Arkansas’s first All American in football was Wear Schoonover of Pocahontas. He was also 2nd team All American in basketball. Schoonover lettered in those two sports as well as baseball and track at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville in the 1930s. He was also President of his college senior class and maintained a 3.85 GPA while attending The University.
After graduation, he earned a law degree at the U of A and starred in a Hollywood movie, Maybe It’s Love. He retained most of the Razorback’s receiving records in football for many decades, once catching 13 passes in a single game.
I once asked my great uncle, Joe Blankenship, who was about the same age as Schoonover, if he was recognized as an outstanding athlete while growing up here. He replied that he was always the best athlete on local teams, but that no one here knew just how good he was until he went to college. Uncle Joe said what he remembered about Wear as a boy was that every time he passed the Schoonover home (located where the Pocahontas City Hall stands today), Wear was in his front yard hurling a rubber ball against the porch and catching the rebounds. “He was phenomenal,. my uncle said. He never ever missed.”
For more information visit: The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture
Photo: http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/
