1921 Yearbook
Source URL
Title
1921 Yearbook
Description
Juniors and Quad-City Athletics
Who are the Juniors? This question is now never asked in eastern Iowa or western
Illinois, although less than a decade has passed since Father Adrian made his first
experiment of training a team of small lads. Of course, it is only within the last four
or five years that his ambitions began to be realized and his little proteges showed their
strength against first class teams.
The night of February 17, 1920, was the evening of the greatest Junior victory,
when Captain Norton's all-star quintette steam-rolled the Davenport High School
basket ball team, winners of the Iowa Tournament, to the tune of 36 to 11, allowing
Schick to cage but two field baskets and seven free throws. It was a victory of victories, one never to be forgotten by all who saw it. Hardly less notable, however, was
the 31 to 21 trouncing of the previous year, when Captain McLain's guarding and
Fottral's wonderful basket shooting proved the undoing of Midge McKeever's powerful Davenport five. And let us not forget the fights put up by the captainless Junior
team earlier in that season, when, marked for defeat, they kept the High traveling at
top speed to win by a 24 to 18 score at the "Y" gym. That battle of the "gamest
little team that ever lost" will linger long in the minds of Junior fans.
True, the "High" squad of the past season revenged themselves to a certain extent
by winning twice by safe margins from the Scarlet and Black. However, when one
compares the avoirdupois and experience of the big wearers of the "D" with the little
Junior team it seems foolish to expect any other results. None of them would weigh
less than 165 pounds and they had four men with three-year records, including Schick,
all-Tri-City forward of 1920 and 1921. Had Stetson's crew done any less they
would have had reason to be ashamed of themselves, for Fr. Adrian's basketeers hardly
averaged 145 pounds, and had only one man with extensive experience, except Gannon,
who was far below standard and who did not play half the schedule.
The worth of Junior players is evidenced by the fact that Gannon and Woeber
were chosen on the all-Tri-City team of 1920. Moline, Rock Island, and Davenport
each received one place. This year Coughlin was placed on that mythical five while
Norton was one of the guards on the second all-Tri-City team of 1920. The crack
Junior quintet of 1920 claimed the Quad-City championship by the method of comparative scores, since Rock Island High, the public school champs, believing they had
best preserve the laurels already gained, refused them a game. But Rock Island lost
to Cedar Rapids by a forty-point margin while the Juniors held the Bunnies to a six-
point win.
In football the little Junior elevens of the past seven years have left a record of but
seven defeats in more than fifty games. They showed that they deserved consideration
during the 1920 season for they defeated Geneseo 35 to 7, while Rock Island, the Tri-
City title holders, barely nosed out the Illinois eleven, 7 to 3. Captain "Buddy"
Coughlin was the star performer for his team.
Behind all these years of reverses and successes stands the quiet figure of Fr. Adrian,
the Junior coach. With only his own resources and experience he has made the Juniors what they are today. What's the matter with Fr. Adrian? Let's give him
three cheers for what he has done to make athletics at St. Ambrose remarkable, by
adding teams which give the Academic Department a chance to show that they are
on the map. M. E. C.
Page 110
Who are the Juniors? This question is now never asked in eastern Iowa or western
Illinois, although less than a decade has passed since Father Adrian made his first
experiment of training a team of small lads. Of course, it is only within the last four
or five years that his ambitions began to be realized and his little proteges showed their
strength against first class teams.
The night of February 17, 1920, was the evening of the greatest Junior victory,
when Captain Norton's all-star quintette steam-rolled the Davenport High School
basket ball team, winners of the Iowa Tournament, to the tune of 36 to 11, allowing
Schick to cage but two field baskets and seven free throws. It was a victory of victories, one never to be forgotten by all who saw it. Hardly less notable, however, was
the 31 to 21 trouncing of the previous year, when Captain McLain's guarding and
Fottral's wonderful basket shooting proved the undoing of Midge McKeever's powerful Davenport five. And let us not forget the fights put up by the captainless Junior
team earlier in that season, when, marked for defeat, they kept the High traveling at
top speed to win by a 24 to 18 score at the "Y" gym. That battle of the "gamest
little team that ever lost" will linger long in the minds of Junior fans.
True, the "High" squad of the past season revenged themselves to a certain extent
by winning twice by safe margins from the Scarlet and Black. However, when one
compares the avoirdupois and experience of the big wearers of the "D" with the little
Junior team it seems foolish to expect any other results. None of them would weigh
less than 165 pounds and they had four men with three-year records, including Schick,
all-Tri-City forward of 1920 and 1921. Had Stetson's crew done any less they
would have had reason to be ashamed of themselves, for Fr. Adrian's basketeers hardly
averaged 145 pounds, and had only one man with extensive experience, except Gannon,
who was far below standard and who did not play half the schedule.
The worth of Junior players is evidenced by the fact that Gannon and Woeber
were chosen on the all-Tri-City team of 1920. Moline, Rock Island, and Davenport
each received one place. This year Coughlin was placed on that mythical five while
Norton was one of the guards on the second all-Tri-City team of 1920. The crack
Junior quintet of 1920 claimed the Quad-City championship by the method of comparative scores, since Rock Island High, the public school champs, believing they had
best preserve the laurels already gained, refused them a game. But Rock Island lost
to Cedar Rapids by a forty-point margin while the Juniors held the Bunnies to a six-
point win.
In football the little Junior elevens of the past seven years have left a record of but
seven defeats in more than fifty games. They showed that they deserved consideration
during the 1920 season for they defeated Geneseo 35 to 7, while Rock Island, the Tri-
City title holders, barely nosed out the Illinois eleven, 7 to 3. Captain "Buddy"
Coughlin was the star performer for his team.
Behind all these years of reverses and successes stands the quiet figure of Fr. Adrian,
the Junior coach. With only his own resources and experience he has made the Juniors what they are today. What's the matter with Fr. Adrian? Let's give him
three cheers for what he has done to make athletics at St. Ambrose remarkable, by
adding teams which give the Academic Department a chance to show that they are
on the map. M. E. C.
Page 110
Date
1921
Rights
St. Ambrose University, 518 W. Locust St., Davenport, IA 52803
Identifier
http://cdm16810.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p16810coll2/id/4019