Crowd Went Wild
Between 1500 and 2000 people, men, women and children, embracing all classes and including clergymen, gathered at the football game at Prospect Park last Saturday afternoon. It was probably the largest outdoor crowd that has been gotten together at a Norwood function since the Old Home Week celebration of about two years ago. The greatest football game of the season was on hand, the Norwood Athletic club being up against the St. Alphonsus A. A. team of Roxbury, a team of all-star college players. As usual with a Norwood crowd there was an under-current of grim determination that the home team should win anyway, but fate had ordered it otherwise. The visiting team had brought plenty of rooters with them, but they seemed stronger in betting than in hollering. It is probable that at least $500 was bet on the game and it is quite likely that the amount was much larger The St. Alphonsus crowd were nearly all big fellows and they were not only rough and stalwart, but very tricky and deceptive players. The St. Alphonsus team was probably a little stronger in its end players, at all events, Lucy of the Norwood team went down early in the first half of the game with a black eye. In twenty seconds ot play St. Alphonsus scored a touchdown, Kelly, the St. Alphonsus full back, breaking through Coombs, the Norwood left tackle, in the first scrimmage and running 100 yards.
Soon after this came an episode which made bad blood for the rest of the afternoon. When the ball was not in play McCarron, the St. Alphonsus centre and about the biggest man in his team, completely lost his head and struck Blaaenak, the Norwood centre and a much smaller man physically, full in the face, knocking him down and injuring his eye. Spear, the Norwood right guard nearly had a set-to with McC’arreu but the second scrimmage was quickly averted. In an instant from two to three hundred Norwood spectators dashed over the ropes, shaking their fists at McCarren, swearing vengeance against him and demanding angrily of Referee Kady that McCarren be at once ordered out of the game. There was a cessation of playing for several minutes and the excitement among Norwood people present was at fever heat. The three policemen present did good quick service. These were officers Walter Ilea-dell, Patrick Connors, and J. Harry Corbett who defended McCarren from the crowd with their clubs and compelled the angry spectators to retire outside the ropes again. McCarren admitted that he bad lost his head, that he was very much ashamed and offered an abject apology. But he was a rather quiet and wary player for the rest of the afternoon and his foul blow had lost his team all sympathy with the spectators.
For the rest of the game every threat and epithet that an angry crowd could think of was hurled at McCarren. Norwood in spite of hard luck, played a strong and steady game and came within half a yard of scoring in the first half but was forced back to a safety. There was a general hope and exaction that the Norwoods would redeem themselves in the second half of the game and betting turned a little in their favor. But luck continued against them. Several players on either side were temporarily knocked out and restored with hurried dashes of cold water but only in the cases of Lucy and Blascnak were there any casualities which demanded medical aid. The most ground was gained by Norwood which had the ball almost all the time. It was the general feeling of the spectators that Norwood did much the cleaner and better playing. The game ended in the centre of the field, St. Alphonsus won with a touchdown, a goal from touchdown and a.safety in its favor. Score, St. Alphonsus s, Norwood A. C. o.
When the crowd came down Vernon street after the game, the riotous demonstrations against McCarren were renewed. A brick, hurled by some one and evidently meant for McCarren, narrowly missed Officer Bendel’s head and a shouting crowd of about 1000 angry men aud boys followed the two teams to the Athletic Club rooms shouting vengeance against McCarren. Chief of Police Rhoads appeared on the scene and ordered Officer Readol and the other officers to see that order was preserved and that no barm came to any. The outsiders were carefully excluded from the club rooms and to avoid all possible trouble, McCarren was taken to Islington station in a close carriage guarded by police and one or two members of the Norwood football team. It was the most strenuous afternoon for the police and for the football fans Norwood has ever seen. At no time did the Norwood Athletic team act otherwise than as gentlemen and the excitement reflected no discredit whatever upon thorn.
(All articles originally published in the Norwood Messenger)