File:Brunswick town football team from the 1930s.jpg

Summary

Brunswick town football team from the 1930s. Roy Grams is circled. Back then, the Brunswick Railroaders town team was the brainchild of Harvey "Sonny" Cannon, who planned and guided the team to fruition.

In the beginning, a coach from Shepherd College named John Newcombe instructed the players on the intricacies of the game, which in those days relied more on brute strength than finesse. The first coach was Lee Horine, manager of Horine's drugstore, owned by his father Dr. Arlington Horine. Equipment and financing was arranged by H.S. Bickle, General Secretary of the B&O YMCA. Also a minister, Bickle disapproved of playing games on Sunday at Scheer Stadium, which he then managed for the YMCA.

To get around this roadblock, games were scheduled at Wenner's Field where the former Acme Market and Dollar Store now stands. Sonny later arranged for the games to be played on the swampy field across from City Park, which was drained, then filled with cinders before it was leveled with town equipment supplied by Mayor Harry Mace. Sonny served as General Manager and later coach, scheduling all the games for Brunswick as an independent team as it did not play in an organized league.

The team disbanded during World War II and organized football didn't return to Brunswick until BHS formed a team in the late 1960s.

One of the stars from the old town team was Glenn "Red" McQuillen, who went on to earn a football scholarship at old Western Maryland College and played major league baseball with the St. Louis Browns. Other standouts included Sonny and Amy Cannon, Carl and Jack McQuillen, Piebaker and Goggy Smith, West Schnauffer, Boots McCormick, Dave McLane, Frank Hartman, Dickie Donovan, Marvin Younkins, Red Smith, Leroy Grams, Stopper Beacht and Rube Hawkins. Charlie McLane was a ball boy.

(Photo courtesy of Christina Campbell; information credit "Brunswick: 100 Years of Memories" bv the Brunswick History Commission)