"The Portsmouth Spartans"
The action picture in this mural was taken from the sports section of the Columbus Dispatch in 1932. It shows Glenn Presnell, All-American from the University of Nebraska and former star of the Ironton Tanks, scoring a touchdown against the Green Bay Packers at Portsmouth's Universal Stadium. The Spartans were victorious in that games by a score of 19-0. The game became known as the "iron man game" because the Spartan coach, Potsy Clark, refused to use a substitute in restitution for Green Bay being named champions of the NFL in 1931 after they refused to play Portsmouth in a championship game. The Spartan franchise moved to Detroit in 1934 and became the Detroit Lions. In 1935, the Lions, with mostly former Spartans in their starting line-up, won the NFL Championship. Several of the former Spartans participated in a reunion in Portsmouth in 1970. They included: Cyrus "Cy" Kahl, Ernie Cadell, Grover "Ox" Emerson, Glenn Presnell, "Ace" Gutowsky, Roy "Father" Lumpkin, John Schneller, "Popeye" Wagner and Harry Ebding. Completed in 1994.
by The JavaScript Source
Photos by Shari Caudill.
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