1931  Bearcats

1931


District 5-B

DHS                     OPP

0  @Gatesville        14

6   Desdemona        0

72  Olden                 0

13  @Stephenville  19

12  @Dublin              0

37  @Hamilton         6

46  Strawn               0

20  @Cross Plains 12

7    Gorman             0

7    @Comanche *  19

 

The 1931 Bearcats

Captain: W.S. Sneed

Ed Glover

Alexander Allen

Arl Scott

Cecil Cooke

C.H. Timmons

J.L. Funderburg

L.B. Mulloy

_________ Kee

R. B. irvin

Charles Rogers

Cecil Funderburg

Willis Lightfoot

F.L. Terrill

W.F. Glazier

Doc Ware

Charles Rogers

   The Depression was taking firm hold of everything by the fall of 1931.  In October, the De Leon teachers were not paid because the funds were in a Comanche bank and the bank had limited withdrawals to $5 per day.  De Leon’s Security State Bank had been “merged” into the Farmers and Merchants National Bank earlier in the year rather than fail and the F&M had also been forced to impose a $5 limit on daily withdrawals.

    The athletic fund came under fire with people questioning exactly where the money was going.  The superintendent set up an athletic commission to handle the funds, appointing former Bearcat and long-time mayor Dewey Daniel, school board member N.L. Nabors, and the high school principal C.C. Gulley as members.  

     Game admission fees were set at 35 cents for adults and 20 cents for students.  The district was again realigned in 1931, this time with eight sections instead of four within the District.

     Information on the games for this season is very limited, as coverage of virtually everything was cut back to save money.


GATESVILLLE

   The Bearcats lost 14-0 in Gatesville.


DESDEMONA

   The entire first half was played in De Leon’s end of the field as the Porker’s passing attack kept the Bearcats bottled up.  The lone score of the game was made by W.S. Sneed.  The try for the extra point failed when the ball carrier fumbled.  De Leon won 6-0.


OLDEN

   Olden was expected to be a strong team and the Bearcats had an open week to prepare for them.  The final score was a 72-0 Bearcat win.  That same week, Comanche beat Dublin by the identical score.


STEPHENVILLE

   The Yellow Jackets came back in the final 40 seconds to tie the Bearcats 13-13.


DUBLIN

   Money question again arose and almost prevented the game with the Lions.  The game was to be played in Dublin but Dublin notified De Leon that it would not pay the agreed fee.  Some heated words were exchanged before an undisclosed settlement was reached and the game played.

    De Leon won 13-0 but, the Free Press pointed out that “every time De Leon gained over 10 yards the head linesman called a  penalty on De Leon.”


HAMILTON

   De Leon won 37-6.


STRAWN

    De Leon won 46-0.  At Tarleton that week, De Leon’s Mary Alice Short (Crittenden) was given the “highest honor the athletes at Tarleton can bestow by being selected Athletic Sponsor.”  She received 54 of 97 votes.


CROSS PLAINS

   De Leon won 20-12.


GORMAN

    While no details were provided by the Free Press it did state that “De Leon was either overconfident or else had an off day.”  The final score was a 7-0 Bearcat victory.


COMANCHE

    The sectional title was up for grabs with the winner advancing in the playoffs.  De Leon needed a win to secure the title since it had a tie with Stephenville.  Comanche only needed a tie to move on.

    The game was played in the mud.  In the first quarter Comanche’s quarterback passed for two touchdowns.  There was no further scoring until the fourth quarter when De Leon’s quarterback Sneed, threw a touchdown to Mulloy.  The score apparently stood at 13-7 in Comanche’s favor.

    As the game grew tense, a squabble broke out following a Comanche kick.  Usually a “squabble” between De Leon and Comanche meant a brawl and apparently this time was no exception.  De Leon ended up with a total of 50 yards in penalties which set up another Comanche touchdown.

     De Leon managed one more threat before a Native American picked off Sneed’s pass at the Comanche 10.  Comanche won 19-7.  They went on to defeat Albany and Snyder and won the Regional Championship.