Friday night lights—Laramie High School Football
The first Laramie High School (LHS) football game recorded was in 1895. That year the team played 2 games and lost them both. Chances are the games were played in the daytime; Laramie had just gotten electric lights nine years earlier.
At that time, all grades were in the oldest center part of East Side School that is now the Laramie Civic Center, at 8th and Garfield. The field location is unknown; it might have been south of Old Main, or a 2-block walk away to a then-vacant lot at the southeast corner of 9th and Grand Ave. where some early LHS football teams posed—these photos are now in the archives of the Laramie Plains Museum.
“American-style” Football
In 1873, representatives from four eastern colleges had met to develop standardized rules for football. Previously it was a “mob” contest, with a round ball, teams of 25 players or more, no boundaries, and different rules at each college. A Yale player, Walter Camp, began suggesting rule changes while still an undergraduate in 1878. Considered the “Father of American Football,” he kept tinkering with the rules until his death in 1925, by which time the game closely resembled the way it is played today.
From that first LHS game in 1895 until 1908, there were only a couple, if any, games each fall, all against University Prep, UW Junior Varsity or UW “third team” according to research published online by Patrick Schmiedt, former sports reporter at the Casper Star-Tribune. Schmiedt now lives in California, but maintains the web site: Wyoming-football.com. It has just about anything you’d like to know about LHS football except where the gridiron fields were.
LHS established
A separate high school, the North Side School (later renamed Stanton School and now demolished) opened in 1909 at 8th and Fremont St. Harry Hill was the first known coach. In 1909 the team began to play against other Wyoming high schools—Natrona, Douglas and Cheyenne. It won one game. However, the game against Douglas didn’t count, it was called in the first half because of “an officiating dispute.”
It is not clear who coached the team in 1910 when it was still at the North Side School; the team played its one home game that year against the UW JV team on the UW field according to the Laramie Republican. It lost 11-5. In those days a kicked field goal was worth 5 points.
In 1910 construction began on a new high school for Laramie—Washington School at 9th and Grand Ave.—eliminating the early football field that might have been there.
Where were the fields?
For a number of years LHS teams played either on the “University Field (possibly where the UW College of Business is now) or on a field at the Albany County Fairgrounds, then at 21st and Grand Ave. The 1911 game between Laramie and Cheyenne was cancelled—a sports editor in Cheyenne had suggested that the Laramie team was using players who were not students. The Laramie newspapers whipped up so much indignation that school officials feared there would be trouble.
In 1913 and 1914 Laramie had no football teams. But football was developing as a good-natured rivalry between towns and with the help of Laramie newspapers, high school football revived. In 1915 LHS played eight games, capped with a 34-0 trouncing of the Fort Collins, Colorado High School team coached by local attorney G.R. McConnell.
Special excursion trains took teams and fans between Laramie and Cheyenne. Pep rallies to drum up school spirit became the rule, and fan support was encouraged. The team struggled with 13 wins, 17 losses (and 4 ties) between 1915 and 1922—and there were five different coaches.
In 1923, LHS played seven games under coach S.M. Clark. An eighth game was “called because of darkness” in the 4th quarter—still no lights at whatever field was in use. 1929 marked the last year that LHS played University Prep or any UW team. From 1930 on, all games were against high schools outside Laramie.
By spring, 1930 additions had been made to the former East Side School, adding a gym, auditorium and other improvements. After a successful 1929 season under Coach Floyd Foreman who coached until 1942, the high school and junior high student body moved from Washington School into the remodeled East Side School for the spring 1930 semester and remained there for 30 years.
Plainsman Field established
There was an almost 4-block tract of land that the school district purchased from Union Reality in 1946 at Steele and 11th St. in Laramie (now occupied by Spring Creek School). It became the LHS Plainsman Field at least by 1939, so apparently the owner, the Union Pacific Railroad, let the school use the land before purchase.
Fred Beman remembers that there were no lights when he played there. “It would get pretty dark before games were over,” he writes. “It didn’t bother the Laramie players—they were used to practicing there. However, the visiting teams hated to play there because it was so hard to see, and Laramie wore maroon—dark color—jerseys.”
Joe Chasteen, now 92 years old and living in Cheyenne, recalls his six years of being a line coach under John E. Deti from 1954 to 1960 at Plainsman Field.
“There was a stadium and a covered press box there,” recalls Chasteen, “but no locker rooms or bathrooms. The teams would dress in the old high school (on 8th and Garfield) that had two gyms and locker rooms then, and take a bus to the football field. ” The field was about 11 blocks away. Chasteen recalls that by the time he coached there, lights had been installed.
“Coach Deti wanted us to run to after-school practices at the football field” recalls Rod Chisholm. But a buddy and I would drive his car down there instead and hide it. We thought we were getting away with something, but Coach Deti probably knew what we were up to.”
Jerry Hansen recalls playing football and running to Plainsman Field in the early 1950s when he was in 7th grade, with uniforms that consisted of leather helmets but the typical knee high football pants and spiked shoes used today. “The field had grass and was nicely maintained,” he recalls. But there weren’t lights then; games were played in the daytime.
Sharon Attebery remembers that there was some kind of concession stand near the bleachers on the west side of the field. But that was it as far as amenities went. Students, fans and players suffered without restrooms, locker rooms or lights until Laramie built the “new” high school with a regular stadium and facilities.
Deti Stadium
John E. Deti began coaching LHS at Plainsman Field in 1944. His son, John R. Deti who now lives in Illinois, played for his dad on that old Plainsman field. He went on to become the head coach at LHS when his dad retired in 1977. He retired in 2002. So for 58 years, starting at Plainsman Field, Laramie had a father/son succession of coaches named Deti.
In the fall of 1960, LHS began playing at what was later named “Deti Stadium” at the LHS school building that had just opened at Reynolds and 15th St. Now it has been demolished, but Deti Stadium remains as a tribute to the Deti legacy in Laramie.
The former high school was turned over to become Laramie Junior High, and the old football field was renamed “Scout Field.” Now it is simply the parking lot and playground for Spring Creek School on Russell St. (though the street name changes just after the school doorway to East Spring Creek Drive).
By Judy Knight
Webmaster’s note: John R Deti passed away November 2019 after this article was written.
Coach John E. Deti standing in the center of Plainsman Field on Russell St. between 11th and 13th St.. The low-roofed ranch house in the background was built in 1954 and is still there on the corner of Steele and 12th Street. The house on the far right with dormers barely visible is on Park and 12th St.. Photo is from the 1956 LHS Plainsman yearbook, courtesy of Laramie Plains Museum. Webmanter’s note - the low roofed house was built by Peter Glen. My wife Barbara bought in the late nineties; it is where I live today. Kim Viner