THE HISTORY OF SIX MAN FOOTBALL

Back in the 1930’s, when six-man football originated, Richland Springs, Texas was a booming town. And while Main Street may not be as bustling as it once was, the spirit that first brought the town folk out to watch a game of six-man lives on. The vast majority of high schools playing six-man football in Texas are located in rural towns like Richland Springs, communities with small populations but big hearts. On any given Friday night, more than 2,000 fans gather at the local football field to watch the Coyotes. There’s an old saying in Richland Springs, Texas, “On Friday night, you can rob every house in town and never get caught....cause everybody’s at the football game.” When the Coyotes play an out of town game, folks have been known to say, “Would the last person leaving town turn out the lights?”

Contrary to popular belief, the game of six-man football was not conceived in the Lone Star State. Fact is, a fella named Stephen Epler invented the game in 1934 while coaching in Chester, Nebraska. Epler came up with the idea because there weren't enough students at CHS to form an eleven-man team. So eleven-man football became six-man football and rest is football history.

Four years later, the governing body of Texas high school sports, the University Interscholastic League, said okie dokie and six-man football came to Texas. That first year, 55 schools played the game. Now about 125 high schools in Texas play this unique brand of football.

Other states such as Colorado, New Mexico and Montana play six-man football as do Nebraska and Kansas. However, Nebraska and Kansas leagues are not sanctioned by the governing body of the state. Oklahoma? If you know about Oklahoma six-man football, let us know.

Here's another little known fact: Only high schools with less than 126 students can play six-man football on the varsity level. So mostly, the teams that compete are from tiny rural communities such as Follett in the Texas panhandle, Fort Davis in the Big Bend and Calvert in East Texas.

By the way, check out www.sixmanfootball.com for more Texas Six Man football info. Click on maps and see the names and towns of all the schools that play in Texas.