Former Kent-Meridian football players recall 1954 Turkey Day game

Kent’s population dipped dramatically on Thanksgiving Day 1954.

About 2,500 of the city’s 3,500 people made the trek to Seattle that afternoon to watch the Kent-Meridian High School football team take on Garfield High School in the eighth annual Turkey Day game.

Although the game ended in a 14-14 tie, members of the Royals team still have fond memories of that day six decades ago.

About 10 of the former team members got together Nov. 17 with their spouses, children and grandchildren to reminisce at the Greater Kent Historical Society Museum and shared their story with the Kent City Council later than evening. Some of the men donned their old letterman’s jackets and sweaters.

Kent-Meridian was invited to the game after an undefeated season — eight wins and a tie — which secured the Puget Sound League title for the Royals.

The game was not a state championship game but an opportunity for the top Seattle team to play against another top team in the state.

“It was just very unusual for a small school to, No. 1, win the Puget Sound championship and, No. 2, to go to that game,” said Gerry Anderson, co-captain of the 33-man team.

Chuck Simpson, who played on the team, gave the presentation to the council recounting the game.

“The museum started doing a presentation in front of the City Council,” Chuck said. “I told my wife, Nancy, ‘I think that ‘54 Turkey Day game was a pretty significant event,’ so then it started snowballing from there.”

Chuck’s father filmed the game — clips from which were shown during the council meeting.

“He (Chuck’s father) liked to take movies,” Chuck said. “He was also a projectionist for local theaters part time. He took pictures from the grandstands with his 8-millimeter camera. The next year that convinced (Kent-Meridian head football coach) Jack Burell that they better start filming the games. So the school bought a 16-millimeter camera and the film and my dad started taking movies of all the high school football games from 1955 to 1970.”

Several of the members of the 1954 Royals football team recalled the field conditions of the game. The field at Seattle’s Memorial Stadium was sand. Kent-Meridian’s team was used to playing on grass

“We went in and practiced on it one day,” Gerry said. “It could get under in your uniform and grind on you. When we walked out on the field (Coach Burell) said, ‘We are lucky the tide is out.’”

“It was just like playing on the beach,” added Bob Anderson, the team’s co-captain and Gerry’s cousin. “We were waiting for seagulls. I think they came in after we left.”

Garfield scored in the first quarter of the game, attended by more than 13,000 fans.

“We were so overwhelmed,” Gerry said. “We had never been in a stadium that had that many people and the noise.”

But, the Royals scored twice before the end of the first half. Bob scored one of the touchdowns despite being injured.

“I was hurt real bad,” he said. “It was our last practice before we went in and I pulled a bunch of things in my leg.”

Garfield scored in the fourth quarter to tie the game. The outcome of the game was better than expected for the Royals as Garfield was heavily favored to win.

As a reward for their efforts in the game, both teams were invited for a free, one-hour airplane ride on a Northwest Orient Airlines Boeing 377 Stratocruiser. The flight would have cost about $700 or the equivalent of around $6,000 today.

“That was the first time I had ever been in an airplane,” Gerry said. “We flew around Mount Rainier. They had food and drinks for us. It was over the top. Most of the kids had never set foot in an airplane.”

To view the video or see photos or articles about the game, visit gkhs.org/kent-stories/54turkeydaygame/.

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BELOW: The 1954 Kent-Meridian football team faced off against Garfield at Memorial Stadium in Seattle onThanksgiving Day. The game ended in a 14-14 tie. Heidi Sanders, Kent Reporter