Old Photographs

[oldfat&bald]

Googling the towns, they're all on the Gulf Coast.

 

[Knowmystuff]

The area has changed a lot in 70+ years...ever hear some old timer say something like..."I can remember when there was nothing out here...wide open as far as the eye can see..."...I'm betting Beasley in 1938 was rural...I know there was some cotton fields in East Texas back in the 30's...so maybe that area was wide open farm land...

 

[CowboyP]

Do you have any more photos from the 30s?

 

[Old Bearkat]

I do, but they are all on my home computer back in Illinoisy.

 

[CowboyP]

I do, but they are all on my home computer back in Illinoisy.

If you ever get home, post some of them for us.

 

[Knowmystuff]

1939 Van Horn Starting 6

 

[Knowmystuff]

Notice the popular formation...believe it was called the "short punt formation"...this was ran with variations due in part to the clear pass rule of the time...basically you couldn't hand the ball off, it had to be a "clear pass" or pitch...

What was usually drawn up as the regular punt formation would be the classic "spread" formation with the ends on each sideline.

people always want to try to pin point who "invented" the spread offense...its been ran as long as the game has been played...the clear pitch rule helped foster it way back in the beginning...so the inventor of the spread formation was probably Stephen Epler or some coach in Nebraska back in the 1934-35 time frame

 

[Blue Bird]

If the district is on the Gulf coast, then Crescent is not the same Crescent between Granbury and Ft Worth?

 

[Knowmystuff]

Blue Bird - The Crescent school here (1938 District 1) was located close to Wharton, TX

According to my map skills...the school was located at the intersection of FM 960 and FM 961, west of Wharton and south west of Glen Flora

 

[Old Bearkat]

Crescent between Granbury and Ft Worth?

Cresson, not Crescent....

 

[dawgfan23]

It's really cool to see the old pics of football. I remember as a kid the school I went to had the old leather pads and helmets stored away in a damp musty smelling storage room. Oh the blood and sweat those pads must have seen.

 

[dawgfan23]

It is fun seeing those old football pics. Brings back memories of stories my dad told of his football days.

 

[oldfat&bald]

I hear tell that OBK still has the leather helmet he wore back in his playing days.

 

[Old Bearkat]

We had gone to plastic by then, but the Drifter has his still. Smokey still wears his to bed.....

 

[CowboyP]

Didn't HPD make the first leather helmet?

 

[CoachMeschuk]

It is not a picture, but a link to some old six man football plays from Kansas.

http://www.kansasmemory.org/item/210579

 

[High Plains Drifter]

yes I did, as a matter of fact. It was made out of mastadon hide. Ha I still remember the Riddell's with the suspensions. You put on a size two or so smaller than you wore because they stretched. Headaches for days. The helmet coming loose and hitting you on the bridge of the nose. The using of the head in tackling was stressed. Wow, wonder anyone survived. I know I have mentioned this but the football season of 1967, Riddell came out with a plastic piece that went on the back of the helmet. It was supposed to be a protective device, but that season saw the most deaths in Texas ever.

I have some pictures of teammates with the facemasks upside down, in junior high we had some helmets with wide plastic strips for facemasks and a couple of helmets without facemasks. Ha We had a teammate paint a horse's head on our helmets, each was different and unique.

Have a story about a teammate who took the suspension out of his helmet. Funny, but luckily he didn't die or get seriously hurt.

 

[CowboyP]

Tell us some of your old stories. It's cold outside so I need something to do.

 

[High Plains Drifter]

You twisted my arm. By the way, just got back from my two mile plus trek in the cold. Ha

Back in the day, (again for Doggie), there was no 4 days of shorts, etc. you showed up and bam you were full pads and banging heads. I was a freshman, weighed about buck thirty, and in all my glory. We went in and got our equipment, pretty much fitted ourselves ( and yepper did not know squat). Our main concern was getting a helmet that someone else had the year before and was all dinged and painted up. (They were maroon). Anyway, one of my class mates was about 6'0 and 175. There was a helmet that a "killer" had the year before (no reconditioning in those days). It had the first t-bar I had ever seen. It was taped to face mask. Anyway, we got suited up and went outside. The first drill was tackling (probably did some jumping jacks etc to warm up) and I was matched up against my fellow freshman. He was ball carrier and we met and down he went, out like a light. I jumped up like a banty rooster all puffed up with my hard hit. Ha The coach came over and took his helmet off and he had taken the suspension out to make it fit, it was his skull and a think plastic shell. My hit was not quite the thunder hit I thought. The coach shook his head and we moved to another part of field and left him laying there until he came too. Ha How many lawsuits do you think all that would cause today. Ha

 

[CowboyP]

There would be more lawsuits than you could count, but I love the story. Kids would still pick helmets that way if allowed.