Melida Ailshire, friend of the Sherman/Denison community and Austin College alumnus like Marc, has been writing about Friday’s 127th edition of the Battle of the Ax football game between the Bearcats and Yellow Jackets. The Battle of the Ax is the oldest rivalry in Texas high school football.
This Friday’s game has special meaning. It will be the last Ax game ever played at Sherman’s Bearcat stadium. The next Ax contest in Sherman will take place at a new football stadium being constructed on the Sherman High School campus.
So, if 2025 is the last Ax game at Bearcat Stadium, then when was the first? 1941.
Bearcat Stadium hosted its first Ax game on November 20, 1941. The game was originally scheduled for Thanksgiving Day: November 27. Thanksgiving was chosen to ensure the entire community could take off work to attend. But a scheduling conflict with Austin College forced Sherman and Denison to adjust.
The annual clash between Presbyterian rivals Austin College (Sherman) & Trinity (San Antonio) was as historic as Sherman/Denison, stretching back to the first years of the 20th century. That matchup took place every year on Thanksgiving. AC arranged for the 1941 game to take place on Thanksgiving at Sherman’s new Bearcat Stadium.
By the time Sherman and Denison got around to scheduling their own matchup, school administrators learned in frustration that Bearcat Stadium was already booked on Thanksgiving Day by the Kangaroos. But a solution was easily found. Sherman & Denison city officials and business leaders declared November 20 an “unofficial Thanksgiving holiday,” allowing fans to more easily attend that first Ax game at Bearcat Stadium.
The 1941 Bearcats were led by Coach Truett Owen, who later won a 1948 state title at Arlington Heights. 1941 was the first time in 15 years that Sherman was not led by a former Austin College Kangaroo. Bearcat Coaches from 1926 through 1940 were Dutchy Smith, Verde Dickey, and J.B. Head. All three had played for the Roos under AC Coach Pete Cawthon. Truett Owen played for Cawthon too…………at Texas Tech in Lubbock.
Lubbock is where 1941 Yellow Jackets Coach C.R. “Pat” Pattison would head after Denison. Pattison led Lubbock High School to back-to-back undefeated state titles in 1952 and 1953, two seasons that included a 29-game winning streak. He played college ball at Centenary, a school that will face Austin College this year in Sherman on October 4. C.R. “Pat” Pattison was inducted into the Texas HS Football Hall of Fame in 1998.
Denison, who had their own Lubbock High-like undefeated state title year in 1984, dominated the 1941 game offensively in front of 6,000 fans. But neither squad could find the end zone until a Denison halfback raced 61 yards on a screen pass for a fourth quarter touchdown. Sherman, however, responded with a 36-yard TD pass to tie the game. The first Battle of the Ax at Bearcat Stadium ended in a 7-7 tie.
One week later, Austin College beat Trinity 20-13 on the same field. It was the first and last meeting between the Kangaroos and Tigers at Bearcat Stadium. At game time on November 27, the Presidents of Austin College & Trinity were prepared to officially merge their two schools in Sherman. But a major international event one week later persuaded AC to reject the merger and persuaded Trinity to instead relocate to San Antonio.
That international event was the attack at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. See the comments for that Roo tale.
This outstanding picture I’ve shared today comes the 1941 Battle of the Ax game. Enjoy more pictures of the 1941 game in the comments. And thanks for the memories, Bearcat Stadium. Stadiums come and stadiums go. But no matter where this historic Texas High School football game is played, we’ll always have the great Texas tradition known as the Battle of the Ax.
https://www.kxii.com/2025/08/25/127th-bota-be-last-bearcat-stadium-sherman-denison-greats-reminisce