We continue our series of highlighting the best Tyrone football teams of the past, this football season with a series of articles about the 1931 team.
Using the format of presenting one team each Fall, we highlight each game during that particular season along with some of the events, news and advertisers that occupied space in the Daily Herald during that late summer and fall. We plan to delve into the past, far and recent and for your enjoyment, enlightenment and delight, present yet another in the long line of excellence that the Tyrone Golden Eagles have compiled on the gridiron.
School opened on Sept. 8 in the Tyrone School District in 1931. District Superintendent Eisenhart and high school principal F. Clark Skelly were in charge of 2,192 children. That total could be partitioned out to include 415 students at Adams, 541 at Logan, 227 at Washington, 586 in the junior high and 423 in the high school. There was one new teacher in each of the elementary schools and nine new teachers at the high school.
“The Tyrone Daily Herald,” as the newspaper was named back in the 1930s, cost two cents per copy and included many of the same things it does today. There were extras or deletions that made it a bit different as well.
One section of the paper was headlined “News from Four Counties,” and had news from communities such as Milesburg, Unionville, Port Matilda, Nealmont, Alexandria, Tipton, Neffs Mills, Northwood, Bellwood, Petersburg, Bald Eagle, Warriors Mark, Julian, Tyrone and State College. Each area wasn’t included every day, five or six areas were covered each day. The people in these different places and their lives, events, visits as well as meetings were grist for the readers fancy.
The King syndicate provided political cartoons. A “Herald History” of news from 25, 50 and 100 years ago was standard. There was always a book feature including one chapter each day with a summary of the day before, in case the reader somehow had missed the previous day’s paper. Through the middle of September, 1931, it was “The Czarina’s Rubies” by Sidney Warwick. Also appearing each day was “The Boat,” from the play by Maude Fulton and the Fox movie starring Sally O’Neil, also one chapter daily. “The Film Shop” was a daily feature by Harrison Carroll about movies and actors and actresses of that era and news of the happenings in Hollywood.
The El Patio Theatre celebrated Paramount’s 20th Jubilee with “The Lawyer’s Secret,” with Clive Brook, Richard Arlen and Chas. Rogers on Sept. 7-8. “Honeymoon Lane,” with Eddie Dowling Sept. 9-10, and “The Girl Habit,” with Charles Ruggles on Sept. 12.
Two items in the newspaper on separate days told how much the interest and lifeblood of the economy was still entangled in the Great Depression that had hit Wall Starret and the world in 1929 and was still very much about.
There were constant reminders of the times and the suffering, but the first we mention was that the Central Trust of Frederick and nine branches in Montgomery and Washington counties did not reopen for business. “Business Stagnation,” was given as the cause, according to the director, who said efforts would be made to re-organize and re-open the bank. Deposits were listed as totaling $3,568,000 and resources were $18,600,000 in the last statement released, with a surplus claimed of $1,500,000.
The second was a merger of banks in Bellwood, with the Bellwood Trust Company joining with the First National Bank of Bellwood. Stockholders of each bank, meeting simultaneously gave most unanimous approval.
The charter of the First National Bank, amended to accommodate the merger was then used by the new institution. Each institution was to provide a capital stock of $25,000, making the stock $50,000 and each was to provide $40,000 for a total of $80,000 in the surplus and undivided profits funds.
A committee of five stockholders was named to confer with Trustee George M. Myers, attorney for the Bellwood Trust Company as to the disposition of the assets. This committee consisted of G. A. Jameson, Dr. W. H. Morrow, A. B. Foutz, James Biggins and M. H. Daugherty.
Fred Bland was the trustee for The First National Bank.
Both banks were said to be sound, the only reason for the merger was the heavy decrease in business due to the depression.
The head football coach was Walter Mensch, who took over in 1929 after Eugene McConnell coached in 1928. Mensch started out slowly with a 4-5-1 mark in his first season in 1929, then was 23-5-1 over the next three seasons to finish his tenure 27-10-2. Mensch’s assistant was Earl Davis.
Tyrone returned seven veterans from the 1930 squad which went 8-2, among a roster of over 50 hopefuls.
Home games were played at the Athletic Park field, usually at 2 or 2:30 p.m. on Saturday afternoons.
The first game, scheduled for Sept 18 against Bigler Township, was canceled.
Bigler had been experiencing difficulties in getting their team into shape and did not feel that they would be justified in bringing their team to Tyrone. This gave Mensch another week to work out the Eagles’ rough edges before a Saturday, Sept. 26 game with Roaring Spring High School coached by former Tyrone High School and Otterbein College grid star “Mule” Benford. Benford and the Roaring Spring “Yellow Jackets” had put up quite a fight in the 1930 game before losing by only a lone touchdown.
