Each Thursday of the fall semester, we'll be throwing it back and looking at historical and significant moments and individuals from the history of Slippery Rock athletics. For our fourth “Throwback Thursday” feature of the semester, we look back at World War II and what the global conflict meant to Slippery Rock athletics.


There are not many similarities between the year 2020 and 1943, a lot can change in three-fourths of a century. The world as we know it today is a far cry from the '40s and Slippery Rock University is no exception.

The school’s name alone has evolved from Slippery Rock State Teachers College (1926-59) to Slippery Rock State College (1960-82) to present day Slippery Rock University. Its physical footprint has more than quadrupled and the sheer number of students currently enrolled at Slippery Rock, 8,876, is something that would have been unfathomable seven decades ago when the school’s enrollment topped out at 872 in 1948.

Sadly, there is one common characteristic that Slippery Rock in 2020 and Slippery Rock in 1943 share with one another that no other two years in the school’s history can claim: no varsity sports. America’s involvement in World War II forced the cancelation of the 1943 athletic season. Fast forward 77 years later and Slippery Rock is once again faced with no varsity sports being played on campus due to the global COVID-19 pandemic.

For this week’s throwback feature we’ll take a look back at what Slippery Rock athletics looked like during America’s involvement in World War II. 

Globally, World War II officially started on Sept. 1, 1939 when Germany invaded Poland. America initially stayed neutral in the conflict for the better part of the first two years and as such life in the USA went on, including Slippery Rock athletics, as the country began to recover from the Great Depression even with the ever-present threat of war looming. 

In fact, several Slippery Rock teams thrived as the 1930s ended and the 1940s began. The football team posted an undefeated 8-0 record in 1939, men’s soccer was nearly flawless at 6-0-1 in 1940 and the football team recorded another solid 4-2-1 mark in its 1941 campaign. However, Slippery Rock, and the rest of America, would see their lives as they knew it change as 1941 came to a close.

It took only four days in early December of 1941 for peacetime in America to come to a crashing halt. Japan attacked Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7. In response to the attack that killed 2,403 Americans, President Franklin D. Roosevelt declared war on Japan on Dec. 8 which promptly led Germany, an ally of Japan, to declare war on the U.S. on Dec. 11, thus officially entering America into World War II.

The direct effect of World War II on Slippery Rock was felt immediately. The college lost 40 students, 9.2 percent of its total enrollment, over the semester break during the 1941-42 academic year due to students either being drafted or volunteering for the armed services. Other instances of the “new normal” creeping onto campus in the spring of 1942 was air raid drills being conducted at The Rock. The necessity of such drills and the seriousness of the situation was not immediately realized by Slippery Rock’s students as evidenced by a cartoon in the March 6 issue of The Rocket:

However, by the fall of 1942 it was clear that there would be no escaping the realities of war on campus. 

Enrollment dropped 22 percent from the previous fall to 338 as more and more male students were entering the war. While varsity competition went on as scheduled in the fall, the effects of a declining male student body was clearly being felt on the field in terms of results and participation. Slippery Rock’s coaching contingent were not immune from the war either as men’s soccer head coach Archie Dodds stepped down from his position to join the Navy after leading Slippery Rock to a 34-4-6 record over the previous eight years. 

The harshest dose of reality struck the Slippery Rock community on Sept. 20, 1942 when Michael Klimenko became the first SRU student to make the ultimate sacrifice. Klimenko, a member of the Canadian Air Force, graduated from Slippery Rock in 1940 before enlisting in 1941. Klimenko was a four-year letterman on the football team and a key member of the 1939 undefeated squad. 

Klimenko was quoted in the days leading up to his death as saying “One miss and your career, sporting or otherwise, is over.”

As the fall season wrapped up Slippery Rock’s two varsity winter sports, basketball and swimming, were scheduled to begin as normal. The basketball team even played its first regular season game on Dec. 19 against Westinghouse. As it turns out that would be the final varsity sporting event at Slippery Rock for years to come.

On Jan. 11, prior to students returning from winter break, Slippery Rock announced the cancelation of the basketball and swimming seasons. The reasoning behind the cancelation was simple – Slippery Rock had no way to transport athletes to away games. 

By this point, the rationing of rubber and gasoline had become widespread throughout America and local rationing boards refused to sanction additional gasoline for athletic trips. That decision meant for the first time since 1912 there would be no varsity sports played at Slippery Rock.

Originally, there was hope of Slippery Rock returning to varsity competition for its spring sports and an extensive winter sports intramural program was developed in the meantime by assistant football coach William “Pop” Storer in order to keep spirits high and competitive juices flowing despite the lack of intercollegiate competition. But as the weeks went by Slippery Rock continued to lose male students to the armed forces at a high rate and by February intramurals were halted and spring sports canceled. 

The 1943-44 academic year was figuratively, and nearly literally, the low point for Slippery Rock. With an overall enrollment of just 188 students and rationing being emphasized more than ever, varsity sports were completely abandoned for the entire year. Yet the pain of a year with no sports ultimately paled in comparison to the heartache felt when two more former Rock athletes died serving their country. 

On Sept. 3, 1943, Navy pilot Don Pritchard succumbed to injuries suffered in a wreck in New Caledonia. Pritchard graduated from Slippery Rock in 1942 with his bachelor’s degree in health education. He was a standout member of swimming team at Slippery Rock in addition to being a member of the soccer and track teams.

Less than two months later, the Slippery Rock athletics family took another hit when Stan Robson, a fighter pilot in the Marine Corps, was killed in action in the South Pacific. Robson, a 1941 Slippery Rock graduate, did it all during his college days. A standout baseball and football player, Robson also competed in basketball, tennis and soccer. 

With the 1944-45 school year came another dip in enrollment to 187 students, including just nine men. However, that fall also brought a glimpse of hope. Fall varsity sports were once again canceled, but N. Kerr Thompson was determined to bring sports back to Slippery Rock and by all accounts when the legendary coach was determined to do something, he did it no matter what.

Armed with all nine enrolled male students who all desired to play basketball and that were described by Thompson as “somewhat athletically inclined” as well as the approval from the Slippery Rock Board of Trustees, a 23-game schedule was put together. 

Following 713 days without varsity sports, Slippery Rock returned to action on Dec. 1, 1944 when the basketball team played Carnegie Tech. Slippery Rock ultimately lost the game, 27-25, but the final score was inconsequential. The important thing was that sports had returned to Slippery Rock. That year’s Rock team, which “ballooned” up to 13 players by the end of the season, went on to win 18 games.

A passage from the 1945 edition of The Saxigena, Slippery Rock’s annual yearbook, perfectly described just what that season of basketball meant.

“A lot of credit should go to the supporters who came to all of the games; home or away, they were there. More credit to the men who worked out every evening trying to shape up a winning combination, but most credit goes to Coach Thompson for his patient and untiring effort in trying to give S.R. something to cheer about.”

Things slowly started to return to normal following that season. On May 8, 1945 war in Europe concluded with the official surrender of Germany and on Sept. 2, 1945 Japan signed formal surrender documents on the USS Missouri. World War II was over.

In no time at all, enrollment at Slippery Rock swelled. The Oct. 16, 1945 edition of The Rocket calculated enrollment at 283 with “more returning servicemen continuing to enroll almost daily.”

Slippery Rock’s path to normalcy in the fall of 1945 included the return of its famed football team. Following a two-year hiatus, the Green & White came back in impressive fashion as Thompson led Slippery Rock to a 3-0-1 record. Slippery Rock did not allow a single point in 1945. 

Its first win following its multi-year layoff was naturally a 27-0 shutout against Indiana (Pa.). Slippery Rock concluded the year with a 0-0 tie against Fairmont State followed by a 16-0 win versus Washington & Jefferson and a 7-0 homecoming victory for its season finale against Fairmont State in what was the second meeting of the year between Slippery Rock and FSU.
 

When discussing the undefeated season, Storer emphasized how proud he was seeing two generations of Slippery Rock football players become one.

“I was glad to be associated with the team this year,” Storer said. “I found it very enjoyable. It was remarkable how well the two groups of boys worked together – the ex-G.I.’s and the young high school graduates. 

“The boys worked together very well despite the fact that many had classes until five and couldn’t be at practice every day. I think it was fun and a great experience for all.”

The old adage that “time heals all wounds” held true to form for Slippery Rock athletics in the coming years. Following the return of basketball and football in 1945 came varsity soccer, swimming, track, golf, tennis and baseball a year later during the 1946-47 academic year.

Since then, there’s been countless victories, homecoming celebrations, playoff games, rivalry contests and championships won at Slippery Rock. The gloominess of the 713 days without sports at SRU made all of these moments all the sweeter for those who experienced it firsthand. One day, hopefully soon, this will be the second thing that 1943 and 2020 have in common.  

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