South High School - Tiger Yearbook (Minneapolis, MN)

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had in securing a place to practice and the hard schedule they played and it being their first season together, we think that they did exceptionally well, having lost but one championship game. The Girls’ Basket Ball team was handicapped in a number of ways. In the first place none of them had ever played the game before and again they had a hard time to secure a place to practice and were at one time on the verge of giving up the idea of a team, when Mr. Wood, captain of the Boys’ team, told the girls that they might use their hall three times a week. Mr. Wood coached the first basket ball team with very good results. Our plucky girls made a creditable showing and paved the way for interest in girls’ athletics. In the fall of 1902 nothing was talked about but football. Our prospects were the best ever for a championship team. With the best of material and an excellent coach, South High prepared for a great season. In the selection of captain for this team was shown a very friendly spirit on the part of the candidates. There were twelve men voting and the opposing candidates were Harry Hoover and Ernest Stover. The vote stood six to six until the substitute voting said he would withdraw his vote and then Mr. Harry Hoover was selected to lead the team to victory. The schedule included the University of Minnesota; Hamline University; the Twin City high schools; Cresco, Iowa; Winona, Minn., and the alumni. The team played in championship form in nearly every game except the game on November 7th, when for some unaccountable reason our boys fell down and lost a game to the Central High team of Minneapolis. This left the claim of championship disputed. Our claim is as follows: We defeated North Side and North Side defeated Central. We made a larger score against Cresco, Iowa, on their own grounds than Central made against them at Minneapolis. We made more points against our opponents than any other team and we have a higher percentage for the number of games won and played than any other high school. 13

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THE SCHOOL IN ATHLETICS HE South High School Athletic Association, an organization controlling athletics at that insti tution, has been represented in every athletic contest between the high schools since it has been in existence. Even when there were but two hundred students in the South High and among these only a small number of boys, we had our baseball and our football teams. In 1891 when track athletics were first introduced in the high schools, South High came out with a team and an open challenge. The only other high school at the time having a track team was our old rival, Central High. A dual track meet was arranged and the following year saw the organization of the Northwestern Interscholastic Athletic Association which has since governed the track athletics of the highs of St. Paul, Minneapolis and Stillwater. We have since lost and won several games and meets. In 1900 our prospects were excellent for a winning baseball team and nothing but the pennant could be expected with such men as Garvey, Ellis, Za-lusky, Kersten and Hoover were in the game. So when the baseball season ended, South High was proclaimed the winner of the baseball championship of the season of 1900. In the spring of 1901, South High made a great showing at the spring track meet. Although the Orange and Black did not win the meet they won the distinction of having made thirty-four points against the twenty-six made by the other three Minneapolis high schools combined. In the fall of 1901 two new teams were introduced into South High, they were the Boys’ and Girls’ Basket Ball teams. The credit of introducing these teams into South High must be given to Mr. John Wood, captain, and Mr. Stover, manager, of the first basket ball team. Great interest was aroused in this new game and considering the difficulties which the boys 12

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We defeated Hamline University by a score of 17 to 2 and this institution defeated St. Paul Central. The Central and Mechanic Arts High schools of St. Paul both refused to play us, so they cannot claim the championship. In this way we were made champions of the Northwest. In the spring of 1903 at the indoor meet, South High was very successful, winning the meet by a large score, Myrick, Bang and Capron were the stars and the former secured the high individual score of the day. The class of ’03 has contributed many worthy men to the athletics of the school. Among these notables is Mr. Leslie Hughes, manager of the 1902 baseball team of the winning indoor track team of ’03, and the all-star center of our high school eleven for two years; Mr. Sweeney Bang, captain of the track team and the best end South High has ever known; Ernest Stover, manager of basket ball for two years and also one of the leading half-backs of our famous team of ’02. Frank Ludolph, another one of our football players and also an exceptionally good baseball player. This constitutes the list of well known athletes who are members of the class of ’03. The class can congratulate itself on having such men among its members and our only hopes and wishes are that the future classes shall produce such great men, that they will continue to arouse interest in athletics and that they will support the various teams in as great array as the class of ’03 has done. —Irving H. Robitshek. Editor's Note:—The author of the above is considered by everybody interested in South High athletics, to be the best football manager the school has ever had. 14