Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1921-09-26
Names First Eleven
Was at Cow High

was at COny High
In view of the interest aroused by
Cony high schools first football game
of the season. it does not seem out of
place to print once more a full story
of the first team the school ever had,
which was, incidentally, the first
eleven in the State of Maine. The fol-
lowing story gives a good account of
the initial football team at Cony:
The first football eleven organized
in Maine was the Cony high school
team of 1891 There was a prelimina-
ny eleven organized chiefly through the
efforts of George V. S. Michaclis and
F, Bartlett Webster. son of the late
DIR. Webster, for years a leading ply
sicion Of Augusta ahdl ong associated
with the schools of this city. This
eleven played Only one game-with
the Bowdoin freshmen. Bowdoin was
the only college in tho State which
had then taken up football. The col
lege was thc"',oniy institution here
abouts playing the game except the
high school boys.
There were three graduates Of Cory
high in the freshmen class at Bow
aoin that fall--the class of 1894
State Senator Frank G. harrington
Ralph r. plassted. late judge of the
municipal court Of Bangor and a
brother of cx-Gov PIaistcd. and John
Anderson Of Portland. These three
were all on the Powdoin freshman
team which came to Augusta and
played Cony high at the driving park.
That was tho first regular football
score was 50 II q in favor of tho
3cwdoin freshmen.
The eleven. as it played in The fail
Of 1891. was formed Of practically the
Same boys that had composed the pre-
urinary eleven Of the season before
Col. Harry NJ. Bigclow Of the Sd
Maine Regiment. now the managing
editor of the Portland Press, was
member Of the earlier team. A bad
injury to his knee confined him to tho
house for several weeks was tho only
casualty suffered by tho defeated Cony
BOYS in that first game.
The record of tho eleven for the fall
of 1891 is ono which Cony high has
ever since cherished. for il won the
Maine intcrscholasQc championship
and had tIe distinction of beating the
Colby college eleven IA to at Wa
trrvillc. This was the first game
Co2hv over PLAYED with rivals.
The Maine championship was won
nv virtue of defeating Brunswick
High school. 20 to 10 Rockland High
I.,,t nyfn ta1
, Conv High.
The captain of the Cony team was
r. r. Webster. He went to Harvard,
studied law and went to the Pacific
Coast For a time he was in the sal
mon canning industry. He later 10
Gated in Seattle. His position was
halfback Fred Small. the other half
back, went to a business school after
graduating from Cony High and set
tied in New York.
! Everett Glidden was graduated
from the University'o Maine in 1896
and became a civil engineer in Massa-
chusetts John Clair Minot was
graduated from Bowdoin in 1896,
was associated with the &ennebec
Journal and is now on the staff OF
the Boston Herald.
Others on the team were Charlie
Valentine. Fred Written, John Hall,
Will Chase. Charles White, Warren
Hendee, Bert Worthing and Will
Holmes. Valentine graduated from
Georgetown University and later was
admitted to the bar in New York.
Written went to Cornell and later To-
Gated in Chicago. Hall became a
trained nurse and for some time had
position with a Massachusetts hos
( jital. White was formerly in the
money order department Of the Au-
gusta Postoffice, but is now an archi-
tect in Haverhill. Mass. Warren
| Hendee died a few years ago, and
Holmes graduated in 1897 from Col
by and has since been engaged in
educational work in New York state.
! There are two members OF the
| Cony High school class of 1898, Ben
| edict F. Maher and Charles S. Pet
! tengill. who have remained in the
| city. Pettengill is a bond salesman.
| He graduated from Bowdoin in 1898
and Maher from Georgetown Uni
versity. Both were at first substi-
| tutes, but later became the strongest
players on the regular school eleven.
| Pettengill at guard and tackle and
| Maher at fullback. Judge Naher also
won athletic renown in those days
as the captain and catcher on the
| school nine.
/ The game was decidedly less
| strenuous at that time There were
no pads worth mentioning on the
knees, elbows or shoulders and such
! paraphernalia as shin guards, nose
guards and headgear were I'M
known In the lines opposing play
ers faced each other. standing erect
! instead of crouching close to the
/ ground as at the present time.
Only a few plays were used in the
offensive work and these were main
| ~ end runs. There was no fancy
formations and the "criss- cross" was
the most involved trick play The
| tackles were usually made around
the neck rather than just above the
knees as in the approved style under
the modern game Consequently
a player when tackled frequently
made from FIVE to 10 yards before be-
| ing downed. The result of this sort
of playin0 WAS that bioh xoorae uoro