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A Bulldog Tale
In the early 1950s the Brookfield Bulldog football team was a
member of the North Central Missouri conference. Going into the 1952 season they
were not expected to do very well because of their players' relatively small
sizes. But, to everyone's surprise they won the conference
championship.
Their biggest victory that fall was against the Kirksville
Tigers who were heavily favored to win the game because they outweighed the
Bulldogs by about 25 pounds per player. The game was played at Burlington Field
on the evening of Friday, September 26.
After three quarters the teams were tied 6-6 and the
Bulldogs' punting was keeping the Kirksville Tigers backed up near their own
goal line. The crowd was tingled with excitement as everyone realized the
Bulldogs, long shots going into the game, had a chance to win it.
Then with just a few minutes left in the fourth quarter came
the play that decided the game and put the Bulldogs on their path to the
conference championship.
With Kirksville on offense from their own 1 yard line, a
Bulldog player slashed with reckless abandon through the massive Kirksville
offensive line and tackled the ball carrier in the end zone for a two-point
safety, providing the winning margin in an improbable 8-6 victory.
Who was that player?
Hint: he still lives in Brookfield. |