Blast from the Past

[IndianFan]

The original header image from the first iteration of the PNGIndian.com web site. 25 years ago. And check out the old purple helmets and logo.

 

[IndianFan]

Some old trivia gathered by Mr Buck Ford. No longer completely accurate historically, but it was 26 years ago.

• During the 1940 season, the Indians recorded 7 shutouts while only allowing 18 points. In 1941, the Indian defense was just as impressive allowing only 25 points over the season with 6 shoutouts.​
• Indian play by play announcer Tippy Durham was the starting center for the Indians during the 1950 season.​
• Indian Stadium, with a seating capacity of 6,500, was opened in 1951 for a total cost of $175,000. The previous year, 1950, all Indian home games were played in Nederland's Bulldog stadium.​
• Current University of Texas Offensive Coordinator Greg Davis was an all-district quarterback for the Indians during the 1968 season. Current Longhorn offense line coach Tim Nunez played for PN-G during the 1964-65 seasons.​
• From 1969-72, the Indians used the fabled Wishbone formation on offense. All-American and two-time All State running back Jeff "The Jet" Bergeron led the team with 3,928 yards and 67 touchdowns during the 1970-72 seasons.​
• The 1974 Indians, who reached the 4A state semifinals, only had four starters who weighed over 178 pounds. The average offensive lineman on the 1975 state championship team weighed 187 pounds.​
• During the 1974-77 seasons, 23 Indian players were named to the All-State team. (1974- Matt Burnett, Mark Vise. 1975- Kyle Aguillard, Ricky Johnson, Mark Buchanan, Mike Giblin, Wilson Weber, Von Robinson. 1976- Carl Griffith, Ronnie Golmon, Blake Green, Jackie Havard, Ted Brack, Richy Ethridge. 1977- Jeff Cooley, Howard Kern, Ronnie Delcambre, Justin Eicher, Ted Brack, Bruce Miller, Robert DeRutte, Mark Moss, James Shipley.)​
• The 1975 team is the most successful in PN-G history. A 14-1 season culminated in a 20-10 state championship win against Odessa Permian and a #3 national ranking.​
• The 1976 PN-G Indians had a 25 game winning going into the semifinals game against San Antonio Churchill. The Indians lost to the eventual state champion Chargers 14-7.​
• In 1977, the Indians were only the third team in Texas high school football history to make it to the state semifinals four years in a row (74-75-76-77). The others were Abilene (54-55-56-57) and Wichita Falls (58-59-60-61).​
• The 1977 Indians played in front of a total paid crowd of 177,837, an average attendance of 35,567 per game. Included in that total is the Texas high school attendance record of 49,953 against Plano in the championship game.​

 

[Usedtocould]

Some old trivia gathered by Mr Buck Ford. No longer completely accurate historically, but it was 25 years ago.

• During the 1940 season, the Indians recorded 7 shutouts while only allowing 18 points. In 1941, the Indian defense was just as impressive allowing only 25 points over the season with 6 shoutouts.​
• Indian play by play announcer Tippy Durham was the starting center for the Indians during the 1950 season.​
• Indian Stadium, with a seating capacity of 6,500, was opened in 1951 for a total cost of $175,000. The previous year, 1950, all Indian home games were played in Nederland's Bulldog stadium.​
• Current University of Texas Offensive Coordinator Greg Davis was an all-district quarterback for the Indians during the 1968 season. Current Longhorn offense line coach Tim Nunez played for PN-G during the 1964-65 seasons.​
• From 1969-72, the Indians used the fabled Wishbone formation on offense. All-American and two-time All State running back Jeff "The Jet" Bergeron led the team with 3,928 yards and 67 touchdowns during the 1970-72 seasons.​
• The 1974 Indians, who reached the 4A state semifinals, only had four starters who weighed over 178 pounds. The average offensive lineman on the 1975 state championship team weighed 187 pounds.​
• During the 1974-77 seasons, 23 Indian players were named to the All-State team. (1974- Matt Burnett, Mark Vise. 1975- Kyle Aguillard, Ricky Johnson, Mark Buchanan, Mike Giblin, Wilson Weber, Von Robinson. 1976- Carl Griffith, Ronnie Golmon, Blake Green, Jackie Havard, Ted Brack, Richy Ethridge. 1977- Jeff Cooley, Howard Kern, Ronnie Delcambre, Justin Eicher, Ted Brack, Bruce Miller, Robert DeRutte, Mark Moss, James Shipley.)​
• The 1975 team is the most successful in PN-G history. A 14-1 season culminated in a 20-10 state championship win against Odessa Permian and a #3 national ranking.​
• The 1976 PN-G Indians had a 25 game winning going into the semifinals game against San Antonio Churchill. The Indians lost to the eventual state champion Chargers 14-7.​
• In 1977, the Indians were only the third team in Texas high school football history to make it to the state semifinals four years in a row (74-75-76-77). The others were Abilene (54-55-56-57) and Wichita Falls (58-59-60-61).​
• The 1977 Indians played in front of a total paid crowd of 177,837, an average attendance of 35,567 per game. Included in that total is the Texas high school attendance record of 49,953 against Plano in the championship game.​

Wow to several especially the last one

 

[Indian99]

The original header image from the first iteration of the PNGIndian.com web site. 25 years ago. And check out the old purple helmets and logo.

View attachment 1678

That photo looks familiar…

 

[Rez]

I miss the purple helmets.

 

[IndianFan]

That photo looks familiar…

At the time it was the best photo I could find of the helmet logo. That was before the Texas helmet project existed.

 

[pngbax20]

I think I know the guy in the photo

 

[IndianFan]

Another fun fact. Back when the web site and messageboard were started, the concept of online streaming barely existed and was not common. YouTube, iHeart Radio and other common conveniences we take for granted today did not exist. If you weren’t within range of the radio station broadcast of games, you were out of luck.

YouTube came into existence 5 years after pngindians.com was started. Around that time PNG NDN Fan, an original member and longtime moderator, and I used to brainstorm ways to stream the radio broadcast. Far fetched ideas like a microphone placed in front of of a radio receiving the radio signal back in Port Neches and streaming it over YouTube. Or a more customized stream through the web site, which would not work because of data limitations. We never quite figured either out or tried it.

The world has come a long way with streaming tech. And all of us ‘virtual’ fans that can’t be at the event are appreciative of that technology.

As simple as they were, I appreciate those old times which have now become almost nostalgic.

And I appreciate all of my fellow IndianFans who have been here since the beginning, as well as all the newer members who found this place later.

 

[PNG NDN Fan]

I remember trying to stream the radio broadcast through Paltalk, with limited success. For a few years I took videos at the games and tried to upload some highlights through YouTube, I left SETX in 2009 so more of an appreciator than contributor now. Good memories though.