NFL was founded in 1920, but the Philadelphia Eagles team franchise was not founded until 1933. As American football continued to develop at the time, high schools around the US played during the school year to win their division titles. For Ambler High School, the team earned three consecutive football championships in the late 1930s and early 1940s.
Coach Heber T. Meyers and His Trojans
Heber T. Meyers (1907-1993) was born on March 7 to Mr. and Mrs. Norman H. Meyers. He lived in Lansdale where he attended grade schools. After moving to Ambler, he earned his diploma in 1925 at Ambler High School. He took an athletic coaching course at the University of Illinois, and graduated there in 1929. A year after graduating, he coached for the Pennsylvania Military College freshman team.
He then returned to Ambler High School and began teaching as a health and physical education teacher, and a football and track coach. The impact he had at Ambler High was his coaching that helped both his teams receive the Bux-Mont League Championships.
In 1938, his Trojans Football Team defeated the Sellersville-Perkasie High School Football team with a score of 6-0, and claimed their first Bux-Mont League Championship. According to the Ambler Gazette, the motivation behind the team was "spirited team play." The captain of the 1938 team was George Macort. He was picked for the Maxwell Memorial Award after winning the championship. He was a "3-letter man" who not only played football, but also basketball and ran track.
Fun Fact #1: The Sellersville-Perkasie High School building is now South Middle School in the Pennridge School District. Read more about the school's early days here!
Fun Fact #2: George Macort was inducted into the Ambler/Wissahickon High School Sports Hall of Fame in 1989.
Coach Meyers continued this streak in 1939 against the Lansdale High School Maroons. This time, they shared the Bux-Mont League Championship with both teams having the same number of points tallied from their previous games. It was undetermined how to handle the tie so it ended in a stalemate. The captain for the 1939 Trojans team was Thomas Lochetto.
Fun Fact #3: Thomas was also part of the track and field team, and a gold medalist in the 1939 PIAA Class B (AA) Boys Discus State Championship with a record of 137'-8 1/2".
In the 1940 football season, Coach Meyers and his Trojans ended their season with seven wins and only one defeat. But, they faced ANOTHER stalemate when the team shared the championship, this time with the Springfield High School Spartans. The captain of the team was George Hunsicker.
In 1941, after winning three consecutive championships with the Trojan football team, Heber was hired as the new football and track coach at Pottstown High School.
After the US entered World War II, Heber was drafted into the US Navy as Chief Specialist, later Lieutenant (j.g.). He received the honor roll from Ambler.
In 1944, he married Elizabeth E. Sleesman, who was an English teacher at the time at Ambler High School. They had two sons: Gerald and William.
2012 PIAA District One Class AAAA Playoffs
The last time the football team won the Bux-Mont championship was in the year 1987. The latest championship Wissahickon had was in 2007 after they moved to the Suburban One League in the 1980s.
In the 2012 football season, Wissahickon was the closet to reaching the PIAA State Championship after tying second with Cheltenham in the SOL American Conference. The team was coached by Jeff Cappa.
They were ranked #16 in the playoffs while facing #1 Downingtown East. As underdogs, the Trojans defeated Downingtown East by a field goal. Wissahickon senior Greg McDonough kicked the football from the 22-yard line, helping the Trojans win 38-35. But their journey to the playoffs ended too soon when they were defeated by Coatesville in the quarterfinals.
In the end, they were ranked overall #7 in the Suburban One League out of 24 teams, and was awarded the SOL American Conference Team of the Year.
Bibliography
"Ambler High Eleven Made Record in History." Ambler Gazette. December 1, 1938. Page 9. http://digitalcollections.powerlibrary.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/wivp-gazett/id/22113/rec/5.
"Ambler High Eleven Snares Gallant Victory From Sell-Perk For Title." Ambler Gazette. November 17, 1938. Page 1. http://digitalcollections.powerlibrary.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/wivp-gazett/id/23900/rec/1.
"Ambler's Testimonial To The Trojan Squad." Ambler Gazette. November 30, 1939. Page 9. http://digitalcollections.powerlibrary.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/wivp-gazett/id/23882/rec/1.
"Glimpse Of The Ambler High School Trojans 1940 Football Season." Ambler Gazette. December 5, 1940. Page 12. http://digitalcollections.powerlibrary.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/wivp-gazett/id/23566/rec/1.
"H.T. Meyers is Named Trojan Grid, Track Coach: School Board Elects Ambler High Mentor to Replace G.B. Slagle." The Mercury. February 1, 1941. Page 7. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/75831795/the-mercury/.
Huff, Scott. "2012 SOL Football Season in Review." Suburban One Sports. Last modified December 1, 2012. https://www.suburbanonesports.com/article/content/2012-sol-football-season-review-0030282.
"PA BOYS TRACK AND FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS (1925-2012) FIELD CHAMPIONS." RodFrisco.com. Accessed September 27, 2021. https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/read/6895984/piaa-boys-track-and-field-championships-rodfriscocom.
Prince, Mike. "DISTRICT 1 FOOTBALL: Wissahickon upsets top seed Downingtown East." The Reporter. Last modified November 9, 2012. https://www.thereporteronline.com/sports/district-1-football-wissahickon-upsets-top-seed-downingtown-east/article_d25e4f8e-ec06-5bf5-8805-1d1f01896c29.html.
Prince, Mike. "FOOTBALL: Wissahickon falls to Coatesville." Montgomery Media. Last modified November 16, 2012. https://www.montgomerynews.com/sports/football-wissahickon-falls-to-coatesville/article_63208cb5-443a-5ea6-92fa-d1cc7db962ee.html.
#pahistory #ambler #wissahickon #amblerhighschool #wissahickonhighschool #football #sports #school #highschool #championship #buxmontleague #suburbanoneleague #SOL #PIAA #pottstown #WW2 #WWII #worldwar2 #worldwarii #AHS #WHS #wissnation #lansdalemaroons #northpennknights #springfieldspartans #sellperkbulldogs #pennridgerams #veteran #trojans #amblertrojans #wissahickontrojans #playoffs