Whenever I turn onto Raider Road from King of Prussia Road, a smile stretches across my face.
It has seemed fitting that there is a trace of RTSD teacher, coach, and administrator Chief Emerson Metoxen, a success story of the Carlisle Indian Industrial School established in central Pennsylvania in 1879.
Very recently, “Path Lit By Lightning” by David Maraniss for Simon & Shuster, devoted to an earlier remarkable Carlisle alumnus named Jim Thorpe, has rippled through the best-seller lists.
Born in 1887 and officially known as James Francis Thorpe, his tribal name Watho-Huk meant “path lit by lightning,” foreshadowing his stellar career as an American athlete and Olympic gold medalist winning two top prizes in the 1912 Summer Olympics.
Thorpe, a member of the Sac and Fox Nation then based in Indian Territory located in what is now Oklahoma, became the first Native American to win a gold medal for the United States in the Olympics.
Fast forward to the spring of 1965 when a legendary Radnor coach, administrator, and mentor was retiring. His name was Emerson Metoxen and he came to Radnor, perhaps through the workings of Jules Prevost, but that story is “lost to history.”
Coach Emerson Metoxen was known respectfully, with all love possible and from all at Radnor, as “Chief.” There are photos in the RTSD archives of Chief Metoxen in full battle gear with his signature headdress.
In fact, the occasional photo of the Radnor mascot over the years shown in The Suburban & Wayne Times, The Main Line Times, and Main Line Life might have been in remembrance of Chief Metoxen.
On the Radnor Football History website, there is an updated entry devoted to Chief Metoxen. He was the epitome of combating racism, prejudice and bigotry with love, understanding, and knowledge.
When you read about Chief Metoxen, you will also be immersing yourself in the life of a man who faced adversity and beat it.
Emerson Metoxen was born a member of the Turtle Clan of the Oneida Tribe which had been driven out, swindled, or defeated over their 5 million acres of land in what we call New York State.
“After the Revolutionary War, the Oneida lost nearly 5 million acres of their original homelands to the birth of the United States and the state of New York. The Oneida then began to relocate to Wisconsin.
“In 1838, a treaty with the United States established the 65,400-acre Oneida Indian Reservation. For nearly 200 years, that has been the home of the Oneida Nation.” [https://oneida-nsn.gov]
Metoxen’s parents sent him from Oneida, Wisconsin to Pennsylvania and the Carlisle Indian Industrial School – the one from which Olympian Jim Thorpe graduated – and the rest, as they say, is history, with one amazing vignette after another available on Radnor Football History.
Metoxen served in World War I in the United States Navy, making six trans-Atlantic trips to bring American soldiers home.
“He was a 12-letter athlete at Lebanon Valley College, later inducted into its Hall of Fame, a championship basketball coach in the prep-school ranks, the athletics director and coach at Glen-Nor High School, a graduate student at Penn and Harvard, and the athletics director on the collegiate level at his alma mater, Lebanon Valley.” [Radnor Football History]
“From his arrival, Emerson Metoxen left an indelible mark on Radnor’s students, faculty and the Radnor community.
“Ever modest and always choosing to be in the background, Chief, as he preferred to be called, was beloved by his students, revered by his colleagues, and respected by the press and athletic opponents.
“Further, he was a constant voice for Native Americans, frequently speaking in Radnor and surrounding communities about Native American heritage and the issues confronted by Native Americans in their daily lives.” [Radnor Football History]
“At the spring 1965 Radnor Junior High School sports dinner, the RTSD had its own surprise for Metoxen, unveiling the ‘Emerson Chief Metoxen Radnor Spirit Award,’ then given to the girl and boy who best exemplified sportsmanship and the Radnor spirit.
“At the ceremony announcing the Spirit Award in 1965, Jules Prevost, long time Radnor coach and teacher, triggered a demonstration ahead of the announcement of the award, when he called the Chief’s name in the guest list.
“The youthful athletes jumped to their feet in a tribute that broke out when the honor to their Chief was announced.” [Suburban and Wayne Times 6/10/1965]
Apparently, in the 1930s, Radnor adopted the Raider name. The mascot and imagery were introduced in 1964 when the students had a contest to present their idea of a Raider.
According to community members who were in the district at the time, the Native American mascot won by a landslide.
As already described, 1965 was the retirement year of beloved teacher and football coach, Chief Emerson Metoxen, and the student body wanted to honor him with their new mascot choice by adopting an Indian Chief.
And so it goes, as I drive regularly along Raider Road to the high school entrance, I always give a thought – and a smile – to the “Radnor Proud” tradition and the life and times of Chief Emerson Metoxen.
Mary Brown, a Main Line Media News Columnist, is an adjunct professor of Latin at Saint Joseph’s University and a RHS mentor since 2016.
