In Memoriam: Wystan
Michigan Wolverines vs Quantico Marines, Ferry Field, November 10, 1923.
The "Devil Dogs" football team of the Quantico Marines (of Quantico Marine Corps Base in Virginia) got going after World War I, encouraged by Marine Corps General Smedley Butler, who attended all the games. General Butler himself must be down there on the field somewhere. According to an internet history page, this game against Michigan in 1923 was the high water mark for the Quantico footballers, a team made up of former college players from around the country. (Michigan won the contest, 26-6.)
A Detroit News movie newsreel, compiled later, shows highlights of that day:
www.lib.wayne.edu/resources/digital/vmc_newsreels/video.p...
Edwin Denby, an 1896 Michigan graduate who was then Secretary of the Navy, attended the game (on crutches) and showed impartiality by sitting on the Michigan side of the field for the first half, and with the Marines for the second half. (A few months later, in February, 1924, Denby was forced to resign in disgrace as Navy secretary, having been involved in corrupt activities during the Harding Administration's Teapot Dome scandal.)
"Support for the team reached an all-time high during a game against the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor during the Corps’ anniversary in 1923. Thousands of Marines and fans traveled from Quantico on special trains to attend the game. Many of the Marines spent their entire month’s paycheck and more just to pay for the venture." www.quantico.usmc.mil/Sentry/StoryView.aspx?SID=776
Sometime in the 1970s, the Quantico Marines football team ceased to exist.
Michigan Wolverines vs Quantico Marines, Ferry Field, November 10, 1923.
The "Devil Dogs" football team of the Quantico Marines (of Quantico Marine Corps Base in Virginia) got going after World War I, encouraged by Marine Corps General Smedley Butler, who attended all the games. General Butler himself must be down there on the field somewhere. According to an internet history page, this game against Michigan in 1923 was the high water mark for the Quantico footballers, a team made up of former college players from around the country. (Michigan won the contest, 26-6.)
A Detroit News movie newsreel, compiled later, shows highlights of that day:
www.lib.wayne.edu/resources/digital/vmc_newsreels/video.p...
Edwin Denby, an 1896 Michigan graduate who was then Secretary of the Navy, attended the game (on crutches) and showed impartiality by sitting on the Michigan side of the field for the first half, and with the Marines for the second half. (A few months later, in February, 1924, Denby was forced to resign in disgrace as Navy secretary, having been involved in corrupt activities during the Harding Administration's Teapot Dome scandal.)
"Support for the team reached an all-time high during a game against the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor during the Corps’ anniversary in 1923. Thousands of Marines and fans traveled from Quantico on special trains to attend the game. Many of the Marines spent their entire month’s paycheck and more just to pay for the venture." www.quantico.usmc.mil/Sentry/StoryView.aspx?SID=776
Sometime in the 1970s, the Quantico Marines football team ceased to exist.