Brigham Young Academy students participated in baseball, track & field, basketball and football. Their earliest games were usually intramural games between high school classes, and sometimes between other branches of BYA, such as the Southern Branch in Cedar City. Games with other schools began about 1895 with baseball, and 1896 with football.
Brigham Young High School produced a number of fiercely competitive athletes over the years, and many were honored as all-state competitors. Dozens of talented sports stars went on to play for university teams in every decade.
The most accomplished athlete in BYH history was, indisputably, Alma W. Richards, BYH Class of 1913.
In 1912 Alma won an Olympic gold medal in Finland for his high jumping, and that was just the beginning of his spectacular athletic career back in the States.
BYH consistently had a lower enrollment compared to the other high schools they faced in athletic competition -- usually with only 60 students in each senior class, including boys and girls. Nevertheless, the school was consistently well represented in athletic competitions.
Brigham Young Academy discontinued football in the 1890s when a player at one of the LDS schools was killed in a game. The sport was stopped throughout the Church school system, including at BYH, until 1921. BYU Coach Eugene L. "Gene" Roberts and other Y. coaches worked tirelessly to make football safer for all players.
For many years BYH played six-man football, and in 1940 battled in a championship game to a tie, sharing the Utah State Championship with Parowan. Coach Dave Crowton, BYH, in a show of sportsmanship, ceded that title to Parowan because of a brief and unavoidable BYH substitution violation in a previous game.
BYH moved to 11-man football in 1943. The job of manning a larger football team year after year was always a challenge for BY High coaches, but the courageous Wildcats fielded full teams that won many hard-fought games.
In 1940, 1941, and 1959, BYH battled to 2nd place finishes in Utah state football championship games.
In golf, Bob Swenson tied for top honors in the State in 1948.
Basketball was always the strenghth of the Wildcats. The record of basketball accomplishments is particularly worth noteworthy.
In Class B competition, the BYH basketball team took the Region and State basketball championships in 1948, 1949, and 1963. The teams of the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s were tough and pulled off many upset victories.
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In 1967, the BYH basketball team won the Region IV Class A title.
Many singular honors have been won for BYH in tennis competition. The 1940s and 1950s were specially noted for outstanding accomplishments in this sport.
In baseball, the Wildcats won the Region title five times: 1957, 1958, 1959, 1965, and 1967. For an eyewitness account of the 1967 season, click here.
BY High teams were always built with a strong spirit and a determination to rise to every challenge that faced them.
You are invited enjoy an exciting visit to BYH sports through the years by looking at contemporary newspaper clippings below:
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