The roster
| Jerry Henderson | QB | Basin |
| Maurice Wright | QB | Kemmerer |
| Sammy Boothe | RB | Evanston |
| Dominic Feeley | RB | Cody |
| Lee Kizzire | RB | Greybull |
| Martin Krpan | RB | Rock Springs |
| Clayton Wardell | RB | Cowley |
| Dale Baston | WR | Campbell County |
| John Hancock | WR | Natrona |
| Stan Hendrickson | WR | Natrona |
| Lewis Roney | WR | Powell |
| Merrill Waters | WR | Sheridan |
| Melvin Engstrom | TE | Rawlins |
| Ken Gardner | TE | Star Valley |
| Leonard Scott | TE | Natrona |
| Forrest Bird | OL | Sheridan |
| Morgan Davidson | OL | Cheyenne Central |
| John Erickson | OL | Cheyenne Central |
| Joe Kurtz | OL | Sheridan |
| Gene Moore | OL | Natrona |
| Dan Sedar | OL | Natrona |
| Earl “Bud” Suter | OL | Riverton |
| Clayton Thobro | OL | Rock Springs |
| Roy Thompson | OL | Sheridan |
| Walter Bentley | DL | Natrona |
| Ken Bird | DL | Sheridan |
| Sam Mavrakis | DL | Sheridan |
| Fremont Miller | DL | Lander |
| Pete Sedar | DL | Natrona |
| Ken Sturman | DL | Lusk |
| Fay Thompson | DL | Midwest |
| Fred Kostenbauer | LB | Buffalo |
| Lucien Moncini | LB | Sheridan |
| Vic Niethammer | LB | Natrona |
| Bob Price | LB | Natrona |
| Carl Rollins | LB | Green River |
| Ivan Threet | LB | Lovell |
| Johnny Winterholler | LB | Lovell |
| Willis Ball | DB | Rock Springs/Sheridan |
| Walter Cook | DB | Natrona |
| Thurlow Doyle | DB | Sheridan |
| Fred Marble | DB | Cheyenne Central |
| Dan Melinkovich | DB | Rock Springs |
| Paul Sanders | DB | Basin |
| Lee Shrum | DB | Natrona |
| Eddie Todorovich | DB | Thermopolis |
| Erv Cheney | Rover | Lander |
| Wesley Christensen | Rover | Laramie |
| Bill Albright | K | Natrona |
| Bill Strannigan | P | Rock Springs |
| Jeff Doyle | RS | Sheridan |
| Henry “Hank” Brown | ATH | Lander |
| Earl “Shadow” Ray | ATH | Natrona |
Hardest players to leave off the team: Joc Willey and Pat Feeley (Cody); Bud Hallock and Johnny Lee (Lander); John Kobelin (Thermopolis); Fon Johnson (Cowley); Wilfred Atterbury and Kirk Coulter (Campbell County); Kenneth Tottenhoff and Don Tottenhoff (Cheyenne Central); Ray Leonard (Natrona); August Moncini and Charles Endicott (Sheridan); George Okano (Rock Springs); Leonard Sprague (Worland).
Impressions: Natrona’s 1939 squad (which went 28-3 in its last three seasons, including two state titles) has three representatives on the team: Stan Hendrickson, Vic Niethammer and Earl “Shadow” Ray. …
Cowley’s Clayton Wardell deserves an explanation. He played in 1931; the 1931 school year was his fifth in high school, making him ineligible; the (new) Wyoming High School Athletic Association, in retribution, suspended all of Cowley’s athletics from playing any other Wyoming school for a full year. And the protest? Well, that was filed by Lovell, just down the road. Ouch. But he made good at Utah State, becoming team captain. …
Sheridan’s Forrest Bird and Ken Bird are brothers, part of a big flock of athletic Birds from up in Bronc country. Sheridan sent a LOT of players to BYU in the 1930s, the Birds among them. Natrona’s Dan and Pete Sedar are also brothers, two of a bevy of athletic Sedar high schoolers who suited up for the Mustangs. …
Evanston’s Sammy Boothe deserves much more recognition. He played at Navy when the Midshipmen were one of the nation’s most consistent winners, and his death — in a training flight off the coast of Florida right at the end of World War II — came much too soon. …
We know a lot about Lee Kizzire, but this research was the first time I heard about Walter Bentley. The Natrona star, and later UW Cowboy, was killed in action while fighting in the South Pacific near the end of 1944. I personally think it’s long overdue for both Kizzire and Bentley to be honored with some sort of plaque or other kind of physical recognition at the place the Cowboys play, which is, after all, named War Memorial Stadium.
Up next: The 1940s, Wednesday.
–patrick