The Origins of Six-Man Football

Stephen Epler was a teacher and assistant football coach at Nebraska's Beatrice High School in 1934 when he became concerned that many high schools lacked football teams, which he attributed to small enrollments and insufficient budgets.

In 1933, Nebraska had 505 high schools, but only 218 (43 percent) played football. Among the 317 schools with fewer than 100 pupils, only 68 played football. More broadly, there were 24,000 public high schools in the U.S., and while 18,000 played basketball, only 8,000 played football. Seventy percent of American high schools had fewer than 200 students, and nearly half had fewer than 100 students. Those numbers seem crazy now, but it was not until 1920 that America's urban population exceeded its rural population. In addition, it was not until the 1950s that many rural communities formed consolidated school districts. 

Small schools also faced budget constraints, especially during the Depression. Football required a complete set of gear for each player, even those who tried out for the team and chose not to continue, so Epler designed a game requiring fewer players with rules allowing the use of less or lower-cost equipment.

Monarch Garments published a retail premium providing a background of six-man football that encouraged boys to play. (Personal collection)