Everything That Is Eagle Football Began 100 Years Ago Today

Five hundred and five wins.
 
Three undefeated seasons and two more undefeated regular seasons.
 
Sixteen conference championships.
 
Seven NCAA Division II postseason appearances.
 
Two College Football Hall of Famers.
 
Ninety-five All-Americans, including 18 first-team All-Americans.
 
Nineteen Academic All-Americans.
 
Nine players who have seen action in National Football League regular-season games.
 
All of that had to start somewhere, and for Ashland University's football program, it started 100 years ago today, albeit inauspiciously – Heidelberg 74, Ashland 0, on Sept. 25, 1920 in Tiffin, Ohio.
 
The football programs at Heidelberg and Ashland were in much different places in 1920. While Heidelberg had played almost every year since 1892, Ashland played a mostly-high school schedule in the early part of the 1900s, then football was discontinued until 1919, when Dr. E.E. Jacobs announced the sport was coming back to campus.
 
That game 100 years ago today also took place after the then-Ashland College Purple Titans had only practiced for four days, according to the 1921 AC yearbook, Pine Whispers.
 
Football in 1920 looked very different than it does in 2020 – and its levels' place in the American sports pecking order was much different, as well. With its roster size barely surpassing a baker's dozen, Ashland's players played both ways. College football was king 100 years ago, as it was the established level of football, while the NFL (as the American Professional Football Association) was just getting started.

 
Another way football was very different a century ago was the availability of equipment – according to the 1923 Pine Whispers, Ashland only had one complete football uniform prior to playing Heidelberg. In order to play the game, however, Heidelberg agreed to equip the Purple Titans and take care of all expenses. The final score would make the "sacrifice" worth it for Heidelberg in the end.
 
The loss to Heidelberg came against a team which would end up going 7-2 in 1920. The remainder of the five-game 1920 season went much better for the Purple Titans, led by head coach Walter Leckrone and quarterback and captain Paul Curry, as the final record was 2-3. Included in that mark was a 6-0 home win over Kent State.
 
It didn't take long for Ashland to field a winning team, as the Purple Titans went 4-2 in 1921, then 5-1-1 in 1922. By the beginning of the second decade of Ashland College football, the program had its first NFL player, back Ray Novotny, who played in 31 games over three seasons with Portsmouth Spartans, Cleveland Indians and Brooklyn Dodgers.
 
And the rest, as they say, is history.