By Dennis McCaslin-Editor and Publisher
In the early days of Alabama’s history, the Choctaw people thrived around what would later become St. Stephens in the Mobile River area.
This region’s accessibility during the early settlement period attracted teachers and missionaries, who were impressed by the Choctaws’ intelligence and eloquence.
Around 1783, Zedic Braschier emigrated from the Highlands of Scotland and settled in what is now Pensacola, Florida. However, when England returned Florida to Spain, Braschier moved to the Alabama Territory, where he married Susan Vaughn, a woman of Choctaw descent.
The couple’s daughter, Sophia Braschier, was born in Sumter County, Alabama. She attended a Catholic boarding school in Louisiana, where she met and married Sampson Moncrief, an orphan of French and English descent. Together, they moved to the Alabama and Mississippi Territory, establishing a prosperous plantation known as Mulberry Grove on Sophia’s Indian land claim along the Pearl River.
Their daughter, Susan Moncrief, born in 1819, married James C. Monroe McClain, a surveyor and lawyer. In 1832, the government began encouraging the Choctaw to relocate to what is now Oklahoma. The McClain family moved to the Choctaw Nation but returned to Alabama after a year due to Susan’s homesickness.
By 1849, the government made Indian removal mandatory, promising to cover expenses and provide rations for those relocating west. This marked a significant and challenging period for the Choctaw and many other Native American families.
James McClain was burdened with overseeing not only his own farm but also the farms and affairs of his sister-in-law, whose husband had died. His health had never been good and his duties often called upon him to travel in all kinds of weather.
On one of these trips in 1855 he contracted pneumonia and soon died, leaving Susan and six children. These children were: James, Sophia, Frances Eugenia, Mary Ann, Lila, and George W. McClain.
Technically, that is somewhat of a misnomer. The youngest child, George Washington, was born on April 1, 1856, shortly after James died. Five years later, his mother also died and his sisters raised him. He received his education at the local school and Spencer Academy.
George held several public offices and lived most of his life at Skullyville. In 1893 he was elected sheriff of Skullyville County and held the office for eight years.
He was later appointed Judge. for the district.
George married Laurie Belle Boyd sometime around 1878-79. To that unions was born seven children--five girls and two boys.
The oldest, named after his grandfather, was James Thomas McClain, who followed in the tradition of his ancestors became a farmer and remained in Spiro, farming just a mile south of Spiro. . Just after the turn of the century, James T. married Susan Lanier, who family also had deep roots in Sequoyah County. (That will be the subject of another story ion another day.)
That marriage resulted in five sons: Edward, James Thomass Jr. , Felix. Johnnie Quinn and Jack. All of the sons were athletic, and what they lacked in size they made up with grit and determination.
In 1911 H. L. Hall of Shawnee led the organization of the Oklahoma High School Athletic Association (OHSAA), designed for the "betterment of athletics in the high schools of our state." The original members ranged from Lawton in the southwest corner to Bartlesville in the northeast and included Enid, Okmulgee, McAlester, and most of the larger towns.
By 1927, 443 schools belonged, including Spiro. Along with two of his brothers, all 110 pounds of 5'8" Johnny Quinn McClain decided to make a go of football starting that year.
Different sources provide different information about Johnny Quinn. It was reported in the Tulsa World that he was a "safety-man" while other reports listed his as quarterback of the team. Given the propensity of players being expected to play both ways during that leather--helmet era. both takes are more than likely accurate.
There also was a discrepancy when it came to the age of Johnny Quinn. The early news reports listed him as a "17 -year-old" but his official age was 19 on the fateful night of November 12 when the "Spiro gridders" took on the "local team" from Talihina.
What actually happened in the game is also at question. Early reports said McClain, in the role of "safety-man" attempted to make a tackle against a much bigger opponent and suffered a head injury. Spiro historian John Redwine wrote the following (used with permission) about the incident:
"Johnnie McClain died shortly after a Spiro-Talihina football game on November 12, 1929. It was the final contest of the season for the Bulldogs. The young McClain, who was a senior, suffered head injuries in the afternoon rivalry and died within 24 hours at his parent’s home.
During the match, he was accidentally kicked in the temple and never regained consciousness. The 19-year-old McClain was taken to his residence by a horse-drawn wagon.
Football was a fairly new activity for Spiro schools, only in its sixth year, having begun in 1923. Games were played in the afternoon after school, as lights were not installed until almost three decades later. In those early days no seating or bleachers were available at the field.
Head gear, used by teams during the time, consisted basically of a flimsy, thin padded, leather head covering, which offered little protection. The flexible, soft leather helmets can be seen on the ground in the picture of the 1928 Bulldog squad. McClain is also holding one of the leather head coverings under his arm in the photo.
Following the unfortunate incident, the administration discontinued football for the next two seasons. The sport resumed in the fall of 1931 with the opening game against Poteau".
Johnnie McClain was eulogized i a release from then -then-superintendent J.T. Shuller in which he was called, " dependable, honest, gs sincere at all times". Shullerreference two instances in which Johnnie had "found money on the campus and immediately turned it omtp teachers. He also stated Johnnie's "conduct in the classroom "was above reproach, his friends were numbered by his acquaintances, for he was loved and admired by all who knew him.
Like numerous ancestors that came before him a plethora of relatives came after. Jon Quinn McClain was laid to rest in the historic Skullyville Cemetery as the result of his heritage and bloodline standing with the Nation.
Some time in the late 1980's, the football stadium in Spiro was named "John McClain Stadium" in his honor.
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