Teams – Elda Wayne “Teensy” Lancaster Played Football

My grandmother, Pansy Louise Lancaster, had two younger brothers, Rayburn Dinion “RD” and Elda Wayne “Teensy.” Both played sports in high school and college. I have found both newspaper articles and yearbook photos documenting their playing.

Teensy played football and basketball and ran track, as well as being the sports editor of The Yellowjacket at Stephenville High School in Stephenville, Texas.[1] He graduated in 1945 and immediately joined the Navy. After serving in World War II, he returned to school and attended Tarleton University, Texas Christian University, and the University of Texas at Austin.

Stephenville High School (1941-45)
Yearbook photos help tell the story of his sports life at the high school. Here, he is shown twice: one as part of the football team and as an individual. 



It’s funny that the owner of the yearbook wrote in his name as “Teensy” but the nickname listed on the individual photo is “Looch.” He was captain of the team at the beginning of the season and played quarterback.

His nickname “Looch” was also noted on the 1944 high school track team, as he autographed his photo in the book. He seemed to go back and forth between “Looch” and “Teensy.” My grandmother called him “Teensy” so perhaps that was a family nickname and “Looch” a sports nickname.


Here is his senior photo which lists all of the sports and extra-curricular activities he was involved in.


Tarleton University (1947-48)
On the track team, Wayne ran the 220-yard dash and the 440-yard relay.[2] 


He played quarterback on the Plowboy team.[3] 

Here is his junior year photo from the yearbook, The Grassburr.[4] 

And his photo from his senior year as a member of the Los Caballeros, a group who took part in campus activities that resulted in higher school spirit.[5] 

Here is the track team photo.[6]

Here is his entry for his senior year.

In the last two schools, he attended, it doesn't appear that he was involved in sports, and probably settled down with his geology studies. 


#52 Ancestors-Week 30 Teams—“Teensy” Lancaster Played Football

This is my fifth year working on this year-long prompt, hosted by Amy Johnson Crow (https://www.amyjohnsoncrow.com/) at Generations Cafe. I write each week on one of my two blogs, either Mam-ma’s Southern Family or My Trails into the Past. I have enjoyed writing about my children’s ancestors in new and exciting ways.

[1]  “U.S., School Yearbooks, 1900-1999,” Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1265/) > Texas > Stephenville > Stephenville High School > 1945 > image 22, Stephenville High School, The Yellow Jacket, p. 18, Wayne Lancaster, class of 1945.

[2] “Tarleton Track Team to Enter Ft Worth Meet,” The J-TAC, 18 Mar 1947, p. 3.

[3] “Plowboys Trip Squad of Exes by 26-7 Score,” The J-TAC, 13 Apr 1948, p. 3.

[4] The Grassburr (Stephenville, Texas: John Tarleton Agricultural College, 1947), p. 77; The Portal to Texas History (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth541953/m1/81/?q=lancaster).

[5] The Grassburr (Stephenville, Texas: John Tarleton Agricultural College, 1948), p. 213; The Portal to Texas History (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth541938/m1/217/). Ibid, p. 110, https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth541938/m1/114/.


Copyright © 2022 by Lisa S. Gorrell, Mam-ma's Southern Family, All rights reserved.

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