THE FOOTBALL GAME (S) THAT SAVED LIVES…PART 2

Continuing on from PART 1 there were two other games that I found information in dealing with the November 11, 1940 storm.

Tomah vs. Sparta

Farther north of Boscobel, Tomah beat Sparta in their annual matchup.  In the hard-fought game that also featured high winds and a blinding snowstorm, Harold “Red” Larabee took the ball from the Sparta 24-yard line and dashed 23-yards where he was finally pushed out of bounds on the one-yard line.  He then plunged for the touchdown on the next play and then ran for the extra point.  His second quarter score was the games only score.  Each team had eight first downs but only one each in the second half as they battled each other and the weather.

So, how did this game possibly save lives?  Several days later the Eau Claire Leader Telegram reported that three area men, driving to La Crosse to go duck hunting had car problems and had to stay overnight on Friday in Sparta.  Parts for the car were hard to come by and the car wouldn’t be ready until Monday afternoon.  To pass the time until 3pm, the time to pick the car up, they decided walk to the local football game at New Site Stadium.  It was great weather…50’s and sunny.  The storm hit Sparta hard.  They left early to get their car then stayed one more night but cancelled their hunting trip after learning of what happened on the Mississippi River.  More about that later.

Winona (MN) vs Rochester (MN)

Winona traveled to Rochester for an annual season ending matchup.  Both teams were in the middle of their conference rankings.  City officials expected 4,000+ attendees but a late morning rain kept the fan totals down to 600 at the start of the game.  Soldiers Field was muddy to begin at the start, then the winds came followed by the snow 10-minutes later.  A few minutes later those watching the number was down to less than 300.  Rochester would dominate the overall stats and by the by the time the game ended there were only 50-60 diehard fans in attendance.  Players from both sides huddled together to stay warm. As the two teams were placed, for some reason, along the same sideline. 

Down 7-0, Winona attempted a field goal in the second quarter.  With the wind now swirling all about the ball went into the air and seemed to hover for a moment.  First moving to the left then to the right but not going past the line of scrimmage, then the ball flew back over the kickers head and was down on the 37-yard line.  This culminated what was Winona’s only drive of the game as they only had 2 first downs to Rochester’s 12 and were outgained 86 to 271 in the ground game as neither team completed a pass.  Winona’s only score came on a blocked punt that was returned 52-yards by William Corchran for a touchdown, the same player who blocked the kick.   A punt by Winona’s Bob Harders in the third quarter went up in the air and hovered for 10-15 seconds, not moving back and forth like the earlier Winona field goal attempt and then was finally blown back and came down 15-yards behind Harders who downed the ball. 

With the bad weather there were lots of fumbles.  76 Winona high school students who attended the game, not dressed for the bad weather, sought shelter in a newly opened bowling alley and slept overnight there before returning to Winona the next day.   Carleton Dorn, the Winona team captain, spent the night in the hospital with a groin injury but was released on Tuesday and traveled with the team back home.  No mention in the papers (The Rochester Post Bulletin or the Winona Republican-Herald) where the team spent the night. The final score wound up 13-6 in Rochester’s favor. 

Again, a story in the local paper, The Rochester Post-Bulletin, would later credit several people who came back from hunting to attend the game as having survived the storm on the Mississippi River.

Rochester Post- Bulletin November 12, 1940

MORE ON THE BIG STORM

The Crawford County Press (Prairie du Chien) Thursday, November 14, 1940.

The storm moved out of the north-west (Oregon) on Friday, November 8, and traveled across the Rocky Mountains where it picked up steam.  It dipped into the southwest and Texas and zoomed north into Lake Superior gripping, at various times, 28 states.

Chicago Tribune November 12, 1940

At least one hunter died near Prairie du Chien.  Hunters were trapped on numerous islands all along Mississippi River from Wisconsin to central Illinois.  At least three hunters from Janesville died due to the weather 30-miles north of Prairie du Chien in the Ferryville and nine overall along the river.  Several hundred had to suffer through the night of November 11-12, stranded and unable to get to solid ground as the wind and snow made rescue, in most cases, impossible until mid-day or later.

Eau Claire Leader Telegram   Nov. 13, 1940

70 deaths were attributed to the storm wave throughout the Mid-west.  Ships on Lake Michigan sunk due the heavy waves.  On Lake Michigan the Coast Guard lost at least four of their own men attempting to rescue people.  In Nebraska at least 25% of the farm raised turkeys died while in Minnesota the rate was over 33%.  With Thanksgiving only less than three weeks away, the harvest of the birds was diminished.  Some southern states saw temperatures, normally in the 50’s-60’s drop into the upper 20’s for a day but high winds and a few tornadoes’ cut through the region.  In Chicago, which received a few inches of snow saw heavy wind damage.  A Hiram Walker whiskey sign, nearly 10 stories tall that was on a three-story building in downtown Chicago was blown over as wind gusts hit 70-80mph.  Near Mankato Minnesota three people were found frozen to death in their stalled cars, one under a snow drift.

In all I’ve able to track at least 15 Armistice Day Wisconsin football games cancelled or postponed because of the weather.  But truly, because some diehard football fans put off their duck hunting for a game on the gridiron, lives may very well have been saved.

Finally, near Madison several football games were rescheduled and there were local hunting problems.

Wisconsin State Journal November 12, 1940

You would have thought that Rupert J. Batz would have heard that a storm was coming and been prepared.

A special thanks to Derick Kelly, Sports Editor of the Prairie du Chien Courier Press Newspaper for giving me leads on these PDC vs. Boscobel 1940 game that led to more story gathering for PART 2.  Derick has also done a masterful job in collecting PDC high school records, particularly football.