Yarvard at Inver Park, Larne, 21 November 1942

Yarvard Crimson Tide European Theater of Operations Football Team in Northern Ireland 1942

Results

Yarvard Crimson Tide European Theater of Operations Football Championship Team 1942

Players List

Yarvard Crimson Tide at Ravenhill 1942

#PlayerPositionTDFGSafetyPAT2XPWeight
Anton S VerbeckQuarterback00000165
John HenryWide receiver10000-
1Robert D HopferFullback10000200
2Armando LopezRight Halfback00000180
3Anton S VerbickLeft Halfback00000165
4Jay A WrightQuarterback10010185
5James E TemenskiRight Halfback00000198
6Rush M MooreLeft Halfback00000190
7Paul W DennisQuarterback00000155
8Walter A WashburnFullback00000230
9Richard E Whalen00000165
10Atlee V HummelEnd00000180
11James B Bashman JrEnd00000190
12William F EckEnd00000175
13John L WallGuard00000-
14Leslie C ShultzGuard00000175
15Paul A McGonigalTackle00000-
16Martin HowerGuard00000180
17Frederick D FaulsTackle00000180
18Frank A FemtonTackle00000185
19Leroy M JerlesGuard00000190
20Ralph W MooreTackle00000190
21John L Trunick JrCenter00000184
22Joseph D BaxterGuard00000196
23Edward PetrickLeft Halfback00000190
24Eugene E HeathTackle00000180
25George A DupakFullback00000195
26Henry E ZentnerCenter00000175
27Walter C SzymkowiczQuarterback00000175
28Harvey J KiserTackle00000215
29Charles R RenningerQuarterback00000150
30Frank M JasoEnd00000160
31Thomas F SaxtonGuard00000158
32Leroy C NymanCenter00000185
33Joseph B WetzelTackle00000170
34Joseph J KosolowskiGuard00000180
35Albert D BoshnettCenter00000185

Team Photo

Yarvard at Inver Park, Larne, 21 November 1942
Yarvard at Inver Park, Larne, 21 November 1942. Reference: [14]

Recap

The Yarvard team at Ravenhill in Belfast – the home of Ulster Rugby – played in the first ever known game of American Football in Ireland on 14 November 1942. The Crimson Tide as they were known as lost 7-9 to Hale Blue Devils in the first European Theater of Operations Football Championship, held over Autumn 1942. These players were among the first United States Military to arrive in Europe for World War II and Robert Hopfer scored a Touchdown for the Crimson Tide which was converted by Jay Wright to give them a 7-6 lead in the second quarter.

They were to lose the game in the end, however a week later in Inver Park, Larne, they defeated the Tech Fighting Irish 14-0 thanks to two Touchdowns from John Henry (a pass from Anton Verbeck) and Jay Wright (an interception return) either side of a safety scored when the Tide tackled Tech’s Quarterback in the endzone.

Note: For full Match Reports and scorers please click on the individual matches in the above list to be brought to the article on those games.

REFERENCES

BIBLIOGRAPHY

[1] Massimo Foglio with Mark L. Ford (2015) “Second World War Part One: Americans on the British Isles 1942-1943 – November 14 1942 – Ravenhill, Belfast, Northern Ireland – Hale 9 Yarvard 7” Touchdown in Europe: How American Football Came to the Old Continent. pg. 49-51.

WEBSITES

[1] Irish American Football Association (2016) Journey to Thirty [Internet] Available from: http://www.americanfootball.ie/journeyto-thirty/ [Accessed 08 August 2016]

[2] Irish American Football Association (2016) History of US Teams playing in Ireland [Internet] Available from: http://www.americanfootball.ie/history-of-us-teams-playing-in-ireland/ [Accessed 22 November 2016]

[3] Irish American Football Association (2016) History [Internet] Available from: http://www.americanfootball.ie/iafl/history.htm [Accessed 26 October 2016]

[4] Lucky Show (2016) American Football in Ireland [Internet] Available from: http://www.luckyshow.org/football/Shamrock%20Bowl.htm [Accessed 5 June 2017]

[5] Dublin Town – Article by Gerry Farrell (2016) College Football Classic Ireland’s Relationship with American Football [Internet] Available from: http://www.dublintown.ie/irelands-relationship-with-american-football/ [Accessed 7 May 2018]

NEWSPAPERS

[7] Anon. (1942) . “Photo caption: American Football at Ravenhill”. Belfast News-Letter. Monday, 16 November 1942. pg. 6.

[8] Anon. (1942) “American Football: Large Attendance expected at Ravenhill” Belfast News-Letter. Saturday, 14 November 1942. pg. 4

ACADEMIC ARTICLES

[10] Magee, Damian. “English Beer and American Football: Exporting American Football as a Cultural Commodity to the British Isles.” Irish Journal of American Studies, vol. 7, 1998, pp. 121–148. JSTOR, JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/30002410.

SOCIAL MEDIA

[13] Belfast Blitzers | Facebook (2019) Post 22 August 2019: “ So this is the last of the photos in the archive, it’s of the Yarvard team at Sandy Bay, Larne Harbour on the 21st November 1942. “ [Internet] Available from: https://www.facebook.com/belfastblitzers/photos/pcb.2260513057393170/2260507127393763/?type=3&theater [Accessed 23 August 2019]

[14] Belfast Blitzers | Faacebook (2019) Post 22 August 2019: “So this is the last of the photos in the archive, it’s of the Yarvard team at Sandy Bay, Larne Harbour on the 21st November 1942. “ [Internet] Available from: https://www.facebook.com/belfastblitzers/photos/rpp.454643317980162/2260507354060407/?type=3&theater[Accessed 23 August 2019]

IMAGES

[15] Belfast Blitzers | Facebook (2019) Photo 22 August 2019 [Internet] Available from: https://www.facebook.com/belfastblitzers/photos/pcb.2260513057393170/2260507127393763/?type=3&theater [Accessed 23 August 2019]

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Thanks to Tim Leadingham (Tallaght Outlaws).

ABOUT THIS DOCUMENT

Researched, compiled and written by Enda Mulcahy for the

Eirball | Irish North American and World Sports Archive

Last Updated: 3 January 2022

(c) Copyright Enda Mulcahy and Eirball 2019-2022

You may quote this document in part provided that proper acknowledgement is given to the authors. All Rights Resereved. The Logos and Photos used in this article remain the property of the organisations and individuals which own the copyright and are used here for educational and information purposes only.

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