With the football season well underway, this is an excellent time to look back at an early Riverside Championship football team. In 1902, the Perris Indian School relocated to Riverside and became Sherman Institute. Sherman Institute was different than the present Sherman Indian High School in that it served a broader range of students and concentrated on teaching trade skills. One similarity to today, though, is the value of sports in the students’ lives as an outlet for their energy and individual personalities while also building teamwork and physical skills.
Football was one of the more popular sports at Sherman and was very successful in those early years. The team had high expectations as they began play in Riverside, as the Perris Indian School had been declared the Southern California Champions the previous year. All the team except for one player returned. The player-coach as the season began was Joe Scholder from Mesa Grande Reservation, who had previously played for both the Carlisle and the Perris teams.
A practice football game before the 1902 season in Riverside occurred on Saturday, October 4, at Chemawa Park between the First and Second Teams of Sherman Institute. The teams were relatively evenly matched, as the First team won by a score of only 10 to 0. Some rules included five points for a touchdown and three downs to make five yards for a first down. The forward pass was illegal (it did not become legal until 1906). A large crowd filled most of the seats in the grandstand.
The Second Team played a game, traveling to San Bernardino on Saturday, October 11, to take on San Bernardino High School. The Sherman boys easily outclassed their opponents, winning by the score of 46 to 0. Fullback Nephus had the game's highlight play when he cleared the line on an end run and had an open field with only one defender between him and the goal line. He ran straight at the defender and, after hesitating for a second, jumped over him for a touchdown.
Another team from San Bernardino, the San Bernardino Athletic Club, was the opposing team for Sherman Institute's first real game. The game was played on October 18 at 3 p.m. at Chemawa Park on Magnolia Avenue, next to the school. Streetcars ran with a half-hour service to provide transportation for the game. The Athletic Club team consisted of veteran football players with plenty of knowledge and experience in the pigskin game. The Sherman team was described as "far better than before, heavier, quicker, stronger, and with a thorough understanding of the value of teamwork, they have been drilling faithfully every day and are getting into shape to win glory for Riverside and Sherman." The grandstand was filled chiefly with supporters of Sherman, but about fifty spectators came from San Bernardino to cheer on their team. The game started fast and was never doubted as the Sherman team rolled to a 36 to 0 victory. Touchdowns were scored by Marion Blacktooth, Reuben Saunders, Bemus Pierce, and two by Ben Nephus. At half-time, the men from San Bernardino stretched out on the ground, panting, while the players from Sherman played tag and stood on their heads.
Sherman next traveled to Fiesta Park in Los Angeles on Saturday, November 8, to take on Occidental College. A large crowd gathered expecting a good game, as Occidental had one of the best teams in the area. However, the Eleven from Sherman proved to be a much superior team, winning by the score of 34 to 0.
Sherman Institute's next opponent was Reliance Athletic Club from San Francisco. The day before the game, Reliance traveled by train to Los Angeles. They arrived via the Southern Pacific Railroad to Riverside at 11:15 on Saturday, November 15, and were met by the Sherman Institute Band, who escorted them to the Reynolds Hotel, where they ate. At 2 p.m., the team rode tallyhos to Chemawa for the game. One of the largest crowds, about 750 people, turned out for the game. When both teams took the field, the Reliance team clearly had the larger players. But Sherman had the better team. After the game, the praise given to Sherman was, "When the ball was put in action, every player was in the game." Still not giving up a score, the Sherman Indians won 27 to 0.
Anticipation built for the next game against an outstanding squad from the University of Southern California. The college boys from USC arrived in Riverside on Saturday, November 22, for a game that would decide the Southern California football champion. The Indians from Sherman again proved their ability. Not allowing the USC team to cross the goal line, they racked up 28 points against a very good team. The Sherman Institute Indians football team was the Champion team for Southern California.
One more obstacle was in Sherman's path: a game against Berkeley for bragging rights for all of California. The game was played on Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, November 27, at Fiesta Park in Los Angeles. The Santa Fe Railroad ran a special excursion train from Riverside for fans to attend. The Gem Bazar, a Riverside downtown store, sold a special order of horns for the fans to use to cheer by yelling. Nearly 10,000 fans from all over California came to watch these two powerhouses face off. Unfortunately, the University of California-Berkeley proved to be a stronger team. Both teams played hard, but Berkeley came out ahead by the score of 28 to 12.
Sherman Institute did play one more football game that year, hosting Pomona College at Chemawa Park on Saturday, December 7. Sherman returned to its winning way, shutting down Pomona by the score of 21 to 0. A highlight of the game was Ben Nephus's punting, who consistently kicked between 50 and 60 yards.
A new football team in Riverside made quite an impression in its first season in the city in 1902. The Sherman Institute Indian football team would have many more successful years playing football.
