AfrolumensProject
  Central Pennsylvania African American History for Everyone
              An online resource since 1997

 

 Sheila Green-Stevenson's 
Football
Photographs

 

The photographs below were submitted by Sheila Green-Stevenson, a Florida resident who grew up in Harrisburg.  Sheila was more than happy to contribute her memories of growing up in Harrisburg, and plans to send reminiscences as she gets time to record them.  This group of photographs centers on high school football in the Harrisburg area.  Sheila's father, Andrew Marshall Green, played football in Harrisburg about 1930 or 1932.  The photograph is a wonderful document of the early uniforms worn by players in a sport that was quickly becoming very popular.  The next group of photos are from the 1950's and feature Steel High's legendary football program.  For the first page of photographs, featuring home and school, please click here.  For the third page, featuring the 1956 Steelton High School prom, please click here.

 Andrew Marshall Green, circa 1930-32

» "This is a picture of my father when he played football for John Harris, circa 1930-1932.
I am not certain of the date. He lived in "uptown"
Harrisburg. Why he went all that distance to John Harris I do not know!"

Editor's notes: Click the image for a larger picture.  John Harris and William Penn High Schools opened in 1926, replacing the old Central and Technical High Schools.  The Technical High School building still stands as Old City Hall Apartments, taking its current name from its post educational use for many years as Harrisburg's city hall, until the city moved City Hall to the King City Government Center on Second Street.  The Central High School. building, originally at Capitol and Forster Streets,  no longer exists. (click here for a photograph of that building)

John Harris had undefeated football teams from 1929-1931.

Several visitors to the site have identified the location of this photograph as Edison Junior High School, and not John Harris High School.  The speculation is that the photograph actually depicts Andrew Green as a football player for Edison Junior High School.  Jim Mitchell, a 1962 graduate of Edison, notes:  "In my days at Edison the football team would dress at Edison and run to John Harris for practice and team pictures were taken on the front steps at Edison."

Mr. Garth Smallwood, of the Harrisburg School District, adds the following historical notes on Harrisburg's old junior high schools:  "Camp Curtin Jr. High existed at the same time as Edison. Old Camp Curtin was located on the same site as the Camp Curtin YMCA at Sixth and Woodbine Streets. Most everyone that I talked to said that Edison was for the hill and Curtin was for uptown. Camp Curtin Jr. High School was torn down in the early sixties to make way for the "Y". I have an 82 year old aunt who attended there in the early 40's. It is my guess that Camp Curtin actually pre-dates John Harris and William Penn. William Penn was built in 1926. Also, Edison was made up of two sections. The original section was where the football photo was taken, and a second section was added much later."

Sources

Correspondence, Sheila Green-Stevenson to Afrolumens Project, July 16, 24, 2003.  

Correspondence, Barbara Barksdale to Afrolumens Project, July 19, 2003.

Correspondence, Garth Smallwood to Afrolumens Project, September 4, 5, November 24, 2003.

Correspondence, Jim Mitchell to Afrolumens Project, October 2, 2003.

Sunday Patriot-News, October 17, 1954, "Steelton Belabors Penn," p. 42.

Barton, Michael and Jessica Dorman, Harrisburg's Old Eighth Ward (Charleston, SC, 2002) p. 52.

Beers, Paul B., Profiles from the Susquehanna Valley (Harrisburg, 1973), p. 86-87.

Notes

The Afrolumens Project extends its sincere thanks to Sheila Green-Stevenson for permission to publish these photographs, and to Garth Smallwood for correcting several errors about the history of Harrisburg's junior high schools.

For More Information

For more Steelton material, see our Midland Cemetery pages.

Steel-High Football Miscellaneous Pictures

Steel-High Rollers Football Team, circa 1953

Steel-High Football team, circa 1953.  Click for a large image

Sheila's comments:  "The attached picture is one of the 1953 Steel High football team. My husband was able to identify several of the players:
Front Row: 3rd player, Donald Stevenson; 4th, Getz; 6th, Yetter; 7th, Drakovitch;
9th, Musa
BACK ROW: #33, John Jones; #10, Braxton; #22=Lutz;  #38, Buzzy Reed."

Editor's note:  Click the image above for a full-size picture. Barbara Barksdale, President of the Friends of Midland, also identifies number 38, in the back row, as Buzzy Reed.

Program Photographs

Programs from football games are good sources of images from a bygone era in local sports.  The program at left is from the Steelton-William Penn game, October 16, 1954 (Steelton won the contest, 37-6).

The photographs below came from the program for the 1955 game between Steel High and Williamsport High School.

For a description of the 1956 game between Steelton and Allentown, click here.

Share your memories about African American community life in the Harrisburg area--write to us

1955 Steelton High Varsity Football Squad.Steelton High Junior Varsity Football Squad.  Click these images for larger pictures.

Football player individual photographs, page 2.Football player individual photographs, page 1.Click these images for large pictures.

For a description of the 1956 game between Steelton and Allentown, click here.

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Original material on this page copyright 2003-2006 Afrolumens Project
The url of this page is http://www.afrolumens.com/century of change/sheila2.html
Contact the editor: [email protected]
This page was updated March 22, 2023.