WHEN THE TANKS WERE TOPS

Reproduced with permission of the authors, C. Robert Barnett and Linda Terhume

Their first season, the Tanks had a final 2-1-1 record, with their only loss at the hands of the undefeated Ashland Play House. both the 1920 and 1921 seasons were successful for the Tanks as they compiled records of 5-1-1 and 7-2. During that period, they lost one game to Morris Harvey College but beat Marshall College in a shutout. Davies continue to commute to Ironton from Morgantown to play for the Tanks, and then team "imported" it's first outsiders. "Red" Weaver, an All-American center from Centre College, Clyde Lady form Ashland and Dana Lough and Reynolds from Jackson, Ohio. The majority of the Tanks, however, were local boys with little or no college football experience.

"Concrete Poole" One of the original Tanks,
Concrete played with the Tanks for six years

Harry "Dutch" Crawford, a former Tank player, attributed the team's easy success to conditioning. "We were in better condition than the rest of the teams," he said recently. "The team would run - never drive - from the Elks Club, where we changed, to the park where we practiced. This got us in shape and we could outrun the other teams and last longer."

In the four seasons from 1922 through 1925 the Tanks amassed an amazing 37-2-2 record, highlighted by the undefeated (8-0) 1922 team, the year in which Davies was hired by the Ironton school board to coach the high school team.

Davies was to be the first of many such school teacher-football players. He was apparently so awesome, and his full return to the team so

threatening, that Portsmouth disbanded it's semi-pro team for the season - at least, that's what Ironton newspaper scribes said.

Support for the Tanks was building. More than 2,500 fans turned out for the home opener in 1922 against Columbus Olympians, even though Beechwood Park had seating for only 300 people. The Tanks rolled over seven straight opponents, and in one game they crushed Williamson, W. Va. 76-0 in preparation for the Thanksgiving Day finale with the Huntington Boosters. Seating for 3,000 fans was erected, and still many people were forced to stand along the filed. A field goal by Andy Andrews (Purdue) in the final two minutes saved the game for the Tanks as they came from behind and defeated the 'big city' team 12-10.

The team merited the appreciation of the fans, as the 1923 edition won nine of 10 games against an increasingly more difficult schedule. The loss was to the Huntington Boosters, but the Tanks avenged the defeat by winning the other two games of the three-game series.

Portsmouth again fielded a semi-pro team, and as usual, the Ironton-Portsmouth game aroused a lot of interest. Stimulating much of the excitement was heavy betting on the game by the team's supporters. It was becoming a common practice by the time for a number of "local sports" in Ironton to get some money together and then send a representative to Portsmouth to see if they could get the bet covered. They usually could.

The game itself proved secondary to the betting as the Tanks unofficially crushed the Spartans at Portsmouth 40-0. Unofficially? Two minutes before the end of the game, at the strong urging of Portsmouth fans, the head official stepped forward and called the game, declaring it a mismatch. His final pronouncement: "All bets off."

From that point on, all Tanks - Spartans games were for blood. Page 4 --->