The Evening Star in Washington, D.C., reported a football fight involving a high school team from my hometown of Erie, PA. Surely this headline drew me in to research it further.
Football fight Erie East High 1926 Oct 23, 1926 Evening Star (Washington, District of Columbia) Newspapers.com
The Erie Times-News has an article that says that a week prior to the contest, New Castle administrators told the Erie team that they wanted to select the officials, but East High, as the host, told the visitors that they would not renounce their rights to choose, and were still using the Erie Athletic Advisory Council to bring local officials in to work the game. [Erie Times-News October 15, 1926].
Over the next couple of days, the venue changed from Erie to New Castle’s home field. The October 19 article in the Times-News stated that officials made $15 per game worked, and that this generally comprised a JV-Varsity doubleheader.
Division ran through the East High Warriors, though, as Captain “Blubber” Sullivan led a players’ “strike” demanding a 3-day travel game down South rather than the one-day trip to New Castle. Coach Gus Anderson and Principal John Ray decided to appoint new captains and blacklist the 13 “Sullivan boys” from further athletic competition at East. The team would simply “carry on” without the group they described as “trouble-makers,” at least as of Wednesday, October 22.
By Thursday, the Erie paper reported that the “fur was flying” as parents of the now-banned 14 athletes petitioned against the school and Principal Ray’s decisions. The scheduled October 23 game with New Castle was canceled, but both sides were looking for a neutral arbiter to hear both sides and help resolve the dispute.
The Scarlett and Grey high school squad was on the verge of winning the City title, and this played into a quick settlement on Saturday, October 24, where the fourteen members of the ‘Sullivan group” would return to unite with their teammates and coaches and play their remaining schedule, save the New Castle game, which was canceled. The resolution came after the disgruntled players and coaches aired their complaints in front of the team, school officials, and parents, and all sides agreed their goals were largely the same and that they should let bygones be bygones and resume the season.
On November 12, the City Championship arrived as East took on their cross-town rival Academy High. The championship ended in a scoreless tie, as neither defense allowed more than 110 yards. East overcame more than a few obstacles and ultimately stuck together during the season for a share in the title.
Coach Gus Anderson is still remembered a century later, as the field at an Erie East rival, McDowell High School, still bears the name of the legendary coach.
