As far as can be researched to date the Mineral Leopards competed in football for three years only. The first year
was played in the fall of 1948. The 1949 yearbook however does not mention the Leopard football team at all in the "Athletics"
or "Calendar" sections. One newspaper article found mentions the "MVP" of that first team as being Wallace Fellows. The
Leopard’ second team competed in the fall of 1949. It was mentioned that the MVP was Richard Nielsen
in one newspaper article. Its last team competed in the fall of 1950.
MHS played its three seasons of football in the Two Rivers Conference. The conference either made a league of six-man
football to let MHS in or already competed in six-man football and MHS simply started its program this year. In either
case the Leopards, small in numbers, had difficulty competing with the much larger schools in this sport.
The desire to start a football team led to the creation of a football field just west of the high school. Formerly
farmland, the area was donated by Ray Breiser and converted into a football field. The baseball portion
was soon added as part of the field. Prior to this happening, according to some Mineral alumni of the early 1940's, baseball
games were played on a field at the corner of U.S.Rt 6 and the Neponset blacktop (currently Eldon Croegaert’s
front yard).
I was told by a couple of players from those football teams that sheer numbers for MHS was a definite liability when they
competed. One player remembered going to Erie for a contest. The MHS team trotted onto the field with 11 players,
of which 8 were actually true varsity players (juniors or seniors). Erie came onto the field with over 30 varsity players,
all juniors and seniors.
