Battis Field Dedication

The following souvenir scorecard was distributed as part of the dedication celebration for Battis Field, November 8, 1941.

Middleborough High School Popularizes Football

Football emerged as a popular sport in Middleborough in the late 1800s, largely through the efforts of Middleborough High School students who formed the first teams in town. The school itself initially provided little direction or organization. Teams were formed informally by the students who, as recorded by newspaperman James H. Creedon, were responsible for engaging their own coach and establishing their own schedules in conjunction with other teams in the region. It is through the work of these boys that football was popularized locally. These early roots ultimately led to the growth of semi-professional football in Middleborough when in 1939 the forerunner of the successful Mitchell Memorial Club Cobras was formed. The highly successful team, now simply the Middleboro Cobras, continues to fulfill the community’s passion for the sport as part of the Eastern Football League as does the local high school team.
 

The 1905 Middleborough High School squad poses for a team photo. As is evident from the makeshift uniforms in the photograph, the team was, like many of the school’s earliest teams, informally organized. Students made do with what they could cobble together including quilted pants and cotton knit sweaters. Noticeable is the absence of protective gear such as helmets and pads, though five of the boys have noseguards which were uncomfortable to wear and  were eventually replaced by facemasks starting in the 1920s.  

Practices were held regularly in the large open field in the rear of Middleborough High School which then occupied the South Main Street school building which was later and better known as the Bates School. In the background, the Episcopal and Baptist churches are conspicuous with Center Street seen in the far distance.

 

Pictured is the 1908 Middleborough High School team including George Jones, Charlie McCarty, Frank Harrington, Ralph Mendall, Brad Swift, Bill Andrews, Russell Perkins, Everett Clough and Charles Lang. Future Superintendent of Schools J. Stearns Cushing sits in the center and holds the ball marked ’08. “Mel” Gammons, standing in the back row, second from the right, was a noted all-round athlete who was instrumental in the formation of the Middleborough High School basketball team, a sport at which he excelled. The year following this image, the high school was unable to organize a football team, but had sufficient interest in 1910 to field two squads.

Night Football

Enormous batteries of lights such as

this would be used to illuminate

sports fields in the latter half of the

20th century.  Middleborough's first

venture into night games occurred

in 1904 and would have seen a much

more modest array of electrical

lights.

"Stadium Lights", photo by

peppergrass, May 11, 2007, republished

under a Creative Commons license.

Football under the lights was inaugurated in Middleborough in 1904 largely as a practical measure . As reported by James H. Creedon at the time: "Football by electric light is the latest sport in town. The members of the high school team are unable to get a coach to train them in the daytime so they are now practicing nights, with Fred M. Ryder as coach." Unfortunately, little else is recorded of the venture or for how long it may have continued. And while practices were conducted in the evenings with the help of electric lights, games continued to be held strictly during the afternoons.  It is noteworthy that it was the Middleborough High School team which was responsible for the innovation.  At the time, the high school team was the leading proponent of football in Middleborough and it was largely responsible for popularizing the sport locally. The school itself, however, provided little direction or organization.  Teams were formed informally by the students who, as indicated by Creedon, were responsible for engaging their own coach, and establishing their own schedules in conjunction with other teams in the region.

Source:
Unidentified newspaper clipping, "Middleboro", November 1, 1904, Creedon Collection, Middleborough Public Library

Battis Field

On Saturday, November eighth [1941], the School Committee dedicated the lower football field with appropriate exercises and a football victory over the visiting Dartmouth High School team.

A brief history of the field shows that in response to a request the Board of Selectmen of Middleboro, on September 20, 1939, granted a twenty year permit to the local School Committee to enclose, with the exclusive right and privilege to use, a portion of the premises leased to the town by the Trustees under the will of Thomas S. Peirce.

Construction of the playing surface was started with NYA and student labor under the supervision of Mr. [Henry] Battis. An enclosing fence was made possible by the Trustees of the Peirce estate and all home games were played on the field during the season of 1940.

During the summer of 1941 the field house was moved to the area from the hockey rink and will be developed for the serving of refreshments and the convenience of patrons at the games.

Also during the summer of 1941, with some lumber from the old Union Street School, and some financial help from the Trustees, the bleachers on the west side of the field were constructed by Mr. Battis. A press box has been built above the top row of bleachers for the accommodation of the press and the operation of the public address system in assisting patrons in following the progress of the games.

Future plans call for moving the present gridiron about six yards east and about ten yards toward the Nemasket River. Extensive filling on the visitor's side of the field will make ample room for more bleachers to be constructed later.

When completed Middleboro High School can be proud of one of the finest football fields in our section of Massachusetts, made possible mainly through the effort of one individual, Henry E. Battis.

At the dedication a flag pole and flag were presented by the Kiwanis Club and Mr. Battis was the recipient of a wrist watch from the student body and faculty of the school.

These words of dedication, I believe, express the sentiment of the citizens of our town.

"In appreciation of his devotion to his work with the youth of Middleboro, his efficient and enlarged program of Physical Education, his high standard of true sportsmanship, and his vision and untiring personal effort in planning and building the football field, the School Committee of Middleboro do this day dedicate this field as Battis Field."

Illustration:

Henry E. Battis, 1965

Battis (1907-83) joined the staff of Middleborough High School in 1933 as coach and teacher of physical training, later becoming Director of Athletics and a teacher of industrial arts. Battis retired in September, 1968.

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Source:

"Annual Report of the Superintendent of Schools" in Annual Report of the Town of Middleboro, Massachusetts, for the Year Ending December 31, 1941. Middleborough, MA: Town of Middleborough, 1942.