Despite recent setbacks, Temple has had success

Despite chalking up 151 losses in just the last two decades, the Temple football program owns… Despite chalking up 151 losses in just the last two decades, the Temple football program owns a long and proud tradition of collegiate competition that dates back to before the turn of the century.

Conceived in 1894 as a part of the school’s physical education department, the Owls started their 107-year history with a 14-6 victory over the Philadelphia Dental College.

Although football was still relatively unorganized in the sphere of collegiate sports, the 11-man squad that Temple initially fielded played an essential role in organizing the sport in the Philadelphia area. Likewise, it was through these early years that local schools such as La Salle and St. Joseph’s evolved into the kind of competition that Temple faced during these formative years of football.

The most famous person associated with the program during the pre-World War I years was Elwood Geiges. Geiges was slated to coach the 1917 varsity squad, but because of circumstances surrounding the start of the war, Temple was forced to forfeit every one of its six regular season games.

Geiges, who would never coach a regular season contest for Temple, began his officiating career just a year later – a career that would eventually span 27 years. Geiges is credited with being one of the original pioneers of present day officiating, as evidenced by his election to the National Football Foundation College Football Hall of Fame in 1984. The present day signals for holding, offside, illegal shift and timeout are all attributed to Geiges.

The “modern era” of the Owls’ program traces back to 1925, when the hiring of former Penn All-American “Heinie” J. Miller heralded the beginning of Temple’s involvement in the East Coast’s higher level of competition. The Owls would attain a respectable amount of success in the years following Miller’s hiring, accumulating a 50-15 record in his seven years at the helm.

Offensive innovator and coaching legend Glenn “Pop” Warner assumed the head coaching position at Temple in 1933. Credited with diversifying the outdated offensive formations of the time, Warner led the Owls to the inaugural Sugar Bowl in New Orleans, eventually dropping 20-14 decision to Tulane after blowing a two-touchdown, second half lead.

Warner continued Miller’s success with Temple through 1938, boasting a 31-18 record to go along with a season ending, 20-12 upset over the heavily favored Florida Gators. Warner later attributed the win to standout Jimmy Powers, who returned a kickoff 102 yards to end a season in which Temple played three of the nation’s top 10 teams – Pitt, Holy Cross and Texas Christian.

The middle part of the 20th century saw the Owls field some of the strongest squads in the history of the program. In 1945, the Owls were among the favorites to gain an Orange Bowl bid after starting the season 6-0 with the defeated Syracuse and Pitt left in their wake. A 27-0 loss suffered at the hands of Penn State eventually dwindled those Orange Bowl aspirations, but the 7-1 squad of 1945 ranks as one of Temple’s best teams ever.

The next run of success for the Owls came during the 1970s and into the early part of the 1980s, as head coach Wayne Hardin would become the winningest coach in Temple’s history with a mark of 80 wins and 52 losses. By this time, Temple had joined the ranks of the NCAA University Division, which was the cradle from which Division I-A football eventually grew.

In 1979, the Owls would make their first postseason bowl appearance in almost 50 years, as their 9-2 record earned a matchup against California in the Garden State Bowl.

Quarterback Brian Broomel and wide receiver Gerald “Sweet Feet” Lucear led the squad to a 28-17 victory, giving the Owls the highest single season win total (10-2) in the history of the school.

The 1980s and ’90s however, were not so kind to the Owls, starting a trend in the program that has yet to be overcome today.

Since 1983, Temple has employed four different coaches that boast only two winning seasons. Bruce Arians, Jerry Berndt, Ron Dickerson and Bobby Wallace own a meager winning percentage of just .278.

The Big East, wary of a program that has been mired in failure for the past two decades, intended to rescind the University’s membership in the conference for the 2002 season. After lobbying with promises of improved performances on and off the field – including fan attendance – Temple has been given a stay through the 2004 season.

Tomorrow, the Owls look to topple the newly ranked No. 22 Panthers, which would go a long way toward putting Temple back on the track to the success of yesteryear.