Mercer High School - Hi Times Yearbook (Mercer, PA)

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Football Writeup When school opened in September, 1938, prospects for football were very obscure. There were no plans to continue the sport in respect to the recommendation of the Board of Education that it was no longer desirable to continue eleven-man football. There was no certainty whether Mercer High would have a football team ever again. However, the spirit does not die so readily and the boys who were interested in football together with Coach Crowell would not rest their burning desires by frustration. Since the spirit ran high for some form of football and since eleven-man football was considered inexpedient, interest was centered upon the Midwest style of six-man football. Again since enough equipment was available to play the six-man game and Mercer High having sufficient man power to carry on the sport in the six-man style, permission was granted to play in the six-man style. No sooner than the news had spread that Mercer would have a six-man football team, forty boys were seen trudging faithfully each night to the field of practice for the first encounter. There was also difficulty in arranging a schedule because all the other schools that participated in the sport had eleven-man teams, but two games with Union and two games with Slippery Rock were arranged. The day of the first game arrived. Enthusiasm ran high, school was dismissed early, and the students followed the school band to the scene of the clash. The afternoon wore on and the end of the third quarter found the score 18-6 in our favor. The team, feeling this score sufficient to win, commenced to ease up and became careless. With one minute remaining, Union had forged into the lead 19-18 and an intercepted pass gave them a 25-18 victory. The following week found hard work on the practice field and a just reward at the end of the week, with Slippery Rock on the short end of a 44-13 score. This game was a mere tuneup for the following game with Union. Here was a chance to gain revenge for our only defeat of the season. With this in mind, we ran roughshod over a determined Union team to the tune 26-6. In our next game, however, an inspired Slippery Rock team gained a scoreless tie with the Mercer sextet. For the benefit of the smaller boys, a league was formed to give everyone a chance to play. This league helped keep up the interest of the smaller boys, and provided the experience which helps create better material for the coming years. Thus ended the first season of Six Man Football at Mercer High, and a successful one it was too. In Assembly on March 8, the following boys received letters: Captain Charles Ringer, Lewis Steingrabe, Archie Palmer, Merle Livermore, Earl Wardle, Sam McCurdy, John D’Angio, Vernon Whited and Harold Bowers. PAGE THIRTY-ONE

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FOOTBALL TEAM Front Row—(Left to Right)—Lewis Steingrabe. Vernon Whited. Samuel McCurdy. Charles Ringer. Earl Wardle. Middle Row—Walter Snyder. John D'Angio, Earl Hanna. Archie Palmer. Back Row—Harold Bowers, Carl McCurdy, Blyden Dight. Merle Livermore. PAGE THIRTY

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BASKETBALL TEAM Front Row—(Left to Right)—Lewis Steingrabc. Merle Livermore. John Stranahan. Charles Ringer. Joseph Kepics. Middle Row—John D’Angio, Richard Ely. Harry Fennick. Archie Palmer. Back Bow—Harold Bowers. Blyden Dight. PAGE THIRTY-TWO