Villanova University - Belle Air Yearbook (Villanova, PA)

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Villanova ha probably qainod more recognition ior baieball than ior any other sport. To th riqht ar the 1906 and 1904 teams. The schedule above is typical oi this era and gives an idea oi the number and type oi teams met during a single season. squads averaged about 14 players per season. In addition Villanova rarely played more than one or two games a year at home. The only opponent Villanova constantly defeated was Fordham; the Wildcats also regularly met teams from Carlisle, Princeton, Penn, Navy, and Army but generally emerged with the wrong end of the score. In 1912 Tim Spillane was at the coaching helm and 1914 Tom St. Germaine. In 1914 and 1915 Frank ''Dutch Summer directed the Wildcats. He was succeeded in 1916 by Ed Bennis and in 1917 Tom Reap took charge. In 1915 Villanova had its most successful season thus far chalking up six on the successful side of the ledger and dropping only one, a close 106 contest, to Catholic University. It was during this year that the Wildcats earned a 16-13 triumph over a powerful Army team; the next year, however, the Kadets got revenge by de-

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L li: From top to bottom ar tho var lty iootboll «quad of 1896. 1907. and 1915 — th last Immortal In VllIanoTa annals for tho famous victory over Army. Abovo: Top and center pic- tures woro taken during games with Princeton and the Carlisle Indians, respectively. Varsity football at Villanova made its bow when a coachless sixteen man team went through a two- game schedule undefeated; the 'Cats won their first victory from the Manual Training School 12-6 and a month later defeated Logan A.C., 24-0. The next three years saw the Wildcats winning seven- teen, losing nine, and tying one. In 1897 Villanova defeated its first major opponent, Fordham Uni- versity, 17-0. Between 1898 and 1902 no games were scheduled but Villanova played twice anyway, losing to Lafayette in 1899, 13-0, and in 1900 earning a 12-0 victory over Gettysburg. Villanova's next formal season was in 1903; Fred I. Crolius was the first coach. During Crolius' regime from 1903 to 1911 inclusive, the Wildcats found the going rather rough, winning only 19 games out of 50. However, in these years the size of Villanova 26

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Top Loft: Sal Slavln. brother oi William Slavln—a member oi Above: Scene of this meet was the ball field at 44th and Park- the present faculty- models the latest In football apparel. side In Philadelphia. Below is Fred Crolius. first coach of Wild- cat olevens. feating the Kittens. 69-7. Villanova baseball teams at the turn of the century were powerful despite their shoddy work afield In 1903 Villanova opened its season against the Phila- delphia Athletics, with Chief Bender on the hill for the Mackmen. Villanova and the Athletics each had one earned run. but the Wildcat nine made six errors — result: Athletics. 7. and Villanova, 1. It was not uncommon for college teams at that time to commit three and four such errors a game. Villa- nova won 7 out of 17 games in 1903; at least five of the games lost were sacrificed by untimely Wild- cat errors. In 1904 the Villanova Athletic Association spon- sored a play, Alexander Dumas' Sire and Son”, in order to help defray the expenses of the Villanova road trip. In 1905 Villanova put on the field one of the most powerful teams in its diamond history; 28