My first impression of the elegantly dressed young man in the front row is that his family was wealthier than the other boys'. No more, no less.

Does anybody know where this school is/was? I know of a Western High School on Massachusetts Avenue in Maryland, which is about a mile from the DC line which has since changed its name to Westland. Same place?

[No. The school (now called the Duke Ellington School of the Arts) is in Georgetown at R and 35th streets. - Dave]

Contrary to the earlier comment, it's the guy in the front middle I see as a tough character, not the two boys either side of him. That's a look of steely determination, of a man who knows what he wants and is probably going to get it. Look at those immaculate gloves. If we had the history of all those boys up to their deaths (wouldn't that be fascinating?) I'd bet our smartly dressed friend would turn out to have done very well for himself.

I wore those same cleats in 1962 and hated them. They hindered your ability
to move quickly. Of course this was before the Addidas/Nike revolution.

I am constantly amazed at the clarity of these pictures. Looking into those eyes, you ponder the numerous paths these lives must have taken. At their age, some must have gone off to WWI. They have lived and died, but are frozen in their gridiron garb, to be examined by us over a century later.

Even then those must have been going out of style. Love the black gloves. He must be the captain of the team.

There has to be a forever-lost story behind the elegantly dressed guy in the front. He looks too young to be the coach or a school administrator. The toughs on either side of him seem ready to let him have it with their elbows as soon as the photo is snapped.

Weren't these guys in last fall's A&F catalog?