Football was a part of Olympia’s sporting program as far back as 1891. However, the team did not reach its competitive stride until 1919. At the time, collegiate football dominated the playing field, as the burgeoning professional league was not yet a powerhouse. Teams needed more competition than local and regional colleges and universities could provide. The few athletic clubs that could sponsor teams filled the gaps — and The Olympic Club was one of them.
Over the next few years, the OC built dominant teams lead by a series of legendary coaches. This was the Golden Era of King Football; crowds grew to the tens of thousands and stadiums sprung up to house them, including Cal’s Memorial Stadium, Stanford Stadium and Kezar Stadium, the municipal stadium in Golden Gate Park that was used by Olympians and the place the Forty-Niners would later call home.
“1925 was the year the Club team became a recognized gridiron power, the best on the Coast, undefeated and untied in eight games,” wrote Ron Fimrite in our history book. Lead by OC Hall of Fame Coach, Babe Hollingberry, and featuring another Hall of Famer, Jimmy Needles, the team built a balanced mix of rookies and veterans, including two players who won the gold medal in rugby at the 1924 Olympics: Jack Patrick and Al Williams. “Regular places go to regular practicers,” became Babe’s slogan, forging a more united, prepared squad, ready to face the competition.
The crowning achievement of the season was finally beating Cal’s Wonder Team, led by Andy Smith, in front of 45,000 fans (including 3,500 rooting for the Olympians) at Memorial Stadium. With a 44–0–4 record over five seasons from 1920 to 1924 and undefeated in the current season, Cal seemed unbeatable.
After the victory, Gerald O’Gara wrotein the Olympian, “Critics who know the brilliance of Eastern football declare that on Saturday… The Olympic Club 11 might well have downed any team in the United States.”
Two disappointing seasons and two head coaching changes later, the Club found success again in 1928, with long-time member Percy Locey, a tackle on the 1925 squad, leading the Winged O to their second undefeated season in three years. The team pulled players from all over the country; the 1928 Cal vs OC program notes that the Club’s players represented 25 institutions.
After beating Pop Warner’s Stanford squad 12–6, the San Francisco Examiner debated the merits of the 1925 versus the 1928 team, saying: “This team, like the 1925 club 11, can make its breaks, but unlike the former organization, Locey’s outfit makes its breaks by reason of speed and running strength in attack, rather than by power and weight on defense. The 1928 model club machine is by far the prettier to watch.”
The team went on to beat Cal again, 12–0; Cal would end their season with a loss to Georgia Tech University in the Rose Bowl. The Olympians finished the 1928 season 9–0–0.
