This postcard, taken around 1909, features the Mineral Wells High School football team.
Please note the guards, hanging around their necks, that were used to protect the noses of the players. Those guards were held in place by means of a strap that went around the head, and were further kept in place by clenching the teeth on a rubber bit on the inside of the guard.
The back of the card lists the players' names from top left: 1) Jessie Turner, 2) Tulane Smith, 3) J.C. Hayes, 4) Faburt Holmes , 5) George Oliver, 6) Blake Turner, 7) Bertram Hedrich, 8) Lamar McNew, and 9) Mr. Dinsmore. Front row 10) Carodine Hootin 11) Gordon Whatley, 12) Vernon Durham, 13) Fred McClurhin, 14) Achie Holdrige, 15) Chester Baughn, and 16) Hugh Brewster.
Jess Turner(1) was later a member of Mineral Wells' only undefeated team in 1912. C.N. Turner, father of teammates Jess(1) and Blake Turner(6), purchased one of the early telephone companies in Palo Pinto County. He operated it with his sons as a family business. Jess Turner became a pioneer in the telephone business, and purchased the other family interests in 1924 to become sole owner of the family enterprise. His son, Jess Turner, Jr., operated the telephone company following World war II, relinquishing his position in October of 1975. A modern viewer of this picture might be startled by the lack of body armor, but it must be remembered that during the early decades of the twentieth century football was a blood sport. Injuries--even fatalities--on the field were an expected event. Many university presidents had disbanded teams (after numerous fatalities on the field) and banned the sport from their campuses. The first Rose Bowl game (Stamford versus. Ann Arbor) in 1903 was such a brutal rout that the committee in charge wondered whether a chariot race might be better in keeping feature with their festivities. Theodore Roosevelt, as president of the United States intervened forcibly in 1905. He called a meeting of the leaders of the game. He told them bluntly either to clean it up, or rising public outcry might force him to ban football altogether. A hasty meeting was called of the rules committee. They legalized (but much restricted) the forward pass; they also outlawed the Flying Wedge (and other forms of unnecessary roughness). The new rules--although decried by football purists--went into effect during the 1906 season. The modern viewer, with concerns about concussions, might be outraged to see that the players lack an effective helmet, but the picture was in 1909. The nose-guards shown here are an admission (albeit a grudging one) that players of football needed protection if they were going to engage in the game.
Place Name coordinates. (May be approximate.)
Place Name coordinates. (May be approximate.)
