Weber State University - Acorn Yearbook (Ogden, UT)

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of honor at the dance which follows each athletic contest. Enmity has given way to comradeship in many instances where old scores to be settled had existed. Weber teams have in turn been treated cordially and looked upon less as an enemy and more as a body sent to carry the good will of Weber College to each community. President Tracy is a firm believer in the idea that if nations can learn to play to- gether they will be less likely to enter war. So having spread this feeling of good will between neighboring schools, Weber Col- lege under his administration has looked for larger fields to conquer. In 1928 a home and home game with the McKinley school of Honolulu was the result of his foresight and untiring efforts. This seem- ed a gigantic enterprise for a school of some three hundred students. And it was. But as a result thirty-three Weber stu- dents who made the long journey to Hono- lulu gained a new insight into the territory which at times is hardly realized as being a part of the United States, gained a whole- some respect for these islanders and their possessions; warmed to their hospitality, their generosity, their real spirit of love and brotherhood. The McKinley islanders who came to play Weber the return game. Oc- tober. 1929, departed loud in praise of the wonders of the Rocky Mountain country. Now letters from students of the two schools skim back and forth, a warm friend- ly handclasp across the thousands of miles of land and water. Priendly relations, re- lations that promote peace! An incident occurred in Honolulu that I feel is worth mentioning. In the assembly given at the McKinley School on Decem- ber 22. 1928. two ideas were predominant: Christmas and football; the school was giv- ing a program fitting to the spirit of Christmas and at the same time extending an official welcome to the Weber football team. Prom the choir came the strains of Peace on Earth, good will to men. But the students, as the Weber men came down the aisle, were plainly in a football mood. They had talked, thought, slept this day for long weeks. Weber’s coming was the talk of the island. President Tracy was called upon to speak. Sensing the informal spirit of the contest and the more formal, sacred spirit of Christmas, he wove them into one distinct theme: the spirit of peace. • Christmas and football, how they are related, he said, “as the spirit of peace and the spirit of play are related. When nations can learn to play together there will be no more war. Thus to one and all he showed that the spirit of Christmas was the spirit of peace, that by educating the people, leaders of the world were trying to bring world peace; but that it was not until nations had learn- ed to play together that they would really forsake war. It was for this purpose, he explained, that the football team of Weber College had journeyed over mountain tops -29-

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Bv Oscar Deming Till: flitter, the glamour, the sweeping end runs, smashing off tackle plays, completed and intercepted forward passes, the last minute touchdown that wins the game. Hero worship. Football. Thousands of the best of young Amer- ican manhood participate each fall in this truly grand old game. They find in it a way to expel the energy which in our fore- fathers exhausted by blazing new trails through the wilderness, opening new fron- tiers. Instead of attempting to conquer a wilderness that is no more, to endure hard- ships that no longer exist, college men have turned to the clean hard played game of football as an outlet for these desires. But Weber College players, known throughout the Rockies for leadership on the girdiron have, under the far-sighted leadership of President Aaron W. Tracy, developed a new idea in inter-collegiate re- lations in football, the idea of contacting football teams for the purpose of promot- ing friendship and good will between the two schools participating and the two com- munities represented. Friendly relations, well played games that end with handshakes and congratulations have always been characteristic of Weber. Teams that have journeyed to Ogden from other intermountain schools have been treated as guests; everything by way of hospitality has been shown to make their stay in Ogden a pleasant memory. Weber girls have been partners for the evening for visiting athletes who have been guests

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and ocean waters: to extend a hand ol greeting and good fellowship from the people of the Rocky Mountains, from Utah, to their brethren, their fellow Amer- icans on the island. Santa Rosa Junior College was the next Weber venture. On leaving, the Californians were vowing what a grand reception Weber would receive when they played next year in Santa Rosa, friendships like these among the students of colleges will ripen as they enter business relations between the in- termountain country and the west coast, friendly relations are profitable relations, relations that will knit these communities more closely together as the years go by. So I say Weber College believes football is more than just a game, more than an annual feud to be settled on the gridiron: it is a means for establishing social con- tacts; for breaking down barriers, preju- dices between communities; and promoting good will, friendly relations in the final interest of peace in the world. In Weber because Coach Stevenson teaches his men to play well, hard, and clean; and President Tracy teaches the whole school to carry Weber's good will, her philosophy to other schools, football is finally a character build- er fitting students for life’s battles. . THE SEASON Of 1929 Football at the Wildcat lair in the fall of 1929, excelled all former endeavors in this line. Besides tucking away the Inter-Moun- tain Junior College championship for the seventh consectuive season, Weber spon- sored three intersectional games. With such veterans as Francis Hearn, halfback: Joe Clapier, halfback: Jim Rus- sell, fullback: Owen Wangsgard, guard; and the two last year ends, the fiery headed Elton Knapp and the elongated Wallace Peterson; with Albert Saunders, substitute quarterback from last year, Coach Steven- son had a substantial nucleus from which to build another championship grid team. Several newcomers showed up to advan- tage in the early season practice. Don Chambers, a line man from the Ogden High, and Jim Francis, a hefty fullback, who received all state honors among the high school grid teams last year, won reg- ular berths on the Weber team. Practice started with a will the third of September. By the time school opened there were about twenty men out; a small squad but Coach Stevenson has made Junior Col- lege champions out of fewer men than that. Early in October, Mr. Stevenson depart- ed for Logan with the entire group for a practice game with the U. A. C. freshmen. He wished to see just what his men could do; so practically the entire squad saw and experienced action that afternoon. In the first four minutes of play. Young, a Frosh backfield man, got away for a thirvt-five yard run. This capped with ten yard runs by Budge and Cropley of the Frosh team resulted in a touchdown. Crop- ley placed the ball between the uprights for the extra point. Although Weber did not score, she show- ed tremendous power that needed but pol- ishing to make a real football team. Budge, Moesinger, and Taylor, all former Webei men. played well for the Freshmen. Clapier and Wangsgard were the best bets on the Weber eleven. -30-