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Any photos not otherwise credited are from the personal collection of Frank Passic, Albion Historian.
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Morning Star, October 27, 2013, pg. 8 Many people in Albion sure do miss watching Albion High School football, a fall tradition for over a century—until last year. Our local students are now scattered over several neighboring school districts, not just Marshall. Whom should we root for? What games should we go to? The closing of Albion High School was more than just academics. The Albion High School Wildcats gave us a sense of identity and pride for our community, no matter what sport it was. There is now an undeniable void there. One hundred years ago Albion had a tradition of playing Marshall on Thanksgiving Day. In 1913 the game was played here at home. Marshall was always a strong contender, and held our "red and whites" to a scoreless tie throughout the first half. In the second half, Marshall scored first in the 3rd quarter with a field goal, but in the 4th quarter Albion came back with two touchdowns, winning the game 13 to 3. It was a mixed season. Other games included one against Mason in which the Breeze stated, "In mud ankle deep and before a crowd of about 300, Albion defeated its old rival Mason by a score of 13 to 6." An earlier game with Marshall saw Albion defeated 15 to 0.That season Albion lost to Jackson High School 45 to 0 (ouch!); but played Union City on October 4, with our team winning 48 to 0. A return game on November 15 saw our team lose to Union City 20 to 7. An away game at Battle Creek using our second team saw a defeat of 48 to 7. Such was the schedule during those years. Football coach during the 1913 season was Harry Ellerby, Jr. (1885-1949), a 1903 AHS graduate known for his baseball accomplishments who served as baseball coach at AHS. The "Breeze" stated in its November, 1913 issue, "Harry took up the reins as coach after many abler men in the line of coaching had refused. He has never played football but sacrificed his time to give his services and the best of his knowledge of football towards building up a winning team this year." Albion’s team that year included: Captain George Schumacher, right tackle; captain-elect Dave Roberts, center; Sam Bennett, left tackle; Otto Lippert, left guard; Clark Barrell, right tackle; Guy Vroman, left tackle; William Holtz, right end; Dick Holtz, left half; Harry Cole, quarterback; LeGrand Rickerd, left end; Harley Allen, substitute; Harold Wochholz, right guard; ____Williams, fullback; Harold Boyd, right half; Seymour Raynor, center; August Holtz, end; Wayne Thompson, sublineman; and Vern Van Meter, various positions. From our Historical Notebook this week we present a postcard photo of the 1913 Albion High School football team. The first two players in the front row are August Holtz and George Shumacher; the last person is LeGrand Rickerd. In the back row, the third person is coach Ellerby, with Harry Cole and Dave Roberts being the last two. This photo is found on page 95 of my latest book "Albion," featuring 230 historical postcards of Albion. Have you gotten your copy yet? Give me a call at (517) 629-5402 for details, or e-mail me at Albionfp@hotmail.com for further information.  1913 Albion High School football team Next: VETERAN’S DAY All text copyright, 2026 © all rights reserved Frank Passic | Artwork copyright Maggie LaNoue © 2026
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