Not all of the turn of the century sporting news was worthy of the front page in its day. Indeed, beyond the baseball and football scores, and occasional heavy-weight fight or horse race, few sporting events were judged important enough to put in print. Some area tidbits, however, are worth noting, in spite of their lack of historical significance.
Following are a few blasts from the past over the last 150 years in Portage County.
Football fans in 1895 were implored to learn the Stevens Point Normal School fight song for the big game against the “Appleton Boys” from St. Lawrence. Fans were urged to “come out and learn the yell and give it your all whenever the opportunity presents itself.”
For those who may have forgotten, the song went:
“Bleh, Boom, BahThe show of support must have paid off, for the locals squeezed out an important 8-0 win in spite of conditions that were described as “too hot and too dusty.” Alas, the Normal boys went on to lose the state championship game 10-0 to Whitewater - a team described as “those doughty kickers from the south.”
There was a movement afoot in 1898 to form a local gun club in Stevens Point. Evidently, some locals caught wind of some shooting meets being held around the state and decided to form a team to “conduct number of matches and enter a team in the state tournaments.”
Woodland Park was referred to as “the ideal pleasure resort” for area campers and picnickers in 1900. Advertisements promised the park, located on the Wisconsin River one mile north of Stevens Point, would be open for the summer season and be the perfect place for those interested in public and private parties, camping and fishing.
In 1910, a study from Harvard appeared in the Stevens Point Journal deeming football as a safe sport “as long as it was not played by trained gladiators.”
Stevens Point boasted an amateur baseball team in 1910 called the Hooligans. No word on whether the players were ever involved in any bench-clearing brawls.
The roller skating craze officially hit the area in 1911 when the county’s first indoor rink was opened at the Empire Amusement Hall. Skating fees were 10 cents and skate rentals were 15 cents. The new facility bragged of being “ventilated and sanitary.”
The area’s first softball league arrived in 1930 when the Stevens Point Softball League was formed. Eight teams participated in the fast-pitch league. All games were played at the Stevens Point Fairgrounds.
The first casualty list of the Stevens Point High School football team has been officially issued from headquarters. It contains the names of five men. The list following gives particulars;
Severely wounded
Raymond Bourn, broken collar bone.
Wounded In action
Lyman Johnson, black eye.
John Heffron, strained wrist.
Wounded, extent not ascertained
Andrew Van Hecke
Missing in action
Two front teeth belonging to Frank Sprafka.