The 87-74 Arizona win at Arizona State on Saturday set the program record for consecutive wins to begin a season and tied it for the longest overall winning streak in school history. Arizona previously won 22 consecutive games from 1914 through 1917.
Raymond Quigley coached Arizona in the first game of that winning streak, followed by Pop McKale (yes, that McKale), who began his Wildcats tenure in the fall of 1914 and remained the head coach through 1921.
The 22-game Arizona winning streak in 1914 began after a 22-19 loss at Eastern Arizona Junior College on February 6. Arizona beat Eastern Arizona Junior College 23-16 on February 7 to begin the winning streak.Arizona did not play Eastern Arizona Junior College again during the winning streak.
The Arizona winning streak was extended to 10 games after the Wildcats went 9-0 during the 1914-15 season. Arizona beat Tucson High School twice in December and the Bisbee, Tucson, Douglas and Phoenix YMCAs and Fifth Infantry in 1914-15.
Opponent | Date | Final Score |
|---|---|---|
At Eastern Arizona J.C. | February 7, 1914 | 23-16 |
Tucson High School | December 12, 1914 | 66-4 |
Tucson High School | December 13, 1914 | 29-5 |
Bisbee YMCA | January 15, 1915 | 38-29 |
At Tucson YMCA | January 23, 1915 | 36-22 |
Bisbee YMCA | January 30, 1915 | 28-21 |
Douglas YMCA | January 31, 1915 | 20-12 |
Tucson YMCA | February 6, 1915 | 40-21 |
Phoenix YMCA | February 7, 1915 | 18-10 |
Fifth Infantry | February 13,1915 | 35-22 |
San Francisco Native Sons | January 15, 1916 | 25-17 |
Tucson High School | January 16, 1916 | 44-16 |
Tucson YMCA | January 22, 1916 | 51-12 |
Tucson YMCA | January 23, 1916 | 25-12 |
Douglas YMCA | January 29, 1916 | 40-32 |
Tucson High School | January 13, 1917 | 50-9 |
Tucson High School | January 14, 1917 | 55-11 |
Tucson YMCA | January 20, 1917 | 28-16 |
Tucson YMCA | January 21, 1917 | 41-20 |
At Phoenix YMCA | January 29, 1917 | 36-28 |
At Prescott High School | January 30, 1917 | 68-36 |
At Winslow High School | January 31, 1917 | 52-15 |
The winning streak continues
Arizona extended the winning streak by winning all five of its games in 1916 against San Francisco Native Sons, Tucson High School, Tucson YMCA twice and Douglas YMCA. The winning streak was 15 games at the end of 1916.
Arizona won its first seven games in 1917 to extend the streak to 22 consecutive victories. Arizona beat Tucson High School and Tucson YMCA twice each, then won at the Phoenix YMCA, Prescott High School and Winslow High School. New Mexico beat Arizona 28-19 on February 1, 1917, to end the winning streak.
After losing to New Mexico, Arizona won three of its last four games in 1917 to finish the season with 10 wins and two losses. Arizona won 24 games and lost two in its first three seasons under McKale. Arizona finished with 49 wins and 12 losses in seven seasons under McKale.
McKale led Arizona to 80 wins 32 losses and six ties in Football in 16 seasons and 304 victories, 118 defeats and seven draws in baseball. Perhaps no one was more important in the history of the Arizona Athletic Department than Pop McKale.