330. PHS Football Tigers vs Marines 1918

Updated: Mar 25, 2022

Can you imagine the Pensacola High School Tigers having the US Army and Marine Corps football teams on their football schedule today? High schoolers playing adult military teams, unbelievable! They even had Palmer College in Defuniak Springs on their schedule, however football at Palmer was only a minor athletic event at best. But still, its shows you the difference in the standards of today versus the standards of yesteryear! And if you look at the ages of the Pensacola High Tigers when they played against Army and the Marines, they all ranged predominantly from 15 to 17 years old. This meant teenageers versus grown men! But it was an event everyone looked forward to and all Pensacolians took it serious as they cheered their team on!

The Pensacola High School Football Team of 1918

Richard Anderson

Chester Hobart Barrow (1899-1976) became insurance agent for Brosnaham Agency

Lawrence Emmett Bell (Ipsie) (1901-1988) became a mechanical engineer

Lewis Graham Creary (Captain or Cap) (1901-1991) foreman at Detroit tubing factory

Jacob W. Friedman (Jub) (1902-1996) became an electrical engineer

Kenneth Lynwood Fulghum Sr. (1903-1962) was a building contractor

James K. Geralds (Sr.) (1903-1961) early in adult life was a vessel fireman

Harry Thressen Howland (1900-1968) worked at Building #603 at NAS during WWII

Harold Holyoake Jones (Chinaman) (1902-1975) New Bern, NC Rail Co freight agent

John "Jack" Jenkins Kehoe (1902-1972) a Judge in the Florida 11th Judicial District

James Townsend Merwin (1903-1996) analyst Alabama Dept of Industrial Relations

Alexander Engvald Olsen (Olaf) (1901-1951) general secretary of YMCA in Tampa, FL

George Reeder unknown

John Lewis Reese Sr. (Babydoll) (1902-1988) retired lawyer in Pensacola 1930-1973

Samuel Rosenau (Thammy) (1902-1972) (US Army WWII) owner Rosenau Ins. Co

Napoleon Rosenstein (Nip) (1902-1972) Judge in North Bay, Florida

Charles Richard "Dick" Saunders (1902-1981) doctor of chemistry at Auburn

Allen Smith unknown

Harold Alfred Stearns (1901-1989) became a field man for the telephone company

Carl B. Taylor (Sr.) (1903-1968)

Roland Everitt Vickery (1902-1991) US Army Engineers

Clifford Francis Ward (1900-1969) became a lumber inspector then construction

Lewis Williams unknown

Oliver Joseph Williams (Pickles) (1902-1969) worked for Dupon de Nemours & Co.

Rex Wilson unknown

Along these same lines and young boys playing against Marines, there was another event years ago that most people have never heard of today. This event began in 1934 and ended in 1976 with several twisted turns and curves in its history. This was the annual College All-Stars that played the year's reigning NFL Champions for national bragging rights! In fact, in the first five games of the annual classic the NFL champions lost two to the All-Stars and suffered two ties. The last time the All-Stars won was in 1963 when they squeaked by the Green Bay packers 20-17.

This rivalry came to an end on July 23, 1976 when the champion Pittsburgh Steelers was leading the All-Stars in the third quarter 24-0 when a huge storm brought heavy rains and lightning. Sadly, knowing this was the last game of its kind, the fans had stormed the field and refused to leave thus ending the forty-two year tradition.