100 years ago in Spokane: LC’s football team was so good they had to travel to Ohio for a worthy competitor

The Lewis and Clark High School football team was getting ready for an away game – an exceptionally far-away away game.

They were headed to Toledo, Ohio, to play Scott High School. The LC Tigers had been chosen to represent the Northwest in a showdown of undefeated teams.

The LC squad found out about the game only a few days earlier. The Northwest representative was supposed to be Walla Walla High School, but LC walloped Walla Walla the week before. The Walla Walla coach wired Toledo and told them that they should play LC instead, “because they beat us 21 to 0.” Toledo agreed with that plan.

This sparked a flurry of activity, as LC rushed to get permission for the trip from the school board, and began raising money to send the whole team to Toledo by train.

The entire city pitched in. Even North Central High School alumni “wished their friendly enemies good luck.” The team would be leaving on a special train car decorated with LC banners and pennants.

The LC squad had lost only one game in three years; they won one of their games 73 to 0. However, this would be no pushover of a game. Scott High School was a powerhouse in a state known for good football.

The LC coach said, “We are liable to learn some football while playing Scott High School.”

From the accident beat: Shirley Soss, 22, fell from the second story window of her home on First Avenue and told a strange story to the emergency hospital attendants.

She claimed that she had been detained against her will in the upstairs room, and that a rope she had made of sheets parted when she tried to escape.

This story, described as “not entirely rational,” seemed odd. Later, doctors who treated her said she was probably describing a dream she had. When the accident occurred, she was walking in her sleep.

She was treated for a cut on her head and injuries to her back. None of her injuries were serious.