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ORIGIN OF THE NAME "ROSCOE PLOWBOYS"
by Mary Edna Worthy
Editor’s note: Since I’ve spent the last few days having a belated Christmas celebration with daughters and their families, I’ve had no time to find out the news of happenings in Roscoe, if indeed there have been any. So, next week I’ll try to catch everyone up on the local news and sports and also include a review of the old year in Roscoe as I’ve been accustomed to do.
However, since you probably came here to read something interesting about Roscoe, I’ve decided to include a bit of town history that touches us all in one way or another—a discussion of how the high school’s team name came to be the Plowboys, along with a funny halftime incident at a Roscoe-Sweetwater football game in the 1920s, written by Mary Edna Worthy.
Miss Worthy, as my classmates and I knew her, taught English and science at Roscoe High from the 1940s to the 1960s. Born and raised in Roscoe, she was as sharp as a tack and had a flawless memory, even into her nineties. She left behind a history she wrote of the Roscoe Baptist Church as well as some of her memories of life in Roscoe. These include a few pieces you may have already seen in the Hard Times—church Christmases during the depression, memories of the old tabernacle on Main Street, and teaching at RHS during the second world war. This one also captures some interesting town history that would otherwise be lost forever. It originally appeared in the Roscoe Times on October 1, 1992.
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| 1922 RHS team. Mentioned in the article are Wade Forrester, middle left; Jack Johnson, top 2nd from left; Sam Fitzhugh, top right player. They are the "original" Plowboys who played at Tarleton. Coach Baze is at top right; |
In the decade of the 1920's and before, Roscoe produced some excellent football and basketball 'teams which often beat teams from much larger schools which had vastly superior equipment. At that time Roscoe had no school colors, nor did their teams have a name. Mr. M.L.H. Baze was superintendent, and he also doubled as football coach.
Several outstanding Roscoe players from that era went as a group to John Tarleton College. In that group were Wade Forrester, Frank (Jack) Johnson, Roy Worthy, Sam Fitzhugh, and some others whose names I do not recall. At that time, Tarleton, a branch of Texas A&M, was a two-year agricultural college. School colors were purple and white, and their athletic teams were called "Plowboys." These Roscoe boys formed the nucleus of Tarleton's football team and received much attention for their spectacular play. Of course, at that time the same players played on both offense and defense.
At the time, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram was widely read in this area, its news coverage—especially sports coverage—being oriented more toward to West Texas and to smaller colleges and high schools. The Roscoe players at Tarleton caught the attention of the Star-Telegram's sports writers, and they made many references in print to "those Roscoe Plowboys." These references did not go unnoticed by local readers. Many schools began to adopt the colors and mascots of colleges, and Roscoe followed suit. Since the Star-Telegram had already paved the way, it was only natural to choose the name "Plowboys," a name appropriate to this agricultural area. The long-since defunct high school newspaper was called the "Go-Devil."
The Plowboys were enthusiastically supported by a snappy looking uniformed pep squad. The uniforms consisted of knife-pleated white wool skirts, white blouses, close-fitting purple wool vests, and white wool cardigans with a purple and white "R". Headgear was a purple and white overseas military cap. The pep squad executed well-drilled marching routines at half-time.
It was often the practice for the pep squad to present a "stunt" at half-time, depicting what the team hoped to inflict on the opposition. One of the most memorable of these stunts occurred at a Thanksgiving game between Roscoe and Sweetwater. At that time Sweetwater's team was called the "Salty Pups." (Mustangs came later.)
Frank L. Williams, Roscoe superintendent, had a small white fox terrier named "Bingo", who was a great favorite of the school students. At half-time Bingo, wearing a sign reading "Salty Dog", was led onto the field, and dropped into an over-sized, realistic looking sausage mill. A uniformed Plowboy turned the crank on the mill, and pep squad girls pulled string after string of wieners from the mill. This particular stunt enraged Sweetwater fans and students, many of whom stormed on to the field to demolish the sausage mill. Bingo, incidentally, escaped unscathed and went on to live to a ripe old age.
In the late 1920's the pep squad adopted new uniforms, the style of which resulted in some criticism and disharmony.
The uniforms consisted of white overalls with the Plowboy emblem on the front, white shirts, and broad brimmed straw hats. Many parents and school patrons considered boy-style overalls immodest attire for girls. Several parents, including some trustees, refused to allow their daughters to participate in the pep squad. The pep squad decreased in size each year and activity.
About 1934, again new uniforms were chosen. These uniforms consisted of purple wool flared skirts, white wool turtlenecks, long sleeved sweaters with purple RHS across the back, and purple berets. Games were played in the afternoon, and it was a real advantage to be on the shady side of the field. Laura Fay Wilson (Mrs. E. F. Duncan) was sponsor of the pep squad at that time.
This account has omitted the names of many, many other early-day players who were equally as good, and in some cases better than those players whose attendance at Tarleton happened to be instrumental in Roscoe teams being called Plowboys. Two other names that come to mind are Elmer Gray, legendary player at both RHS and ACC, where the stadium is named in his honor, and Ernest Nemir, who was quarterback of the team which sent so many players to Tarleton. Ernest attended TCU (I think), and later married Lucille Gordon, RHS cheerleader. A generation later, each of their sons, Jack, Robert, and Billy, were outstanding Plowboys. My apologies go to those many deserving people whose names I have omitted. I have tried to concentrate on those people and events having to do with the selection of the name Plowboys. (Grade school teams were called "Clodhoppers"). These recollections are based on my own memories, and I make no claim to infallibility!
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| 1926 Ploughboys. Mentioned in the article are Elmer Gray, middle 4th from left, Ernest Nemir, middle 5th from left, and Roy Worthy, front with football. Top row, 5th from left is T. D. Young, long-time Roscoe doctor. Kneeling at far right is Olin Hastings, long-time Roscoe coach and teacher. |
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WEATHER REPORT: NOT BAD, CONSIDERING
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| The sun sets on 2019 and the "teens" yesterday evening. |
On Sunday, however, a cold front blew in with a sharp north breeze that dropped the highs down into the forties and lows down to 28° on Monday. The wind died down on Monday, though, making being outside much nicer, and yesterday was also nice, even if it was a bit chilly with a high of only 50°.
The forecast is for continued mild weather without precipitation. Today will be cloudy with a south wind, but the high should reach 60°. Tomorrow the sun will be back with a west wind that will shift to the north tomorrow night. The high will be a little cooler at 58°, and Friday’s will reach only 56° with a low of 35°. The weekend should be nicer, though, with warmer temperatures and lighter winds. The high on Saturday is forecast to be 63°, on Sunday 64° and on Monday 61°.
That’s not bad for the first week in January.
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