College of Emporia Fighting Presbies football

Last updated
College of Emporia Fighting Presbies football
Presbie-pete.gif
First season1893
Last season1972
StadiumSchaffner Field [1]
Location Emporia, Kansas
Bowl record11 (.500)
Playoff appearances2
Playoff record0–2
Conference titles14
ColorsRed and White
   

The College of Emporia Football Team was a college football team at the College of Emporia in Emporia, Kansas. The team competed from 1893 until the college closed in 1974 and was known for its high quality play for the size of the school as well as its early adoption of modern football methods. [2]

Contents

The final coach of the program was Dan Taylor. [3]

Innovative play

The team was one of the earliest schools to regularly call the forward pass [4] and the option pass [5] under head coach Bill Hargiss and quarterback Arthur Schabinger. The school was using the forward pass as a regular play three years before Knute Rockne and Notre Dame Football. [6]

The program would regularly play games against much larger programs. In 1921, the Presbies played Oklahoma A&M to a 7–7 tie. The College of Emporia managed a all-time record of 22–20–2 ties against cross-town rival Emporia State—although Emporia State records the all-time record between the two teams as 21–21–2. [7]

The 1930 Thanksgiving Day game against Emporia State (called "Kansas Normal" at the time) resulted in tragedy when freshman George Day suffered a head injury during a punt return five minutes into the game. He was treated quickly and taken to Newman Hospital for surgery, but he died that evening. [7]

Conference play and season successes

Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference

The team competed in the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference from 1933 until 1970. [8] The program was known for success among the small colleges which included three consecutive undefeated regular seasons (1953–1955) under head coach Wayne J. McConnell and two back-to-back undefeated seasons (1962–1963) under coach Bill Schnebel. Both coaches were recognized as Little All-American Coach of the Year. [1]

Conference championships

YearConferenceHead coachOverall recordConference recordPostseason
1913 Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference Wayne B. Grange 5–2–15–0–1
1918 Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference Gwinn Henry 6–0
1919 Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference Gwinn Henry 8–08–0
1925Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference Harold Grant 7–07–0
1927Kansas Collegiate Athletic ConferenceHarold Grant7–0–16–0–1
1928 Central Intercollegiate Conference L. T. Harr 8–06–0
1951 Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference Wayne J. McConnell 8–06–0
1953 Kansas Collegiate Athletic ConferenceWayne J. McConnell8–07–0
1954 Kansas Collegiate Athletic ConferenceWayne J. McConnell8–17–0Lost Mineral Water Bowl
1955 Kansas Collegiate Athletic ConferenceWayne J. McConnell7–07–0
1959Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference Bill Schnebel 9–17–0Won Mineral Water Bowl
1962Kansas Collegiate Athletic ConferenceBill Schnebel10–19–0Lost NAIA Semifinal
1963Kansas Collegiate Athletic ConferenceBill Schnebel10–19–0Lost NAIA Semifinal
1966Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference Tom Stromgren 8–18–1

[9]

Bowl games

The College of Emporia also in the 1954 Mineral Water Bowl, losing, 20–14, to Hastings, and then returned in 1959 to defeat Austin by a score of 21–20. [10]

DateResultBowlOpponentScoreHead coach
November 25, 1954L Mineral Water Bowl Hastings 14–20 Wayne J. McConnell
November 28, 1959WMineral Water Bowl Austin 21-20 Bill Schnebel

NAIA playoffs

The Fighting Presbies made the NAIA Football National Championship playoffs twice. Both times they lost in the first round to the eventual national champion.

YearRoundOpponentResult
1962 Semifinalvs. Central State (OK) L 0–20
1963 Semifinalat Saint John's (MN) L 0–54

Notable people

Coaches

Football coaches - Horace Botsford, Henry Brock, Harold Grant, Homer Hargiss, Lem Harkey, Gwinn Henry, Steve Kazor, Wayne McConnell, Walt Newland, Vernon Louis Parrington, Bill Schnebel, Lester Selves, Tom Stromgren

Players

A number of player from the College of Emporia went on to play in sports:

See also

Related Research Articles

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Victor Clinton Hurt was an American football, basketball, and track coach and college athletic administrator. He attended College of Emporia and played football for the Presbies football team. He began his coaching career in 1920. For 11 years, he coached track, basketball and football and was the athletic director at Oklahoma Baptist University. During the 1935 season, he was an assistant coach on the 1935 SMU Mustangs football team that went undefeated in the regular season. He was the head football coach for the Tulsa Golden Hurricane football team during the 1936, 1937, and 1938 seasons. After the 1938 season, he joined the coaching staff at the University of Kansas. He coached for four years at Kansas and, in 1944, he was hired as the manager of the Philbrook Museum of Art in Tulsa. He later became president of the Southwest Art Association and, in 1958, was inducted into the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Hall of Fame.

The 1912 College of Emporia Fighting Presbies football team was an American football team that represented the Emporia College during the 1912 college football season. The team's head coach was Homer Woodson Hargiss.

The 1932 Kansas Jayhawks football team represented the University of Kansas in the Big Six Conference during the 1932 college football season. The team began the season with Bill Hargiss as head coach, but Hargiss resigned on October 10, and Adrian Lindsey took over as head coach for the third game of the season against Iowa State. The 1932 Jayhawks compiled a 5–3 record, tied for second place in the conference, and outscored opponents by a combined total of 89 to 77. They played their home games at Memorial Stadium in Lawrence, Kansas.

The 1946 Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference football season was the season of college football played by the seven member schools of the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) as part of the 1946 college football season.

The 1955 College of Emporia Fighting Presbies football team was an American football team that represented the College of Emporia as a member of the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) during the 1955 college football season. In their sixth and final year under head coach Wayne J. McConnell, the Presbies compiled a perfect 9–0 record, won the KCAC championship, shut out seven of nine opponents, and outscored all opponents by a total of 257 to 13. Emporia won three consecutive conference titles from 1953 to 1955 and compiled a 26–1 record during those seasons.

The 1951 College of Emporia Fighting Presbies football team represented the College of Emporia as a member of the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) during the 1951 college football season. Led by second-year head Wayne J. McConnell, the Presbies compiled an overall record of 8–0 record with a mark of 6–0 in conference play, winning the KCAC title.

The 1954 College of Emporia Fighting Presbies football team represented the College of Emporia as a member of the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) during the 1954 college football season. Led by fifth-year head Wayne J. McConnell, the Presbies compiled an overall record of 9–1 record with a mark of 7–0 in conference play, winning the KCAC title for the second consecutive season. The College of Emporia was invited to the Mineral Water Bowl, where the team lost to Hastings.

References

  1. 1 2 "College of Emporia History". Archived from the original on November 23, 2008.
  2. College Football Data Warehouse Archived 2010-02-17 at the Wayback Machine College of Emporia records
  3. Lawrence Journal-World "C of E Grabs Taylor as New Grid Mentor" June 29, 1971
  4. Homer Hargiss History Definitive use of forward pass
  5. Oberheide.org Hargiss's Option Play
  6. Emporia Gazette, "The Emporia Gazette Give Credit to C. of E." by E. T. Lowther
  7. 1 2 3 4 Mlynar, Bobbi (July 6, 2016). "Success of the 'Fighting Presbies'". Emporia Gazette . Retrieved December 2, 2022.
  8. "Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference, History". Archived from the original on June 12, 2008. Retrieved June 27, 2008.
  9. College of Emporia Alumni Association Archived July 25, 2011, at the Wayback Machine "Championship Teams"
  10. "Excelsior Springs Mineral Water Bowl". www.mineralwaterbowl.net.
  11. "Col. of Emporia: All Players". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved March 16, 2013.
  12. "Lem Harkey Jr". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved March 16, 2013.