The Time The University Of Arizona Fought The US Military

The United States Military is arguably the most powerful force in the world. When something needs to be done, they'll take care of it as quickly and efficiently as possible.

There is, however, a lot of downtime in the military, and those stationed at bases across the country need something to fill the time. Those stationed in Arizona in the early 20th century had an idea:

Attack the University of Arizona.

Camp Harry Jones

Before we look into their altercation with the University, we first have to look at where these soldiers were stationed. That would be Camp Harry J. Jones, a camp in Douglas that was operational from 1910 to 1933.

The camp was meant to provide border security during the Mexican Revolution before becoming the Arizona Army headquarters during World War I. It's most noteworthy for the US testing of motorized vehicles, the first camp to do so, marking the end of the horse and buggy era of the Military.

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 University of Arizona vs. Camp Harry J. Jones

18 years after their football program was established, the University of Arizona Wildcats were trying to find their identity. Head Coach Pop McKale had created a tough, but young program, and they were sitting at 1-1 in late 1917. As World War I raged on, teams to play were scarce, but the old head ball coach had an idea.

On November 28th, 1917, the infantry at Camp Harry J. Jones was invited to Tucson to play the Wildcats. It was a tough, brutal matchup, that ended with Camp Harry winning 3-0. This was a devastating loss for the Wildcats, especially as the following season would be cancelled due to the war in Europe.

The Cats still ended the 1917 season with a 3-2 record, and were able to recuperate to become a minor powerhouse under McKale through the 1920s.

[Arizona Football][Camp Harry J Jones via Wikipedia][@txfblife via Twitter (Now Known as X)]