Everett High School in Massachusetts had an interesting team in 1909. The school was a football power, winning state championships in 1896, 1897, and 1899 and feeding football players into top Eastern colleges, so I was glad to acquire the real photo postcard (RPPC) shown below. I was equally excited to find a nearly identical image in a
You've zeroed in on quite an aggregation. But there may be even more to the story, as I relate in my book, "The Coach Who Strangled the Bulldog: How Harvard's Percy Haughton Beat Yale and Reinvented Football." In 1999, the Boston Globe named Brick (arguably the greatest dropkicker in football history) the greatest Massachusetts high school football player of the 20th century--beating out, among others, future Heisman winners Angelo Bertelli, Joe Bellino and Doug Flutie. (Had there been a Heisman in 1913, Brickley would have won it.) However...when Brickley and Everett faced Somerville in the 1909 state title game, the 10,000 in attendance saw a bizarre 11-10 Everett loss As I note, "the play-by-play offers several developments that make a modern reader wonder if the fix was in--and Brickley was in on it."
Per The Boston Globe: "Everett's inability to kick a goal after its first touchdown also counted against it. Norris punted out well, but Capt. Charles Brickley was nervous after catching it, and he missed the goal by a few yards...Capt. Charles Brickley broke through. the right side of the line, and, with a clear field, he dropped the ball....Charles Brickley tore off a 17-yard run and would have scored had he not stumbled....Capt. Brickley dropped back for a goal from placement from the 25-yard line. He missed by many yards."
Twenty years later, Brickley would be convicted of stock manipulation and serve time in jail. His reputation never recovered, and he is not in College Football Hall of Fame.
Thanks for adding to the story. I was aware of his issues as a stock broker, but did not know about the "hiccups" in the title game.
You've zeroed in on quite an aggregation. But there may be even more to the story, as I relate in my book, "The Coach Who Strangled the Bulldog: How Harvard's Percy Haughton Beat Yale and Reinvented Football." In 1999, the Boston Globe named Brick (arguably the greatest dropkicker in football history) the greatest Massachusetts high school football player of the 20th century--beating out, among others, future Heisman winners Angelo Bertelli, Joe Bellino and Doug Flutie. (Had there been a Heisman in 1913, Brickley would have won it.) However...when Brickley and Everett faced Somerville in the 1909 state title game, the 10,000 in attendance saw a bizarre 11-10 Everett loss As I note, "the play-by-play offers several developments that make a modern reader wonder if the fix was in--and Brickley was in on it."
Per The Boston Globe: "Everett's inability to kick a goal after its first touchdown also counted against it. Norris punted out well, but Capt. Charles Brickley was nervous after catching it, and he missed the goal by a few yards...Capt. Charles Brickley broke through. the right side of the line, and, with a clear field, he dropped the ball....Charles Brickley tore off a 17-yard run and would have scored had he not stumbled....Capt. Brickley dropped back for a goal from placement from the 25-yard line. He missed by many yards."
Twenty years later, Brickley would be convicted of stock manipulation and serve time in jail. His reputation never recovered, and he is not in College Football Hall of Fame.