|
|
|
| Ralph
Cavanah
Head Coach
|
Shane
Cavanah
Mascot
|
I have found
that working on the Panther Timeline has been rewarding for more reason's
than I initially anticipated. Not only have I been able to catch up on the
team history, but I have also met some great legends of the past. Recently
I got to meet and interview Paul Horn, Jersey's oldest living player and
lately I have been receiving emails from family members, relatives and
friends of those football men from the past. The emails have all been the
same from "It's nice to know that my father is still remembered by
Panther nation" to " Thank you for bringing back all the
football memories of someone that I miss." A few weeks ago I received
an email from Shane Cavanah our little mascot from 1945-'47.
Shane, was the son of our Head Coach, Mr. Ralph Cavanah. It was another
email from someone from a long time ago that was touched by memories of
his father. He has been kind enough to share some special stories, photo's
and scrapbook articles of his father's days at Jersey, like the one in
1947 when Coach Cavanah and the band instructor took it upon themselves to
change the school colors from Black and Orange, to Blue and White. Shane
pointed out that in 1945 his father was hired from Roodhouse to come to
Jersey to turn the football program around. Something, I believe he
accomplished in his short three years here.
This page in Panther history is dedicated to Head Coach Ralph Cavanah and
to his son, Shane. I have decided to include a letter that Shane sent to
me the other day as a tribute to his father. No one could say it any
better.
Coach
Cavanah's JCHS Panthers of 1947
|
(From left to right- Ralph
Cavanah in 1934, at Kirksville State Teachers College and
Shane Cavanah in 1963 also at Kirksville. |
Coach Cavanah and his 1945 Jersey
Cagers
The following is an article written
by the Democrat News Sports Beat Columnist Bill Wimmersberg on Thurs.
Sept. 26, 1963
Former
Coach Here
A recent Jerseyville visitor was
Ralph Cavanah, former coach in all sports at the local high school.
Cavanah was here just a short time, he visited with old friends, Chris
Ringhausen, Joe Malloy, Ivan Heiderschied and called as many friends as he
could locate. The ex-Panther mentor looked about the same as when he lived
here and was real fit. He was real pleased with the great improvement in
the football field, gym and equipment at the high school. He commented
that Jerseyville had grown and changed since his days here.
A former pro gridder, Cavanah
coached at Roodhouse before coming to Jerseyville. In his days here the
prep school was known as Jersey Township High School and school colors
were orange and black until his last year here. The enrollment then was
less than 500 and is 1,119 now. His tenure at JTHS in all 3 sports was for
the 1945-46, 46-47, and 47-48 seasons. Cavanah is credited for starting
Jersey back out of its football haze with a progressive program. His 1947
squad was 5-3 and the 2 teams after his departure were considered of his
molding and posted 8-1 and 8-2 slates in 48 and 49.
His 1945-46 cage squad won the IVC Crown undefeated, went to the sectional
and posted a 20-6 record. Cavanah also fielded some fine track squads with
the likes of Don Bligh, Walt Jewsbury, Bill Randolph, Bob French and a
list that could go on for pages in all sports. This writer was included in
the legion of athletes that were coached by Cavanah, the mentor who could
do anything he asked you to do.
In the years since leaving Jerseyville, Cavanah has sold seed corn and
drove an oil truck. Four years ago he purchased a farm near the family's
home town and is teaching and farming on the side. He is located at
Marceline, Mo. which is in northern Missouri on route 36. Back in coaching
he is the all sports mentor at the junior high in Marceline.
The Cavanah's have 4 sons. There is Shane who is in his last year at
Kirksville College and has done great things as quarterback on the grid
squad. I remember him as the little tadpole who hung around at practice
and was tough as nails. The 2nd son is David, a junior in high school and
at 6-4 and 190 pounds is the regular center on the cage squad and a real
good shot. Kim is in the upper grades of junior high and the youngest is
in the lower grades.
This writer ran into Ralph Bailey at
the Panther-Bethalto game and we talked about Cavanah and the current
Panther squad. Ralph was just about as rugged a right halfback who ever
trod the gridiron in these parts. We talked over the Panthers passing game
and Ralph thought it was perked up but had a long way to go before coming
close to the skill of Buzz Davis. I checked the files and in the Fall of
Buzz completed 13 of 16 passes against Roodhouse. Buzz was quarterback and
his tosses helped Jersey beat Roodhouse 46-13 and break an old jinx. That
same season Bailey scored 4 TD's that counted and 2 more that were called
back in the Panthers 32-0 rout of Carrollton.
Still checking the files, I found those scores weren't tops as Jerseyville
beat Highland 48-6 in 1930. The Jersey quarterback scored 5 touchdowns in
that game. His name: Ivan Heiderscheid.
This writer gets many questions concerning our old grade and high school
coaches so I invite anyone with information about them to drop me a line.
_____________________________________________________________________
These original Basketball schedule
cards were printed on heavy cardboard stock. Below is Coach Cavanah's
personal cards that he updated with the game results
The original Basketball Program
from the 1945-'46 Sectional Tournament held in Collinsville. Cavanah's
Panthers were 20-6 that season.
Like Father, like son... Brookfield
Mo. Bulldog Head Coach Shane Cavanah
But to Jersey fans, he will always
be known as that little mascot stuffed in a helmet. Below is Shane's
homemade letter and a photo from 1945 when he was 4 years old upon arrival
in Jerseyville.
