1920 Rose Bowl Football -- Oregon-Harvard-- Lemon Yellows in Leather Hats

Lemon Yellows in leather hats

by Bill Miller for the Mail Tribune - Monday, December 30th 2019

As the Lemon Yellows worked through their secret maneuvers, sentries took positions on top of the grandstand and near the wooden walls, guarding against spying eyes.

Anyone who dared come near the football field was carefully watched, making sure no eye or ear could press against a knothole or crack and steal valuable information for the enemy.

Tournament Park, Pasadena, California- Game Day January 1 1920

Lemon Yellows was an early nickname for the University of Oregon football team, because they often competed in yellow jerseys. Occasionally, they were known as Webfoots, and many years later, fans knew them as Ducks.

In late December 1919, with temperatures over 80 degrees in the shade, the 32-man squad from Eugene began practicing for the Jan. 1, 1920, East-West Championship game in Pasadena, California. The game was part of the city’s annual Tournament of Roses. Two years later, the game would take on the name of a newly built stadium — the Rose Bowl.

The undefeated Harvard Crimson, powerhouse players from Massachusetts, came by train 3,000 miles to compete. Although Oregon had lost one game that year, everyone expected a tough and close contest. They wouldn’t be disappointed.

On its way to Southern California, the Oregon team, along with their coaches and trainers, rode in a private railroad car. The rest of the train was loaded down with professors and undergraduates

1920 University of Oregon Football Team

from the university, and supporters from around the entire state.

Hoping to gain an advantage, the Oregon Yellows had brought along a large tank of Eugene’s municipal water. Coach “Shy” Huntington said he wasn’t about to take any chances that “his boys” would be out of condition just because of inferior drinking water.

When the team stopped briefly in Medford, Dec. 19, a small group of supporters met the team at the depot and wished them luck. The group included a few of the wealthy Harvard graduates who had come to Jackson County during the orchard boom that had begun just before 1910.

Southern Oregon still didn’t have a radio station, and local fans who wanted to follow the game had only two choices.

Medford’s Rialto Theater (later the Joseph Winans furniture store) had a telegraph line installed in the theater. While the matinee film played, an on-stage

ca. 1938 Rialto Theater, Medford, Oregon

Western Union operator continually read a play-by-play description of the action.

Other interested fans stopped by the Mail Tribune office, where the news crew used the company’s newswires to post game bulletins in the lobby.

Old Mail Tribune Newsapaper Building, Medford, Oregon

In Pasadena, the searing temperatures of mid December gave way by game day to a “balmy” 70 degrees that locals said was “just a trifle warm” for football, while eastern visitors said it was “definitely too hot.”

The betting was nearly even — the Harvard boys were heavier, but Oregon was faster.

It was a titanic struggle in leather helmets with both teams fumbling and missing field goal attempts in the first quarter.

1920 Rose Bowl Game - Oregon vs. Harvard for National Championship

The Lemon Yellows from Oregon finally broke through on the second play of the second quarter with a 23-yard dropkick field goal, making the score 3-0. After two long passes downfield, Harvard answered with an 18–yard touchdown run and a successful extra point to lead 7-3. Oregon ended the first half scoring with a last second field goal — the final score of the game. Harvard took home the 7-6 victory and the championship.

Returning home with a disappointed Oregon team, coach Huntington said he was proud of his “men.”

“We go back knowing that they played as hard and as clean a game as they could. It was a good showing.”

It would be 1958 before the Lemon Yellows returned to the Rose Bowl, this time as the Ducks. They lost to Ohio State 10-7.

Writer Bill Miller is the author of “History Snoopin’,” a collection of his previous history columns and stories. Reach him at newsmiller@live.com.

https://mailtribune.com/lifestyle/lemon-yellows-in-leather-hats

Knights of the Pigskin

“Knights of the Pigskin” 

By BILL MILLER

For the Mail Tribune

Medford’s high school football team got a lot of promotional help from the Mail Tribune back in November and December 1909. The local scribes just couldn’t resist declaring the youngsters “Southern Oregon Football Champions.” Luckily for them, the third time was the charm.

There had been occasional football games in the valley ever since that first scrimmage, January 4, 1896, when the Central Point boys dropped the Butte Creek Cowboys from Eagle Point, 8-0. Over the following years, most of the games had been spur of the moment “pickup” affairs, or challenge games, sometimes for money.

  In 1909, just after summer heat turned to falling leaves, Medford High School agricultural science teacher and sports fan, Sylvester Hall, announced his arrangements with nearby towns for a high school sports league in Southern Oregon. Hall, a 26-year old Harvard graduate, had just arrived in Medford from his boyhood home in Northern Oregon.

Hall agreed to coach the Medford football team and began recruiting his players. “The local boys feel strong,” said the Mail Tribune reporter. “They probably have a better combination of muscle and nerve than any other school with which they will compete.”

First up was a game with Ashland, but not against the Ashland High School team. The Granite City crew was a blend of boys from a private school and students from the Ashland College. The Tribune gulped at the news, worried that the “local boys don’t have enough experience to win.” In the end, neither side could score and the game ended in a tie.

Ashland’s real high school team came to Medford on November 6 for the second game of the season. Medford scored in the first and looked to be headed for victory, but in the second half, when the locals had to punt; Ashland’s Merle Lovelady took the kick and ran the length of the field to even the score. It looked hopeless, but with three minutes to play, Ralph Burgess passed into the end zone for the deciding score—11-6, Medford.

Old-Time Football

A week later, in a cold and wind smashing rain, Grants Pass went down to defeat on a single 3-point, 25-yard field goal made by Medford fullback and kicker, Walt Childress. For some reason, the Mail Tribune reported the game with the headline, “Medford Cinches Championship.”

The Thanksgiving, “Turkey Day” game between Medford and Central Point brought the undefeated “Pointers” to town. The Mail Tribune urged a crowd to show up and help propel Medford to the Southern Oregon football championship. “Every man, woman, and child with an ounce of red blood in their veins should attend this game. If you don’t understand football, at least you can yell, and that is one of the main features.” The game was a rout. Medford scored an 18-0 victory and for the second time, the Tribune declared them the “Champions!”

The five-game season ended with another game against Grants Pass that would finally decide the Southern Oregon Football Championship. Five minutes into the game, Burgess, the quarterback, scampered untouched around right end for the only touchdown of the game. Medford fullback Childress converted the extra point giving the Medford boys a 6-0 lead that would hold up for the rest of the game.

To that fan out there shouting, “Hey! The score should be 7-0. A touchdown is worth 6 points.” True today, but not in 1909, when a touchdown was worth 5 points. That rule changed in 1912.

So, finally the local reporter got it right. For the third time that season, Medford’s team was the Southern Oregon Football Champion, and proclaimed “Knights of the Pigskin.”

 Writer Bill Miller is the author of “History Snoopin’,”a collection of his previous history columns and stories. Reach him at newsmiller@live.com or WilliamMMiller.com.

History Snoop Bill Miller