Suburban Six-Man Football League
The Suburban Six-Man Football League is a former high school football conference with its catchment in the Madison metropolitan area. Originating in 1939 and playing its last season in 1957, the conference's member schools were affiliated with the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association.
History
[edit]1939-1942
[edit]
The Suburban Six-Man Football League was formed in 1939 as the Dane-Columbia Six-Man Football League by three small high schools in south central Wisconsin.[1] All three schools played six-man football and belonged to conferences which either did not sponsor the sport (Cambria and Poynette of the Dual County Conference) or sponsored eleven-man football (Deerfield of the Madison Suburban Conference). Deerfield left for the 1940 football season to compete as an independent, with DeForest and Fox Lake taking their place in the newly renamed South Central Four.[2] It wasn't until the 1941 football season that the conference would adopt the Suburban Six-Man Football League moniker.[3] That season, membership increased from four to ten schools. Along with Deerfield's reentry into the conference, the Suburban Six-Man Football League accepted three members associated with the Tri-County League (Black Earth, Mazomanie and Waunakee), two from the State Line League (Belleville and Brooklyn) and Verona of the Madison Suburban Conference.[4] Brooklyn left the conference in 1942[5] when they dropped football from their interscholastic athletic offerings, which along with Poynette's exit reduced membership to eight schools.[6] Competition in the Suburban Six-Man Football League was suspended for the 1943 season amid gasoline rationing for the World War II effort.
1944-1950
[edit]
The Suburban Six-Man Football League resumed play for the 1944 season,[7] welcoming back all eight members from the 1942 season, along with Poynette (who last played in the conference in 1941) and newcomers Argyle, whose primary affiliation was with the State Line League. The league partitioned into Eastern and Western sections with the increase in membership:[8]
| Eastern Section | Western Section |
|---|---|
| Cambria | Argyle |
| Deerfield | Belleville |
| DeForest | Black Earth |
| Poynette | Mazomanie |
| Waunakee | Verona |
This configuration was maintained for three seasons (1944-1946) before new conferences began to adopt six-man football and changed the league's makeup. Argyle and Belleville left to join the State Line League,[9] and Cambria became Dual County Conference members for six-man football.[10] Johnson Creek and Marshall took the place of the departing schools after competing as independents the year prior.[11] For the 1948 season, Marshall declined to offer six-man football and Poynette left to become full members in the Dual County Conference.[12] The 1949 season saw a significant turnover of member schools as four schools adopted eleven-man football and most joined their respective conferences. Mazomanie and Waunakee entered football competition in the Tri-County League, DeForest became football members of the Madison Suburban Conference and Verona competed as an independent for one season before joining the Madison Suburban Conference a year later.[13] Marshall reinstated their six-man football team to bring membership to four schools for the 1949 season.[13]
1950-1957
[edit]
As member schools continued to adopt eleven-man football when they grew in enrollment size, the Suburban Six-Man Football League continued to see membership turnover for the remainder of their history. A fifth member joined the conference for the 1950 season (Hustisford),[14] but membership decreased back to four schools for the 1951 season when Johnson Creek transitioned to eleven-man football and joined the Madison Suburban Conference.[15] Norris Foundation in Mukwonago joined the league for the 1953 season, bringing the roster to five schools.[16] The conference would compete in six-man football for one more season before moving to eight-man football in 1954, along with a name change to the Suburban Eight-Man Football League. Black Earth and Hustisford left the league after the 1954 football season, whittling the group to only three members.[17] The Suburban Eight-Man Football League played for three more seasons after being disbanded following the 1957 football season. Deerfield and Marshall played in the Southern Regional Conference's final eight-man football season in 1958, and both schools went on to form the Southern Dairyland Conference with Johnson Creek and Palmyra for the 1959 season.[18] Norris Foundation would become members of the Southern Dairyland in 1960 after playing the 1959 season as an independent.[19]
Conference membership history
[edit]Membership timeline
[edit]
Eastern Section Western Section
List of conference champions
[edit]| School | Quantity | Years |
|---|---|---|
| DeForest | 4 | 1941, 1944, 1945, 1946 |
| Mazomanie | 4 | 1945, 1946, 1947, 1948 |
| Deerfield | 3 | 1942, 1952, 1955 |
| Cambria | 2 | 1939, 1940 |
| Johnson Creek | 2 | 1949, 1950 |
| Marshall | 2 | 1956, 1957 |
| Norris Foundation | 2 | 1953, 1954 |
| Belleville | 1 | 1944 |
| Hustisford | 1 | 1951 |
| Argyle | 0 | |
| Black Earth | 0 | |
| Brooklyn | 0 | |
| Fox Lake | 0 | |
| Poynette | 0 | |
| Verona | 0 | |
| Waunakee | 0 |
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d "Poynette Six in 59-6 Rout of Deerfield". The Capital Times. 11 October 1939. p. 16. Retrieved 23 May 2025.
- ^ a b c "South Central 6-Man Loop Set to Open". Wisconsin State Journal. 18 September 1940. p. 21. Retrieved 23 May 2025.
- ^ "Suburban 6-Man Grid Loop Planned". Wisconsin State Journal. 1 April 1941. p. 15. Retrieved 23 May 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Three Still Tied for Suburban Six-Man Lead". Wisconsin State Journal. 4 October 1941. p. 10. Retrieved 23 May 2025.
- ^ a b "Deerfield and Verona Win in Suburban Six". The Capital Times. 3 October 1942. p. 8.
- ^ a b "Brooklyn Abandons Six-Man Football for '42". The Capital Times. 26 September 1942. p. 8. Retrieved 23 May 2025.
- ^ a b c March, John (14 September 1944). "Suburban Preps Pry Open 1944 Grid Slate With Non-Loop Games". The Capital Times. p. 23. Retrieved 23 May 2025.
- ^ "Organize New Suburban Six-Man Grid Conference". The Capital Times. 18 September 1944. p. 11. Retrieved 23 May 2025.
- ^ a b "Madison Suburban Six-Man Loop Will Meet on Wednesday". The Capital Times. 4 May 1947. p. 33. Retrieved 23 May 2025.
- ^ a b "Randolph Wins 3rd Straight Dual Tilt". The Capital Times. 11 October 1947. p. 6. Retrieved 23 May 2025.
- ^ a b c McHugh, Ray (8 May 1947). "Suburban Six-Man Grid Loop Reorganizes With 9 Members". Wisconsin State Journal. p. 26. Retrieved 23 May 2025.
- ^ a b "Suburban Loop Furthers Plans for 6-Man Game". The Capital Times. 15 September 1948. p. 18. Retrieved 23 May 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Only Four Teams Will Play In Six-Man Suburban Grid Loop". The Capital Times. 4 March 1949. p. 18. Retrieved 23 May 2025.
- ^ a b "Converse Elected Head of Suburban Six-Man Grid Loop". Wisconsin State Journal. 30 November 1949. p. 21. Retrieved 23 May 2025.
- ^ a b Dommershausen, Joe (17 September 1951). "Suburban Prep Loop Faces 'Exciting' Race". Wisconsin State Journal. p. 14. Retrieved 23 May 2025.
- ^ a b "Nine Prep Grid Races Open Today (see Six-Man, Madison Suburban League)". Wisconsin State Journal. 18 September 1953. p. 46. Retrieved 23 May 2025.
- ^ a b c "Deerfield Coach Foresees Gloomy Football Season". Stoughton Courier. 1 September 1955. p. 8. Retrieved 23 May 2025.
- ^ a b c "Dairyland Grid League Formed". Wisconsin State Journal. 12 November 1958. p. 28. Retrieved 23 May 2025.
- ^ a b "Creek Wins Dairyland". The Capital Times. 22 October 1960. p. 12. Retrieved 23 May 2025.