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Woodrow Wilson
High School
Portsmouth, Virginia
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1947 Faculty & Staff
FOOTBALL
    Woodrow Wilson’s hoghide specialists—our own Presidents— bolstered by several returning
lettermen, loomed as another potential power-house in pre-season scrimmages. Captained by Burnie
Miller who, with Howard Borum and Bill Farris, formed the nucleus of a flashy backfield, our grid stalwarts appeared to be headed for another slam-bang and (we hoped) undefeated .season. With such
bruisers in the line as Leo .Antonucci and Bill McDonald, to say nothing of a number of new recruits
led by Ronald Beaubein, Dave Pond, and Lin Parker, how could we miss? The answer was—we
couldn’t. Or at least we hoped we couldn’t.

HOLY TRINITY—SEPTEMBER 27 

    Denied an earlier tune-up contest with a reportedly strong Washington, N. C., outfit by threatening weather, our Presidents officially unwrapped their 1946 gridiron parcel against a valiant, but hopelessly outclassed. Holy Trinity eleven on our home grounds Friday night, September 27. Scoring practically at will, the Prexie pigskin carriers literally brushed aside Trinidad tacklers like bothersome flies in piling up the highest score anv Wilson team had ever made against anv opponent
—79-0.
    Playing his first-stringers only about half of the game, Coach Esleeck inserted every man on the Wilson bench into the battle at one time or another. .And, needless to say, the boys from Holy Trinity would have been paraded over to the tune of perhaps 90 or 100 to nothing had he allowed his first eleven to roam the striped field for the entirety of the contest. 

DEVITT PREP.—OCTOBER 4 

    Fresh from their romp over the hopele.ss Trinidads, our Wilson gridders, sporting brand new
shirt jerseys and blue pants, took the striped field against a much heavier and more experienced eleven from Devitt Preparatory School in Washington, D. C. Entering as slight underdogs, they emerged with a decisive 26-6 victory. 
    Spearheaded by ever dependable Howard Borum, our boys evidently forgot that Devitt was sup- posed to win and tore holes in their opponents’ line big enough to drive a tank through. The lumbering giants from up Washington way never recovered from the crushing blow administered them in the first 12 minutes of play when our boys trampled the goal line three times to forge themselves a 20-0 lead. Bewildered and confused by this sudden and unexpected Prexie splurge, the cumbersome visitors just couldn’t seem to catch the fleet Wilson backs. 

JOHN MARSHALL—OCTOBER 12

In their initial road trip of the young .season, our Powerhou.se Presidents declared a state of gridiron war with John Marshall of Richmond beginning and ending on October 12. Having yielded a 40-0 verdict to our Prexies, the Marshallites left the muddy field a battered and beaten team and our boys returned proudly to Portsmouth with another decisive victory tucked away among their grid souvenirs. .Again Howard Borum was a star. He plowed through the Justice line like water through straw. (Of the six touchdowns scored by our lads, Howard personally accounted for four, while he passed to Eddie Tanner for one more and aided materially in the sixth. Sub back Cotton (Race Horse) Gallop brought our supporters to their feet with a couple of sensational runs during the course of the game.
ARLINGTON—0CT0BER 19

   Sailing into Arlington on October 19 in high spirits to take on the heavier General eleven, the
Prexies eked out a thrilling 19-12 victory over the huskies from Washington-Lee. Highlighted by the defensive play of Howard Borum and the couple of long jaunts, one for a touchdown, by Bee Bee Farris, the boys carrying the Orange and Blue overcame a 7-6 lead held at the half by .Arlington and marched down the field to tie and over come the Little Generals in a thrilling last quarter scoring spree, which saw Borum lug the leather over the pay-off stripe for the final and deciding tally. Our long tall Billy O’Brien, center, akso contributed a touchdown to the point making department intercepting an enemy
pass on our 48 and racing the length of the field to go over standing up. 

PETERSBURG—OCTOBER 25 

    Minus one first-stringer and eight reserves who were released for infraction of training rules, the boys we proudly hailed as “our team” took the field against a lighter but more experienced .squad from
Petersburg on Saturday, October 26 at our own stamping grounds and took disheartening 9-0 defeat.              Petersburg, rebounding from two consecutive defeats at the hands of Tidewater teams, evidently was determined to take home a victory at all costs. The Crimson Wave capitalized on a fumble by
Howard Borum soon after the kickoff, tackling him behind his own goal and taking a 2-0 lead. 
    Our boys just couldn’t seem to get rolling. One Prexie drive was cut short when a Crimson clad back intercepted a pass. Another dangerous threat was stopped by the half-time whistle. When our band paraded out on the field during the half the score read Petersburg 9, Wilson 0. The visitors had
registered what proved to be their final 7 points late in the first quarter on a touchdown and a conversion. Looking good in defeat were Center Billy O’Brien and blocking back Dick .Alexander.

 MAURY—NOVEMBER 1 

    Crossing the river to battle the Blue and Gold Commodores Friday night, November 1, Esleeck’s Grid Gladiators, underdogs by virtue of their Petersburg defeat and Maury’s two touchdown victory over the Crimson Wave, left no stone unturned and no play untied in an effort to stop the Commodores’
winning streak. The final score, 14-12, offers a clear picture of the bruising battle our determined
Presidents gave their annual foes. Playing his usual standout contest. Bee Bee (for Bruisin’ Billy) Farris, flashy back, scored both of our touchdowns on 95 and 30 yard runs, respectively. With Maury
leading 6-0, Farris gathered in the Commodore kick-off on his own five, tucked the leather under his arm, and proceeded to reel off a brilliant 95 yards of sidestepping, bulling, twisting and turning which
resulted in the Orange-Blue first touchdown of the day. The attempt for the charity point went wild and the score remained 6-6. 
    With the count still knotted at 12 all, our boys found themselves in possession of the pigskin dangerously near their own goal line with only a few minutes left to play. Choosing to pass, Farris dropped back into the end zone and looped an aerial intended for Howard Borum who, evidently, was a demon- mad bull carrier all right as he turned in one of the best games of his career, the pass dropped in coffin corner short of the target for an automatic safety. 
    Those two markers gave Maury a 14-12 victory. Burnie Miller played a bang-up ball game all the way as did Leo .Antonucci in the line and Billy O’Brien center. Dick .Alexander, blocking back,
also displayed a fine form. 

HAMPTON—NOVEMBER 9 

    Hampton’s Crabbers, drifted into town Saturday afternoon, November 9, looking for a comparatively easy victory only to run into a granite wall with a unmistakable Orange and Blue tint. .As
it was, Suey Eason’s protegees were lucky to hold the aroused Prexies to a 13-13 deadlock. The Prexies broke ice midway the second period on a series of power thrusts engineered by Farris, Miller, Borum.          The tally registered by Farris equaled the Easonites’ first quarter score, thus knotting the count until the final stanza when both combines managed to push over touchdowns producing
a 13-13 tie which remained unbroken as the final whistle sounded. Howard Borum scored the final Prexie six pointer. Eddie Tanner performed par excellence all the way along with Billy Neer at guard,
center O’Brien and blocking back Alexander. 

GRANBY—NOVEMBER 16 

   Plagued by injuries, our Prexies played an undefeated Granby Blue Comet eleven to a virtual stalemate. The Comets were fortunate to eke out their skin-of-the-teeth 7-0 win over the aroused
Presidents. 
   Granby’s renowned Barney Gill may as well have sat that one out for he gained exactly 0 through the determined, hard-charging Wilson line. Unable to gain on the ground, the visitors took to the
air ways and in the second quarter registered the only touchdown of the game an aerial from Chuck
Stobbs to glue-fingered Dick Ivanhoe. Howard Borum made a desperate attempt to break up the play on Wilson’s two yardline, but was unsuccessful. 
    Thereafter, W'ilson, twice defeated and once tied, became a stone wall as far as Comet ball carriers were concerned. Leo “The Lion” .Antonucci and slashing Billy Neer were potent weapons in stopping the famed Comet power-thrusts. 
    Our Presidents were simply determined to make the powerful Granby boys prove their superiority. The dogged tenacity, and the raw nerve, which enabled our Prexies to stop the attack of the Blue Comets is comparable with the greatest team spirit ever shown anywhere. Even in their best conditions and with their first string playing all the way, Granby could only cross our goal line once. Had our squad been in tip-top condition, it might have been a different story, but ....

 NEWPORT NEWS—NOVEMBER 24 

   Concluding their season with the annual Turkey Day tiff at Newport News, the Presidents from
“dear old Wilson” scalped the hapless Builders by a 46-12 score. Burnley Miller, in his last game for
his .Alma Mater, broke down the field practically alone for the Prexies’ initial tally. Thereafter, Howard
Borum took personal charge of affairs and galloped all over the Builders’ bulwarks, his spree culminating in three successive touchdowns. Not content with having himself scored enough points to defeat
the Peninsula lads, Borum rifled a sharp pass down the field and hit Eddie Tanner in the clear for a perfect strike. Big Ed, who was to be chosen on the mythical .All-Foreman Field, .All-Tidewater, and
All-State squads, then exhibited one of the main reasons why he was selected . . . that is his “Golden Toe.” He booted one of his quartet of charity points to put the Prexies ahead 33-12. Later, subs “Whip” Pendergraft and Potsy Klise legged the leather over and Tanner hit the uprights again to make
the final score 46-12 and enabling the “Fighting Presidents” to end its season on a note of triumph.
BURNLEY MILLER
   All State, Honorable Mention; All Tidewater, Honorable Mention; All Foreman
Field, Honorable Mention. Our captain and fullback came to Wilson from Churchland High, where he was a star in football and baseball. “Burnie“ was the fifth man in Coach Esleeck’s star-studied backfield of last year, and this year he took over the fullback post left vacant by the graduation of Jack Mounie. “'Burnie" (Atomic Bomb) Miller burnt a brilliant path across the state's high school gridirons this past football season and will probably go on to college to continue his education and athletic career. Burnie stands 6 feet and weighs an even 20c pounds. He is a tower of strength on defense as well as on offense. “Burnie” was a quick-thinker and this fine quality helped him greatly in the pinches.
BILLY “HOWDING” FARRIS
   All-State, Honorable Mention: All-Tidewater, Second Team; All-Foreman Field, Second Team. A very likeable young Prentis Parker who came up from the Community League where he was unanimous choice for the All-City Team. Billy has starred on (Joach Eslecck’s hard-fighting Wilson elevens for two years. As a blocking back Billy was described by many as being excellent, but this year he has made the people remember his brilliant running and his clever elusion of tacklers.

HOWARD “SLEEPY” BORUM
   All-State. First Team: All-Tidewater, First Team; All-Foreman Field. Honorable
Mention.

   “Sleepy” has just completed his third year on the Wilson Varsity team, and has been remarkably successful. This season Howard has been the President's leading scorer and ground gainer. Aside from his brilliant running. Howard has been the Prexies' leading passer. “Sleepy” has already had “feelers” from many colleges and will undoubtedly go on to great fame with his outstanding playing.
RICHARD “BULLET” ALEXANDER
1 Larry Brownley Award as “Most Valuable Player.”
 A small, scrappy Newtowncr with plenty of fight. That is the way to describe “Bullet”.  “Bullet" is our blocking back and this year received the Harry Brownley Award
as the outstanding President pigskinner for this season. Besides football, "Bullet” has earned his letter in baseball and has been a varsity baskclballer for the past two seasons. “Bullet.” the blue-eyed, blonde haired wonder, will be back next season and he should be better than ever.

COTTON “RACEHORSE” GALLOP
A war veteran. Billy has returned to his old school after spending his last two years
of schooling at Virginia Episcopal School where he was all-state in basketball This
season. Cotton's first attempt at football, he has thrilled the fans many times with his unorthodox style of running and his amazing speed. Cotton received his nickname
“Racehorse” after the Holy Trinity game in which he made many electrifying long
runs. Though Cotton will not be back next year, he will not be forgotten very soon by ardent Wilson followers.

WESTON “POTSY” KLISE
"Potsy." a junior, will be back in Wilson togs next season He came to the Wilson
Varsity from the Port Norfolk Community League where he was All-City fullback and one of the most popular boys in the league Already holding a football and baseball letter, he is now out to earn a basketball monogram Next season should find "Potsy" as a starter in the "Prexie " backfield, since he is fast, shifty, and very wise in the ways of the gridirons.

BURRELL “PLASH” JOHNSON
Burrell is another Community leaguer, with speed, nerve, and a good head on his
.shoulders. Burrell was an All-City selection and a very popular young lad while playing with the Prentis Park Ramblers He was a very popular member of this year s Wilson team and has the distinction of having scored a touchdown on the first play of his high schixrl career. A speedster. Burrell holds a track letter along with football mono- gram Burrell is a junior, and he will he hack for another season.
BILLY “BULLDOG” O’BRIEN
    All-Tidewater, Honorable Mention.  

   "Bulldog " was the name given to O'Brien this year because he is Just that much of a threat. Bill is our b foot, 4 inches and 175 pounds of fight at center. He is famous for his powerful line hacking as well as his ability to get up in the air and intercept the opposing teams' passes. (On one occasion in the hard fought Arlington game.
Bill intercepted a pass, twisted and turned his way down the field 65 yards to pay
dirt. Not only a terror on the gridiron, he is also a specialist on the hardwood and
cinder paths.
EDDIE YARBROUGH
All-Tidewater, Honorable Mention. 

Eddie is probably the best kicker that has come out of Swimming Point in many
years, and earned his letter in ’41 Eddie did practically all the punting for the Presi- dents this year.

FRED MANLEY
A veteran end. who played his last season for Wilson in ‘46, started out In the Community League. Football isn't the only sport in which Fred is a handy man. He also earned three letters in baseball, and excels in both sports.
I.AWRENCE “RED” STRICKLAND
   “Red” is a lineman who has been moved all up and down that line. Generally classified as a guard, he has still had a stab at the center and end posts. “Strick” has been a hard worker, and has a good heaePfor football. His fine sense of sportsmanship and good team spirit have won him the admiration of players and coaches alike.

HINES “CAT CLAW” CREECY
   Here is a boy that has already proved himself “tops.” Any time an opposing back starts through the center of the line and is stopped cold, you know Creecy has hit him. Playing his second year at guard for Wilson, and with two more years to go, Creecy is rated one of the best guards in high school competition.
DAVID “GLAMOR BOY” POND
All-Tidewater, Second Team; All-Foreman Field, Second Team.

David, the Van Johnson of the team, is anything but a lover, when it comes to the gridiron. Having transferred from Churchland, where he was a backfield star, Pond was shifted to the line, where he became a power-house this year. Though constantly plagued by injuries, he still was an ever reliable guard who stood out on the defense and offense both. His consistently alert playing was a big factor throughout the season.
RONALD “LOVER” BEAUBEIN
Beaubein is another service veteran, standing 5 feet 8 inches and weighing 165 pounds. He is another stalwart at guard. Beaubein played at Cradock before going into the service. He stayed in the opposing teams' backfield more than their own men. Not only is he one of the best players on the field, but he can run faster than most backs.

WILLIAM “MOLE” NEER
Neer, a guard up from the Community League, has gained the confidence and admiration of both coaches and players. Playing bang-up ball all year, he deserves the respect which has been given him. He stands 5 feet 10 inches and tips the scales at 165. Another headache for Wilson foes is the fact that he’s back again next year to strengthen the line.
 LEO ANTONUCCI
All-State, First Team; All-Tidewater, First Team; All-Foreman Field, First Team.

Leo hails from Newtown and is a superb linesman who started out for Wilson as a
reserve back. "Nuccie " earned his first letter last year as a tackle. He has gained
recognition all over the South as an outstanding linesman. "Nuccie" is in his third year at high school..

BILL McDonald
Bill is a returning letterman who lives in Port Norfolk. Bill, a Senior, is a de-pendable performer in the forward wall, and has been a real power in a solid line.
WILLIAM PORTER
Bill is a new player in the line who lives in Port Norfolk. Bill played consistently good football through the season. He earned his first letter the past season.

WALLACE McCARTY
All-Tidewater, Honorable Mention.

Wallace or "Big Jumbo" had his first starting role in Orange and Blue togs last season and did a very creditable job of it. Wally, who lives in Newtown, really gave his opponents a tough time this year.
Any corrections or omissions please submit them by E-Mail
web pages designed and maintained 
by  John "Eddie" Lee class of '68
The pictures are as represented in the Woodrow Wilson High School, Portsmouth, Virginia yearbook or annual of the year indicated on the page.  The Memory pictures may not be complete and pictures and names may have been removed by request of the person involved. Also, it does not offically indicate the year of graduation and/or that the party in question graduated. This section of the website is dedicated to the memories of all alumni and are found in personal items that alumni have saved and were kind enough to allow it to be shared with others.  Thank You. If you are not represented in your class, or have other pictures for the memories section you may submit a photo to be added.  John “Eddie” Lee ’68.



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1947 Class Roster