A decade of dramatic swings — from the early war years through postwar rebuilding and resurgence. Ten seasons, seven coaches, and a community's enduring love of the game.
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The 1940s were a decade of dramatic swings for Sistersville football — from promising starts to a winless season in 1945, followed by a strong postwar revival under Coach Ralph Mendenhall, an Army colonel and former Sistersville High player.
The Tigers opened the decade with a solid campaign, dominant early before stumbling late in the season.
| Opponent | Us | Them | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tyler County | 45 | 0 | W 1-0 |
| Williamstown | 40 | 14 | W 2-0 |
| Pennsboro | 0 | 16 | L 2-1 |
| Woodsfield, Oh | 14 | 0 | W 3-1 |
| at Point Pleasant | 12 | 0 | W 4-1 |
| Ripley | 26 | 0 | W 5-1 |
| St. Marys | 7 | 7 | T 5-1-1 |
| Magnolia | 0 | 26 | L 5-2-1 |
Players: Junior Goddard, Paul Sims, Jim Simpson, Roy Reynolds, Dale Stillwagon, Burton Sprouse, Warren Bowen, Jack Tuttle, Ed Rustemeyer, Charles Fox, Bill Keitch, Junior Holmes, Gene Boston, Marion Flanagan, Darrel Hoback.
Under new head coach Chet Hannahs, the Tigers improved to 6-4, including a narrow 9-7 victory over Linsly Institute.
| Opponent | Us | Them | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Williamstown | 12 | 0 | W 1-0 |
| Linsly Institute | 9 | 7 | W 2-0 |
| Doddridge County | 12 | 27 | L 2-1 |
| Wellsburg | 0 | 12 | L 2-2 |
| at Pennsboro | 20 | 0 | W 3-2 |
| Tyler County | 27 | 0 | W 4-2 |
| Point Pleasant | 27 | 0 | W 5-2 |
| Woodsfield, Oh | 27 | 18 | W 6-2 |
| at St. Marys | 0 | 7 | L 6-3 |
| at Magnolia | 0 | 13 | L 6-4 |
Players: Goddard, Tuttle, Holmes, Flanagan, Patterson, Hess, Bowen, Cochran, Miller, Boston, Keitch.
With World War II underway, rosters were thinned by the war effort, and results on the field reflected those hardships.
| Opponent | Us | Them | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| at Doddridge Co. | 6 | 0 | W 1-0 |
| at Wellsburg | 6 | 45 | L 1-1 |
| Pennsboro | 25 | 7 | W 2-1 |
| Tyler County | 6 | 13 | L 2-2 |
| at Triadelphia | 6 | 47 | L 2-3 |
| Williamstown | 6 | 7 | L 2-4 |
| St. Marys | 6 | 18 | L 2-5 |
| Magnolia | 6 | 6 | T 2-5-1 |
Players: Shields, Boggs, Stewart, Stead, Patterson, O'Brien, Bowen, Cline, Miller, Hill, Cochran.
| Opponent | Us | Them | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bellaire St. John's | 0 | 18 | L 0-1 |
| Magnolia | 0 | 25 | L 0-2 |
| Cameron | 19 | 0 | W 1-2 |
| Pennsboro | 12 | 0 | W 2-2 |
| Tyler County | 25 | 6 | W 3-2 |
| Triadelphia | 0 | 33 | L 3-3 |
| Doddridge County | 6 | 19 | L 3-4 |
| at St. Marys | 7 | 25 | L 3-5 |
| at Magnolia | 6 | 31 | L 3-6 |
Players: Price, Folger, Locke, Holmes, Boggs, O'Brien, Shields, L. Buck, Morris, Christian, Champion.
Wartime roster challenges continued. The bright spot came in the finale — a 7-6 victory over Magnolia to close out the year.
| Opponent | Us | Them | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| at Mt Morris, Pa | 0 | 0 | T 0-0-1 |
| Bellaire St. John's | 0 | 20 | L 0-1-1 |
| Tyler County | 0 | 26 | L 0-2-1 |
| Cameron | 7 | 0 | W 1-2-1 |
| Ravenswood | 6 | 20 | L 1-3-1 |
| at Pennsboro | 0 | 26 | L 1-4-1 |
| Doddridge County | 6 | 15 | L 1-5-1 |
| St. Marys | 0 | 18 | L 1-6-1 |
| Magnolia | 7 | 6 | W 2-6-1 |
| Opponent | Us | Them | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mount Morris, Pa. | 0 | 14 | L 0-1 |
| Cameron | 0 | 18 | L 0-2 |
| Tyler County | 0 | 39 | L 0-3 |
| New Cumberland | 0 | 34 | L 0-4 |
| Glenville | 0 | 52 | L 0-5 |
| Pennsboro | 0 | 28 | L 0-6 |
| Doddridge County | 0 | 54 | L 0-7 |
| W.Va. Industrial | 6 | 13 | L 0-8 |
| at St. Marys | 0 | 65 | L 0-9 |
| at Magnolia | 2 | 45 | L 0-10 |
With the war over, the Tigers bounced back dramatically, opening with three straight shutout victories including a dominant 38-0 win over Cameron.
| Opponent | Us | Them | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| W.Va. Industrial | 21 | 0 | W 1-0 |
| Pine Grove | 12 | 0 | W 2-0 |
| Cameron | 38 | 0 | W 3-0 |
| Tyler County | 6 | 6 | T 3-0-1 |
| Glenville | 6 | 39 | L 3-1-1 |
| at Pennsboro | 31 | 7 | W 4-1-1 |
| at Doddridge Co. | 0 | 27 | L 4-2-1 |
| at New Cumberland | 6 | 7 | L 4-3-1 |
| St. Marys | 13 | 13 | T 4-3-2 |
| Magnolia | 6 | 0 | W 5-3-2 |
Players: Bill Hanlin, Cassis, Shreves, Sprouse, Luther Still, Mathess, Bowen, King, Glenn Alfred, Wells, Snider, Barker, Smith.
Mendenhall's second season produced a 6-4 record. The home field was officially renamed Core Field this year.
| Opponent | Us | Them | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pine Grove | 33 | 0 | W 1-0 |
| Cameron | 13 | 7 | W 2-0 |
| Tyler County | 0 | 6 | L 2-1 |
| Ripley | 13 | 0 | W 3-1 |
| Glenville | 25 | 0 | W 4-1 |
| New Cumberland | 14 | 0 | W 5-1 |
| at Doddridge Co. | 14 | 34 | L 5-2 |
| Pennsboro | 13 | 7 | W 6-2 |
| at St. Marys | 13 | 27 | L 6-3 |
| at Magnolia | 0 | 13 | L 6-4 |
Players: Bill Hanlin, Mathess, Sprouse, Miller, Deaton, Cokeley, Stewart, Luther Still, Wells, Hissam, Larue, Smith, Leasure, Streets.
Mendenhall closed out the decade with back-to-back winning seasons, highlighted by the program's best record of the decade in 1948.
| Opponent | Us | Them | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pine Grove | 14 | 6 | W 1-0 |
| at Wirt County | 13 | 6 | W 2-0 |
| Tyler County | 18 | 0 | W 3-0 |
| at Ripley | 20 | 0 | W 4-0 |
| Calhoun County | 0 | 7 | L 4-1 |
| Doddridge County | 19 | 7 | W 5-1 |
| at Pennsboro | 6 | 0 | W 6-1 |
| Harrisville | 47 | 0 | W 7-1 |
| St. Marys | 0 | 26 | L 7-2 |
| Magnolia | 0 | 13 | L 7-3 |
| Opponent | Us | Them | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pine Grove | 20 | 0 | W 1-0 |
| Wirt County | 0 | 7 | L 1-1 |
| Tyler County | 33 | 0 | W 2-1 |
| at St. Marys | 6 | 6 | T 2-1-1 |
| Ripley | 6 | 6 | T 2-1-2 |
| at Calhoun County | 0 | 13 | L 2-2-2 |
| at Doddridge Co. | 34 | 6 | W 3-2-2 |
| Pennsboro | 25 | 0 | W 4-2-2 |
| at Harrisville | 13 | 6 | W 5-2-2 |
| at Magnolia | 6 | 7 | L 5-3-2 |
Ten seasons of adversity and resilience for Sistersville football.
1948 — 7-3 under Coach Mendenhall, with a 47-0 blowout of Harrisville
1945 — 0-10, first winless full season; scored only one touchdown all year
1947 — Home field officially renamed Core Field
Col. Ralph Mendenhall coached 1946–1949, the most successful stretch of the decade