By Bob Broeg

By Bob Broeg Bob Broeg. "The Roaring Tiger's 20s" is taken from the book, 0/' Mizzou: A History of Missouri Football, by Bob Broeg. Published by the Strode Publishers, Huntsville, Alabama. Copyright 1974 by Coach Gwinn Henry Abe Stuber Bert Clark 20 / mtSSOURI aLUmnus If ever there were a period in the a sparkling 25-6-3. least amount of pressure on play past perhaps to be envied, it would Moreover, with expanded sched ers and coaches, I'd say, yes, most be the era of the Roaring Twen ules that brought the Tigers into definitely." ties. Through the center cut of that intersectional - and tougher - It was a time of joy. The "war to vibrant decade, Missouri enjoyed competition, the result was na end all wars" was behind. Though a football prosperity that would tional recognition. highways had become something be matched only at Don Faurot's "Except for Dan Devine's 1969 more than planked roads and the coaching peak, Dan Devine's sen team, I don't believe any of our automobile as no longer a nov sational Sixties and, potentially, teams ever rated higher than Hen elty, four wheels were still rare Al Onofrio's exciting Seventies. ry's," said Faurot, aware that De enough that life on the campus The architect was Gwinn Hen vine's 1960 squad narrowly missed was well-knit and cozy. ry, a coach for whom Faurot held the national championship and The traveling big-band era, which great respect and even affection, that his own 1939and1941 teams would reach a crescendo just be though when Don had been late ranked extremely high. fore World War II, was at hand. for practice one day, Henry disci "There were no coaches' or press So, too, were the campus eating plined him by forcing the morti polls in Henry's day," Faurot point and meeting joints at which stu fied fullback to stand on the side ed out, "but the Dickinson system dents of musical talent played for lines the rest of the afternoon. named for a professor at the Uni their supper. Abe Stuber, like Faurot a coach versity of Illinois was widely ac- Ah, times were good. Construe- · of stature and a career football cepted." __ tion boomed on campuses. Patri man, evaluated Henry as "a Faurot and Stuber, though loy otically-and a bit slyly, too, ifyou great person, greatest handling al to their own playing era and do not mind the cynicism-col a squad." proud of the Black and Gold's ac leges built campaniles and other To Stuber, the soft-spoken St. complishments in their days on memorials to the war dead, in Joseph back who later coached campus, would not compare the cluding, not so coincidentally, Westminster, Cape Girardeau, game they played with the one football stadiums. Iowa State, and then assisted two they coached and certainly not Missouri, as usual, dragged its professional teams before becom the one played now by men of su feet on building a new athletic fa ing scouting director of the St. perior size and speed. cility, but by the time 01' Mizzou Louis football Cardinals, Henry But one who has followed Mis got around to a new stadium, the had the "ability to get players to souri closely since the mid-1930s performance of the Tigers cer play and to make the big plays." wondered if, taking everything tainly merited one. Said Honest Abe, as Rusty Cas into consideration, the Roaring The 1924 Missouri team showed teel always called Stuber: "They Twenties were not the best-bal the basic homestate makeup of said Henry was only so-so as an anced for proper perspective. most 01' Mizzou teams. To give offensive coach, but the fact is "If you mean," said Faurot, "the an idea of the size and shape of that he was a very good pass most accomplishment with the things to come as the Tigers be- From 1924through1926, Coach Henry's teams Won 18, lost 4, tied 3. coach, using his backs to slip out of the backfield with good pat terns. And I thought he was a great talker. I can remember games he had half the players crying. "He was a low-key recruiter, but in his own Texas way he had a way of getting things done." Indeed he did. For a three-year period, 1924 through 1926, Hen ry's teams won eighteen games, lost only four, and tied three. Add 1927, and the four-year record of three conference champions with a narrowly missed fourth became One-Hundred-eighty-two-pound tackle Ed Llndenmeyer, Mlzzou's first All-American grldder. ffilSSOURI aLUmnus / 21 Faurot. gan a sparkling three-season run that all players and coaches might orchard business, Don at national recognition, only eight ponder, the Kansas Aggie team Instead, a wonderful thing hap seniors were listed on Henry's sent flowers to the Tigers after pened. Southern California had varsity. the game. tied Stanford for the Pacific Coast Conference championship, but the Missouri's opening opponent in Against Washington U., sopho Rose Bowl, passing up the Trojans, 1924 was one of the gridiron pow more Abe Stuber ripped off runs had tapped Pop Warner's team, ers of the country for years - the of 40 and 60 yards. Son of an ice led by legendary Ernie Nevers, to University of Chicago. plant operator in St. Joseph, Stu play Knute Rockne's Four Horse Chicago, coached by the im- ber, one of seven children, had men of Notre Dame. been recruited for Missouri by his To honor the Trojans, Los An high school coach at St. Joe Cen geles decided to seek the best pos Tigers received tral, [Anton J .] Stankowski, just as sible team from the rest of the The Stan had been wooed and won for United States to meet USC on national attention with MU by St. Joe's Bud Sanders, Christmas Day. Missouri, as Val a 3-0 win over Chicago. quarterback of the 1909 team with ley champion and the only team that big impressive "M" on his to beat Big Ten titleholder Chica sweater. go, was invited. mortal Amos Alonzo Stagg, was Abe Stuber's brother, George, The invitation was accepted be champion of the Big Ten when also played in the Missouri back cause MU brass figured the pub the mighty Maroons kicked off to field later and so did Abe's son, licity would help boost the Memo Missouri at Stagg Field before Dick. That is the way recruiting rial Stadium Fund. Twenty-one 35,000. went before it burgeoned to a full players, who had not practiced for time job for some members oflarge two weeks, were taken west. more than In what was regarded as an upset coaching staffs spending No Missouri athletic team prob a year to keep tabs on the Missouri won, 3-0, when Charles $50,000 ably ever had such a tour-unless State's Woody Van Dyne blocked a Chicago punt top talent. Ohio it was the "lost" team of 1896. For spends $27,000 on the Maroons' 13-yard line. There, Hayes reportedly one thing, rapid plane trips, begun a year on phone calls alone. W~en Coglizer kicked a field goal. in the brief coaching era of Frank college foot Playing next to Faurot and the Back there when Broyles, made travel an in-out ex not quite the pressure only linebacker when Missouri ball was perience for athletes. For another, the BIG game went into a 7 -1-3 defense that day cooker it became, no ordinary train trip came close and may had been Clyde Smith, the first of still was as big as now- to matching the goodwill tour of three brothers who starred as "rov be more so. gaping and glad-handing. 15 men, ing centers." Glenn and Ray fol Against Kansas, playing Present-day coaches would rebel game lowed Clyde Smith, a 195-pounder the Tigers broke a scoreless at all the banquets through which when White lauded by Faurot. in the third period Gwinn Henry's dutiful squad sat. "He was great. I was reminded man raced 20 yards. A 14-0 vic But then, young people were not when of him when Darold came along, tory was capped fittingly so sophisticated when Don Faurot driving right through blockers," Captain Bond, en route to Oxford was the name of an undergradu inter said Faurot. Jenkins was all-Amer and a Rhodes Scholarship, ate rather than of a football field. ica center in 1941. cepted a long pass on the Tiger 6- Remember, if you will, that the Clyde Smith's interception against yard line as the gun sounded. student athletes were helping to I Kansas State in 1924, setting up Before the bowl game era, this raise money for the new stadium, the winning TD, was so exciting should have been the last game for for which Faurot and others helped that aroused Missouri fans over Bond and for his other seniors - grade the field. select ran the field fence at Rollins and Clyde Smith, unanimously The Mizzou party left Columbia of the all surged over the track and onto the ed as center and captain December 19 in one of the worst gridiron at the 3-yard line, where Missouri Valley team; "Chase" Van sleet storms ever. The Tigers' train Smith had completed his return. Dyne, a great tackle; Jerry Lewis, was met continually by alumni Walsh The referee, Ed Cochrane, sports all-Valley at guard; Johnny groups en route.

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