Today's Tidbit... Connecting with the 1895 and 1896 Maine Wesleyan Football Teams
Today's Tidbit... Connecting with the 1895 and 1896 Maine Wesleyan Football Teams
I love this image. It's from an RPPC I've had for a few years and shows Charles L. Graves, Myron E. Bennett, and W. L. Pullen of the 1895 Maine Wesleyan football team. Bennett, the captain, sits while Graves and Pullen stand. Part of the attraction is the crystal-clear quality of the studio image. I also like the quilted football pants and nose guards hanging from two of the three necks. While none of the three appear to be studs, there's a trophy hanging behind them, so somebody did something.
Maine Wesleyan, known informally then and formally now as Kents Hill School, is among the country's oldest coeducational college prep schools. Their alum list includes few who were recognized by football fans, though Ray Eliot, Illinois' head coach from 1942 to 1959, deserves mention. He won two Rose Bowls, his second coming during my Dad's senior year in Champaign.
As for Graves, Bennett, and Pullen, a newspaper article says the picture above, or one like it appeared in the 1896 Spalding Foot Ball Guide. I don't have a digital or physical copy of that year's guide, so if someone has one and can send me an image, please do.
Newspaper reports tell us Bennett was the team manager in 1885. Captains managed the team on the field back then, and team managers handled them off the field, arranging schedules, travel arrangements, and all things financial. Another report tells us that Bennett was also the senior captain that year, so he was sufficiently responsible to handle many duties as a high school senior. We don't allow high schoolers to sign contracts, buy equipment, and dole out funds nowadays, but they did back then.
Maine Wesleyan had a good season in 1895, winning the Maine Interscholastic Football Association championship and allowing only four points in their six games. In the final game against Thornton, Pullen started at left end, Graves at right end, and Bennett at left halfback. With two inches of snow on the ground, the game's only score came on a first-half Maine Wesleyan crisscross play, now known as a reverse. Touchdowns were only worth four points then, and with the Methodist's inability to convert, the score stood 4-0. Wesleyan dominated the second half but could not score, so the game ended in a 4-0 Maine Wesleyan advantage.
Winning the state championship meant Maine Wesleyan likely received a trophy for their accomplishments, which may be the plaque or trophy seen in the image.
Bennett was a senior during the 1895 season, and his 1948 obituary indicates he graduated from Maine Wesleyan in 1896. Graves and Pullen were juniors in 1895 and were touted in an 1896 preseason report as the top returning players.
Things started well in 1896 with Maine Wesleyan beating the Colby College seconds 22-0, but they suffered a series of losses against other high school and prep opponents after that. At least Graves enjoyed having his illustrated portrait appear in a Maine newspaper.
Oddly, by late October, the graduated Bennett returned to campus and played several games that caused controversy among some opponents. His appearance may have been similar to the post-graduate years that remain common at Eastern prep schools and all three service academies. However, based on the available information, there's no telling. Maine Wesleyan won more often with Bennett playing, but they suffered too many early-season losses to contend for the championship.
Our three stars went on to other things in life. Although it can be difficult to track the lives of random prep school players down the road, Myron "M. E." Bennett reportedly attended Harvard for a year or two before returning to Sanford, Maine, his hometown. He then became the superintendent of schools, fire chief, and store owner, and the governor named him to a state insurance board.
Charlie "C. L." Graves returned to Sanford, ME, ultimately running an appliance store, which positioned him to sell radios in their early days.
W. L. Pullen became a lawyer, practicing in Boston. In the years immediately following his graduation from Maine Wesleyan, he became involved in supporting the athletic program. He was later named to the Board of Trustees and became President of that body in 1937.
Most who read Football Archaeology believe football can teach young men about teamwork, perseverance, dealing with adversity, and a few other platitudes, yet young folks can learn similar lessons from other extracurricular activities. Still, football provides a kinship to young men from the late 1890s that I don't share with band members since I never played an instrument.
Hopefully, football provides a connection with those I'm watching today on college football's opening day. Their experiences are different from mine, just as mine are from the Maine Wesleyan players. Despite the many changes to the game, we share an experience that crosses generations.
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