Soccer in Pocahontas

 

The sources describe the formation of a soccer team in Pocahontas County and how players were evaluated in the early days of the sport.

Team Formation and Early Days

• A colony of young Englishmen in the Mingo neighborhood started the idea of soccer in the area.
• Teams soon formed at Marlinton, Elk, Clover Lick, Stony Bottom, Dunmore, Oak Grove, Mill Gap, Greenbank, Riel, Hillsboro, Dunlevie, Cass, Mountain Grove and other schools.
• The town of Frost is noted as the only town that has maintained its soccer team through the years.
• The Frost team was organized by a man named Frost, and Cliff was the first captain.
• Soccer football history in Pocahontas County started to "unwind" with the formation of the Frost team.

Player Evaluation

• In the early days of soccer in Pocahontas County, players were rated based on their size and ability to knock down and run over other players, rather than their speed or knowledge of the game.
• Little details such as speed or knowledge came later in the evaluation process.
• The Frost team weighed between 2,200 and 2,400 pounds when it got started.

Other Details

• The Frost team became well-known.
• The team's history included a period where they piled up a record of over 100 goals without having been scored against.
• The team was known for having a spirit that enabled them to pile up one of the greatest records of all time.
• The team was known for their love of the game.
• One player, E.G. Sharp, joined the team in 1895.
• The team included Cliff Sharp, Brad Sharp, Upton Sharp, Aaron Sharp, Holmes Sharp, Butler Sharp, George Sharp, Summers Sharp, Grant Dilley, Charles Moore, Oscar Williams, and Sherman Gibson, among others.
• Mr. Gibson was the first goal keeper and also furnished the field upon which the games were played from the beginning.
• The team's success in the early days brought fame to the village with less than one hundred residents.
• A poem in the newspaper recalled the early days of the team.
• A man named "Kenshaw Mountain Landiz" was recognized for his devotion to the promotion of the sport.
• It was said that Frost organized a team with "a bunch of two hundred and fifty pounders".
• The team was noted for playing with fair play and good sportsmanship.
• It is mentioned that a soccer player named "La-dy Luck" turned her back on the team once and Frost got the short end of the tally.
• A man named Mr. John was a member of the team for a long time, and his son, who is 51, also plays on the team.

These details show the early development of soccer in Pocahontas County, highlighting the importance of physical strength in the initial stages and the community's love for the game.