1931 Eureka Red Devils football team

American college football season February 2026 August 2023 1931 Eureka Red Devils football Illinois Intercollegiate Athletic Conference IIAC 3–4–1 2–4–1 Ralph McKinzie 11th Bud Cole McKenzie Field The 1931 Eureka Red Devils football team was an American football team that represented Eureka College in the Illinois Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) during the 1931 college football season. In its 11th season under head coach Ralph McKinzie, the team compiled a 3–4–1 record, 2–4–1 against conference opponents.2013 Eureka College Football Media Guide 2013 79 https://issuu.com/eurekareddevils/docs/2013_eureka_football_media_guide July 15, 2020 Quarterback Enos Miller "Bud" Cole was the team captain.Red Devils Hope to Spill Carthage Saturday Afternoon The Daily Pantagraph November 6, 1931 14 https://www.newspapers.com/clip/55447088/red-devils-hope-to-spill-carthage/ Newspapers.com Schedule yes October 3 1931 Culver–Stockton Wildcats Culver–Stockton<ncg> McKinzie Field Eureka, IL W 42-14 Eureka College Wins First Game of Season Woodford County Journal October 8, 1931 1 https://www.newspapers.com/clip/55451923/eureka-college-wins-first-game-of-season/ Newspapers.com October 10 1931 Western Illinois Leathernecks Western Illinois McKinzie Field Eureka, IL W 13-6 Eureka College Defeats Macomb Waterford County Journal October 15, 1931 1 https://www.newspapers.com/clip/55446183/eureka-college-defeats-macomb/ Newspapers.com October 17 at 1931 Elmhurst Bluejays Elmhurst McCormick Field Elmhurst, IL L 0–4 Eureka College Notes Woodford County Journal October 22, 1931 4 https://www.newspapers.com/clip/55452206/eureka-college-notes/ Newspapers.com October 23 at 1931 Illinois State Redbirds Illinois State Normal, IL W 12–0 Eureka Defeats Normal Woodford County Journal October 29, 1931 8 https://www.newspapers.com/clip/55452319/eureka-defeats-normal/ Newspapers.com October 31 1931 Illinois Wesleyan Titans Illinois Wesleyan<hc> McKinzie Field Eureka, IL L 0–19 Many Come Back For Homecoming: Illinois Wesleyan Defeats Eureka Before a Thousand Football Fans Waterford County Journal November 5, 1931 1 https://www.newspapers.com/clip/55446666/many-come-back-for-homecoming/ Newspapers.com November 7 at 1931 Carthage Red Men Carthage Carthage, IL L 7-12 Carthage Noses Out Eureka College, 12-7 The Sunday Pantagraph November 8, 1931 13 https://www.newspapers.com/clip/55452137/carthage-noses-out-eureka-college-12-7/ Newspapers.com November 14 1931 Mount Morris Mounders Mount Morris McKinzie Field Eureka, IL T 0-0 Mt. Morris Battles Eureka to 0-0 Tie The Sunday Pantagraph November 15, 1931 12 https://www.newspapers.com/clip/55471780/mt-morris-battles-eureka/ Newspapers.com November 21 at 1931 Illinois College Blueboys Illinois College Jacksonville, IL L 0-12 Blueboys End Season With Win Over Eureka The Jacksonville Daily Journal November 22, 1931 8 https://www.newspapers.com/clip/55471900/blueboys-end-season-with-win-over-eureka/ Newspapers.com Roster thumb|right|175px|Ronald Reagan at Eureka Livengood - quarterback Wilson - halfback Enos Miller "Bud" Cole - quarterback, halfback, and captain Johann - fullback Baker - back Fletcher Shobe - halfback Olson/Olsen - halfback, quarterback, fullback Livey - halfback Baker - halfback Franklin Burghardt - center Ronald Reagan - guard Wilfred A. "Tubby" Muller - guardWilfred A. Muller The Pantagraph August 8, 2001 5 https://www.newspapers.com/clip/43190831/the-pantagraph/ Newspapers.com Slater - guard James L. Conlee - tackle Ray Holmes - tackle Jim Rattan - tackle Henry Sand - end Dixon - end Elmer E. "Knute" Fischer - endElmer Fischer obituary The Rock Island Dispatch-Argus December 1, 2000 https://qconline.com/obituaries/obituaries-for-december-1-2000/article_f40802f5-1f29-525d-bead-23ba736fcf6b.html Smith - end Ronald Reagan Ronald Reagan, who later served as the 40th President of the United States, was a member of the team. Coach McKinzie recalled Reagan as "just a fellow who wanted to play football but didn't have too much talent." Reagan became a starter at the guard position as a junior in 1930 and remained a starter as a senior in 1931. McKinzie added: "He had determination, oh yes. He was a team player, very definitely."R.W. Reagan, '32, to speak to Class of '82 Chicago Tribune May 9, 1982 III-1, III-12 https://www.newspapers.com/clip/55475841/rw-reagan-32-to-speak-to-class-of/ Newspapers.com In his biography of Reagan, Edmund Morris wrote that "he remained a slow, half-blind, yet fanatically dedicated player through the end of his last season. He prayed before every game, then walked onto the grid scared enough to piss himself His bladder eased as soon as play began, and for the next hour he would hurl himself at bigger bodies without flinching."Dutch: A Memoir of Ronald Reagan Modern Library 1999 89 0375756450 Reagan also served as captain and coach of the school's swim team during his senior year. Reagan-Burghardt relationship Franklin Burghardt was an African-American who was the team's starting center. While playing a road game against Elmhurst College, a hotel refused to allow Burghardt and the team's other black player, Jim Rattan, to stay. The coach was angry and decided that the whole team would sleep on the bus. Reagan, Burghardt later recalled, worried that this would cause the team's performance to suffer and thus humiliate the black players and harm their morale, and suggested instead that the coach tell the team that the hotel did not have enough rooms.A personal anecdote in defense of Ronald Reagan https://www.newspapers.com/image/116130330/?terms=Franklin+Burghardt The Star-Democrat November 30, 2010 Easton, Maryland 4Reagan: An American Journey Bob Spitz Penguin Books 2018 112–113 9780143110590 Coach McKinzie gave him fare for a taxi for Reagan, Bughardt, and Rattan to Dixon, Illinois, to stay with his parents, Jack and Nelle Reagan, who welcomed them "like Amos 'n' Andy."Edmund Morris, Dutch, p. 89. In Reagan's 1986 autobiography, Where's the Rest of Me?, he told a story about a racist player on an opposing team who was "filled with hatred and prejudice" and "played dirty" while targeting Burghardt. Though Burghardt was injured, he refused to play dirty and astounded the other team with his strength and skill. At the end of the game, the defeated player turned around to shake Burghardt's hand, telling him he was the greatest human being he had ever met. On Martin Luther King Jr. Day in 1986, President Reagan shared the same story at a school in Washington, D.C.Reagan lauds King in speech at black school https://www.newspapers.com/image/276684839/?terms=Franklin+Burghardt June 21, 2018 The Morning Call January 16, 1986 Allentown, Pennsylvania 3 Reagan and Burghardt remained friends, many decades later.Allen Henry Reagan, black college pal have kept in touch https://www.newspapers.com/image/295989319/?terms=Franklin+Burghardt The Washington Post May 10, 1981https://www.nationalreview.com/2019/08/ronald-reagan-and-race-richard-nixon-tape/ Reagan and Race August 2019 References Eureka Category:Eureka Red Devils football seasons Eureka Red Devils football