| Letter from Robert Bonar, January, 2010
I have been researching the football history of West Union/Doddridge County High School and would like to share some of the information I've found, as well as ask some questions to help fill out my research. I am not a graduate of DCHS, but I am attempting to compile football histories of all LKC schools. I have almost completed a list of scores for the WUHS/DCHS football team and I wanted to have some supporting material to go along with it, and that is what my questions are about.
I learned that West Union played its first season in 1919, and hosted its first home game against Shinnston. That year they also hosted Victory in VHS's first ever football game. In 1930, West Union participated in the first night game in the state of West Virginia, held at St. Marys. Local businessmen vowed to erect lights in West Union immediately, but DCHS did not actually get lights until 1947.
John Jett was probably the most successful DCHS football player. He made Wake Forest's freshman squad in 1937 and went on to letter with the Demon Deacons' varsity. He was drafted by the Detroit Lions in 1941 and played one year.
1. The first question is about DCHS's football field. In 1919, the first year West Union supported a football team, the West Union Record indicated that the field was on an "old ball ground just across the east railroad bridge," which sounds like the site of the current Cline Stansberry Stadium to me. In the 1920s and 1930s, the local papers referred to DCHS's football field as Davis Field or Davis Park. Have you had ever heard of Davis Park before? From the sound of it, DCHS has always played at the same place, but I wanted to make sure.
2. The next question is about DCHS itself. I know from research that West Union High was founded in 1900 for the residents of West Union only. Carr High was founded for the residents of Grant District in 1926. In 1933, the county unit plan created county boards of education, and the new Doddridge County BOE merged West Union and Carr into the WUHS building, creating Doddridge County High School for all students in the county. My question is this: Does the DCHS alumni association consider DCHS a seperate school from WUHS since it technically was a consolidation, or do they consider DCHS and WUHS to be the same?
3. When did DCHS become the Bulldogs, and does anyone know what the athletic teams from WUHS or Carr High were called? Parkersburg and Clarksburg papers called DCHS's teams in the 1930s and 1940s the Big Green, Green and White and even the Wildcats and Bobcats. I didn't see Bulldogs mentioned until after WWII.
4. The last question is about Bob Murphy. I learned that he was on West Union's first football team and broke his leg in the second game, ending his season. The question I have regarding Mr. Murphy is I wondered if anyone knew when he graduated from West Union High School. The reason I ask is because I know that Mr. Murphy, who won more than 140 games at DCHS, had at least four players become successful coaches themselves: Cline Stansberry, who won 141 games, and three Underwood brothers: Forrest (Huntington East High School), Ted (Salem College), and Wayne (Calhoun County High where he won 115 games). If Murphy was still playing football in 1921 or 1922, that means that he was coached by M.T. "Hick" Hamrick, who won around 150 games at West Union, East Bank and Calhoun.
I thank you in advance for any help you can provide. Do you know of anyone who would want a copy of this history when I complete it? I would like to include the information I have mentioned, year-by-year results (probably about 90% complete at this point), DCHS's record vs. all opponents and coaching records, as well as a list of all Bulldogs who have made the first team All-LKC.
Robert Bonar
Harrisville, WV
cobcom78@yahoo.com |
