Thanksgiving Day football contest between Tecumseh, Clinton was big deal in late 20s

By MICKEY ALVARADOIn the late 1920s and early 1930s Tecumseh and Clinton’s high school football teams faced each other annually in a traditional Thanksgiving Day game that fans looked forward to each year as the final contest of the season.The newspaper archive of the Tecumseh Herald dates back to the late 1920’s and an article from the Nov. 21, 1929, edition promoted “the old rivalry contest” between two “friendly enemies,” stating it should be another thrilling encounter after having the ‘27 and ‘28 contests end in scoreless ties. Tecumseh was victorious the two previous competitions, defeating Clinton 7-0 in ‘26 and 6-0 in ‘25. The last time Clinton won the contest was by a score of 21-6 in ‘24.The ‘29 game was played on the Tecumseh’s Athletic Field beginning at “2:30 o’clock” on Thursday, Nov. 28, in front of a huge crowd with chilling winter winds on a frozen field. Tecumseh’s 11, led by coach “Red” Wilson, recorded a top-heavy score of 26-7 to retain bragging rights for another year. Tecumseh lost only to Hudson (27-6) and Blissfield (13-6) that season.Clinton went down to defeat at home in the 1930 holiday battle as well with Tecumseh recording a 19-0 victory. The following year, Clinton had to face Tecumseh as a Class C championship contender. Tecumseh was in play for the state title that season but lost 14-0 against St. Augustine in Kalamazoo the previous week. The report of the contest in the Dec. 3, 1931, edition of the Tecumseh Herald began, “The Michigan Class C football championship contenders, armed with all of “Red” Wilson’s offensive trickery, scalped the Clinton Redskins, 41-0, in the annual Turkey Day clash of the teams here Thursday.” It was the first mention in the Herald of Clinton’s mascot name being Redskins in its holiday contest reports and the last time the Herald reported the two teams playing on Thanksgiving Day. A crowd of 1,000 witnessed the “massacre” at Tecumseh’s Athletic Park. Tecumseh was ranked No. 3 that year in the state for Class C, having only lost two other games besides the championship contest against St. Augustine. Tecumseh was defeated by two Class B schools that year, Adrian and Blissfield, but was named the “Champions of southern Michigan” title by defeating Chelsea, Huron County champions, and Parma, Jackson County champions.While the rivalry Turkey Day game had faded away, the two teams continued to battle annually for years until eventually going their own separate ways in the early 1950s. In ‘32, Tecumseh “took Clinton to camp without permitting a single score.” The final season contest was played on Nov. 11. For its annual football banquet, Tecumseh had among its speakers one of the famed “Four Horsemen of Notre Dame,” Jim Crowley, coach of Michigan State College.Tecumseh continued its annual rivalry game dominance with a 7-0 shutout over Clinton in ‘33. The final season contest was played on Nov. 10.The ‘34 contest finished in a 6-6 tie at Clinton.In 1935, the two rivals met for the Indians’ homecoming contest on Nov. 7, and Clinton finished its season without scoring a single point after being defeated 32-0 in Tecumseh.Clinton lost 28-8 in 1936 but in ‘37, the Redskins were victorious. By midseason of 1938, Tecumseh’s school board was asking residents whether to continue its football program at all after having five of its 11 players injured, one seriously, in a contest against Ypsilanti. After sending out a questionnaire to parents concerning the issue, the board decided football would continue in Tecumseh.Tecumseh defeated Clinton 6-0 that season.The next year Tecumseh purchased property, a natural amphitheatre, for its own athletic field where the middle school football field is now. The Indians defeated Clinton by a slim 7-6 in 1940.Clinton played “Under the Lights” on Tecumseh’s new Recreation Center Field during its official dedication on Oct. 10 of ‘41. The Indians dominated the contest, winning 27-0.A crowd of 1,500 at Clinton watched Tecumseh take an 18-7 victory in ‘42 and an even larger group witnessed the Indians defeat the Redskins 16-0 in Tecumseh during the ‘43 game.The 1944 contest was a heated affair even before the contest started. The week before the contest pep rallies were staged by both teams in each other’s backyards. A large group of 200 Indians traveled to Clinton to rant and rave about their team while an unknown number of Redskins came to Tecumseh and deposited a dead skunk in the middle of downtown. The night before the big game Tecumseh held another pep rally where Barry Freckelton lost a front tooth and loosened several others when participating in a snake dance. He was on the tail end of the snake and when the whip cracked he was thrown face down to the ground.For the first time in the previous seven years, Clinton’s luck held out for a 26-0 victory over the Indians, on Friday the 13th in 1944.Clinton traveled to “Teepee Town” for the ‘45 contest and went home on the losing end of the stick, falling 19-0 to Tecumseh’s “Braves.”Because Clinton didn’t have a field with lights, the 1946 contest took place at 3:30 p.m. in front of another near record-breaking crowd. Tecumseh won the contest 6-0. The Herald report stated, “Although the victory was another scalp for the Braves’ war belt, it was far from another feather in their bonnet.”Tecumseh scored the only touchdown off a trick, “Sleeper play.” Following the kickoff, Bill Hayden, Indian left end, lay down on the Tecumseh side of the field to prepare the old but surprising trick. The ball was immediately snapped and Marvin Barber flipped the pigskin to Hayden who had slipped unnoticed past the opponent’s defense. He scampered the remaining 50 of the 60 yards to score the lone touchdown.The Indians also won the next year (‘47) at home, beating Clinton’s Redskins 6-0. In 1948, Clinton hosted the contest for the first time under lights in a new stadium. Tecumseh won the field-dedication game by just one point, beating the Redskins 7-6. To end the ‘40s, Clinton defeated Tecumseh 25-6 in LCAA play after finishing the first half tied 6-6. It was a tough season for the Indians. Tecumseh was two men down after its first game, having its starting star center Owen Campbell and his replacement, Larry Hart, both injured within minutes of each other the previous week against Morenci. “Larry got to see only a few seconds of play when he broke his wrist.” Tecumseh lost 56-0.The Indians and the Redskins continued playing a rivalry contest until 1953. The Redskins won in 1950 by just one point, 13-12, but Tecumseh came back in ‘51 to record a 26-6 victory. Clinton finished out the competitions with victories the final two seasons, winning 20-13 in 1952 and 18-6 the final year of the conflicts. That was the last year the Indians of “TeePee Town” played in an annual football contest against Clinton.

Tecumseh Herald

 

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