1920-1921 School Year

FOOTBALL

The very successful season just closed of the football eleven representing the historic Bellefonte Academy vividly recalls to the minds of the fans and football enthusiasts generally in Bellefonte the football days of this time-honored institution when big Bill Bloyd, "Steve" Dillon, Casey Jones, "Bud" Seidel, Red Smith, Tip Stanford, Jake Stahl, Purcell Beattie, LeRoy Locke, Forest Decker, "Shorty" Loucks, "Scrubby" Jones, Frank Holmes, Harry Symes and other stars made the Academy famous on the gridiron and helped build up champion college teams after leaving the Bellefonte Academy.

From the very beginning of the season, even though there was no regular coach for the team, it was evident that an unusually heavy and classy lot of players had entered the Bellefonte Academy, who would develop one of the strongest teams in the school's history.  Capt. Buchanan, the centre of the team for two years, came from the champion Greensburg High school eleven.  He is a wonderful player, both on the offensive and defensive.  Many colleges are watching him closely. Cronje Carnahan, a guard for his second year, weighs 210 pounds. He is a Tarentum lad and is remarkably strong and fast.  Akins, 198 pounds in weight, is the other guard.  He played on the Mt. Union college eleven two years ago and has been a tower of strength to the Academy team.

Alwine, the big 240 pound tackle, is a fast man.  He did the kicking off and the kicking of goals with the success of a college star.  He also came from Greensburg High.  "Doc" Hillard, the other tackle, was formerly a member of the Indiana Normal eleven.  He weighs about 188 pounds and uses his weight to great advantage.  Bill Ashbaugh, the star centre of Washington High school last year, played brilliantly at end.  He weighs 185 pounds.  King, of Oakmont, Pa., the other end, a member of last year's eleven, weighs 175 pounds and put up wonderful game all season.  Both ends were very successful in getting away with forward passes.

In the backfield several players, made names for themselves and will soon be winning laurels for some big college teams.  They are Boyd Parshall, 190 pounds, and Dick Frauenheim, 165 pounds, who divided the honors in calling the signals and running the team.  Parshall came from Washington High school and Frauenheim from Shadyside Academy.  Both men always hit the opposing lines hard for good gains.  Bob Irwin, 173 pounds, formerly of Fifth Avenue High, Pittsburgh, is also a wonderful line plunger.  Charlie Fleming, a brother of "Red" Fleming, who was captain of last year's eleven, was one of the fastest backs who ever wore the gold and blue. . He was injured in the State Freshmen game on October 30th and did not get into the game again until the Dickinson Seminary contest on November 20th.  He is a Bellwood boy and weighs 165 pounds.

Macbride, a former Wyoming Seminary star, weighing 195 pounds, has also been putting up a very strong game.  "Dish" Rigby, formerly of, East Liberty Academy, with a valuable army experience proved a wonderful player, especially on the defensive, even at the weight of 165 pounds.  Last but not least comes Marsh Johnson, the heavy and speedy fullback from Jamestown High school, New York, weighing 190 pounds.  He was a hero in every game, not only because of lineplunging ability, and fleet-footedness, but also because of his power to drive long, low punts into the opponent's territory.  Dewaters, of Corning, N. Y., Lowell Davis, of Morgantown, W. Va.; James Foreman, formerly of Perkiomen Seminary; Ennis, of Elmira, N. Y.; Caplin, of Philadelphia, and Pritchard, of Ravenna, Ohio, were strong substitutes.
The Academy students, as a token of their appreciation of the superior work of their team, believing that they have no superiors among the secondary schools of their class, have liberally subscribed to a fund wherewith to purchase gold footballs for every member of the team.  Thomas McNeal, of Windber, proved a very able and competent manager.

The games played and the scores are as follows, the Bellefonte Academy score being the first named:

Democratic Watchman, November 26, 1920, "A Resume of the Academy Football Season."

1921-1922 School Year

FOOTBALL

THE BRAWL IN THE FALL

It was 2:45 pm, Saturday afternoon, October 15^th of 1921.  A record crowd of spectators estimated at 5,000 was gathering at the Greensburg High School Athletic Field for their long anticipated football game with the renowned Bellefonte Academy. 

This would be only the second time these two teams would meet.  The first meeting was back in 1913, also played at Greensburg, with Bellefonte losing 6 - 0.  The Academy was a perennial powerhouse in the Prep school ranks while Greensburg was a consistent leader of the WPIAL.  This was a natural contest to decided western Pennsylvania supremacy and the Greensburg citizens and newspapers were well aware of it.  The entire week prior to the game, both of the Greensburg daily newspapers were filled with updates on the game, talking about the strengths and weaknesses of both teams and, obviously predicting victory for the Greensburg "Brown & White."  All this hype, despite the fact the Bellefonte Academy was having a rare mediocre year. They traveled to Greensburg having tied the Bucknell University Reserves 0 - 0 and losing to the University of Pittsburgh Freshmen 0 - 13.

Much to the chagrin of the locals fans, Bellefonte Academy scored first.  Greensburg mishandled a Bellefonte Academy punt and Bob Irwin, one of the Academy backfield players, recovered the ball on Greensburg's 3 yard line.  Two plays later, Bellefonte scored the games first touchdown and took the early lead 7 - 0.  Following a blocked punt, recovered on Bellefonte's 40 yard line, Greensburg opened the second quarter by tying the score.  After some back and forth play, the Academy took possession of the ball on their own 30 yard line.  Using a mix of running and passes, Bellefonte pushed down the field, capping off the drive with a pass to O'Neil for Bellefonte's second touchdown and the lead.  The half ended, 13 - 7.

Soon after the third quarter began, the Academy blocked a Greensburg punt and recovered the ball on Greensburg's 5 yard line.  At this point it appeared as though the Academy would take complete control of the game.  Everything was going their way and an apparent Bellefonte touchdown would increase the score to 20 - 7.  However with the assistance of the spectators, the blocked punt and recovering by Bellefonte on the 5 yard line erupted into a brawl.  Several of Greensburg's fans got over the ropes and attacked the Academy players.  The outcome defies belief. Three of Bellefonte's starting linemen, including Linn &  Hillard were ejected from the game for fighting and the Academy was penalized "half the playing distance."   This must be one of the largest penalties ever handed out at any level of play.  The Academy was penalized 47 1/2 yards.

Undaunted, the Academy boys began to move the ball back down the field again, only to be thrown back with a 25 yard penalty.   This became the scenario for the remainder of the game.  Penalty after penalty would thwart Bellefonte's advances.  The crowd would again jump the rope, this time attacking the players on Bellefonte's bench.  It was now only a matter of time until Greensburg would score two touchdowns in the fourth quarter and win the game 21 - 13.

Bellefonte was penalized nearly 200 yards although they outgained Greensburg by a 2 - 1 ratio.

Headmaster Hughes and Bellefonte's coach, Dunbar were obviously upset with the turn of events.  They offered a return game at a neutral site, or using neutral officials.  Greensburg would not accept the offer and this would be the last time the two teams would ever meet in any sport.

Coverage of the mayhem appeared in the Pittsburgh newspapers the next day and although the local Greensburg newspapers contained extensive, in-depth coverage of the game play (the Greensburg Morning Review published a play by play account of the game) not a single word appeared about the fighting or the rowdy crowd behavior.

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