By John Werner

Tribune-Herald staff writer

Maybe it was those scorching two weeks at the YMCA camp near Valley Mills in the summer of 1947 that created such an unshakable bond.

Perhaps it’s the shared memory of all those relentless daily practices at “Death Valley” without any water.

One thing is certain: The surviving members of Waco High’s 1948 Class 2A state championship football team will feel like brothers until they die.

Some of the players from Waco High’s last state championship team have passed on like quarterback Claud Kincannon and wingback Bobo Patton. But about 15 members of the 1948 team were on hand to swap stories Saturday night at a 60th anniversary banquet at the Texas Sports Hall of Fame.

“In five years, you might be able to hold us all in a phone booth,” said Joe Mac Gresham, a second-team all-state end on the 1948 team. “We’re definitely losing some guys. But we were a group of kids who grew up together and still get together every five years. This is our 12th reunion, and we always have a fun time.”

Looking around the room, Floyd Miller sees all his former teammates pushing 80. Some are walking on canes, and they’ve all lost a few steps since they played the best football in Texas 60 years ago. Compared to today’s giant football players, this group looks small by comparison.

“Look at these little guys — we couldn’t carry the water buckets for teams now,” Miller said. “Our biggest guys were barely over 200 pounds. We didn’t even know what a weight room was back then. We just came out there and played. And it seems like we’ve gotten a little better every year since then.”

Coached by former Naval officer Carl Price, the 1948 team ran the table with a 14-0 record and outscored opponents, 415-90. With talents like Bill Athey, Robert Knowles, Jack Chambers and Arlen Jumper, the defense rarely budged against some of the best offenses in the state. Unlike many offenses of that era, the Tigers had a great passer in Kincannon along with a talented group of backs led by Richard Parma, Jumper and Patton.

“I don’t know of any other high school team that sent so many players to major universities,” said Jumper, who went on to play linebacker for the Florida Gators. “Coach Price also had some very good offensive schemes that were revolutionary for the time. We had a single-wing offense, but we could also move into a double wing and spread the field.”

Most of the players knew each other since they were kids, but their manhood was tested during a two-week preseason camp near Valley Mills in 1947.

Torturous work, no water

Bill Dubose, the Tigers’ head coach that season, made the team practice on a roughshod field laced with burrs. Like many coaches of that era, Dubose wouldn’t allow his players to drink water during practice.

“They thought drinking water would make you sick,” said end John “Scooter” Chiles. “It’s a wonder all of us didn’t die — and two or three of us almost did.”

“Bear Bryant’s camp at Junction was a piece a cake compared to ours,” Jumper said.

After Dubose left for another coaching job, Price was promoted from assistant to Waco High’s head coach in 1948. But the daily four-hour practices didn’t get easier. After school, the players would load up on the back of a flatbed truck and head to a field where the Cameron Park Zoo is located today that was dubbed “Death Valley.”

“We couldn’t drink water at those practices, either,” Chiles said. “So we’d sneak behind the bushes and drink some water out of the swamp.”

The Tigers opened the season with a 27-14 win over Austin, but former Tribune-Herald sports editor Jinx Tucker wasn’t particularly impressed with the way they played.

“I remember Jinx writing that we’d better get our act together or we’re not going very far,” Miller said. “So we didn’t give up more than a touchdown in any other game the rest of the season.”

Waco High rolled through the regular season, finishing off its 10th straight win with a 34-7 rout of perennial power Temple. Anticipating a potential state championship run, fans packed Waco’s Municipal Stadium all season.

“Waco High teams meant a lot to the city, and it wasn’t unusual to have 20,000 fans at a game,” Chiles said. “College teams were just getting back in the swing after World War II, and we didn’t have any pro teams in the area.”

The Tigers weren’t tested much in their first two playoff games as they rolled to a 41-6 win over Palestine and a 20-7 win over Texarkana. But most experts thought Waco High’s season would end against No. 1-ranked Port Arthur in the state semifinals.

Tigers prove experts wrong

Before the game, Houston Post sports editor Morris Frank wrote, “It may be wise for Waco to bring its own football to play with. You have to get the ball before you can pass it — and will Port Arthur let them have the ball is the question.”

The Tigers’ prospects looked bleak when Kincannon dislocated his nonthrowing shoulder in practice days before the game at the University of Texas’ Memorial Stadium.

Armed with some extra padding around his injured shoulder, Kincannon delivered his best game of the season as he hit 27 of 41 passes for 267 yards as the Tigers pulled off a 13-6 upset to advance to the state finals.

“Coach Price thought we’d have a hard time running against them, so we switched from the single wing to the double wing and they weren’t ready for it,” Gresham said. “Claud (Kincannon) got banged around a lot by Port Arthur’s defense, but he just stood there and threw the ball. That was an era when 15 passes were a lot. For Claud to throw 41 passes was unheard of for that time.”

Waco High’s defense was equally impressive as it shut down an explosive Port Arthur ground game. Athey, who later became an All-America lineman at Baylor, set the tone on the first play.

“I remember Athey jumping offsides on the first play of the game and dumping their center into the tailback’s lap,” said Bobby Brown, who played safety for Waco High. “All those guys just fell down. We felt pretty confident after that.”

With the Port Arthur game behind them, the Tigers rolled into the state championship game with a lot of confidence on a cold Christmas day at TCU Stadium (now Amon Carter Stadium).

With Parma rushing for 176 yards, the Tigers dominated Amarillo, 21-0. Gresham got a thrill by returning a blocked punt for a touchdown.

Practice makes perfect

“Earlier that year in practice, I jumped on a blocked punt and Coach Price grabbed me and told me to pick it up next time and run,” Gresham said. “I remembered what he said. Robert Knowles blocked the punt, but I ran right in front of him and picked it up and scored.”

The Tigers came home heroes. Little did they know it would be the last of six state championships for Waco High. Johnny Tusa’s squad reached the Class 4A Division II state finals in 2006 before losing to La Marque.

Sixty years later, they know it’s still something special.

“You don’t get many opportunities to play for a state championship team,” Chiles said. “Whenever we have a reunion, it just revives those memories. Some of the guys went on to play college ball, but high school was the end of the line for me. So naturally, I’m proud of it.”

jwerner@wacotrib.com

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