Glouster Tomcats 1930-1939

With the departure of Carl Bachman in the spring of 1930, Glouster was in need of a new coach.  Joe Moleski was hired for the ‘30 and ‘31 season.  In 1931 the “Big Five Conference” was created with Glouster, M&M, Crooksville, New Concord and New Lexington, but the season did not go well for the Tomcats.  The recap of the year in the 1932 yearbook was very scathing toward the football program and when contracts were up for renewal in the spring of ‘32 it was made known that Glouster would hire a new coach.  In that article they hinted that “a man from Athens” was the front runner.  That man would be recent Ohio University graduate Kermit Blosser.  Blosser is still the only national champion that Ohio University has produced, and was an exceptional athlete in a number of disciplines.  When Coach Blosser arrived in Glouster he took over all of the athletic programs and immediately set a high standard for the Tomcats.  By the second year of Blossers tenure, Glouster was adding to its schedule larger, non-conference opponents like SEOAL members Middleport and Nelsonville, as well as Ironton and Marietta.  Blosser would leave Glouster at the conclusion of the 1936 school year to take the same position at Columbus East and later, after World War II, join the staff at Ohio University.  In 2006 Ohio University renamed its athletic hall of fame to the Kermit Blosser Hall of Fame.  Blosser was also inducted into the first Hall of Fame class at Trimble in 1980. 

The addition of teams to the Big Five would ultimately lead to name changes.  The Big Five added Caldwell in 1934 to become the Big Six, then added Philo in 1938 and changed the name to the Muskingum Valley League.  The MVL would be Glouster’s athletic conference until 1964.

Team: Captain-Alfred Craft, George Wolfe, Harry Morgan, Richard Woodruff, Andrew Chute, Thurman Boyer, Gail Wallace, Ralph Henry, Robert Clark, Jack Blower, James Wolfe, Earl Boyer, Harold Binderbasin, Edmund Beshara, Denzel Leach, Hartford Dunnett, Charles Sorrell, Charles Clark, Ralph Darling, Glen Price, Louis Gatchel, Louis Jewell, Joseph Beshara, Evart Henry, Robert Marshall, Homer Strohmeyer, Robert Williams, Edward Riley and manager Robert Ochs

The Buchtel game was played in what was described as a torrential downpour with the only score being a safety on a bad snap on a punt.

There was a game with the Alumni on 11/7/1930

1932 GlousterTomcats Coach Kermit Blosser

9/23/1932 Nelsonville Home W 6 0

9/30/1932 M&M Home L 0 31

10/14/1932 New Concord Home L 0 31

10/21/1932 New Lexington Away L 0 18

10/27/1932 Crooksville Away W 26 6

11/3/1932 Chauncey Away L 0 13

11/10/1932 Bremen Away L 4 24

According to a story published in the Athens Messenger many decades later, Blosser was hired as coach under the condition that he wouldn’t be paid until the end of the year.  He was provided room and board on credit and had to pay back all debts once he received his salary.

The Athens Messenger declared the Glouster/Chauncey rivalry “as intense as Michigan and Ohio State”

Starters were: Binderbasin, Jewel, Uch, Sorrell, McClelland, Strohmeyer, Clark, Morgan, Gatchel, Hoffman, Beshara, Substitutes: Clark, Wolfe, Kleinschmidt

Big Six Champions

Starters: End-William McGrew, Tackle-Dick Guinther, Guard-Dave

Roberts, Center-Bob Faine, Guard-Carl Craig, Tackle-Fred Darling

End-DeDe Woods, HB-Jack McCreanor, QB-Joe Williams, FB-Dutch

Zimmer, HB-Bill Thompson

This was the first year all league selections were made for the Big Six: Joe Williams, Fred Darling

Coach Blosser leaves GHS at the end of the school year for a position at Columbus East High School

1936 Glouster Coach Bernard Sadosky

9/18/1936 Marietta Away L 0 25

10/2/1936 New Concord Home W 13 0

10/9/1936 Crooksville Home W 7 0

10/15/1936 M&M Home W 12 7

10/23/1936 Caldwell Away W 14 6

11/3/1936 Jacksonville-Trimble Home W 18 0

11/6/1936 Ironton Away L 6 39

11/11/1936 New Lexington Away T 0 0

Big Six Champions

Letterwinners: Fred Darling, Gail Roberts, Leonard Sorrell, William Howard, George Healy, Richard Buchman, Loyal Morris, Jack McCreanor, William Thompson, Lewis McAllister, Dutch Zimmer, Robert Johnson, Lewis Koehler, Richard Jauchius, Ralph Echstenkamper

Managers: Max McCormick, Bob Wolf, John Harper

Fred Darling was the captain

Assistant Coach: Paul Kamerer

All Big Six: Fred Darling(Captain), Lewis McAllister, Richard Buchman, Dutch Zimmer

Coach Sadosky had been an assistant coach under Blosser, they were both teammates and standout football players at Ohio University. At the end of the school year, Coach Sadosky took a job in Kentucky.

Big Six Champions

Starters, Line Left to Right: Bob Carter, Russell McCance, George Healy, George Tolliver, Gail Roberts, Gail Bingman, David Trasin

Backs Left to Right: Howard Dodson, Don Cooper, Lewis Koehler, Dutch Zimmer

Assistant Coach Adcock

Dutch Zimmer was the captain

The Middleport game was the first football game to feature the Glouster High School band. 

“The small German band of the high school, just recently formed, will attend.  This band is under the direction of Jack Millington” (Athens Messenger, 11/10/1937)

All Big Six: First Team: Zimmer (Captain) Healey, Tolliver, Second Team: Carter, G. Roberts, Cooper

1938 Glouster Coach Paul Kamerer

9/16/1938 Marietta Away L 0 28

9/23/1938 Philo Away L 0 33

9/29/1938 Caldwell Home L 0 6

10/6/1938 Crooksville Away L 0 2

10/13/1938 M&M Home L 7 13

10/21/1938 New Concord Home L 0 28

10/27/1938 New Lexington Away L 0 7

11/3/1938 Jacksonville-Trimble Home L 0 19

11/11/1938 Middleport Away L 0 19

Big Six changes its name to Muskingum Valley League 9/12/1938

Former Heavyweight Champ, Jack Dempsey attended the first quarter of the Middleport game

Team Members: Leonard Sorrell, Frank Sorrell, Walter Faine, John Woods, John Bryson, Dean Peugh, Glen Mathews, Larry Vaughn, John Cunningham, Bob Carter, Dave Trasin, Neil Roberts, Gail Bingman, Arthur Jago, Dave Rothery, Jack Duncan, Dewey Brown, Paul Deshara, Warren Chappelear, Dave Watkins, Kenneth Bingman

Assistant Coaches: L.G, DeLong, Glen Wollenhaupt

Managers: Bob Skinner, Albert Cook, Jim Davis

1939 Glouster Coach Paul Kamerer

9/15/1939 Marietta Away L 0 55

9/22/1939 Logan Away L 0 61

9/29/1939 M&M Away L 0 19

10/6/1939 New Concord Away L 0 7

10/13/1939 Caldwell Home L 7 31

10/20/1939 Jacksonville-Trimble Home L 0 18

10/26/1939 New Lexington Home W 27 19

11/2/1939 Crooksville Home W 7 6

11/10/1939 Philo Away L 7 19

Starters: Gaskalla, Roberts, Brown, Sorrel, Duncan, Rothery, Gaskalla, Peugh, Waldeck, Ginnan, Bryson

The Glouster Memorial Stadium project was publicly announced on November 13,1939