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Page 4 text:
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The Season By JINX TIJCKER, Sfmrtr Editor of 2vt ZL'.l'-Yifffilllll' OVVERFUL on the offense, alert on pass de- fense, a11d the best all-31'OllllCl tea111 that XVaco High has had on the gridiron i11 I2 years was the Tiger team of 1939. lt was a tea1n with stamina, polish Hl1d poise. lt was a machine which clicked on all cylinders when all the boys were i11 there, lacking only o11e little asset of bei11g one of the greatest VVaco High teams of all time. This Tiger team of 1939, fashioned by that master strategist, Paul Tyson, ably assisted by Charley llloore flllll Ernest Bernhausen, had several key men-boys who did much to make the machine click, a11d who could 11ot be replaced. ln that last sentence you lear11 the reason why VVaco High's football team of 1939 was 11ot the state champion as were the teams ot 1921, 1922, 1925, 1926 and 1927. The Tigers did 11ot have the reserve strength, and were not fortunate enough to go i11to the last a11d hardest game at lllll strength, but even then with the breaks eve11 th. Tigers would have XVOII the game, but when the advantage of breaks over which only the Divine Power has control went to the rival team for the day, the handicap became too g1'eat. However, some of the brightest pages of YVaco High football histo1'y were written by that fine team of 1939, which played together with a one-for-all Zllld all-for-one spirit. It was a team that l1ad great i11spi1'ational co-captains ill Lloyd lllyers, a lineman, a11d Bob lVIcCollum, a quarterback. It was a team that played OIIC of the hardest schedules in XVaco High history. It was located i11 a strong district, Zllltl in addition had games that did not count with Corpus Christi, defending state champion, a11d early favorite to repeat, a11d VVoodrow lVilson High, which later won the championship of all north Texas. The VVaco High team also had a 11on-co11- ference game with Tyler High, champion of all east Texas a11d a team that had 11ot met defeat in 23 consecutive games until it played XVaco. The main strength of the powerful VVaco defense lay i11 the brilliance of five star backs, Bob lNIcCollum, Leverett Bowen, Bob Burke, Leo Blanton and Francis Pulattie. Due to his great defensive brilli- ance there was no replacement for lXIcCollum a11d no replacement for Hlly of the other four. The long grind took much from the boys, and when the Tigers had to stage a stubborn, hard fought defe11sive duel with the up Zllld coming a11d heavier Stephen l . Austin team i11 Houston, the Tige1's had little left for the championship game. The Waco boys wo11 that game in the mud agai11st the stro11g Houston tea111. but injuries mounted high, a11d the team which went on the field a week later against Lubbock in Dallas was but a shell of the high geared Tiger team of November and early December. Yet this team came from behind to lead Lubbock in the last quarter, 14 to 13, only to finally lose the game, 20 to 14.. The Tigers lost it, but a fumble on the goal line cost them one touchdown, and a fumble down near the Lubbock goal in the last quarter cost them another, while the loss of Bob lVIcCollum cost the Tigers much in defensive strength. Apparently the Cotton Bowl of Dallas placed some sort of a blight on the efforts of the Tigers. There they started the season against Woodrow Wilsriii of Dallas, a11d finished it i11 the state champ- ionship game against Lubbock, losing both games IIOI through inferior ability, but through breaks of the game. Against lVoodrow YVilson in a practice game tl1e Tigers we1'e in COll1PlCtC charge, had a lead of 7 to 0, Zlllll late ill the game had the XVild- cats 011 the Tllll. Down to tl1e five-yard lille tl1ey advanced with Ollly five IlIllllIfCS to play. A short pass was attempted, but it was blocked, falling i11to the hands of NVatkins, NVildcat ce11ter, who fill! 94+ yards for a touchdown which won the game for NVoodrow lVilson, I2 to 7. Hopes were not so bright for YVaco the next week XVl1Cll they opened at home against the feared an.. favored Corpus Christi tea111, but i11 that duel the Tigers showed their first flash of championship ability by XVilllllllg the game, four touchdowns to one. YVaxahachie Zlllll Hillsboro, two district rivals, were tl1e11 overwhelmed in a row, after which came tl1e crucial game with Corsicana i11 Corsicana. Play- ing perhaps their greatest game of the entire season, the lVaco boys conquered their old rival. four touch- downs to 0119. I-Fllell came Bryan, Illld despite the fact that Leo Daniels of Bryan took the opening kickoff QU yards for a touchdown, the Tigers slaughtered that team, 66 to 19. The Tigers became district champions whe11 i11 the 1'Z1iIl Zlllcl mud they defeated Cleburne High, I3 to 0, but it was a costly victory for i11 that game, Price, who had been play- ing a marvelous game at tackle for the Tigers, went out for the season with a knee injury. The Tigers we11t to Tyler Zllld decisively snapped the Xldlllllllg streak of that team, a11d in rain a11d mud 011 Thanks- giving defeated Riverside of Fort lVorth, 7 to O. lVaco met a great Breckenridge team in the first bi-dist1'ict game fllltl staged a dra111atic comeback to lVlll, 27 to 13, the Buckaroos gaining a I3 to ti lead in tl1e first qua1'ter a11d seemed headed for a11 easy victo1'y. The Tigers the11 had to play Tyler again i11 Tyler a11d once more XVOII a decisive victory. YVaco lost the toss a11d the next week had to go to Houston for the semifinals, winning, 7 to ti, a11d tl1en back to the Cotton Bowl the Tigers we11t. Un the same gridiron where the Tigers started with a heart breaking defeat they hnished with another llCf1l'f'1'Clldil1g loss. lt was nevertheless a far greater record tha11 the most ardent Tiger admirer dreamed at the start of the season. lt was the first lVaco High eleven that had advanced to the finals in I2 yea1's, and the first YVaco team that had wo11 the district championship since 1929. It was a team which fought with all the fury that flaming hearts could muster-a team which gave its admire1's some of their most thrilling moments of all time, a team which went all the way to the finals 011 dogged determination, and the fight- ing heart of this great team ca111e withi11 o11e ya1'd of carrying this team to a state title lo11g after aching muscles were hardly capable of carrying 011. It was a team which was a credit to the school. a credit to YVaco, and o11e that exemplified the tradi- tional fight of the Gold a11d XVhite, for it had the indomitable spirit of the g1'eat teams of the early twenties that made that store of determination and never-say-die spirit a sacred tradition of Waco High.
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Page 5 text:
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ootball Ma. P.-wi. L. Tvsox Ham! Crmrh I1'ooa'ro1t' II7lilJOlI 12-Uyncu 7 N THEIR opening game, the Tigers suf- fered a heart-breaking defeat. Leading by a score of 7 to 6, late in the last quarter, VVaco seemed certainly headed for an- other score as it held the ball on the Woodrow 7 yard line, and was pushing the VVildcat line back with tremendous power. Then, perceiving that the Dallas team was playing a nine man line in an effort to stop the vicious Tiger drive, Quarterback Captain Bob lNlcCollum smartly called a pass. As Blanton faded back and fired it, two red-shirted VVilson lads charged in and dedected the .ball up- wards. The VVildcat center gathered it in and ran 85 yards unmolcsted for a touchdown, giving VVilson its margin of victory. Waco made its touchdown in the First period on a long sustained drive, with Blanton and Pulattie carrying most of the time. Woodrow, also on a sustained drive, scored its first touchdown in the second period. While the Tigers lost the game, they sh . --ff-1 n ower and their pe o ance indicate ' that they would ' . c . H , Q I , ., Dur jlaaebyt. Q--' he game Q , v ggi i 0' , y the Tig 4 'vh s N ea- . ' orrto that of the if-W x t .21 W ' s nton star- red as a tri , f sid Pulattie sported tremei s a. er. Howard and Myers stood oi ' e line, if anyone could be said to have stood above the others in that department. The Tigers suffered from inexperience and from the fact that some experimentation was neces- sary to find their strongest combinations. But, on the whole, their showing was en- tirely satisfactory. II',lll'0 27+Corffu.r Cf1r1'.rf1' 0 Corpus Christi, the 1938 State Cham- pion, was a decided favorite to beat VVaco when they met in an early season game. But the Tigers surprised everyone not only by beating Corpus, but by beating them to the tune of Z7 to 6. The Tigers scored first in the opening period on a sustained drive which started from their own 20. This drive was fea- tured by the pulverizing power of Francis Pulattie who repeatedly cracked gaping holes in the Buccaneer line. Corpus came smashing back in the second period with the wind ta decisive factorl at its back. Along sustained drive, featuring brilliant running plays, tied the score for the State Champs. But even with the wind against them, the Tigers did not let this situation stand long. They replied in kind with
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