have come in the last four years. And now, as we stand on the threshold of another season, knowing nothing of what the future may hold for us, we, as a class, earnestly hope, and believe, that the teams which represent the Gold and White in time to come will be of that high calibre which has always marked the teams of Butler High School in the past. FOOTBALL. Football, though not supported so well as basketball in Butler High School, is, nevertheless, an all-scholastic game and is worthy of much greater consideration. The team representing Butler High in the season of 1912, the first to pass under our observation as Freshmen, played a hard schedule of six games, winning half of them. This team was captained by Mel Craig, who played tackle. The team of 1913, under the direction of “Hap” Parker, was one of the most formidable and best-balanced gridiron machines which has ever represented the Gold and White. The team went through the season winning five out of six hard-fought games. The one defeat was administered by New Castle on their own grounds, who trounced us by a 6 to o score. The other teams on the schedule fell before Butler High’s warriors by decisive scores, and as a season’s record, B. H. S. rolled up a total of 118 points to their opponents’ 9. Jennings Young, of basketball fame, played in enough games to earn his letter, and is the sole representative of our class on this memorable team. However, two of our classmates, Thompson and Ross, played on the “scrubs” and were strong factor in whipping the Varsity into shape. The season of 1914 was not much of a success. The team representing the school that year did not win a single game out of a schedule of six, and as such things are best forgotten, we will let it pass at that. However, two stars on the team were Young, at half back, and Thompson, at guard, both of whom are members of our class. The season of 1915 was a success in many ways, although no great laurels were heaped up by the team. “Bill” Younkins, of Washington and Jefferson football fame, was appointed coach, and, working with Capt. Winters, a team was produced that won 4 out of 7. The “B” men were Capt. Winters, Bliss, Mort-land, Young, Aiken, Barbary, McBride, Miller, Campbell, Shanor, McDowell, Lowry, Thompson and Heinzer. Young and Thompson were again the repre-resentatives of the Class of January 1916, and both played good football, the work of Thompson, at guard, being especially commendable. Three of our class were members of the second team, and were a great aid to Coach Younkins in rounding the Varsity men into form. These were Ross, Keefer and Cunningham. BASEBALL. Baseball, as a major sport in Butler High School, has always been marked by a decided lack of interest on the part of the student body, and each season encounters its own financial troubles. Nevertheless, there have been some good teams placed on the field in the past four years. The team of 1912 was captained by Don Emery and coached

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THE MAGNET 29 1 XQCJ1LS ” A SENIOR REMARKS. Eleanor W.: “The bishops asked that they be allowed to baptize without water.” Miss Miller: “Write down all you know about these points; if you don’t know anything about them, why—make something up.” Burwell: “They settled the question of fur-fishing.” Loretta C.: “Before this, when a person was insane, they thought a—he was possessed—hem—with the devil.” Raymondd T: “They laid cables all over the ocean.” Burwell: “Wordsworth’s words did not blend on the end.” Roxie S.: “Men in Cromwell’s “New Model” weren’t allowed to use swear words.” Burwell: “When a man had another man working for him, why, he couldn’t dress him up real nice. Miss Miller, commenting on a description: “Well, that is a picture, but I think it is a moving picture.” Ruby G., in shorthand class: “The children were sin twisters.” Lee Keefer has a new mode in Latin conjugation—the imperfect mode. Prof. Price: “Lincoln wrote the Gettysburg speech on a train.” Burwell: “Evolution theory was the origination of mankind.”