蜜柚直播

On a February afternoon in 1938, 蜜柚直播 athletic director Pop McKale announced the school鈥檚 upcoming football schedule but strangely left the final week blank.

It didn鈥檛 include 蜜柚直播 State, and McKale awkwardly declined to comment on ASU鈥檚 conspicuous absence.

Two months later, the Wildcats announced their final game would be against Montana.

Thus began four years of fear and loathing unmatched in the football rivalry between 蜜柚直播 and ASU, a contempt that went beyond anything generated across the last 80 years, and, yes, that includes the long domination of Frank Kush and the Larry Smith-inspired 鈥淪treak鈥� of 1982-90.

By comparison, the much-documented unfriendly relationship between 蜜柚直播 coach Rich Rodriguez and ASU鈥檚 Todd Graham seems innocuous.

From 1938-41, 蜜柚直播 refused to schedule the Sun Devils 鈥� then the Bulldogs 鈥� because the school pirated three top prospects from the UA鈥檚 campus six weeks before the 1937 opening game against, yep, ASU.

鈥淧op decided not to play them again until those three kids were gone,鈥� 蜜柚直播鈥檚 1940 all-conference halfback John Black told me in 1999. 鈥淗e said 鈥榮crew 鈥榚m鈥� but in much harsher terms.鈥�

It was a football conspiracy for the ages.

On a late August night in 1937, ASU student manager Tom Lillico devised a plan to get former Glendale High School all-state football players Walt Ruth, Wayne Pitts and Rex Hopper out of their UA dormitories and onto the ASU roster.

In 1979, Lillico told The 蜜柚直播 Republic he got permission to borrow ASU coach Rudy Lavik鈥檚 car to carry out the most daring case of football poaching in 蜜柚直播 history.

鈥淭hey kidnapped those three kids,鈥� Black said.

鈥淐oach Lavik didn鈥檛 know anything about it,鈥� Lillico said 40 years later. 鈥淲e had to borrow his car because he was the only guy we knew who had a car that could make it to 蜜柚直播 and back.鈥�

Lillico drove to 蜜柚直播 and returned overnight with Pitts, Ruth and Hopper. All were said to be unhappy because the UA had not yet promised them full scholarships. They spent the late summer working menial jobs in 蜜柚直播 as arranged by A. Louis Slonaker, the UA鈥檚 鈥済raduate manager,鈥� which was essentially an assistant athletic director鈥檚 position.

Once UA coach Tex Oliver realized his three prized Glendale recruits were gone, Slonaker phoned ASU President Grady Gammage, who acknowledged he had met at his house with Pitts, Ruth and Hopper the day they arrived from 蜜柚直播.

Gammage guaranteed full scholarships and, according to a Republic story in 1979, told them 鈥渨e鈥檙e going to have a football team up here.鈥�

Dean Smith, author of the 1970s book 鈥淓ight Decades of Sun Devil Football,鈥� wrote that kidnapping three UA players 鈥渨as a chance to put the haughty Wildcats in their place.鈥�

McKale and the Wildcats staged a scheduling boycott. They did not play ASU in 1938, 1939 and 1940, replacing them with Montana, Loyola Marymount and Marquette. ASU added Gonzaga, West Texas A&M and Whittier to its schedule.

The tension grew. Dwight 鈥淩ed鈥� Harkins, who owned College Theatre in Tempe 鈥� the same Harkins whose family now owns the Harkins Theatre chain 鈥� developed a five-minute movie trailer challenging 蜜柚直播 to play ASU.

Harkins proposed a 1940 December bowl game, 蜜柚直播 vs. ASU, matching the 7-2 Wildcats against 7-1-2 ASU. McKale declined, even though ASU was officially declared Border Conference champions, and the UA was promised $15,000, a small fortune in 1940.

By 1941, Ruth, Pitts and Hopper 鈥� all of whom played for coach UA alumnus Red Couch鈥檚 undefeated 1936 Glendale High powerhouse 鈥� were gone. McKale added ASU to the schedule for Oct. 25, 1941 in Tempe.

Payback. Revenge. Madness.

蜜柚直播鈥檚 ambitions were never higher. McKale scheduled the school鈥檚 鈥�41 opener at Notre Dame and the Wildcats played the Irish tough, losing 38-7. They won the next three easily, by a combined 104-13.

ASU entered the game 2-2-1, having lost to Texas A&M-Kingsville and West Texas A&M. All 12,000 tickets to Goodwin Stadium were sold in advance. The Star鈥檚 day-of-game advance story was provocative:

鈥淎n ancient feud, smoldering with subterranean volcanic fury for the last four years, erupts tonight when 蜜柚直播 unleashes its devastating aerial might against the 蜜柚直播 State Bulldogs of Tempe.鈥�

UA fans were so eager to get to Tempe that they arranged for the highway patrol to convoy hundreds of vehicles on the old highway from 蜜柚直播 to Phoenix, escorted by police starting at noon and beginning each half hour until 3 p.m.

The Star鈥檚 story continued: 鈥淭he Wildcats have listened to insinuations and insults for four years about being afraid of Tempe. Tonight, they鈥檙e determined to a man to show no mercy.鈥�

蜜柚直播 won 20-7.

The headline in the next day鈥檚 Star said:

WILDCAT ROOTERS

RUSH FIELD

TEAR DOWN

GOAL POSTS

Seeing the celebration, hundreds of ASU fans stormed onto the turf in attempt to regain possession of the goal posts. Police were powerless to stop the brawl. Someone at ASU turned off the lights.

鈥淚t was a wild, milling melee,鈥� the Star reported.

An hour later, as hundreds of 蜜柚直播ans boarded a late train home, ASU fans threw rocks and fruit at the train, injuring several of UA fans.

Later in the week, the Star reported that 鈥渋t was a corking good game鈥� and blamed the post-game brawls on 鈥渉ostilities fostered by hoodlums.鈥�

As for the three players ASU kidnapped from the UA dormitory: Hopper played one season and left school. Ruth was a three-year starter. Pitts became an all-Border Conference halfback and later principal at an elementary school in Avondale.

In 1978, suffering from heart disease, Pitts scheduled a quadruple bypass. The man who never played a game of football for or against 蜜柚直播, had his life-saving surgery at the UA鈥檚 University Medical Center.

Every UA/ASU football game since 1975: