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Athlete’s death was ‘blackest tragedy’ Charles Van Scoyoc [Courtesy Southern Oregon Historical Society] Friday Apr 28, 2017 at 2:00 AM Apr 28, 2017 at 5:48 PM By Tammy Asnicarfor the Mail Tribune Van Scoyoc Field may have been the site of many a triumph during Medford High School football’s glory days, but the original 1925 stadium was named in memory of a grid star who lost his battle off the field. The school’s undefeated football season of 1924 was marred by what a Nov. 11, 1951, Medford Mail Tribune article referred to as “the blackest tragedy to ever hit a local team.” Star football player Charles Edwin “Chuck” Van Scoyoc died on Nov. 21, 1924, just 11 days after his 17th birthday. The announcement of Van Scoyoc’s death was front-page news not only in Medford, but also in Eugene and Roseburg. The Mail Tribune, Register-Guard and News-Review all paid tribute to Medford’s favorite son. The Mail Tribune described the community as in “severe shock.” Van Scoyoc’s fellow students and teammates were so overwhelmed with grief that school was dismissed and the weekend’s football game against Roseburg canceled. The Register-Guard reported that Van Scoyoc’s funeral the following Sunday was the largest in Southern Oregon history. Two thousand people attended the services at the First Methodist Church and 1,000 cars lined up for the processional afterward. Among the scores of floral wreaths were flowers sent by Medford’s longstanding football rival — Ashland High School. Under the tutelage of legendary coach Prince “Prink” Callison, Van Scoyoc, a 142-pound halfback, was the Medford squad’s “speed specialist.” His lightning-quick end runs made him the leading ground gainer and one of the team’s top scorers. In a 54-0 victory over Klamath Falls, he scored three touchdowns. He also was a “brilliant passer” who could throw “bullet-like” passes that were seldom intercepted. Van Scoyoc was a star athlete in a triumphant season that sportswriters called the “beginning of the great era of Medford football.” In what was to be his last football game, he turned in a stellar performance in the annual Armistice Day match-up with Ashland with his signature breakaway, off-tackle runs. On the Tuesday before his death, Van Scoyoc left school feeling ill. As the teenager’s condition worsened, the diagnosis was first “brain fever” and then “brain infection.” When the symptoms became life-threatening, Dr. Lawrence Selling, a Portland neurologist, was consulted. He traveled to Medford to perform brain surgery on the young man, but arrived too late. After an autopsy, the official cause of death was listed as cerebral spinal meningitis due to an injury at the upper end of the spinal cord, thought to have been sustained at the Monday evening football practice. Other accounts say Van Scoyoc played injured in tough games at Grants Pass and Marshfield earlier in the season and had not felt well during the three weeks leading up to his death. Despite not being up to par, he went into the game at Marshfield voluntarily because of a shortage of players. It was speculated that an earlier injury may have been aggravated in that game. All Southern Oregon high schools and local football teams expressed their condolences. Medford and Ashland teams considered canceling Southern Oregon’s football classic — the annual Thanksgiving game between the rivals. However, the Klamath Falls Evening Herald reported Nov. 24, 1924, that the game would be played as planned. “But there will be no rooting, no serpentine, no bonfire, no bands, no flags and none of the colorful enthusiasm of former years.” Sobered by the loss of its star, Callison’s team was held to a 7-7 tie in the season finale. In addition to his athletic prowess and work ethic on the field, Van Scoyoc was known for his “all-around ability” as a high achiever off the field. He was an A student, served as senior class president and was sports editor for the school yearbook. He also was a member of the Order of DeMolay, a youth leadership organization. During vacations from school, he worked at the Radovan fruit-drying plant. In a tribute after his death, Van Scoyoc was remembered for “his sheer mentality,” “good fellowship,” “cheery smile” and good looks. He was “loved and respected by faculty and students alike,” read one newspaper account. It was also noted that for all his success and popularity, he was a modest young man. The entire Van Scoyoc family was well known and well respected. Van Scoyoc was the son of Charles C. and Nannie Van Scoyoc. The elder Van Scoyoc was a dentist who shared a practice with his brother, William. Van Scoyoc’s older sister, Margaret, was a highly regarded educator in the Rogue Valley for 30 years. The family had moved from Champaign, Illinois, to Medford, when Van Scoyoc was 3 years old. He attended Medford public schools and graduated from Washington Grammar School in 1921. He was a member of Medford High’s Class of 1925 when he died. The 1924-25 edition of Medford High’s yearbook, “The Crater,” was dedicated to Van Scoyoc. A year after his death, the Medford High School student body voted to name its brand-new athletic field on West Second Street in his honor. The Dec. 5, 1925, issue of the Mail Tribune reported that a record-breaking crowd attended the inaugural game — “an intersectional clash between Salem and Medford to decide the Western Oregon championship.” (The stadium could seat between 800 and 900 people.) According to the Nov. 11, 1951, Mail Tribune article, the 7-7 tie at the hands of Ashland in 1924 was to “be the last blot on Medford’s record for four glorious years.” In 1925, Callison’s team claimed the first of four consecutive state titles — all before capacity crowds at Van Scoyoc Field. Medford High used the field for all its games until 1936, and Southern Oregon Normal School — now Southern Oregon University — played there frequently until about 1932. Mail Tribune sports editor Harry Chipman wrote about the stadium’s demolition in his June 13, 1946, column. The stadium was getting “a facelift,” he reported. Besides being a football field for the junior high school — later McLoughlin Middle School — “extensive play areas are in the plans for the new field.” And while the high school football team now had its own new stadium across town, this new sports turf was still referred to as “Van Scoyoc Field” for many years. — Reach Grants Pass freelance writer Tammy Asnicar at [email protected].