Nostalgia Prevails at Event Honoring Bill Hargiss Here
Emporia Gazette

     Nostalgia was the rule, and a happy one, at a "surprise party" and dinner for Homer Woodson (Bill) Hargiss at the Teachers College Thursday night. Two hundred thirty people, many of whom had been coached by Mr. Hargiss either at the College of Emporia, the Teachers College or at the University of Kansas, attended the dinner and gave the veteran coach several standing ovations.
     Mr. Hargiss, a vigorous 83, said he was "whelmed all over" at the tributes from his former players, contemporary coaches, successors and admirers. He was presented with a check for $1,394.50 as a gift from his former players, and promptly endorsed it over to the Bill Hargiss Scholarship Fund at the Teachers College. In his brief response to the various tributes Mr. Hargiss said "It is great to feel a number of you have had a definite influence on me and I am happy that some of my influence rubbed off on you." He introduced members of his family, including his brother, Bob Hargiss, Seattle, Wash., a sister, Mrs. Herman Beringer, Salina; his grandson, Bill Hargis Jr., and several cousins and golf companions from Topeka.
     "All this is an appreciation of loyalty and love," Bill Hargiss declared, and added, "What more can there be?"
     Emory Cox, who played football at the Teachers College under Bill Hargiss from 1924 to 1928, was the master of ceremonies and after the invocation by the Rev. Stephen J. Williams, introduced three tables of special guests. W. P. "Buck" Astle, a former three-sport star at the Teachers College, presented a resolution honoring Coach Hargiss and it was passed by standing acclamation. Menzo Hainline, another 1924-1928 star, presented the $1,300 check, and Everett (Gus) Fish, retiring basketball coach recalled how tough it was to keep eligible during the Hargiss era, especially in such courses as chicken culling. Dr. J. J. Weigand, alumni secretary, presented the Distinguished Alumni Award to Mr. Hargiss and Mayor P. R. Woodbury read a document proclaiming May 28th as Bill Hargiss Day in Emporia.
     Carnie Smith, Director of Athletics at Pittsburg State, and who was a quarterback on the Hargiss teams at K.U., recalled some football lore on Mount Oread and expressed the regard the Jayhawk players had for the coach. He also told a story that illustrated the Hargiss "psychological approach" to coaching. Mr. Smith claimed that Coach Hargiss wound up one set of instructions by declaring: "You flub this play and I'll kill you."
     Robert L. (Red) Markley of Cheyenne, Wyo., who played under Coach Hargiss at C. of E. in and around 1914, added his plaudits and could not help needling the Teachers College about the results of some of the C. of E. Normal games of that period.
     Volunteer speakers from the audience included: Hugo (Dutch) Wedell of Wichita, former E-State athlete and supreme court justice; Bert Drake, Elmdale, wh justice who recalled that Mr. Hargiss worked his way through school at the Normal and still had time to play football, basketball, boxing, wrestling and sing in the glee club; Roland (Kickapoo) Logan, Palm Spring, Calif., who sang an a capalla version of "You'll Never Walk Alone", and did it well; George Holtfreitch, also of California; Robert Dunning, Wichita, former star hurdler; Dr. Garfield Weede, former track coach at Pittsburg; and Ward Haylett, former track coach at Kansas State University. These last two men spoke about how opposing coaches felt about Mr. Hargiss and his work.
     F. G. Welch, long-time coach and athletic director at the Teach and athletic director at the Teachers College and a Hargiss pupil, gave the final tribute and reviewed the Hargiss career in detail. He called Coach Hargiss a "great inventor" and said he was the first to use a lineman as interference in a running play, the first coach to use offensive and defensive huddles and among the first to use the forward pass. He said that the Hargiss C. of E. team in 1914 "used more passes against Haskell than Knute Rockne did in his whole career." Other firsts cited for Mr. Hargiss was use of the metal vaulting pole in track and he also coached in the first game where a safety man took off his shoes to make a punt return.
     Persons who attended the dinner were: Messrs. and Mesdames Ted Anderson, W. P. Astle, Ray Baird, Everette Barr, M. D. Bartlow, C. H. Belting, Max Bickford, Glenn R: Campbell, Keith Caywood, Oliver Clapp, Clyde Coffman, Emory Cox, Harry J. Crockett, Howard E. Davis, Ellsworth Dent, Bert Drake, Bob Dunning, Floyd Ecord, Dee Erickson, Gus Fish, C. H. Franklin, Sam T. Frazer, Harley Garrett, Ralph Hahn, Menzo Hainline, John D. Hankammer, Merle M. Hayden, Ward H. Haylett, Homer Henning, J. A. Hoch, Bill Hodge, George F. Holtfreitch, Bernard Jensen, W. A. Larkin, Roland F. Logan, T. F. Mc. Daniel, Robert L. Markley, Fred Messenger, James D. Meyer, Roy H. Moser, J. M. Penny, Joseph A. Parsons, Ray T. Reed, C. W. Ridgeway, Almus L. Roberts, Robert A. Schroeder, Kenneth Scott, Carnie H. Smith, Bill Upson, Ollie C. Thomas, E. Von Riesen, F. G. Welch, L. E. Wesley and P. R. Woodbury; Doctors and Mesdames Thomas P. Butcher, Lucian Pyle and H. J. Veatch; Messrs. John Belting, A. E. Buck, Dale Burnett, Floyd Newton Currier, Carl Dabbs, Lee E. Davis, G. D. Dean, Ray Dumont, James Egy, Mel Falley, James Finnerty, Paul W. Fisher, Bob George, Bill Hargiss Jr., Bob Hargiss, Earl Hassinger, Harold Hauser, Ill A. Hendrickson, Homer M. Kunz, James Lance, Fred Lighter, E. J. McKernan Jr., Earl McKown, Bill Mohr, George Noce, Ron Paradis, Ralph Phillips, Calvin Reimer, Robert Romig, E. E. Shupe, E. A. Shupe, Ron Slaymaker, Billie Soden, O. R. "Jack" Stites, A. T. Sughrue, Russell Swanson, W. E. Teichgraeber, Neil J. Thompson, Mutt Thornhill, Clem Tuggle, Joseph B. Weber and Hugo T. Wedell; Doctors Nathan P. Budd, J. M. Gorman, J. J. Hovorka, Fred Markowitz, Harry Waters, Garfield Weede and J. J. Weigand; the Rev. and Mrs. Stephen J. Williams; Mesdames Herman Beringer, Delores Long. Virgil Rice, W. H. Singular, Gladys M. Van Ordstrand, Ben Weir, R. Williams, Jerry Bedner and John DeLong and Misses Genevieve Hargiss, Edna McCullough, Kathy Weigand and Capy Williams.
     Mr. Hargiss and several of the guests at the dinner attended a social gathering at the Country Club after the program.