Football 1921-25 at KSN
from "For the Sport of It", Fred A. Markowitz 1963

1921:

The "Yellow Jackets," as the Normal's athletes were named that year, whipped everybody they played except Baker, whom they tied 7 to 7. Hargiss had C. V. "Click" Carle and Johnny Beck quarterbacking that team. Davis, whose death is described above, played at left halfback, Franklin Dillon was at right half, and Clint Stewart was the fullback. At the ends were Ollie Thomas and Lloyd McGahan; at the tackles Captain Charles Neis and Andy Sughrue; at the guards Burton Breggs and Paul Kutnink; and at center, Marion Van Osdol. George Haltfrerich was a regular replacement at the end positions, and Lucien R. Pyle saw a lot of duty as a tackle.

Death struck the Normal football team again in 1921. Don Davis, an outstanding backfield performer, died near the end of the season that year. His death was not the direct result of a football injury, but a blow he received in the Baker game did complicate an ear malady Davis had. The Sunflower of 1922 comments on Davis' death quite dramatically: "Due to the death of Don Davis, the Normal's all-state halfback, who answered his last signal November 21, 1921, the Normal squad was saddened to the greatest extent. Don had been affected by ear trouble for about a week before the Baker game at which time he received a badly sprained and bruised shoulder. The illness became worse, the poison settling in his shoulder, causing his death on November 21. His death came as a shock and surprise to the team and the entire school of which Don was a part.  "In honor of one of K.S.N.'s greatest and most admired players, the Thanksgiving game was cancelled."

Pyle, now a physician in Topeka, recalls an amusing incident that occurred in the game with Pittsburg that year: "Paul Kutnink, who played guard next to me, and I had the job that day of blocking out Pitt's famous Negro fullback, Sweat. After we racked him up several times he called time and asked us, "Say, what did I'all eva' do to you boys anyhow?' "

1921

14 St. Mary's          0
27 Ottawa              0
42 Friends             0
61 Southwestern        0
13 Washburn           10
27 Pittsburg           7
 7 Baker               7

191 6-0-1             24
Coach—H. W. Hargiss

1922:

The season of 1922 was a near-miss for the Kansas Conference crown. C. of E. sneaked by the Yellow Jackets 6 to 2 to beat them out of the title. Haskell was the only other team to beat them in '22. They did it 27 to 14. St. Mary's, Friends, Fairmount, Southwestern, Washburn, and Pittsburg were pushed aside by the Hargiss eleven.

Joseph A. "Joe" Parsons, who is now guidance supervisor in the Cleveland, Texas, schools, remembers a defensive maneuver called the "whip-lash," which was used effectively against the Normal by St. Mary's College that year : "At that time there was no rule against the 'whip-lash,' a play in which the opposing linemen could swing their legs behind them and bring their shoes into an opposing lineman's thigh, stomach, or even the face and shoulder. Since we were passing a lot in that game, the opposing linemen were giving our line a good going-over. We managed a 7 to 0 victory that hot September afternoon, but we had Harry Cole, Frank Gross, Roger Hannaford, Hodges Barrett, and myself all so badly 'whip-lashed' about the hips, thighs, and stomach that some of us barely got out of bed to play Friends University in Wichita the following week."

1922

 7 St. Mary's          0
 7 Friends             0
27 Fairmount           3
41 Southwestern       13
34 Washburn            0
26 Pittsburg           0
14 Haskell            27
 2 College of Emporia  6

158 6-2-0             49
Coach—H. W. Hargiss

1923:

C. of E. once again put the skids to the Normal's hopes for a title in 1923. The "Preachers" whipped the Yellow Jackets 14 to 7 on Thanksgiving Day. But it was a good season, nevertheless. The Normal sped past Fort Hays, Fairmount, Southwestern, Pittsburg, and St. Mary's. The game with Washburn ended in a 7 to 7 tie.

Pierce "Buck" Astle, of Newton, who has become one of the most sought-after football officials in the U.S., played in that 1923 Yellow Jacket backfield. Astle remembers a humorous occurrence in the game against Southwestern: "E. C. 'Ernie' Quigley, a 'real great' in sports officiating, was on the train that we took to Winfield for this game. The trip was rather long in those days, and we played cards to keep it from getting monotonous. Quigley participated with us. We were well-acquainted with him because he officiated most of our games. We always called him 'Quig.' Later that afternoon, he stuck us with a 15-yard penalty for some obvious foci we made. He was stepping it off when Paul Kutnink ran up to him and said, 'Hey, Quig, what was that penalty for?' Quigley, in all his majesty, replied, 'That one was for holding, and this one is on you. It's Mr. Quigley to you.' He walked off fifteen more yards. 'Quig' never hesitated to let everyone know that foolishness and familiarity ceased when the game started."

Astle believes that many of the ideas Bill Hargiss introduced into football at Kansas State Normal and C. of E. are responsible for the game's modern style of play : "Bill Hargiss undoubtedly was one of the truly original thinkers in the game of football. He was the very first coach to use a huddle. Credit is given to coaches in the East, but investigation will prove Bill was the first. He was also the first to run his guards in the interference ahead of the runner. One of the novelties he came up with was the squirrel cage huddle which he used at K.U. Many think the T-formation is of recent vintage, but Bill used it for many years. We had a full complement of plays on it in 1921. He was a great one."

1923

26 Fort Hays           3
30 Fairmount          14
10 Southwestern        7
 9 Pittsburg           0
 7 Washburn            7
23 St. Mary's          0
 7 College of Emporia 14

112 5-1-1             45
Coach—H. W. Hargiss

1924/5:

After a mediocre 3-4-2 record in 1924, the Yellow Jackets came back in '25 to win three, lose only two, and tie one. College of Emporia won the big Thanksgiving Day games of both years. The 1925 win was C. of E.'s seventh in succession over the disgruntled Normal team. K.S.N. had the upper hand in '14, '15, '16, and '17, but she had not been able to stop her old rival since then.

Harry Crockett was one of the mainstays of the '22, '23, '24, and '25 Normal teams. He was the starting center all four seasons, and captained the squad in his senior year. Now retired from the insurance business and living in Lawrence, Crockett has many memories of his years of football at the Normal, but he remembers vividly the 1925 season and the great group of freshmen Bill Hargiss was developing that year: "We were a green team, composed mostly of tremendous freshmen, who were later to be probably the greatest group of football players ever to represent Emporia State. In this group were Glen 'Slim' Campbell, the greatest end who ever played in Kansas; Chesley Culp, a truly great halfback; Menzo 'Bonz' Hainline and his brother, Arlie; and Emory Cox, John A. 'Shorty' Hoch, Gottlieb Richmond, and many others.

"I remember the game with Pittsburg that year, my senior year. We had had an in-and-out season, frustrating in some ways. I had injured a shoulder the week before and had to sit this one out. Coach Hargiss had made some changes in our offense for this game, and we scored fairly easily the first quarter. However, Pittsburg had a good passer and in just a few plays had scored and tied us. Culp was sent into the game at this point, and later he intercepted a pass and returned it to midfield. After a first down or two, 'Pudge' Lane kicked a field goal.

"I'll never forget the play that clinched that game for us. Culp, in addition to being a great defensive halfback, was a passer. Late in the fourth quarter, he faded back and threw a long pass into the corner of the end zone. 'Slim' Campbell was racing for the spot, and just as he turned around, the ball hit him in the nose. He scrambled around some, but he caught it before it hit the ground. This was Pittsburg's homecoming. We beat them 17 to 7."

1924

 0 Sterling            0
20 Fort Hays           2
 6 Kansas State       19
 0 Fairmount           9
 0 Southwestern        0
 7 Pittsburg          21
19 Washburn            0
 9 St. Mary's          7
 0 College of Emporia  3

61     3-4-2          61
Coach—H. W. Hargiss

1925

 7 Kansas State       26
13 Fort Hays           3
21 Oklahoma A. & M.    0
 0 Fairmount           0
 0 Southwestern        6
 6 Washburn            0
17 Pittsburg           7
12 College of Emporia 14

76    4-3-1           56
Coach—H. W. Hargiss