Today's Tidbit... The Umpire Strikes Back?

('Wauseka and Fretz and Coach Warner Rule Off Field --- Umpire Is Attacked,' Philadelphia Inquirer, October 31, 1909.)

Players, coaches, and crowd members criticizing or attacking the officials at sporting events seem to be getting worse and more frequent, but it certainly is nothing new. Football had seen such incidents since well before the officials wore striped shirts; one of them occurred when Carlisle met Penn at Franklin Field in 1909.

Although Penn won two-thirds of the non-tie games between the teams, Carlisle beat Penn soundly in 1906 and 1907 before tying the 1908 game, so Penn was not in a good mood as the game began. Still, it appeared to be a clean game as the Quakers raced to an early lead at the midpoint of the first half. Penn's quarterback, Miller, then ran around the end and was forcefully knocked out of bound by Carlisle's left tackle, Waseuka. Perhaps he gave Miller a little extra treatment on the play. Either way, Penn's left tackle, Fretz, jumped into the mix to help Miller from the ground. However, Waseuka objected to Fretz's actions, leading to the two exchanging blows.