SPOKANE, Wash. — The last time sports experienced a shut down in this country was during World War II. Obviously, almost all teams came back after that break, but one local team didn't. That team was the Gonzaga football team.
The Gonzaga football team's journey began in 1892 on Thanksgiving Day with a rousing score of 4-4 against the Spokane Amateur Athletic Club. Obviously, things have changed a bit in the game since then.
Only six years after Gonzaga's football team's inaugural game, the team faced its first shut down. In 1898, the school banned the program as football became too dangerous.
The forward pass did not exist so the team relied on massive rushing attacks that caused serious, sometimes deadly, injuries. Thankfully, the forward pass was introduced in 1905, and Gonzaga's football team came back in 1908.
The team really hit their stride in the 1920's. Their first moment in the national spotlight was playing West Virginia on Christmas Day.
Gonzaga represented the West in the game while the Mountaineers represented the East. The Zags were down 21-0 but in the last ten minutes made the score 21-13, with West Virginia still winning. Houston Stockton, yes of that Stockton family, played a huge part in the come back as he had two passes for over 45 yards and scored one of the two touchdowns.
From there, it was on. Led by head coach Gus Dorais, the Zags saw their program widen their reach. In 1924, the Gonzaga football team went 5-0.
They are considered the best football team in Gonzaga history. Dorais left in 1925 for the University of Detroit, but Gonzaga's football team, also known as the Irish, still had a few banner moments.
In October 1925, the team played against the Haskell Indian Institute on homecoming.
It was such a big deal for Gonzaga to be playing a Native American team that even President Calvin Coolidge was made aware of the game. The Haskell Indian Institute defeated Gonzaga 10-9, and the event made Spokane known as a progressive city.
The most successful player to come out of the program was Anthony "Tony" Canadeo, who played for the Bulldogs from 1938-1940.
He was drafted by the Green Bay Packers and became the third player in NFL history to record over 1,000 yards rushing in a season. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1974, one of two Gonzaga players to achieve the honor.
A year after Tony left Gonzaga though, the team went dormant due to World War II.
Once the war was over, Gonzaga students petitioned the school to bring back the team, but due to continued losses, the administration decided the team was hurting the school's self-respect. The University was also concerned with the football team lowering the school's academic standards and a significant deficit the program had built up. There had also been poor attendance at games.
In 1949, the school dismantled the stadium that had been built on Gonzaga's campus in 1922, and all signs of the program ceased.
If you want to know more about this team, you can find Gonzaga senior Abby Tarantino's full exhibit online here.