The Tradition Begins

EJC football- the Beginnings of Ironmen football

During the 1938 football season the E.J.C. made its first appearance on the gridiron and entered into J.C. conference competition. With help of Coach “Doc” Edwards, a squad was organized made up of former high school stars and a number of promising students who had never played before.
Practice sessions were called, but no practice equipment was available. The boys had tow alternatives, one, to abandon the idea of having an E.J.C. football team, the other, to practice without suits. Nothing could stop the pioneers of E.J.C. football, and on the date set for the first practice the boys appeared on the field dressed in everything from overalls to business suits. Intensive signal practice was run until the boys became quite proficient in running off the plays devised by “Doc’ Edwards. During all this practice, no actual scrimmage took place because of the lack of proper body protection.
Then the big day came. A game had been scheduled with the high school team. The squad donned suits for the first time and went out on the field determined to make a good showing for the J. C. The lads held their own while they became accustomed to the high school style of play, they then began to drive them up and down the field, but lacked scoring punch necessary to defeat such opposition. The game ended in a scoreless tie. The performance was deemed worthy of another trail, so another game was scheduled, this time against the Itasca eleven. Here again the green, but determined lads ran havoc with the Itasca team, but again lacked the scoring punch and lost the game by the narrow margin of one touchdown.
From then on, continuance of football as an extra-curricular activity was up to the school board. They came through in fine style upon hearing of the performance of the boys, and voted the J.C. football equipment for the ensuing season. The J.C. is extremely thankful for this acknowledgement of possibilities and intends to build up a football tradition in the E.J.C comparable to that of other schools.
Taken from the 1939 EJC yearbook- Voyageur