Members of the 1955 undefeated Battle Ground team receive applause from the crowd at District Stadium last Friday.
In Battle Ground Tigers football history, there has been only one team ever that went an entire season unscathed.
That was the 1955 team, which went 9-0. On Friday night, at halftime of the present day Tigers game against Union, they were honored for the accomplishment.
For several weeks, the former players had been waiting for the night to come. Many of them have passed on by now, and many others aren’t in the area. But for those who did get to step out on the field once again, it was a moment they’ll have trouble forgetting.
“It’s a special thing,” said George Weisenborn, who started at tackle.
Recalling the glory days, Weisenborn focused on the talent the team had at every position.
Back then, he said the team didn’t have a kicker, weight rooms, fancy uniforms or even much of a passing game. Of pretty much all that, Weisenborn said he’s jealous. When down on the field Friday, he said he was tempted to ask if he could check into the game as a player.
He wouldn’t exchange his own playing days for anything, though.
“I really like what I see,” he said of the current team.
This 2016 squad arguably has a chance to go down as one of the best in school history, depending on how the rest of the season goes.
“I don’t think we could compete with the kids now,” said former player Darrell Johnson with a laugh. “The kids are too big and too fast.”
The team will forever be remembered as the greatest, at least until it’s topped or matched.
But with the way the program is trending upward right now after having a one-win season in 2010, there’s talk among the Tiger-faithful of a return to similar dominance.
And on that thought, nobody is rooting for their record to be matched more than the record holders themselves.
