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Sports Memories by Tom Jones

On Friday, Sept. 27, the Albert Lea Tigers football team will host Tri-City United in the annual tradition of homecoming. This week I thought I would look back many years at what went on during the Homecoming week of 1940.

The theme for that year’s game was “Lo Kato” with the Tigers hosting Mankato with an 8 p.m. kickoff at Abbott Field. According to the AhLaHaSa, the theme represented a telephone line between Albert Lea and Mankato with Tiger coach M.E. Wambach as the chief operator and his players holding the line.

The Girl Reserves were all over the hallways selling gold homecoming pins during the week for only a dime.

If you were good at spelling you could see the game for free. Two tickets were being given away to a boy and a girl if you could find the misspelled words in the advertisements in the AhLaHaSa and you were the first to report them to the business manager at the school.

The ceremony of crowning the homecoming queen took place Friday morning during first hour in the new high school auditorium with music provided by the Glee Club who sang “La Czarine” and Lillian Miller, who sang “Neapolitan Nights.” The golden curtains slowly opened to reveal Queen Dorothy Johnsrud, dressed in white satin and carrying a bouquet of red roses. Dr. J.W. Gamble of the Gamble Clinic in town was the speaker at the event. The formal attire worn by the queen and her attendants was a tradition that had started the year before.

Classes were dismissed at 3:30 for the 4 p.m. parade, which started at Morin Park. The sophomore, junior and senior classes were having floats in the parade.

Also represented from the high school were floats from the AhLaHaSa, Science Club, G.A.A., B.A.A., Lettermen’s Club, Anne Rutledge Girl Reserves, Marie Sanford Girl Reserves, Alpha Hi-Y, Beta Hi-Y, Torch Club, Service Club, Commercial Club and Library Club. The senior and junior bands were set to provide music. The queen and her attendants rode in a beige convertible furnished by Kelsey Johnson. Following the parade it was off to Abbott Field, where Mankato defeated the Tigers 20-0.

The 1940 football season saw the Tigers ending their season with one win and seven losses. The only victory came on the road during the second week of the season when they traveled to Blue Earth and defeated the Maroons 7-0.

Tiger history

In 1916, the lady teachers at Albert Lea High School organized a basketball team.