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"Before you even talk about winning you have to have tradition as a school and as a team. You have to develop pride." – Frank Davis – 9/9/1969
Francis Howell Football
The First Four Years
In 1968 the Hawks had just left for Atlanta. Owner Ben Kerner was afraid the expansion NHL Blues were going to take over the winter sports market in St. Louis. The Cardinals were the ‘67 World Champions and headed for another World Series in 1968. Although the Football Cardinals had been in town for seven seasons, football was just not something we were excited about in St. Charles County. It’s a wonder our coaching staff was able to get our attention and accomplish anything.
It took a full 30 years from Mr. Raymond Sparks adventure with six-man football to the start the varsity program at Francis Howell. I spoke with former FHHS Principal Mr. Ed Mossop a few years ago and asked him if he knew who the driver was behind starting football at Francis Howell. He said everyone was for it and excited to start the program. “It was just time to add this to the athletic program at Francis Howell.” Growing up I lived near Mr. Mossop and the only time kids would play football was when he rounded up the some of the boys to play football out in the yard in the fall. Mr. Mossop was really into football. He tried to teach us some stuff, but it was pretty much just playing in the yard to me. All that to say I believe he was more instrumental in getting the program off the ground than he admits. He loved football.
The Francis Howell Football Vikings came a long way in a short time. The inspiration, teaching and leadership provided by our coaching staff made us believe we could do anything and beat anybody if we were quicker and in better shape than our opponents. They built us into a team that depended on each other to accomplish our mission. “Our plays are designed to score every time if everyone does their job 100% on every play. Get lower, keep your feet moving, don’t let ‘em get outside, rule blocking, wrap up the ball carrier, gang tackle, run the play again, stick ‘em with your head and shoulders, punish the ball carrier” and always “C’mon son!” Shaping lives, one up-down at a time.
When football started in 1968 my dad, FHSD Assistant Superintendent C. C. Randall, told me to read the paper and make a scrapbook of all the articles about Francis Howell football. He said, “Someday you will look back at the articles and be glad you did.” I was not too interested because, like most of the guys our age, basketball and Cardinal baseball was the thing. Reluctantly I began to read the sports pages, cut stuff out and tape it in a scrapbook. In the beginning the St. Charles Journal, St. Charles Daily Banner News and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch really didn’t give Francis Howell the time of day unless we played Duchesne or a school in the county. At first it was an easy job because there wasn’t much to cut out. As we moved to the varsity level in 1969, we started to get a little more coverage. At the time I did not care for sports reporter Mike Gothberg. In retrospect he did a lot for improving St. Charles County high school sports coverage in the Banner and later in the Journal newspapers. He also played a supportive role in publicizing the need for a new high school conference for schools in our area which became the Gateway Athletic Conference. The improved coverage probably paid off for the newspaper subscriptions because Viking football was wildly popular during these years.
This collection of articles was impossible to scan so I have typed almost all of it and scanned as I could. I have tried to give dates and credit to the newspapers and other sources when possible. I have also tried to correct information that was published incorrectly in the paper. [This is not a perfect document.] I also attempted to keep the original text as published even though Wally Snyder would have rather had the spelling, grammar, punctuation and sentence structure corrected. Shout out to my typing teacher, Miss Buck. Without her diligence in keeping my posture correct and fingers on the proper home keys this document would not have been completed. I hope as you read this collection you get some enjoyment ‘remembering when’.
Today’s catch phrase at FHHS is Viking Pride. Re-read the sentence in the first quote. That is where Viking Pride began.
Thanks for the memories.
Mark Randall – Offensive Guard
Francis Howell High School Class of 1972
1971 Undefeated GAC Champions
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