As a 1968 graduate of Italy High School, I am proud to tell anyone where I went to school. I love our tradition here. I also love football and have supported the Gladiators during good seasons and not so good seasons. I am not one that judges the success of a season by the win and loss record. I know some people do though. I love football and support my kids.

I am not sure when our winning tradition started at Willis Field, but I do know that there has never been a team that was more successful than the 1940 Gladiators. That year, Coach Cook led his players to a record that has never been matched. That year OUR Italy Gladiators were undefeated. That year those 24 players did something no other team in the history of Italy High School had ever done before or accomplished since. That year, not only did they win every game, all 11 of them, they did not allow any of their opponents to cross the goal line. Undefeated and not scored on!

This year before the homecoming game, Italy ISD will honor the six surviving members of the 1940 football team. It is hard for me to understand that these six guys played for the Gladiators 70 years ago. I think their record gives them reason to be proud of what they did.

“You need to visit with the other guys. I only weighed 125 pounds, so I was a sub. The other guys were so much bigger,” Ward explained. “In 1940 the field was laid out differently. We did not even have any stands. When they built the current field, they turned it around and added the stands.”

Because of the accomplishments of the 1940 Gladiators, and with the help of Jamie Ward’s newspaper clippings and information, the original articles from the Italy News Herald will be shared with Gladiator fans of today. I hope you enjoy the series!