The College of Emporia Football Team was a
college football team at the
College of Emporia
The College of Emporia was a private college in Emporia, Kansas from 1882 to 1974, and was associated with the Presbyterian church.
When founded, it was one of two higher education institutions in the city of Emporia, the other at that time was t ...
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.
The final coach of the program was
Dan Taylor.
Innovative play
The team was one of the earliest schools to regularly call the
forward pass
In several forms of football, a forward pass is the throwing of the ball in the direction in which the offensive team is trying to move, towards the defensive team's goal line. The forward pass is one of the main distinguishers between gridir ...
and the
option pass under head coach
Bill Hargiss and
quarterback
The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...
Arthur Schabinger. The school was using the forward pass as a regular play three years before
Knute Rockne and
Notre Dame Football
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team is the intercollegiate football team representing the University of Notre Dame in Notre Dame, Indiana, north of the city of South Bend, Indiana. The team plays its home games at the campus' Notre Dame ...
.
The program would regularly play games against much larger programs. In 1921, the tema competed to a 7–7 tie against
Oklahoma State
Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...
and managed a lifetime record of 22 wins, 20 losses, and 2 ties against
Emporia State—although ESU records dispute that claim and show the all-time record as 21-21-2.
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.
Conference play and season successes
Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference
The team competed in the
Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference
The Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). The KCAC is the oldest conference in the NAIA and the second oldest in the United Stat ...
from 1933 until 1970. 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.
Championships
Table data source
Bowl games
The school also played in the 1954
Mineral Water Bowl, losing 20–14 to
Hastings College
Hastings College is a private Presbyterian college in Hastings, Nebraska.
History
The college was founded in 1882 by a group of men and women seeking to establish a Presbyterian college dedicated to high academic and cultural standards. ...
, and then returned in 1959 to defeat
Austin College
Austin College is a private liberal arts college affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA) and located in Sherman, Texas. ,
Henry Brock,
Harold Grant,
Homer Hargiss,
Lem Harkey
Lem Harkey Jr. (January 7, 1934 – July 3, 2004) was an American football fullback. He played for San Francisco 49ers in 1955. He played college football for the College of Emporia Fighting Presbies in Emporia, Kansas
Emporia is a cit ...
,
Gwinn Henry
Gwinn Henry (August 5, 1887 – May 16, 1955) was an American football player, track athlete, coach, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at Howard Payne University (1912–1913), the College of Emporia (1918†...
,
Steve Kazor,
Wayne McConnell,
Walt Newland,
Bill Schnebel,
Lester Selves
Lester Henry "Bud" Selves (July 16, 1906 – April 18, 1991) was an American football player and coach. He was inducted into the Kansas State High School Activities Association Hall of Fame in 1978.
Playing career
Selves played offense and defens ...
,
Tom Stromgren
Lawrence Thompson Stromgren (born 1936) is a former American football coach. He served as the head football coach at the College of Emporia in Emporia, Kansas from 1965 to 1966 and Fort Hays State University in Hays, Kansas, from 1969 to 1971, ...
;Players
A number of player from the College of Emporia went on to play in sports:
*
Jim Jaquith played professional baseball in 1926 and also played for the
Kansas City Cowboys Several sports team in Kansas City, Missouri have used the name Cowboys:
*Kansas City Cowboys (Union Association), a baseball team in the Union Association in 1884
*Kansas City Cowboys (National League), a baseball team in the National League in 18 ...
.
*
Lem Harkey
Lem Harkey Jr. (January 7, 1934 – July 3, 2004) was an American football fullback. He played for San Francisco 49ers in 1955. He played college football for the College of Emporia Fighting Presbies in Emporia, Kansas
Emporia is a cit ...
was drafted by the
Pittsburgh Steelers in 1955 and ended up playing for the
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...
for one year.
*
Bill Danenhauer (graduated 1956) NAIA Football All-American.
Baltimore Colts,
Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquar ...
and
Boston Patriots
See also
*
Timeline of college football in Kansas
References
{{College of Emporia Fighting Presbies football navbox