Pioneers Trounce Ohio State 24-0

     Yes, this football score is for real. The year was 1895. Sure, the game then was new and far different from today. But that year the Marietta College Pioneers were dominant. The Parkersburg News in a 1964 article suggested that the 1895 Marietta College team might have been the best ever.

     Marietta played OSU eight times in the 1890s - and won two of those games. Not bad since MC Football had just been started in 1893 by Joseph Manley, a Harvard graduate who had played four years of football there. He taught Greek at Marietta. Manley coached and played quarterback; eligibility rules then allowed that.

     The October 1995 Marietta College student newspaper The Olio: "The football season of 1895...seems most encouraging. Except for three, the entire team has returned..." It credited "magnificent coaching," hard work, and student body enthusiasm for the team's excellence.

1895 Football team. Photo courtesy of Marietta College Special Collections

     Preseason optimism was justified: MC went 4-1-1 that year, outscoring opponents 148 to 12. Wins including beating Ohio State 24-0. The Olio: "The State University went down on November 23, before the superior teamwork and science of the Marietta team. Marietta made gains through the lines, around end and wherever and whenever she wanted to. This was a great victory..."

   They lost only to WVU. But the 6-6 tie game at the University of Cincinnati proved the toughest. The game was a big deal. There were 3,500 in the stands for the "Greatest Game the State Ever Knew." It was a bitterly fought, controversial game. Marietta endured unfair officiating and insulting behavior from the UC community.

 

     Referees were openly partisan; two of them wore UC colors. Coach Manley: "No grosser insult was ever offered to gentlemen, under the name of sport." Officiating favored UC. Holding by UC was blatant but not flagged. "Slugging" (hitting with fists or body blows) by UC players was not penalized, causing some MC players serious injury. UC was awarded a touchdown though the ball was a foot short of the goal line. UC was not penalized for fielding "ringers" - ineligible players who played for pay or for other teams. Marietta fans and alums - including the College President John Simpson - were cursed and insulted by unruly UC fans.

 

     There are always two sides to the story. Did MC do or say things that triggered the UC abuse? Don’t know. If reporting is correct, UC was the primary instigator.

 

     Games then often featured similar infractions, though not as extreme as at UC. These issues prompted the college presidents of Ohio to propose new rules in 1896 regarding eligibility, conduct, and safety of players. Team members must be actual students, no compensation of players, referees must be neutral, "slugging" and other foul play would be prohibited.

 

Other observations about football in that era:

• The word football appeared in print as two words:  foot ball.
• Some strategies had been devised for this new sport, as indicated by the term “scientific football” which appears in The Olio several times.
• Only 11 guys are in the team photo. It’s likely that most had to play on offense and defense.
• Many games drew good crowds, though football was new at the time.
• With few dedicated football facilities, game sites had to be carefully planned. Few games were at home fields; some were played at neutral sites. 
• Transportation was always an issue - no cars, vans, or buses yet. They mostly went by train or trolley.
• Scoring was different. A touchdown was 4 points, the "point" after was 2 points.

Today MC and OSU are in separate divisions, so we can root for both. Go Pios! Go Bucks!

Thanks to Linda Showalter at Marietta College Special Collections for research assistance on this article.

Shipbuilding in Marietta

They built ocean-going vessels here, 300 miles away from any ocean. How could that be? It's what I call a Marietta-ism: a combination of amazing skills, creativity, entrepreneurial spirit, and river access. Ships were built here, floated down to the Gulf of Mexico, and sailed out into the world. People in European ports knew of Marietta before some in the Eastern U.S. did. A history marker at Front and Greene Streets, tells the story:

“One of the first industries in Marietta was shipbuilding. Due to the abundance of trees and the shipbuilding talent of the New England settlers, twenty-nine ocean-going vessels were built in eight shipyards from 1800 to 1812. In 1845 shipbuilding resumed and seven more vessels were constructed. The last ship left dry dock in 1847. The first vessel built was the 110-ton brig St. Clair, captained by Commodore Abraham Whipple.... a noted Revolutionary War naval officer..."

     

Charles Sullivan painting depiction sailing ships on the Ohio River in early 1800s at Marietta. Ohio History Connection. 

The Muskingum River waterfront became a bustling industrial area. There were several shipyards between Muskingum Park and the Ohio River, employing dozens and creating wealth for many. Three rope works provided needed rigging for sails. David McCullough in The Pioneers: "The summer of 1807 saw two ships, three brigs, and two schooners being built at one time."

Many prominent names were active in shipbuilding including Charles Greene, Jonathan Devol, Abner Lord, and Joseph Barker. Benjamin Ives Gilman and master builder James Whitney ran a facility in Harmar; Whitney's home still stands on Fort Street.

     

Future growth seemed assured, but it wasn't. The industry received a devastating blow when President Jefferson convinced Congress to pass the Embargo Act in 1807 which shut down exports from U.S. ports. The Act was intended to punish Britain and France for interference with U.S. merchant ships.

     

Shipbuilding here and elsewhere stopped abruptly. The local economy went into a years long slump. Yards closed; some left the business. Builder Abner Lord was embittered by losses and finally moved away. He made a rant-like inscription in a family bible which concluded: "...my family should at all times...bear testimony that this cruel policy of Jefferson...has been destructive to our interest & living." 

Abner was mostly right; the Embargo Act failed to change British and French behavior and stunted the national economy. Congress repealed it in 1809. But the damage was done.

     

One chapter of shipbuilding closed in 1807; that same year a new type of boat made a pioneering voyage. That ushered in a new chapter of Marietta shipbuilding that would last for decades: steamboats. Steamboats were a transformational innovation – the first truly self-propelled vessel. The Navigator publication 1811 edition glowingly described this new type of boat: “There is a new mode of…boats propelled by the power of steam…a novel sight…seeing a huge boat without the appearance of sail, oar, pole…propelled by unseen power!”

               Knox Boat Yard, from Gypsy Roadtrip

Marietta became a steamboat construction juggernaut. More than 100 steamboats were built here, many more were repaired  or renovated. The Knox Boatyard was sold in 1903 and closed a few years later, ending an amazing run of 70 years.