He communicated instructions to his assistant coached via messengers, who sprinted back and forth from the Kirkland residence to the field.Įlon shut out Catawba late in the 1939 season, but Catawba wouldn’t be held scoreless again until after Kirkland, his health faltering, retired following the 1948 season. Kirkland suffered a heart attack in 1945 following a Catawba loss to William & Mary, but he directed the team the rest of that season from a bed in his home, not far from the field.
Except for a down season in 1936 and a non-season in 1943 when Catawba hadn’t been able to field a team because of the war, the Indians rolled under Kirkland. Kirkland had transitioned to the college ranks in 1934 after a strong run at Salisbury’s Boyden High School. Catawba was ranked in the top 25 by the Associated Press before and after the Tangerine Bowl. Not just a small-college power, but a program capable of competing with almost anyone. Spears was 20 when he soared to fame in the Tangerine Bowl.Ĭatawba was regarded as a national power in the late 1940s under head coach Gordon Kirkland. Other Catawba Indians, such as 5-foot-8 back Marion Lee “Leapin’ Lee” Spears, who had played for Duke against North Carolina as a 17-year-old in 1944 before transferring to Catawba, were much younger than Barnes and Bowen. Bowen was the team’s elder statesman at 26. Barnes was 25 and newly married when the 1948 Tangerine Bowl was played. Marines in the Pacific Theatre and had returned to college after the war. Barnes and punter/back Harold Bowen had been U.S. Several of the Catawba Indians had seen heated action in the global conflict. Many of the players, at least on the Catawba side of things, were older than traditional college students, not because they struggled academically, but because World War II had affected every life and disrupted normal educational and career paths. Rams in the 19 seasons and was good enough to start some games in the NFL. Yagiello, who came to Catawba from New Jersey, was a three-time All-America selection. and Ray Yagiello, both listed in the program at 6 feet, 220 pounds, were considered huge, powerful men. Catawba tackles Martin Luther (M.L.) Barnes Jr. The players had different dimensions than today’s giants.
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