Just a quick reminder — the all-decade teams that are coming out this week are a continuation of a project launched last summer. Combined 1920s/1930s and 1940s/1950s teams were already selected. The next four days will give specific recognition to players in each of those decades.
The roster
| Don Harkins | QB | Worland |
| Irvin Redhair | QB | Sheridan |
| Wayne Colvin | RB | Cheyenne Central |
| Carl Dir | RB | Worland |
| Paul “Ted” George | RB | Laramie |
| Buster Long | RB | Buffalo |
| Ray Thompson | RB | Thermopolis |
| Harry Braisted | WR | Laramie |
| Ralph Cottrell | WR | Worland |
| Howard Dickson | WR | Douglas |
| James Storey Sr. | WR | Cheyenne Central |
| Wedge Thompson | WR | Thermopolis |
| Taft Harris | TE | Natrona |
| Ben Joyce | TE | Sheridan |
| Ed Miller | TE | Manville |
| Jack Astle | OL | Cheyenne Central |
| Stanley Duncan | OL | Sheridan |
| Oscar Erickson | OL | Cheyenne Central |
| Verle Harlow | OL | Natrona |
| John Hazen | OL | Thermopolis |
| Thomas Kassis | OL | Natrona |
| Bert Kerns | OL | Sheridan |
| Tim Moynihan | OL | Rawlins |
| Clarence Smith | OL | Cheyenne Central |
| Hugh Crawford | DL | Cheyenne Central |
| Win Croft | DL | Lovell |
| Edward “Eddie” Mucho | DL | Green River |
| Paul O’Bryan | DL | Natrona |
| Vince Smith | DL | Cheyenne Central |
| Ralph Stewart | DL | Thermopolis |
| Wilbur Wortham | DL | Worland |
| Herbert Gage | LB | Cheyenne Central |
| Leo Hoffer | LB | Lander |
| Frank Johnson | LB | Rawlins |
| Walt McDonald | LB | Worland |
| Francis Montague | LB | Lusk |
| Addison Swearingen | LB | Sheridan |
| Lewis Williams | LB | Laramie |
| Harry Barnes | DB | Worland |
| Buell Cotton | DB | Sheridan |
| Franklin “Duke” DeForest | DB | Laramie |
| Jesse Ekdall | DB | Cheyenne Central |
| Stanley Kreps | DB | Powell |
| Bill Lester | DB | Natrona |
| Bill Logan | DB | Natrona |
| Glenn Stanton | DB | Natrona |
| Sam McPike | Rover | Worland |
| Verbon Toucher | Rover | Rock Springs |
| Henry “Lips” Palmer | K | Cheyenne Central |
| Charles Coughlin | P | Laramie |
| Golden Welch | RS | Cowley |
| William “Kayo” Lam | ATH | Glenrock |
| Orlando Major | ATH | Cody |
Hardest players to leave off the team: Walter Kingham and Jerry King (Cheyenne Central); George Vandeveer, Lawrence Ormsby, Johnny Groves, Walter Dowler and Lloyd Dowler (Natrona); Reid Cottrell (Worland); Blake Fanning and Jack Markley (Laramie); Lawrence Hart (Riverton); Ed Ross (Campbell County); Floyd Jones (Thermopolis); Frank Swearingen (Sheridan); Francis LaNoue (Greybull).
Impressions: Worland’s 1926 team is putting its stake in the ground as one of the most individually talented, with three players (Wilbur Wortham, Walt McDonald and Sam McPike) coming from that squad, along with Harry Barnes (1927) and Carl Dir (1928) also playing key roles on that squad in their junior and sophomore years, respectively. …
Laramie’s 1924 squad also landed three players on the team in Harry Braisted, Ted George and Charles Coughlin, all of whom later played at UW. …
Best nickname goes to Henry Palmer from Cheyenne, who had the nickname “Lips.” I wondered how he earned that nickname — until I saw his senior photo. Then it became obvious. He could have modeled lipstick with a mug like that. …
Two brothers are on the offensive lineup in Thermopolis brothers Wedge and Ray Thompson. We also have two Smiths from Cheyenne in Vince (DL) and Clarence (OL), but I couldn’t deduce if they were related. …
The Sheridan Press, in picking an all-decade team in 1924, made special note of Bronc lineman Addison Swearingen being limited to playing on one side of the line — the one where his good ear was pointing to the quarterback. Swearingen was partially deaf. …
Oddly enough, the 1920s were a huge year for Wyoming players going well beyond the state to find success, with Palmer at Georgia, Thermopolis’ John Hazen at Northwestern, Natrona’s Thomas Kassis and Rawlins’ Tim Moynihan at Notre Dame, and Sheridan’s Bert Kerns at Oregon all playing at schools in states that didn’t border Wyoming. …
Finding weights for players in the 1920s isn’t too challenging, as most newspaper coverage focused on which team outweighed which and by how much. But heights? Yeah, no one cared. That’s why the “height” is blank on so many of the players in the graphic above. (Make sure you click/tap on those faces to read more about each selection!)
Up next: The 1930s, Tuesday.
–patrick