Game Cancelled due to JFK assassination...replayed 20 years later!!

On November 22, 1963, El Paso High Class of ’64 was scheduled to play arch rival Austin High in one of the most anticipated high school football games of the season.  But on that morning, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated and all sporting events were cancelled.  No make-up games were scheduled. 

Twenty years later, El Paso grad Pat Wieland and Austin alum Stafford Werner came up with an idea to finally play “The Game.”  After the idea was conceived, each reunion committee embraced it wholeheartedly and “The Game” took on a life of its own. It was such a serious endeavor for the Tiger football players that they practiced 5 nights a week, with their original coach Jackie Meeks, and they actually closed those practice sessions, due to suspected spies!

For EPHS Class of ’64 grads this would be much more than a game. The “Claw”, which was awarded each season to the victor of the EPHS vs. Austin game, had eluded the EPHS football team for seven long years. There was no question that EPHS would finally win back The Claw on game day. The victory would provide a fitting end to the high school football careers of all seniors. But the opportunity to win that “Claw” was denied, as was the opportunity to close the book on their high school football careers. Until…..

“The Game” took place at El Paso High’s Jones Stadium on a hot July day in 1984, complete with original coaches, original cheerleaders and more than 5000 fans.  There was tremendous community & alumni support led in part by TV Channel 7’s General Manager Richard Pearson, an El Paso High alum and Outstanding Ex.  Sportscaster Kevin Lovell was sent to take all the footage he could, much of which has now been preserved on DVD. On game day, there was even a mention of “The Game” on the network’s nationally televised morning show.

Excitement filled the air on Game Day. The setting was complete with fans cheering as the players ran through a paper barrier while the EPHS fight song blared loudly from a Miller beer truck parked on the sidelines. The Tigers prevailed by 36-28, scoring the winning touchdown with about a minute to play. The EPHS football team had won the coveted “Claw” and could finally fill the void left by the cancellation of their final football game.

EPHS Class of ’64 was able to complete the last chapter and close the book on their unforgettable high school years. A victory delayed is no less sweet. GO TIGERS!