St. Rose's Football Team

The Cuba City High School football team wasn't the only squad in town during the fall of 1924. The St. Rose Catholic School's upper grades had their own team, pictured below possibly with the Rev. James J. Maguire, who served the Cuba City parish until November 1924.

Known players on St. Rose's 1924 team were Edwin Heitkamp (front row, second from left), William "Dip" Murray (back row, right), Kenney Bartlett, Hyacinth Donohoo, Louis Fiedler, Herman Fiedler, and Lawrence Harty. The following excerpts from the "St. Rose School Notes," published in the Cuba City News-Herald, provide more clues as to players' identities, as well as some insight into the team's season.

September 19, 1924: "St. Rose football team played the Public School Wednesday. We all take our hats off to 'Dip' Murray. He made five touchdowns. Keep it up, 'Dip.'"

October 10, 1924: "St. Rose football team regrets very much the mishap to Louis Fiedler, our star end, which happened last Friday. It will keep him out of the lineup for the rest of the season.

The only men who played on last year's team are Edwin, William, Herman, Hyacinth, and Kenny, so that we have a new 'line up'--just the same, we have the stuff.

Last Saturday, October 4, we defeated the 'Cuba City All Stars' by a score of 44 to 18. 

The first 'touch down' on our team was made by Bartlett with a seventy yard dash around the right end. He also made three others and was voted the star of the day.

Herman, Edwin, and Osie, made from 50 yards on end runs, and Riley and Harty did excellent work on the line.

The first and second grades have organized a football team. They are doing some hard team work and will soon be ready for games."

November 14, 1924: "On October 23 we played St. Patrick's at Dubuque and defeated them by a score of 13 to 9. At the end of the first half both teams were fighting hard. In the third quarter St. Rose made a touchdown but failed to kick goal. In the last quarter however we succeeded in making another touchdown and carried the pigskin to victory.

November 7, we had the return game here losing by a score of 6 to 0."

Thank you to Rachel Butts for sharing this photo from her grandmother, Lillian (Heitkamp) Kirk!