Yeatman High School - Yeatman Life Yearbook (St Louis, MO)

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FOOTBALL SQUAD

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FOOTBALL PETER BRAROE OOTBALL! Capitalize, italicize 'its letters. Do anything to emphasize its importance to the scholastic life ' I of a nation. Minimize them in so far as that degree of consequence has ex- tended to Yeatman. Factors that made this state of affairs inevitable are as follows: To be a born football player is, in the main, a fallacious phrase. But that a community-or the youth of a community-can possess-a bred-in-the- bone spirit for the sport is undeniable. Is North St. Louis, of which Yeatman High School is the center, of course pervaded with thatintensity of thought? The an- swer, tersely and emphatically, No, em- bodies the chief reason why Yeatman has never won a gridiron championship. Not that the small groups that in the past have turned out have not held that attitude indi- vidually. They have been fighting, ener- getic teanis. But more is necessary-the entire school must support them, and think and talk football. The North Side boys have always turned with avidity to baseball and soccer, meeting with no little success in those games. Until very recent years football was almost un- known as a practical means of recreation in this section. Then, too, of the St. Louis high schools, Yeatman has always had the smallest student body from which to recruit players. and the average age at graduation has been the lowest by one or two years. Indeed, for its own protection it became necessary several years ago that it should urge a suitable age limit for athletics. Following is a general chronology of the teams that have fought under the Blue and Gold. In the fall of 1904, the infant Yeat- man first contested its elder rivals in foot- ball, under the direction of Peter Pease. It entered the Inter-scholastic League, which, One Hundred Twelve -January, 1928 besides Central, McKinley, Smith Academy, and other teams in St. Louis, included the VV'estern Military School at Alton, Illinois. Mr. Pease coached the team for another year. Then, for three seasons it was under the supervision of Mr. 'Wilbur N. Fuller. From the history of that period, it ap- pears that either the games were excessively brutal or that the Board of Education was particularly careful, for in 1908 a ban was placed on a high school league. Games were thereby rendered impossible, because the team could not be financed under that con- dition. In 1911 Wfestern left the league be- cause of its remote location, and the organi- zation was thereon called the St. Louis Inter-scholastic League . In 1912 Soldan kindly granted a game fthe first in three yearsj to a group of Yeatman boys who had been practicing without a coach. The act of courtesy proved disastrous-for Sol- dan. Score 35-O! The present High School League was formed in 1913, and in that 'year the Blue and Gold put forth an excellent team taught by John Mosley, who at the same time played quarterback for VVashington. 123-0! That tremendous score Cleveland piled up against us in 1914 while a teacher ,who knew little or nothing of football was coach. The effects of the bad football the team learned that year required the next season to wear off. The following year marked the inaugura- tion of Mr. Stanley Hill's long coachship. VV ith his advent the game received a really definite place in the school. Our best sea- sons under him were in 1917 and 1920. when we were runners-up. At his retirement in 1923, Mr. R. C. Lewis, who had been assist- ant coach in that year, took his place, and the fact that it has been ably filled needs no comment. '

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1925 The 1925 football season entered like the proverbial exit of March from the calendar, and departed thricefold in the manner of its entrance. An early start was given the sport by Coach Lewis, fondly termed by the newspapers, The VVater Tower Mentor , and Captain Charles Ens. The squad went through a vigorous practice that culminated in the engagement with McBride. Therein we drew first blood, albeit the last also, and the victory gave us visions of success.. The touchdown in the 7-O score was made by Andy Gump, and Smith dropkicked the goal. The game was hardily fought, but served to display a number of faults which needed urgent attention. In passing we might mention that McBride finished second in the St. Louis Preparatory League. On October 13th we played the Principia Cadets. Not so good! The score of 13-0 can be attributed in part to our alarming lack of condition that was made evident in the second half, after a brilliant first half in which our chances looked bright. XV e met Roosevelt in the first league game on October 24th. Result 0-O. The out- standing Haw in this meeting was an uncer- tain line. The backtield showed fairly well. Wie lost to Cleveland by 14-0 in a game very closely contested. The enemy scored in the first and third quarters. Several times we approached the goal, once to the one- yard line, and were held there for four downs! Likewise, the team proved a stone- wall to Cleveland when it came exceedingly closeg with four tries from the six-inch line they failed to score! The following Saturday's encounter was postponed because of wet grounds so that our next game was with Central. Again we lost a hard-fought game at 16-O. The kick- ing and receiving of Cameron, the star end, played a large part in our defeat. Although our offense threatened at times, Central, on the whole, outplayed Yeatman. The game with Soldan will be long re- membered as the classic of the season. VVith tremendous odds against us. the newspapers One Hundred Fourteen predicted slaughter. How the team C0nt1'a- dicted the tale is history. The headlines of the morning paper aptly tells the tale: Re- juvenated Y eatman Team Holds Powerful Soldan to 13-84Score. The team that took the field on that day was not a team tuned for defeat. Possessed of a grim determina- tion, it shook the foundations of Soldan's prestige. It earned one touchdown, a break of the game gave it the other. In the last quarter, Korkoian so tackled a Soldan back that he dropped the ballg Spuering got it. outdistanced his pursuers and made our touchdown. VV'ith the game rapidly drawing to a close, and the pigskin near the enemy's goal, Soldan committed a play of excellent strategy, though disastrous to our chances. Their quarterback touched the ball over his own line thus making a safety, and so kept the ball on the twenty-yard line until the game ended. The boys who made letters are Charles Ens, Red Smith, Andy,' Gump, Bill Mueller, Russel Steffans, Ronald Horr, Dick Spuering, Irish Neil. Otto Rost, Leland Beider, Ray Noller, Herman Puls. Ray Cooper and Vince' Fehringer. In the back- field, Ens, as Captain, piloted the team skill- fully, and was an exceptionally accurate passer. Smith excelled in, all phases of the game. His worth last year was recognized in the choice of the St. Louis High School All-star team. This season he has been selected for the same position fhalfbackl, and it is a certainty that he deserves the honor. He played every minute of all the games. This has been the second year of football for Gump and Horr. They, with Mueller and Steffans, for whom it was an initial season, have shown great ability at ball carrying and excellent team work. As each has two more years here, they with experience will doubtless become phenom- enal. The ends, Spuering and Neil, have played an excellent game, particularly in de- fensive work. Neil has another year. On the line, in which the improvement game by game has been most marked. the men have shown commendable light. Binder and Cooper have earned letters for the second