It’s that time of the year when Darke County grinds to a halt, and everyone’s attention focuses on the Great Darke County Fair. Preparations are a little behind schedule as the rainfall has made the grounds pretty soggy, so expect to see a beehive of activity over the next few days at the south end of Greenville.
With the late start of the Fair (always the third Friday of August) and the earlier start to the high school football season, this week will see opening games on the same date as the first day of the Fair. The weather has wreaked havoc with fall sports, particularly the golf and girls tennis seasons, forcing school athletic directors to scramble in rescheduling contests. Some interesting football games to kick things off this week include Greenville at Eaton; Bellbrook at Tippecanoe; Arcanum at Covington; Tri-Village at Bethel; and Versailles hosting Harvest Prep in a Thursday night encounter.
Best wishes to all fall sports squads as the results of summer work and three weeks of practices start to pay off for many. Make sure you take the opportunity to get out and support all of our young athletes!
My brother Kirk will be in town this coming weekend for the 50-year reunion of his Greenville High School Class of 1976, an event which promises to be an interesting 48 hours of activities. As only Kirk can, he sent this article, which I think most of you will find entertaining: “The weirdest opponent each Big Ten football team has faced over the years”. Back in the early days of college football, touchdowns only counted four points, and games were somewhat sporadically scheduled with opposition of dubious talent and character. Here’s a sampling of a few contests followed by a trivia question:
—In 1896 Iowa walloped the Des Moines YMCA 34-0.
—Michigan proved to be a sticky wicket for the Peninsular Cricket Club, winning 42-0 in 1885.
—In 1918, Nebraska deflated the Fort Omaha Balloon School 19-0.
—Northwestern took a bite out of the Northwestern Dentists 24-0 in 1899. The present phrase of NIL in college athletics had a different meaning following that pounding (No Incisors Left)!
—And THE’s ground game overcame the 17th Infantry Regiment 46-4 in 1894.
On the other side of the ledger, three schools absorbed defeats:
—Washington was ambushed by the Puyallup Tribe of Indians 18-11 in 1898.
—Penn State paid a late fee in losing to the Homestead Library and Athletics Club 39-0 in 1901.
—And Maryland was gassed 20-13 in 1918 by the American University Chemical Warfare Service.
Here’s a trivia question for you. Knowing that games such as the above are legitimately recorded as counting in a college program’s all-time win-loss mark, what are the two winningest programs in college football history?
According to an article in the Dayton Daily News, the National Park Service was founded in 1916 to oversee all of the present-day 433 national park sites, monuments, and other units, as well as 85.1 million acres and 43,162 miles of shoreline protected in National Seashores or in other National Parks.
The three most visited sites in 2024 were the Golden Gate National Recreation Area in California, the Blue Ridge Parkway, and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Here’s a two-part question for you—what was the first national park, and secondly, where is the only Ohio national park located?
From the “how do you top this” category, St. Louis rookie outfielder Joshua Baez became the first player in history to hit a home run in each of his first three at-bats in the major leagues as the Cardinals beat the Cubs 8-4 Saturday. That will be a tough act to follow!
A bitter pill to swallow for Buckeye fans, but Michigan has 1,022 wins over the years compared to THE in second with 990 triumphs. Just like every program’s record, you have to question the quality of some of those victories by both schools!
Finally, Yellowstone Park became the country’s first national park in 1872, while Cuyahoga Valley National Park, located between Cleveland and Akron, is Ohio’s only such site. However, there’s no mention of Jellystone Park, home of Yogi Bear and Boo-Boo!
Have a great week at the Fair and the various high school sports events!
