The 1930s: How the WHSAA got in – and out – of the playoffs

It’s no coincidence that the Wyoming High School Activities Association and Wyoming’s statewide football playoffs were both born in the same year, 1931. It wasn’t until the WHSAA (then known as the Wyoming High School Athletic Association) stepped up to organize a playoff that schools, together, took the steps they needed to take to determine a state champion.

However, organizing the state’s football programs into one cohesive playoff system proved much tougher than anticipated.

It shouldn’t have been that hard. Four districts, four champions, semifinals that determined a northern and a southern champion and then a state championship game. But after starting playoffs in 1931, the WHSAA dropped them after the 1938 season — mostly because the districts had trouble deciding which teams to send on to the playoffs, but partly because the WHSAA was tired of dealing with all the drama.

Back then, there was only one classification of football in Wyoming, and only four teams qualified for the playoffs. One team each qualified from the northeast, southeast, northwest and southwest districts. The northeast and northwest champions played each other in the first round, as did the southeast and southwest champions. Those winners then faced off in the championship game, usually on Thanksgiving.

The trouble with the system went deeper than just deciding which four teams went to the playoffs. Problems also arose even after the four teams won — or, perhaps more accurately, were chosen — as their district’s champion.

Understanding the system relies on understanding the WHSAA in the 1930s. The organizing group was in its infancy and consisted of only four board members. Unlike today, there was no commissioner, no associate commissioner, no 20-member board of directors. In fact, there was no staff at all. The WHSAA was simply those four board members, one from each district, usually from larger schools.

In reality, the WHSAA stayed out of the regular season as much as possible. But rarely did a year pass between 1931 and 1938 where the WHSAA did not, or was not asked to, intervene.

For example, in 1932, Cody won the northwest district championship, but the Broncs refused to make the journey to Buffalo, the home of the northeast champions, to play the Bison in the semifinals. Cody officials asked for the game to be played in Cody, or for Buffalo to help defray the Broncs’ travel expenses. Buffalo was willing to do neither. The WHSAA intervened and threw Cody — which was 8-0-1 — out of the playoffs. Thermopolis, the northwest runners-up who were willing to make the trip to Buffalo, replaced Cody in the bracket on the Thursday before the game on Saturday. Thermopolis went on to win the state championship, beating Buffalo in the semifinals before topping Kemmerer in the title game.

The WHSAA didn’t make any friends in Sheridan during that 1932 season, either. After Buffalo beat Sheridan 6-0 on the final day of the regular season to win the northeast district crown, Sheridan appealed the game to the WHSAA, claiming the Bison used an ineligible player — perhaps not coincidentally, a player who had played at Sheridan the year before. The WHSAA agreed that Buffalo should not earn credit for the victory. But rather than force Buffalo to forfeit, the WHSAA scheduled a rematch between the two schools the Tuesday before the playoffs. Sheridan refused to play the game, saying the forfeit of the game that had already been played should give Sheridan the title. The WHSAA disagreed, and since Sheridan didn’t play the rematch, Buffalo moved into the playoffs.

The 1935 season was even more confusing, as it closed with problems in three of the four districts.

The northwest crown was confusing to decide in 1935 as well, but at least the WHSAA didn’t have to be involved in it. Worland and Thermopolis tied for the southern half of the district title, and since they tied each other during the regular season, they played another game shortly after the end of the regular season. Thermopolis won that game 20-0, but lost to Powell, the team that won the northern half of the district championship, in the annual district championship game.

Deciding the northeast crown was even more confusing, as Sheridan, Newcastle and Midwest all staked their claim to the top spot. To settle the confusion, Newcastle and Sheridan scheduled a game — on their own volition — to decide the title. After Sheridan beat Newcastle, though, the WHSAA ruled that Midwest’s claim was just as valid as Newcastle’s and forced the Broncs to play the Oilers on the Wednesday before the playoffs started. Sheridan won that game, as well, then somehow managed to beat Powell on just one day’s rest in the semifinals before losing to Rock Springs in the title game. The Broncs finished the season by playing five games in 17 days.

In the southeast, Laramie, Casper and Cheyenne all tied at the top of the district (each went 1-1 against the others) and played the state’s first triangular playoff. Although that playoff was won by Casper, Torrington and its perfect league record was never even considered as a possible playoff team — the WHSAA said that since the Trailblazers had not played any of the “Big Three,” they were not eligible to win the district crown.

The end of the 1935 season exemplified the problem faced by smaller schools, especially those in the southeast district dominated by Cheyenne, Casper and Laramie. With the playoffs set up as they were, the smaller schools rarely had realistic chances at claiming district titles. In addition to Torrington’s claim to the district championship in 1935, Douglas was given a similar short shrift in 1936. The Bearcats had beaten seven district foes without a loss but hadn’t played any of the “Big Three.” Therefore, their claim to the district championship was tossed out by the WHSAA. According to an article in the Casper Tribune-Herald, the four-member board also told Douglas “the Bearcats had not shown themselves of championship caliber, having been decisively defeated by the Midwest Oilers, an eleven defeated 47-0 by the Indians and 30-0 by the Mustangs.” More than any of the seven district victories, the WHSAA had looked at the Bearcats’ one out-of-district loss to determine if Douglas was truly worthy of the playoffs.

By 1937, the WHSAA was trying to step out of the way . By 1938, the group decided all the grief wasn’t worth it.

In 1937, a controversial set of rule interpretations gave Lovell the northwest district championship over Worland, even though the two teams never played each other. Worland appealed. However, this time, the WHSAA put the onus on the district to decide the champion, and a three-member board of northwest district overseers kept the title with Lovell.

Even so, the WHSAA still continued to catch heat for the northwest’s decision, and midway through the 1938 season, the WHSAA ended its sanctioning of a postseason football tournament.

An Associated Press story on Oct. 22, 1938, explained the WHSAA’s decision, and the WHSAA made it crystal clear why the playoffs were abolished: “Association officials explained it was the general sentiment of the association members that the tournament be abolished. Disagreements, they explained, occurred frequently over team classifications and teams participating, and it was believed better to let the tourney go and permit the various districts to make their own decisions as to what should be done.”

The 1938 district races and playoffs were completed without incident. It was another 10 years before schools put aside the hard feelings and organized statewide playoffs again, although by 1948 the postseason was organized in a much different fashion… and, to get there, the state had to go nine years’ worth of discussions and nine football seasons without an official state champion.

Check back next week for the second part of a look back at history, Wyoming’s playoff “dead era” from 1939 to 1947.

–patrick