THE MUD BOWL – Two Communities Collide, Part I
Worlds Apart
The beautiful farming area of Bedford County’s Southern Cove looked much the same in 1954 as it does today, according to those that can remember that far back. The gently rolling farm fields, fencerows and rural homesteads remain today much the same as they did 53 years ago.
Replogle High School in New Enterprise was the area’s educational institution at the time and their 1954 football team was gaining a reputation as one of the Mountain Conference’s better teams.
In sharp contrast, an area 30 miles to the west looked nothing like the Cove. A drive there (via 1954 automobiles) took about an hour. The two communities seemed to be worlds apart, despite being separated by only two mountain ridges.
Primarily German immigrants settled the Cove of South-Woodbury Township. Their main objective in this area was farming the land.
The counterpart-community of Beaverdale is located in Summerhill Township and was settled by Eastern Europeans who labored in the mines and steel mills in that area.
The hills there were made of boney, a waste product of the coal mines. Everything in the town was covered with a light coating of black dust. Nothing was spared. Even the water in the creeks was yellow from the sulfur pollutants coming from the mines.
There may not be a greater difference between two close areas anywhere else in the entire U.S.
A large Republican population can be found in the Cove – Mostly Democrats inhabit the west side of the ridges.
Roman Catholicism was the common religion in Beaverdale. The Replogle students mostly grew up in Protestant households.
In less complimentary terms, visitors found Hunkies, Dagos, Slovaks and Pollocks living in Beaverdale.
In New Enterprise, the farming community might be known by less flattering names like WASPS and Johnny Bulls.
The Inter-County Conference Championship Game
These two drastically different towns were brought together one fall day in November of 1954. The collision of communities was not about land boundaries, religion or politics. It had nothing to do with the farmers or the coal miners either and most of the combatants knew nothing of the others’ heritage or ancestral background.
The collision dealt with a game. The game was football, and the Eastern Champion of the Inter-County Conference, the Replogle Maroon of New Enterprise, made the trek west to the town of Sidman.
The Adams Township field in Sidman was one of the few stadiums in the region that featured lights. Therefore it was chosen as a neutral battlefield to take on the Beaverdale-Wilmore Beavers (the Western Division Winners) in a play-off game for the Conference title.
Both teams were undefeated (9-0) in the regular season.
The Maroon, coached by Andy Radi, was just beginning to grow into a prominent team of the fifties. In the prior season of ’53, Radi’s Raiders* suffered only one loss, to Robertsdale. Many fans of that era still think today that the ’53 team was the better of the two.
“I may be a little partial,” says Eddie King of New Enterprise. “But I think the ’53 team during my senior year, may have been a little better than the ’54 team.”
“I came home from college for that play-off game and remember it well,” concludes the long-time resident and former coach and teacher. “The entire population here, made the trip over the mountain.”
In Beaverdale however, it was quite different. The Beavers were winning championship after championship, both in the Inter-County and in the Mountain Conference.
They not only went undefeated on more than one occasion in the 40’s and 50’s, they also went undefeated and unscored-upon in ’51.
“On a dry field, we would have killed them,” says Beaverdale team member, Jim Domen. “I remember that game like it was yesterday,” adds the defensive end who later played at William and Mary and Clarion University.
The game was originally scheduled for November 12, but ice and snow in Sidman forced officials to move the game to the 19th, instead.
“Conditions were actually worse the next week, as heavy rains fell the day prior to the game, and the day of the game,” explains Matt Jeremias, former running back for Beaverdale. “I was on crutches for the game with a cracked foot and did not dress,” adds Matt.
“We got there very, very early. There was still time to postpone the game again. Coach (Ron) Corrigan told me to go out and check the field before the game. I stood on the fifty-yard line, in my raincoat, and in my hunting boots. I couldn’t carry an umbrella because of my crutches. The mud came up to my ankles. And the fog was so thick, I could barely see my own boots.”
“I hobbled back into the locker room and told Corrigan about the field,” proclaims Matt.
“The guy never before swore in my presence. He looked at the team and said, ‘Get dressed, we’re going to play the damn football game today, gentlemen.’”
As different as the two towns were, they did share one common trait in 1954. The residents had very little materialistically.
“These were farm boys,” explains Birch Snider of New Enterprise. “They would bale hay by hand, pick rocks all summer, and in the evening would run or walk to get into shape for the upcoming season.
“They had next to nothing, they were poor. But the conditions made them tough players, just like the miners on the other side of the mountain,” adds Birch.
“We were dirt poor,” admits Domen. “I never graduated from Clarion because I had no money to finish my senior year. No one here had much. On the positive side, it made us a rough group of kids. The poor conditions made us tougher.”
“My dad took me to that game,” concludes Snider. “We went into the locker room afterwards. I was only five-years old, but I remember it very well. The players seemed so much older than I was. I looked up to them back then, and still do today. I remember them being big, rough, tough kids.”
“I was only in sixth grade,” proclaims Larry Imler of Sherman Valley. “I thought that team was awesome. I still feel the same way today about them. They will always be the older guys to me.”
“I believe Richard Baker kicked off to start the games,” adds Larry. “And I think Robert Beach kicked the point-after attempts. As a kid, I can still remember wondering how that ball didn’t explode when Baker kicked it. It went so far and so high, I just couldn’t understand how it didn’t blow up.”
Thus, on November 19, 1954, the two communities and their fans were about to collide in what was to become known in both areas as THE MUD BOWL. The soggy saga will continue.
*Nickname given to the team by manager, Clayton Teeter.
For the Bedford Gazette