Outweighed Eighteen Pounds a Man, Whitman Nearly Stunned Pullman
A 75-yard touchdown run by Elmo Reser kept the Missionaries in it until the final fifteen seconds, when the Aggies' sheer weight finally told, 18 to 6.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Whitman College went down to defeat before the Pullman giants yesterday afternoon to the tune of 18 to 6, after the pluckiest, headiest, snappiest game that she has played this season.
In spite of the fact that the Aggies outweighed the Missionaries 18 pounds to the man, the latter kept their opponents and the spectators guessing from start to finish as to the result. The game between Pullman and Whitman is always exciting on account of the keen rivalry between the institutions, but it is doubtful if a more spectacular game was ever played on Whitman gridiron than that of yesterday afternoon. It was a beautiful game to see as the knights of the gridiron rushed each other from one end of the field to the other, time after time. The rooting was good, and when Elmo Reser made the touchdown for Whitman on a fake quarterback kick the enthusiasm knew no bounds in its expression.
Every Whitman player was "on his toes" from beginning to end. It is hard to pick out the stars because every man played the game of his life. Hooper's tackling on defense was something fierce; time and again he tore through Pullman's whole line and downed the man with the ball. Reser was the hero of the sidelines; his 75-yard run to a touchdown was the feature of the day. Hill did some fine ground gaining. Dutcher's punting was far ahead of his opponent's. Perringer, as field captain, directed the plays for the last half in a masterly manner. Helm, although hurt in the head early in the game, stayed in and grittily held down a man 25 pounds heavier than he during the whole game. O'Neil of Spokane made some of the prettiest tackles of the day. Rigsby, Kennedy, Graham, R. Reser and Gilbreath, although occupying positions where little grand stand work can be done, did noble work yesterday.
Cardwell, called "Red," at right half, was undoubtedly Pullman's star. He played like a demon on offense and defense. His mate, Longstreet, was also a good ball carrier. Pullman did not do the brilliant individual playing that Whitman did yesterday because by sheer weight she was able to bear her opponents down the field and preferred a sure game. Yet she was forced to punt time and time again by the plucky little band of Missionaries. About 500 people attended the game. The last touchdown was made by Pullman when less than 15 seconds remained to play.
“His 75-yard run to a touchdown was the feature of the day.”
College football's fall Saturdays are the closest thing Walla Walla still has to a town-wide ritual, and the Whitman–Washington State rivalry this describes is the ancestor of that pull. The 1908 game was decided the way undersized teams still lose: eighteen pounds a man and a clock that ran out. What the clipping preserves is not the score but the names — Reser, Hooper, Helm — of students who were, for one afternoon, the most famous people in town.
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