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The Purple Rider In the late 20's and the early 30's schools began picking nicknames for their athletic teams. Our local rivals selected such names as Wheeling Wildcats, Weirton Red Riders, Bellaire Big Reds, Triadelphia Little Reds, etc. The selection was not so easily made by Martins Ferry. Up until this time we were thought of as the Purple and White. We all loved that proud purple, but after much study and various recommendations, the student body selected "The Purple Riders". In the parades and pep rallies of that time the boys in their uniforms were mounted on horses. Often our cheerleaders would parade riding horses. Our uniform carried the horse and rider symbol. Coaches down through the years have made an idea of the Purple Rider. For some reason it has stuck and become more important as time has passed. Its traditions, transferred from father to son, thus have become the heritage of our athletes. To become a member of a Martins Ferry High School team is an ambition which only those with high ideals and character can achieve, the weak ones drop by the way side. To become a Purple Rider you must sacrifice many of the pleasures of the average student. Your time and your habits are controlled by your sport and your coach. The Purple Rider is taught to respect his uniform. He assumes a great responsibility when he accepts it. The uniform is his symbol of membership. From now on he is in the eye of his fellow students, fans, and ex-Purple Riders. He is being judged at all times, on and off the field. He is asked to give his best or get out. He is taught that his is best and that he will become the best. He is taught, the desire to win, that it will take more than one opponent to lick him. He is taught, to play to win in an honest within-the-rules method, to give all within his power and ability and to give it all the time. He is taught, if lose he must, to be a sport and gentleman and to respect his opponent. He is taught to believe that a team won't be beaten, can't be beaten--an old Ferry High Tradition. We have found this to be true down through the years. Our won and lost record proves this. He is taught that his athletics are a means of obtaining a high education and a better life. That is proved to him by the number of great athletes we have had on college and professional teams. He is taught to be honest and clean in his thoughts and actions. Very few Purple Riders or ex-Purple Riders have ever forgotten this ideal. He is encouraged to respect his teachers and schoolmates and to do his best in school work. He is taught the traditions of his school and they are practiced by him. He copies the team superstitions, such as the famous horseshoe, found in the earth of athletic field when the new dressing room was built and placed above the door, the clean hands before a basketball game, rubbing the famous penny, the period of silence before going onto the field for a game, the pre game prayer, the feeling that he is with God and God is with him. We older coaches, teachers, and fans who have seen the Purple Riders develop into manhood realize the value of the great Purple Rider ideal. We have seen the average boys from all types of homes develop into doctors. lawyers, teachers, businessmen, and fine leaders of the community. These men are ever proud that they were once Purple Rider, and hope that someday their sons can share the same training as they. May this Ideal and Tradition hold true as long as there is a Ferry High. The many coaches, teachers and fans who have helped to develop and add to this Purple Rider Ideal are proud to have known him can say "I am a Purple Rider." Fred Thomas, 1925 Early Years The History of Martins Ferry High School is a record of brilliant achievement. The statistical records from 1909 until the present afford ample evidence for the above assertion. The winning spirit was early inculcated in Ferrians by the tremendous accomplishments of the famous Independent Hose Team, composed of twenty-five men, who after many local and state victories journeyed to Atlanta, GA. in 1895, only to return with the diamond championship belt, the badge of the world's champion hose team. Since that event, there has radiated from that group of men that victorious spirit which has touched, directly or indirectly, the life of every athlete of Ferry High, and has been responsible to a great degree for the success of our athletic teams as well as for the favorable sentiment for athletics that prevails among the people of this city. Dr. John Johns may well be given the distinction of being Ferry High's first football coach. In 1902, Dr. Johns returned fresh from the athletic field of the University of Pennsylvania and, although he was not identified with the faculty of the high school here, yet he freely gave his time to instill into the athletes of Ferry High, the fundamentals of what was modern football. Until 1909, football occupied a secondary place in the field of sports at the high school, more prominence being given to baseball. In 1909, however, Hugh Smith came to Ferry High as principal bringing with him his football experience. For two years "Red" made football the leading sport and was the first official to create a valuable contribution to the sport of football at Ferry High. In 1911 the high school faculty was without a football coach but, in order that the continuation of football might be made possible, "Russ" Thompson, an alumnus, gave his services to the team and thus made a valuable contribution to the promotion of football at Ferry High. By the next year, 1912, it had become apparent to the Board Of Education that a football coach for the high school was essential. So "Doc" Quailey was appointed coach, and to him falls the honor of being the first regularly employed coach. The brilliant performance of his team that season brought Ferrians to the front with enthusiastic support of football and since that time, Martins Ferry has enjoyed a reputation which has steadily grown, that of being unsurpassed in the number of loyal and ardent fans who back their high school team. Football was not a self-supporting sport at Ferry High until 1920. Previous to that year only jerseys, pants, and stockings were supplied the players who had to furnish their own headgears, shoulderpads, and shoes. These were also quite frequently donated by kindhearted independent players. Since 1919, with the seasons profits ranging from $3,000 to more than $5,000, it has been possible to completely equip members of the teams. The surplus of money in the athletic treasury was put to good use in 1923 when the Carmichael property was purchased at the price of $15,000. Through the kindness of Dr. Messerly, E.E. McCombs and George Cooke and officials of the local banks the High School Athletic Associations borrowed sufficient money to build an athletic field that represents an investment of a little less than $50,000. This accomplishment is a direct tribute to the loyal fans whose support has made this attainment possible. *Article reprinted from the Dedication Program to the Martins Ferry High School Athletic Field. SPARKY SPARKY was conceived in the minds of five members of the Martins Ferry Jaycees (Carl Stabile, Jack Terill, Mike Maistros, Fred Theurich, and Charles Briggs) while on their way to witness a very important football game in the fall of '63. This game was important because their Purple Riders were bidding for their third consecutive "no loss" season. These five fans enthusiastically decided that time had come for the designing of an appropriate football trophy which would serve to perpetuate the gridiron rivalry for many years between the Bellaire Big Reds and the Martins Ferry Purple Riders. This trophy was to "revolve" between the two schools; the ownership to be determined each year by the outcome of the game played each fall. Possession was never to become permanent by either school. The need for a Bellaire sponsor was quickly settled when the Bellaire Lions Club, spearheaded by members Bill Magellan, Jim Deblasis, and Jack Farnario, enthusiastically approved the idea. Thus, SPARKY became a reality in the fall of 1964. In 1981, the Martins Ferry Kiwanis Club took on sponsership from the Jaycees and have helped to continue the enthusiasm of SPARKY. General Information
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