St Marys College - Dial Yearbook (St Marys, KS)

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ATHLETICS “RECALLING THOSE DAYS” By Mr. E. C. Quigley : : - H r : ■ ; Looking back from the “Lights of Broadway” to the small confines of the old “Flats,” (the home of the old-time Philosophers), is not such an effort, but a resume of St. Mary's athletics during the time the writer was “Director of Athletics” there with no data at hand except a repetition of pleasant memories, must lack definite details and dates. Three dates arc indelibly fixed: Oct. 2, 1902, when the writer first arrived at St. Mary’s; April 1, 1914, when our term of service came to a close, and Saturday, October 8. 1910, the day we held the ever victorious Kansas University team to a 9 to 5 score on McCook Field. To be sure, athletics at St. Mary’s, during the year of 1902 and for many years preceding, were strong; but as we all look back at those days now, we realize that St. Mary’s, like other schools of that time, just “played” football and baseball. There was no athletic policy in the small colleges; there was an absence of proper administration both in the business and technical phases of sport; and then, .oo, few small colleges had coaches. In foot ball our schedule consisted f of a few college games. For years the big game at St. Mary’s was the annual bt. Mary’s-Kansas City Medic game. Ottawa, Fairmount, the Normals and Kansas Aggies made up the college competition. Later on when St. Mary’s became a member of the Kansas College Conference, our schedule called for games with Kansas University, Kansas Aggies, Washburn, Fairmount, Friends, Southwestern. Kansas Normals, College of Emporia, Ottawa and William Jewell. At different times, Warrens-burg Normal, Drury College and Marauctte University tested their brains' and brawn with our boys and not to the discredit of St. Mary’s. The writer has been asked what made our football teams from 1903 until 1912 so uniformly successful, and. without hesitancy, the answer must be: morale and cooperation. The world loves a winner and the writer cared little for moral victories. The letters won in athletics were highly prized, and no one w(jrc them but a “letter man.” In football the men sacrificed their morning recess time to run signals in the yard; the afternoon recess period was used for classroom work on rules, interpretations and plays; at 4:30 P. M. the squad took to the track; and the third hour at night was used for signal and formation work, sometimes in the present Senior Billiard room, which was our Gymnasium, sometimes in the Junior recreation room, which was their “gym.” Our football season was a continual session of toil, and, I believe after all was over, it was time well spent. Our teams were made up mostly from the leagues and these league teams were coached by squad men. It was an unwritten law that each Second League team had to be coached by a “letter man.” and when you had league teams coached by such sterling boys—and boys they were—as “Shorty” Bennett, Fess” Mooney, “Corncy” Stoll. “Dutch” Kistner and “Tommy” Burns, is it any wonder that we had more material than we needed? The other leagues had squad men coaching them and it was not surprising to have a fourth league player make the “Varsity” the next year, because he knew what to do. DIAL ANNUAL One Hundred Thirty-Nine

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 ATHLETICS LEAGUE BASEBALL The baseball leagues this year aroused a great deal of interest among the students. A large number of games were played. The frequently upsets and exciting contests brought many spectators to the side lines every “rec day. The class teams were split up into two divisions, the College and Fourth High classes being in First League and the others in second. The four Bush League aggregations were captained by Loftus, Ross, Ramacciotti and McCann. In First League the Sophomores were undefeated up to the middle of May, although they won out in two games by only one run. Howell, pitcher, and Morris, catcher, did fine work and the hitting of DeNoya accounted for many runs. Fourth Classical and Fourth Scientific were the most dangerous contenders. Weber and Wade, of the former, made what was perhaps the l)est battery in the League. Jones and Bourg played stellar ball for Fourth Scientific. The Senjun? were always to be feared, and walloped Fourth Scientific by hitting savagely behind Ed Kirchner’s fine hurling. Second League provided a number of upsets. Third English tore up all opposition until they met Second A. Pitchers Gillin and Griesmcr, of the latter, seemed to have the Indian sign on the Third English sluggers and set them down twice. However, they were in turn beaten bv Third A and Second English and the race developed into a free for all, with Third A and Third English having the best chance. Loftus and McCann were staging a merry contest in the Bush League when this went to press. Great praise is due to Mr. Meyer, S. J., for his efficient handling of the leagues. Dial and Lonergan proved their worth as umpires and were not mobbed during the entire season. THE ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION BANQUET 5 DIAL ANNUAL One Hundred Thirty-Eight

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ATHLETICS n F You might ask “How could this be done?” The writer learned foot ball and its fundamentals at Kansas University, but learned more about offense and defense every year afterwards through officiating. Sunday afternoon, the squad at the grave-yard would always get a play, maybe two, used by some team in its Saturday game. Year by year we built up a system of play that became entirely a “St. Mary’s offense” and the plays, shifts and all, even the signals, were drilled into the Second League teams by their coaches. When those boys came up to the “Varsity” they were better coached than the average high-class High School team. I have been asked to pick an “All St. Mary’s” foot ball team. You know I have been for years opposed to “All Teams,” but, for just once, I’ll break over. Having coached teams that played both the old and the new game, I feel that in justice to all there must be an Old-style All Team” and a “New-stylc All Team.” “All St. Mary’s Team” as chosen by Mr. Quigley: Old Style” Pos. “Open Game” “Jack” Purcell.....................C..............................“Jew” Burns Pete Falkcnburg....................G...............................John Conrad Leo Cleary.........................G..............................Chas. Brown “Art” Bcakey.......................T..........................Leo Tighc Basil Fox..........................T..................“Prof.” Scanlon “Nig” Hughes................... ...E................... Fess” Mooney Tom Walsh..........................E................................Tom Hallacy Mike Murphy........................Q.................“Shorty” Bennett “Jodie” Clancy.................:H B.............................“Heine Rauth “Tommie” Burns.................H. B................................Paul Amberg Chas. Spcice......................F. B.......................Mark Gross In baseball it finally developed that we had to play nearly everybody. The “Cubs,” Detroit “Tigers,” Buffalo, St. Paul American Association, Denver and Topeka Western League clubs all helped make our baseball teams what they were. The “Big Leaguers” would give the boys good advice—a secret (the boys would then tell me and together we would work it all out and finally we all thought we knew a little about baseball). It is a pleasure now to look back on those days in baseball and realize that St. Mary’s base ball teams really did play an exceptional brand of ball. We had the pitchers and we had the catchers. The hitters were there and the boys did enjoy playing correct ball. How satisfying it was to see each one develop! How interested they all were! To pick an “All-Time BascBall Team” is quite a task, but as long as you ask for one here goes: Tom Walsh...................................................Catcher “Speedy” Swift.............................................Catcher “Toots” Collins............................................1st base Semi Collins...............................................2nd base Tommy Burns................................................3rd base Walter Walsh..............................................Shortstop Mark Gross................................................Left Field “Shorty” Bennett........................................Center Field “Hcinic” Rauth...........................................Right Field Utility Infielders: “Prof.” Scanlon—“Biscuit” Ruwart. Utility Outfielders: “Honk” Rozier—“Pete” Falkcnburg. Pitchers: “Father” Hill, Cy Young, Clarence Bakule, Jo-Jo Hendrix, “Chin” Green. “Hank” Collins, “Jock” Mahoney, “Ropic” Hayden. I have stated that the success of the teams was spelled in morale and cooperation. Many an enjoyable night was spent cither in the “blue-grass” or in the “smoking-room.” Those old-time “Stay-ups” just meant everything to the boys. They lived over and played over each game. The coffee and cakes came in due time—the stogies were lighted and each run scored was made a hundred times before the “Squad” answered the pocket bell of the prefect. COOPERATION.—Those of you who enjoyed even one year of squad privileges at St. Mary’s know that that word was spelled in more ways than one. To some of you it was Whelan,” to others “Kenney,” to many others Hermans”—to those later on “Hoffman,” and after that “O’Connell.” To me, these men just made athletics what they were at St. Mary’s College. S DIAL AN7MUAL One Hundred Forty