The first four games of the season went off successfully for Gridley,
though all were hard battles in which only fine leadership and
splendid team work by all saved the day.
Two of these games had been played on the home grounds, two away
from home. The fifth game of the season was scheduled to be played
on the home grounds. The opponent for this game was to be Hallam
Heights High School. The Hallam boys were a somewhat aristocratic
lot, but not snobbish, and the Gridley young men looked forward
to an exciting and pleasant game. It was the first game ever
played between Gridley and Hallam Heights. Coach Morton talked
about the strangers one rainy afternoon in the gymnasium.
"I believe you're going to find yourselves up against a hard
proposition," declared coach slowly "These young men attend a High
School where no expense is spared. Some of the wealthy men of the
town engage the physical director, who is one of the best men in
his class. Speight, who was at college with me, is engaged in
addition as the football coach. I remember Speight as one of the
cleverest and most dangerous men we had at college. He could think
up a whole lot of new field tricks overnight. Then again, most of
the Hallam Heights boys are young fellows who go away for athletic
summers. That is, they are young fellows who do a lot of boating,
yachting, riding, tennis, track work, and all the rest of it.
They are young fellows who glory in being in training all the
year around.
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