IN THE 1880's extracurricular activities inKansas collegiate circles were largely confined to long-winded debating andoratorical contests. Literary societies had not been replaced by student "pep"organizations and inter-collegiate athletics was carried on in a desultoryfashion by a few of the older and larger institutions. Garden varieties ofathletics, such as lawn tennis and croquet, under the direction of youthfulinstructors from "back East" who wanted to keep fit by indulging in somedignified form of exercise, enjoyed a limited popularity. Baseball, it is true,had invaded K. U., Washburn and Baker, but it was a primitive form of thenational pastime, played without faculty sanction, and schedules were limited tothree or four games each season. The New England influence that directed theeducational policy at Washburn was eventually extended to the field of athletics.The tremendous increase in the popularity of football at Yale, Harvard, Princetonand the other "ivy league" colleges during the 1880's aroused a latent interestamong the young men who pursued a higher education in the halls of KansasUniversity and Baker. Which of these schools pioneered in introducing the game toKansas cannot be determined from the incomplete records. Washburn, it is definitely known, had a footballteam in 1885. "Football!! Is booming!!!" announced the WashburnArgo,adding that the team had recently been equipped with white uniforms with redstockings and red caps. About all that this proves is that the Topeka school hadnot yet adopted the traditional Yale blue and white as its school colors. TheArgo adds that "Stone is a most efficient captain." [1] The Stone referred to isRobert Stone, for years a prominent Topeka attorney. Editorially the Argosaid: The colleges of Kansas need stirring up; they needsomething that will bring the students together from the different institutionsand while arousing spirited competition will create a fellow-feeling. There isnothing that will cause so great interest and enthusiasm in a college as athleticcontests. Perhaps each college will send a delegation of ten or twelve to thestate oratorical contest, but let two of our rival ball clubs or foot racers meetand we will see every student throw away his books and brimming over withpatriotic enthusiasm rush to the ball ground or race course. In view of the lackof interest our |
colleges show in this line and the great need, we would recommend a StateInter-Collegiate Athletic association. Let us hear what our sister colleges haveto say on this subject. [2] Apparently this revolutionary editorial metlittle response among the student press, for it was five years before a programof intercollegiate athletics was launched in the state. Washburn, K. U., Baker,Lewis Academy of Wichita and the old Wichita University made unsuccessfulattempts to introduce football between 1885 and 1890. Former Lewis Academy andWichita University players recall that the game had its inception in Wichita in1889, but add that it really did not get under way until 1890. [3] TheArgo of October 17, 1890, revealsthat "lack of opposition" killed football at Washburn. A clue to the competitionmet by Washburn teams of the 1880's is found in the statement that the team wasdiscouraged when it was forced to go to Kansas City for its games withoutreceiving the promise of a return game. From this bit of information it islogical to deduce that the Kansas City Y. M. C. A. club was Washburn's opponenton these invasions of the Missouri metropolis, for the Y. M. C. A. team appearedon several college schedules in the 1890's. Recorded football history in Kansas begins onNovember 22, 1890, at Baldwin, when the TopekaCapital reported that thegame"had its first introduction into Western colleges today [November 22] . BakerUniversity defeated Kansas University, 22 to 9." The Weekly University Couriermodifies theCapital's statement by calling the Baker-K. U. contest the"firstfootball match of any importance." [4] In either event, football had beenrecognized by the daily press and its future in Kansas athletics was assured. Baker was elated. "It has been the boast of K.S. U. that none of the colleges in the state could compete with her inathletics," The Baker Beacon blared exultantly, "but she must now take in hersign or else make it read differently." [5] Baker scored on the "third scrimmage"when Lockhart sliced through the University line and crossed the goal. Threeplays later the Methodists scored again with Coole carrying the ball across theline. The try for point was unsuccessful each time and the Baker total was onlyeight points, as touchdowns counted but four in those days, with two points addedfor a successful try for point. |
Consequently, after K. U. rallied and pushedover a touchdown, then followed it with a field goal, which netted five points,the Baldwinites were trailing, 9 to 8, as the first half ended. "When the second half was called everybody wasanxious," theBeacon reported, meaning the home crowd, no doubt, althoughit seems hardly possible that K. U. supporters felt much confidence in thatone-point lead. If so, it was misplaced. Goodale of Baker soon scored a thirdtouchdown for the Methodists. Try for point failed, but Baker led, 12 to 9. Aftersome hard going Goodale scored again, but the try for goal went wide and thescore stood 16 to 9 for Baker. Late in the game Atherton scored the fifth andlast touchdown for the triumphant Baker team; this time goal was kicked and thescore mounted to 22 points. K. U. had failed to add to its first half total.[6] Baker followed its conquest of the Universityeleven with a 32 to 0 victory over Washburn. [7] Meanwhile K. U. made anunsuccessful foray against the Kansas City Y. M. C. A. and took an 18 to 10beating. [9] Several hundred persons crowded about the playing field when theBaker team came to Lawrence on the afternoon of December 8 for a return game withK. U. The final score of this contest has been a mootquestion for fifty years. University records give the score as 14 to 12 forKansas. [9] Baker claimed in the Beacon of December 10, 1890, to have gained a 12to 10 victory and hailed its team as state champions. A disputed play in theclosing minutes was the basis of the controversy. With Baker leading 12 to 10time was called on some technicality, according to the Baker version. While theBaldwin team was relaxed, Coleman, University center, snatched up the ball anddashed across the goal line, said Baker men. Umpire William Herbert Carruth,Kansas University professor, decided for Baker, but K. U. students refused toabide by the decision. The game ended a few moments later and supporters of bothteams left the field chanting paeans of victory. Baker's claim to the statechampionship was only feebly disputed in Lawrence, however. This concluded the first football season inKansas college annals. The state's newspapers recognized the K. U. victory claim,but Baker was hailed as the best team in Kansas. Professor Carruth admitted intheGraduate Magazine, in November, 1923, that he was probably |
wrong in calling time out. Nobody in Kansas qualified as a football expert atthat remote date. The players coached themselves and interpreted the rules totheir own satisfaction. The University coach was Prof. E. M. Hopkins, a Princetonalumnus, whose only qualification was that he had seen football played at hisalma mater. It seemed that no one else on Mount Oread had ever seen a game priorto the historic campaign of 1890. But this little flurry of gridiron activityfostered the organization of the first intercollegiate athletic association inthe state. Baker, Washburn and K. U., the pioneering triumvirate, were ready tohave at it again in 1891, and representatives of the three schools met in thespring to form the Triangular League and to map out a schedule of competition infootball, baseball and tennis. Play got under way late in the fall. The firstcontest on November 7, 1891, reported the following day in the Topeka DailyCapital, was between Baker and Washburn at Baldwin and resulted in a 28 to18victory for the defending state champions. Prominent in the Washburn lineup wasJ. C. Mohler, now secretary of the State Board of Agriculture. The Bakerwatchword was "stop Jake." Mohler got away frequently in spite of Baker'svigilance, but the Washburn defense could not cope with the powerful attack ofthe big Baker backs. It was a K. U. year. The Jayhawks won a cleartitle in the new league, defeating Washburn twice, 32-10 and 38-10, and winningfrom Baker 18-4 and 8-0. [10] The first Kansas-Missouri game was played atExposition Park, Kansas City, on October 31, 1891. Kansas won, 22 to 8. [11]Kansas also claimed a 14-12 victory over the University of Iowa, but Iowa'srecord gives the result as 18-14 for the Hawkeyes. [12] Coached by A. W. Shepherd, formerly of Cornell,the University team made a brilliant record in 1892. Washburn, Baker, Illinois,Nebraska and Iowa were Jayhawk victims and there was talk of claiming the Westernchampionship. But Baker, beaten 14 to 0 in its first game with the Lawrence men,spoiled the University's unblemished record by a surprise 18 to 0 victory late inthe season. Unquestionably it was a great year for Kansas football. TheKansas-Nebraska meeting was the first in history. Illinois was beaten, 26 to 4;Iowa, 24 to 4; Nebraska, 12 to 0. Kansas and Missouri |
played the first of their traditional Thanksgiving week series, with theTigers bowing, 12 to 4. [13] Notwithstanding the "great depression" Kansasstarted the autumn of 1893 with a score of new teams on the gridiron. Baker hadone of its most successful seasons, and incidentally its last until 1910, for theKansas conference of the Methodist church banned the game from the Baker campusat the end of the year. The Bakers of 1893 defeated Missouri University, 28 to 0;tied Nebraska; beat K. U., 14 to 12, and the powerful Denver Athletic Club, 32 to0. [14] Kansas, although not so fortunate, defeated Nebraska and Iowa, losing toMichigan, 22 to 0; Minnesota, 12 to 6; Denver A. C., 24 to 10; and meeting thefirst reverse at the hands of the Missouri Tigers, 10 to 4. [15] Several high school and town teams took up thegame during this season, including Topeka, Lawrence and Abilene. The Abilene teamfurnished the opposition for Kansas Wesleyan University in one of the Salinaschool's first gridiron appearances and held the Wesleyans to a 10 to 6 score.[16] Washburn subdued Topeka High School, 18 to 0. [17] Baker's withdrawal automatically wrecked theTriangular League and no attempt was made to find a substitute for the Baldwinschool. Ottawa University put a strong team on the field in 1894, one that tiedK. U. and won a 28 to 0 victory over Missouri. [18] On November 3, the KansasAggies were beaten, 24 to 0, by Abilene in their first football game. Washburnhad a stronger team than in past years and defeated two newcomers, the College ofEmporia and Midland College of Atchison. Kansas University lost to Iowa, Michiganand Nebraska, but defeated Doane College of Crete, Neb., and Missouri. As the years passed, it began to appear that K.U. had few rivals in the state who could furnish the stiff competition formerlyprovided by Baker. Between 1895 and 1899 Fairmount and Friends University ofWichita, St. Mary's College, Cooper College of Sterling, the Kansas City MedicalCollege, Emporia Normal, the College of Emporia, Haskell Institute, OttawaUniversity, Midland College of Atchison, Kansas Wesleyan University, WashburnCollege and Kansas Aggies were competing with each other and with high-school |
and town teams in their respective neighborhoods. Some of the highschool andtown team competition was more than the collegians could handle. The eleven thatrepresented the little town of Glasco in the late 1890's was organized by aformer Ottawa University player in 1896. It defeated Washburn and Ottawa and heldK. U. to a close score. Two intra-city feuds of long standing began inthe 1890's: the College of Emporia-Emporia Normal rivalry and the FairmountCollege-Friends University series in Wichita. Before the close of the century theannual Kansas-Missouri game was already cloaked with tradition and Washburn alsowas looking forward to its annual game with the University team as the big eventof the season. Under the tutelage of Fielding H. "Hurry Up"Yost, the University eleven was undefeated and un-tied in 1899. Yost, who laterbecame famous as coach of Michigan's "point-a-minute" teams, is regarded as oneof the greatest football technicians in the history of the American game. Amongthe heroes on Mount Oread that autumn were Bennie Owen, "Cussin' Tom" Smith and agiant tackle with the innocuous name of Rollo Krebs, who became the center of acontroversy that was not settled for thirty-five years. In fact, l'affaire Krebsbecame one of those half-legendary athletic scandals that was embellished fromyear to year by imaginative sports writers. Krebs' first appearance in the K. U. lineup wasat Lincoln when the Jayhawks met Nebraska, and his phenomenal line play was animportant factor in the 36 to 20 victory won by Kansas. A week later he assistedin the 23 to 0 defeat of Washburn. According to the University Weekly of December2, 1899, Krebs was a young man who had learned the rudiments of football at hisold home in Trinidad, Colo. His parents had moved to Birmingham, Kan., and thealleged Colorado high-school player decided to enter K. U. in the fall of 1899.His belated appearance in the varsity lineup was explained by his inexperience.In the Missouri game, which was the last of the season, the big tackle smashedthe Tiger plays with monotonous regularity. Two Missouri linemen, who attemptedto stop the new Kansas sensation, were carried from the field on stretchers thatafternoon. Kansas won, 34 to 6. Back in Lawrence enthusiastic students planned agreat celebration in Krebs' honor after his expected return with the team, butthe "phantom tackle" disappeared after the game. It was soon whispered aboutMount Oread that the departed hero was not the green |
country lad his press agents had represented him to be. It was further allegedthat Coach Yost had purposely imported this six-foot-three-inch, 210-poundgladiator to insure victories over Nebraska and Missouri and that he had playedon other college fields before his Kansas debut. The result was a housecleaning at K. U. As a matterof fact, the University was not alone among Kansas colleges which were taintedwith professionalism. Even the staid Congregational college of Washburn once usedCy Leland's coachman in its line, a Washburn player of the 1890's confessed tothe writer. There is also the tale of the Topeka fireman, one "Fatty" Clark, whowas enrolled in the fine arts department at Washburn and starred in the Ichabodlineup. The Krebs mystery was solved at last in 1934.The "phantom tackle," at that time 62 years of age and a mining engineer atCharleston, W. Va., came back to Lawrence the day before the Missouri game asguest of honor at a belated celebration. Krebs admitted that he had never been aresident either of Trinidad, Colo., or of Birmingham, Kan. His gridironexperience before his brief Kansas career consisted of five years' varsitycompetition at the University of West Virginia and a year in the professionalranks. He explained his disappearance at the conclusion of the 1899 campaign bystating tersely that he came to K. U. to play football, not to acquire aneducation. [19] A tragic aftermath to the Krebs story waswritten two years later when the aging hero became totally blind after a miningaccident. The cleanup that followed charges of professionalism resulted in adisastrous season at K. U. in 1900. It might be said that all was lost savehonor. Yost had gone to Michigan, the machine of 1899 was shattered bygraduation, and efforts to place the game on a higher plane were being made.Meanwhile, Bennie Owen, quarterback of the all-victorious Ninety-niners, wascoaching the Washburn Ichabods with great success. Owen's team came to Lawrenceon October 6 and routed the University eleven, 24 to 0. Owen insisted onquarter-backing the Ichabods against his alma mater. The Jayhawks demurred andthe game was delayed for a few minutes until Bennie consented to remain on thebench. [20] The College of Emporia beat the Jayhawks, 18 to 0, and Washburnrepeated in a return game at Topeka, 29 to 0. [21] Washburn lost to Haskell, 11to 5, after defeating the Indians earlier in the season, 11 to 0. |
The early 1900's were marked by the rise of theHaskell Indians and the "Terrible Swedes" of Bethany College, Lindsborg. Ottawa,too, turned out some powerful teams and defeated K. U., 17 to 5, in 1901. BennieOwen was engaged as coach at the Lindsborg school [22] and the fruit of hisefforts was a delight to residents of the Smoky Hill valley. Washburn went into aslump after Owen left; K. U.'s play was far from satisfactory. Wisconsin humbledthe Jayhawks, 50 to 0, in 1901, and 38 to 0 in 1902. [23] Owen's debut at Lindsborg was heralded in theLindsborgRecord of August 29, 1902, as follows: We are particularly fortunate in securing the wellknown Benny Owen as coach at Bethany this year. All lovers of the gridiron sportremember his magnificent work at quarterback with K. U. . . . His name has apermanent spot in the football history at the university. As coach for Washburnthe year they were in their glory and swept the state his work is wellremembered. Owen served last year as assistant coach for the University ofMichigan and contributed liberally to the success of their great team. What Owen did to make the Swedes terrible is notdefinitely known, but they certainly performed in a fashion that struck fear fromLawrence to the Rocky Mountains and to the plains of Oklahoma. These comparativescores from the 1902 season reveal what a power the Swedes immediately became inKansas football circles: Haskell, 24; K. U., 5. Bethany, 11; Haskell, 0. [24] In 1903 Dr. Bert Kennedy, who was destined tobecome a towering figure in the Kansas football coaching profession, took overthe task of reviving the Washburn Ichabods. His debut was inauspicious when hischarges played a listless 0 to 0 tie with Emporia Normal in their first game .25But the Washburn eleven came back with a 34 to 0 victory over K. S. A. C. andfrom then until the end of the season their march to the state championship wasundisputed. [26] Kansas was beaten, 5 to 0, and Missouri, 6 to 0. [27] The Swedeschallenged boldly, but were subdued, 12 to 6. [28] Haskell, too, had a good season that rainyautumn of 1903. The Indians invaded Chicago and held Walter Eckersall and histeammates to a 17 to 11 score, [29] conquered K. U. and all their Kansas |
Glenn Warner was so impressed with the play ofHaskell's famous
competition, but did not meet Kennedy's Washburn team. Kansas salvagedsomething out of a disastrous campaign by beating Missouri, 5 to 0, in the annualThanksgiving game. [30] Coach A. E. Hernstine's Haskell team led the wayin 1904, while K. U. evened its accounts with Washburn by the score of 5 to 0.31Bethany defeated the University of Oklahoma, 36 to 9. [32] The hapless KansasAggies suffered the most humiliating defeat in their history when Washburn beatthem 56 to 0. [33] Kansas beat Notre Dame, 25 to 5. [34] But the Indians,although they did not play under college eligibility rules and could not beconsidered as championship contenders, were easily the class of the state. Haskell smashed K. U., 23 to 6, Missouri, 39 to0, and Nebraska, 14 to 6. Washburn, which had a good season under Dr. John Outland, fell by a 14 to 0 score. [35] At this time Coach Glenn "Pop" Warner'sCarlisle Indians were creating a sensation in the East and promoters of the St.Louis World's Fair concluded that a Haskell-Carlisle game at the fair would bewhat is colloquially known as a "natural." The game was scheduled for theSaturday after Thanksgiving, which fell on November 26. The Haskell eleven warmed up for their Easternrivals by playing Washington University of St. Louis on Thanksgiving Day andimpressed the spectators with their display of power. Washington was massacred,48 to 0. [36] The aftermath of this easy victory, however, was a stunning defeat.What happened to Haskell that afternoon? Was Eastern football so superior to thetype of game played in the Missouri Valley? Were the plains Indians overconfidentor were they stale after a hard schedule and a game only two days before themeeting with the Warner men? |
Hauser brothers, Pete and Emil, that he lured the big Cheyenne lads toCarlisle where they performed with distinction. Of Pete, the fullback, Warnersaid he ranked "among the all-time stars." He received all-American recognitionby Walter Camp while at Carlisle. [38] The University of Oklahoma territory, tired oftaking beatings in its annual football game with the "Terrible Swedes," openednegotiations with Bennie Owen, and the ex-K. U. quarterback listened with favorto the call from the South.39 It made little difference to Bethany, for footballwas temporarily abolished at the Lindsborg institution that year. The 1905season, in which K. U. won the state title, was featured by a vast improvement atK. S. A. C. This was the year that M. F. "Mike" Ahearn took over the coachingduties. [40] The Aggies won six of their eight games, losing only to Washburn andK. U. The Jayhawks defeated all opponents in the Missouri Valley area, butsuccumbed to a great Colorado University team, 15 to 0. [41] Bennie Owen's firstinvasions of the state with his Oklahoma Sooners were not marked by success. K.U. rebuked its ex-quarterback, 34 to 0, and Washburn's Ichabods taught theirformer teacher a lesson, 9 to 6. Football took an alarming toll in fatalities andserious injuries in 1905 and college authorities began to talk seriously ofabolishing the game. But it found a champion in the high places when Pres.Theodore Roosevelt suggested that the rules might be revised to eliminate many ofthe dangers. Coaches and other supporters of the game offered suggestions. Therewas some talk of playing a trial post-season game under an improvised code, butnone of the big Eastern colleges volunteered to make such a move. Fairmount college of Wichita, coached by WillisBates, a former Dartmouth player, had completed a successful season and Wichitapromoters suggested that the Fairmount "Wheat Shockers" would be willing to actas guinea pigs if a suitable opponent could be found for a Christmas day"clinical contest." Washburn, which had beaten Fairmount in a close game duringthe regular season, readily agreed to appear against the Fairmount team in theholiday game. The following rule changes were adopted: Tenyards in three downs instead of five yards; a field goal to count four points ifmade within thirty-five yards of the goal, five points if between thirty-five andforty-five yards, six points if made from behind the forty- |
five yard line; forward passes to be allowed behind the line of scrimmage;disqualification for slugging and loss of the ball if the foul was committed by amember of the offensive team. To insure impartial officiating Coach JohnOutland of Washburn and Coach Willis Bates of Fairmount acted as referee andumpire, respectively. The game was shortened to twenty-minute halves. It was one of those balmy December days thatfrequently occur in Kansas and a large crowd filled the stands. Washburn kickedoff, Fairmount gained two yards in two plays and punted. Washburn gained sixyards in two thrusts at the line and Millice punted. That, according tocontemporary accounts, pretty well describes the whole game. Percy Bates, brotherof the Fairmount coach, and Millice of Washburn were both great punters, and thisphase of the contest, at least, was spectacular. The WichitaEaglereported: A great many of the spectators were pleased with thegame. They said it was a great deal more satisfactory from a spectator'sstandpoint than the old game, as the people could see more of the plays. The factthat the ball was in the air a good deal also pleased the populace, who evidentlydelight in seeing the egg-shaped ball float across the horizon. The footballenthusiasts of the city did not take this view of the matter, though. Col. SamHess said that he thought the game would be better if played with four downs inten yards or two downs in five. The score was 0 to 0. Washburn made four firstdowns, Fairmount three.. Neither team threatened the other's goal very seriously,although Hope of Washburn narrowly missed an attempted field goal. Washburnpunted 18 times, Fairmount 20. Washburn received a fifteen-yard penalty forholding. The only successful means of gaining ground was by fake kicks or forwardpasses. Of the first forward pass, Bliss Isely, whoplayed in the game, writes, "the first forward pass in history was thrown thatafternoon by Bill Davis to Art Solter and was good for a ten-yard gain. A numberof passes were thrown, and all of them good, possibly because defense against thepass had not been perfected." [42] Isely said that the pass delivery was primitive.Davis heaved the ball with both hands like a basketball player shooting a freethrow and it wobbled crazily through the air. Little comment was made on thepass, though both coaches condemned the ten yards in three downs ruling. TheWashburn coach opined that a team would have to be four touchdowns stronger towin under such a ruling. [43] Nevertheless, the rules committee adopted both theten yards in |
three downs rule and the pass, but they placed such restrictions upon the passthat it was extremely dangerous. One forward pass was allowed each scrimmage.There was no such thing as an incomplete pass in the modern sense. If the passerovershot his mark and the ball dropped to the ground it went to the defensiveteam. Yet, within a few years, the forward pass was animportant offensive weapon. Passers soon learned to grip the ball with one handand spiral it with considerable accuracy and receivers became adept at snatchingthe gyrating oval out of the air. In 1907, Ralph Henry Barbour, who glorified thegame of football in numerous exciting books for juvenile consumption, brought outa new thriller entitled Forward Pass in which the young hero scored the winningtouchdown in the big game by means of this spectacular play. Dr. Garfield Weede came to Washburn as coach in1906 and the Ichabods went through a grueling 12-game schedule with three tiesand one defeat. [44] The sensation of the season was K. S. A. C.'s first victoryover its rival from Lawrence. Captain Mallon of the Aggies snatched up a blockedK. U. kick and raced half the distance of the field for a touchdown that gave thedowntrodden Manhattan team a 6-4 victory. [45] The Aggies waited 18 years foranother. But the Aggie record was marred by a 5 to 4 defeat by Washburn and a 12to 6 loss to Coach Willis Bates' up-and-coming Fairmount team. [46] Fairmountgave Washburn its only defeat, 7 to 6. Washburn tied K. U., 0 to 0, and theJayhawks won from Nebraska and tied Missouri. [47] Fairmount's claim to statehonors was marred by a 6 to 0 loss to St. Mary's, a team Washburn defeated 42 to0. [48] There was no question about the Washburn claimin 1907. Armchair football fans in Topeka love to speak of that Washburn teamwhenever talk veers to the question of which was the greatest Washburn team ofall time. Doctor Weede's protégés were undefeated and untied, andcounted Kansas, Kansas Aggies, Haskell, Fairmount, Oklahoma, St. Mary's, andEmporia Normal among their victims. Glenn Millice, half-back, is remembered asone of the greatest punters in Kansas history. White and Williams, backs;Haughey, end; and Brown, center, were all-Missouri Valley selections. [49] The season of 1908 probably marks the beginningof the transition |
period in Kansas college football, a period in which the big state schools,Kansas University and Kansas State, outgrew the smaller colleges. Washburnslumped dismally, losing five games. Kansas Aggies' 23 to 4 victory over theIchabods was the first game the Manhattan team had ever won from the Topekans.[50] Down at Lawrence Doctor Kennedy produced anall-victorious eleven. Kansas won the Missouri Valley Conference title incompetition with Iowa University, Iowa State, Nebraska, Missouri, Drake andWashington University of St. Louis [51] It was the immortal Tommy Johnson'sfirst year at quarterback for the Jayhawks. In 1909 the Aggies came very near beating K. U.again and the 5 to 3 loss to their state rivals and a 3 to 0 set-back by Missouriwere their only defeats. Crushing victories were scored over Kansas Wesleyan,Southwestern, Emporia Teachers, Creighton, Fairmount and Washburn. A dispute overthe K. U. game caused a rift in relations between the Lawrence and Manhattanschools and no game was scheduled in 1910. [52] The K. U. team of 1909 almost duplicated itssuccess of the previous year. Tommy Johnson's sensational 70-yard touchdown runagainst Nebraska that gave his team a 6 to 0 victory at Lincoln is one of thenever-to-be-forgotten feats in Kansas athletic annals. [53] But Missouri upsetthe Jayhawks, 12 to 6, in the Thanksgiving Day meeting at Kansas City andsnatched the title away from Mount Oread. Haskell beat Nebraska, 16 to 5.[54] Baker returned to competition in 1910. TheHaskell Indians were at low ebb. Kansas University, captained by Tommy Johnson,finished fifth in the Missouri Valley race, losing to Nebraska, winning fromDrake and tying Missouri in conference competition. Mike Ahearn's Aggiescontinued their victory march, overwhelming their Kansas opponents by one-sidedscores, and adding Arkansas University, Missouri School of Mines and Creighton totheir list of victims. Colorado College was the only team to defeat the Aggies.In 1911 the Manhattan college began to lay the groundwork for an application tojoin the Missouri Valley Conference, as it was felt that the Kansas schools werenot providing adequate competition for M. F. Ahearn's men. This, however,necessitated adherence to Missouri Valley eligibility rules and eliminated somegood material. |
Emporia Teachers and Baker humbled the Aggies, they were overwhelmed, 59 to 0,by Nebraska, and lost a 6 to 0 decision to K. U. [55] In the Kansas loop, theCollege of Emporia provided a sensation by producing the first of a long line offine teams. Washburn was mediocre, Fairmount, Baker and Emporia Teachers werestrong. The Haskell Indians started a come-back under the tutelage of Dr. A. R.Kennedy, late of K. U. Nebraska easily defeated the Jayhawkers, 29 to 0, and theKansas-Missouri game resulted in a 3 to 3 tie. Bennie Owen's Oklahoma Sooners wontheir first victory over their coach's alma mater, 3 to 0. [56] Washburn, coached by W. L. Driver, a formerMissouri player, made a gallant effort to regain its front rank position in 1912and succeeded in beating its old rival, the University, 10 to 0. It was theIchabod's last win from the Jawhawks. Notwithstanding this reverse, Kansasdefeated K. S. A. C., 19 to 6, and Missouri, 12 to 3. Nebraska, on the road tonational gridiron prominence, stopped the K. U. team, 14 to 3. [57] Coach GuyLowman's Aggies won the Kansas Conference title by shattering Washburn's hopeswith a 21 to 3 defeat on Thanksgiving Day. [58] Several important rules changes went into effect in1912. Forward passing across the goal line was legalized, touchdowns were tocount 6 points instead of 5, the offensive team was given four downs to gain tenyards. There were other changes of a minor nature but these were the mostimportant in their effect on the development of the game. The field goal, which originally counted 5points, had been reduced to 4 points in 1904 and to 3 points in 1909. Byincreasing the value of the touchdown to 6 points, with an additional point forthe goal after touchdown, it would require three field goals to beat a touchdownand point conversion. Naturally the field goal lost favor and when the goal postswere moved to their present position ten yards back of the goal line by a coderevision fifteen years later it almost became a forgotten method of scoring incollege football. In recent years, however, there has been a revival of thisspectacular play. The professional football rules makers have placed the goalposts back on the goal line and there is considerable agitation in collegecircles for following their example. Kansas Aggies became the seventh member of theMissouri Valley |
Conference in 1913, finishing in a tie for last place. Nebraska and Kansaswere the new member's only conference opponents and each beat the Aggies handily.Southwestern College reached the zenith of its gridiron glory that autumn byhanding the Aggies a 13 to 10 defeat. [59] Kansas finished third in the Valleywith three victories and defeats by Missouri and Nebraska. Haskell was back inold-time form and had a great season, but lost a heartbreaking 7 to 6 decision toNebraska. [60] In 1914 Friends University had an undefeated season. Gradually the two big schools established thefact that they were too strong for the teachers' colleges and the denominationalschools. Washburn beat Kansas Aggies, 26 to 16, in 1914 and has never won anothergame from its early-day rival. Since 1915, when Emporia Teachers defeated theAggies, 13 to 0, the Manhattan school has lost only one game to a smaller Kansascollege. That was the surprising 3 to 0 upset by Fort Hays State in 1935. [61]Likewise, since its 1912 setback by Washburn, the University has lost only onefootball game to a Kansas rival other than the State College. Wichita Universitywon an unexpected 18 to 7 victory over the Jayhawks in 1937. [62] A highlight of the World War era was Kansas'last victory over Nebraska. At that time Kansas had not beaten Nebraska sinceTommy Johnson's victory run in 1909. The Cornhuskers were heavy favorites whenthe Jayhawks came to Lincoln on November 18, 1916. Coach Herman C. "Beau" Olcottdevised a shrewd plan of battle. During the first half Kansas was constantly onthe defensive. Only one serious attempt was made at offensive play. On everyother occasion when Kansas got the ball Lindsey punted on the first or seconddown. When the intermission time came the K. U. goal line was unmarred by Huskercleats, but Nebraska led, 3 to 0, by virtue of a field goal. Kansas opened up in the third quarter and scoreda touchdown before the Huskers could rally their defense. Goal was kicked andKansas led, 7 to 3. After that the Jayhawks went on the defensive again andwithstood desperate Nebraska attacks until the final gun sounded. [63] Kansas Aggies won their first conferencevictory, beating Missouri 7 to 6. [64] The annual K. U.-Kansas Aggie struggleresulted in a score- |
less tie. Missouri soundly trounced the conquerors of Nebraska, 13 to 0. [65]Although most of the big Eastern colleges quit playing football during the periodof the United States' participation in the World War, the Missouri Valley andKansas Conferences continued without interruption through the 1917 season. "Beau"Olcott had a good season at K. U. The Jayhawkers lost only one conference game,and that to Nebraska. [66] Laslett, Nettels and Arthur "Dutch" Lonborg were amongthe great players on that team. H. M. "Swede" Neilson, whose touchdown had beatenNebraska in 1916, was the captain. Kansas soldiers training with the 35thdivision at Camp Doniphan, Okla., went to Norman some 200 strong to cheer theJayhawks on to a 13 to 6 victory over the Sooners. In 1918 the Students Army Training Corpsinterrupted the athletic program and only a few games were played. Missouri didnot attempt to organize a team and the Aggies were substituted for the Tigers asa Thanksgiving Day opponent. K. U. won, 13 to 7. [67] The Aggies beat Baker,Washburn, Fort Riley and Iowa State in the remaining games of their briefschedule. K. U. defeated Baker, but lost to Nebraska and Oklahoma. Kansas-trained football players achieved thehighest recognition in competition with teams composed of players from everysection of the United States in the A. E. F. play-offs which took place in Franceduring the winter and early spring of 1919. The 89th division team, which learnedto soldier at Camp Funston and was composed of men from Kansas, Missouri andNebraska, won the A. E. F. gridiron title after defeating another Western armyeleven, the 36th division, which was composed of Texas and Oklahoma NationalGuardsmen. The championship game was played at Paris, March 29, 1919. The scorewas 14 to 6. [68] In the 89th line-up that day were Adrian "Ad"Lindsey, who played his last game for K. U. in 1916, and Howard "Scrubby"Laslett, a member of the 1917 team who returned to school after leaving theservice and captained the 1919 K. U. eleven. The 89th division, stationed inGermany after the Armistice, organized a football team that swept through theRhineland like one of Hitler's Panzer divisions. After winning the Third Armytitle the 89th beat the St. Nazaire Base Section eleven, which had Eddie Mahan,former |
Harvard fullback, in its lineup, 13 to 0. Lindsey, on this occasion,repeatedly out-punted the ex-Harvard star. [69] With Lindsey in the 89th backfield was George"Potsy" Clark, formerly of the University of Illinois, who had been an assistantcoach at K. U. before the war. These two, with Laslett, an end, were chosen forthe mythical all-A. E. F. eleven by the sports editor ofThe Stars andStripes. [70] Both Clark and Lindsey coached at the University after thewar. On the 35th division team, which gave a goodaccount of itself, were several Kansas collegians, including "Pinky" Beals ofWashburn, George "Rook" Woodward of K. U., Hyndman of Pittsburg, and Kalama,giant Haskell center. When the 35th played the 7th division at Commercy one rainyafternoon in February, 1919, Beals looked across the field and saw Lt. SamStewart, who was Washburn's 1916 captain. Stewart was in the backfield for theregular army team. This game resulted in a scoreless tie, but the 7th divisionwon the play-off at Toul, 6 to 0. The 35th was thus eliminated from competition.The Kansas-Missouri guardsmen had previously defeated the 33d division, 3 to 0,thanks to a field goal from the toe of Kansas' Woodward. Football was resumed in 1919 with many A. E. F.veterans renewing their gridiron careers in Kansas. Laslett was back at K. U.Kalama was at his old position in the center of the Haskell Indian line.Washburn, under Elmer Bearg as coach, regained much lost prestige during thiscampaign by holding K. U. to a scoreless tie and threatening to win the KansasConference championship, but Gwinn Henry's Presbyterians at the College ofEmporia upset the Ichabods, 7 to 0, [71] to gain the title. It was becoming ahabit with the Presbyterians. Kansas Aggies had a bad season, losing all but oneof their conference games and also dropping a game to Haskell. K. U. won but oneconference game, the annual contest with the Aggies. Two games on the K. U. 1920 schedule stand outfrom the pages of Kansas gridiron lore. The first was the early season contestwith Iowa State. Dr. F. C. "Phog" Allen coached the football team that season,the only time he has assumed that duty. Before the Iowa State game, "Phog" had adream. He dreamed about football, of course, and naturally it had to do with theimpending battle with the men from Ames. "I seemed to see Harley Little carrying theball," Dr. Allen re |
lated. The K. U. coach said that he regarded this as a good omen. Kansas wonthe toss and elected to receive the kick-off. Allen ordered his quarterback,Arthur Lonborg, to run Little on the first play. The dream came true. Beforespectators were aware of what was going on, Harley Little was clear of thesecondary defense, with the exception of the Ames safety. Lonborg, runninginterference, took care of the Ames safety and Little sprinted 75 yards to theonly touchdown of the game. Kansas won, 7 to 0. [72] The Kansas Aggies were the next K. U. opponentsand their coach wired Doctor Allen that dreams wouldn't turn the trick atManhattan. Dream or no dream, the University won the game, 14 to 0. [73] For sheer thrills the Kansas-Nebraska game of1920 probably equals any game of football ever played on old McCook field.Incidentally, it was the last on the old field. The new memorial stadium wasoccupied in 1921. Nebraska, a heavy favorite, rolled up 20 points in the firsthalf. Kansas displayed little offensive power. In the third quarter Nebraskafumbled and Kansas recovered in Cornhusker territory. On the fourth down, "Dutch"Lonborg passed to Frank Mandeville for a touchdown. This play was so successful that "Dutch" triedit again early in the fourth period. Mandeville scored again. Goal was kicked andthe score stood, Kansas 14, Nebraska, 20. Lonborg was replaced at quarterback byJohn Bunn, but Bunn followed his example and on the first opportunity flipped apass to Mandeville that resulted in another Kansas touchdown. The score stood 20to 20. With victory within their reach, the Jayhawks missed their goal and thegame ended in a tie. [74] Coach Allen's psychic powers failed to workagainst Missouri. The Tigers defeated Kansas, 16 to 7. Beaten by K. U., Missouriand Iowa State and tied by Washburn and Emporia Teachers, the Kansas Aggies roseto the heights on one occasion, to hold a great Oklahoma team to a 7 to 7 tie.[75] Oklahoma won the conference title. Washburn, although tied by EmporiaTeachers and the College of Emporia, was undefeated in the Kansas Conference.Friends University, with one defeat, was second. A slender youth from Osborne led Washburn to asurprising 10 to 7 victory over a supposedly invincible Emporia Teachers elevenin 1921. The Emporians had been raging through the Kansas Confer |
ence that season. Washburn's play had been erratic. When Coach Dwight Ream ofWashburn caught Marvin Stevens, his quarterback, at a dance the night before thegame, he kept him on the bench during the first half. "Steve," as he was known tohis Washburn team mates, went into the game in the third quarter. He led theWashburn second-half offensive that carried the ball deep into Emporia territoryand kicked a field goal to give his team an upset victory. [76] Stevens attended Yale after he left Washburn andwas a backfield star for Old Eli in 1923. Kansas watched the career of Dr. "Mal"Stevens with interest after his graduation from the Yale medical school. He washead football coach at Yale for several years and now holds that position at NewYork University. Gwinn Henry went from the College of Emporia tothe University of Missouri in 1923. His teams were perennial leaders in the Kansas Conference. "Potsy" Clark had his best team at K. U. in 1923. The Jayhawkswere unbeaten that season, though their record was blurred by scoreless ties withKansas Aggies and Nebraska and a 3 to 3 tie with Missouri. Only six points werescored against this great defensive team. Oklahoma and Missouri each scored fieldgoals against K. U. While the team's claim to distinction was its defensivepower, it ran up the second largest score ever amassed by a K. U. team in beatingWashington University of St. Louis, 83 to 0. [77] The 3 to 3 draw with Missouri'sTigers was played at Lawrence in a Thanksgiving Day blizzard. A victory drought of eighteen years incompetition with K. U. was broken by Charley Bachman's Aggies on a sultry Octoberday in 1924. The score was 6 to 0 and this event proved to be the turning pointin the long series between the two large state schools. So consistent had been the Jayhawk victorystring that Aggie supporters had built up the superstition of a "jinx." TheAggies often seemed to be at their season's worst against the University team. In1921, when the smooth-working Swartz to Stark passing combination was reflectingfavorable publicity on the Manhattan team and its Notre Dame coach, the Aggiesappeared to be almost certain to break their losing streak against K. U. Butdisappointed Manhattanites sat in the fog and rain at Lawrence that afternoon andsaw their heroes do everything wrong in the first half, allowing the Jayhawks totake a 21 to 0 lead. The Aggies rallied in the second half and |
outplayed their opponents, but their offensive produced a lone touchdown andthe game ended, 21 to 7. The K. U. cheering section formed a habit ofchanting "jinx, jinx," in portentous tones when the Aggies came onto the field.In 1923 Bachman's team pushed K. U. all over the field at Lawrence. One scoringdrive seemed sure to result in a touchdown, but a fumble gave K. U. the ball. Itwas whispered later that John Lonborg, K. U. center, deliberately stole the ball.The game ended in a scoreless tie. But the Aggies had the "breaks" on thatafternoon in 1924. Harold Zuber, Jayhawk halfback, was tackled on the Aggies'33-yard line in the fourth quarter and the ball popped out of his arms. A newarrival in the Aggie backfield was little Donald Meek, reserve halfback. The ballbounded Meeks' way and he scooped it up, tucked it securely under his arm andstarted like a scared jackrabbit for the K. U. goal, sixty-seven yards away.Pursuit was hopeless. [78] The thunderous roar of R.O.T.C. trenchmortars reverberating from the Bluestem hills around Manhattan acclaimed the sixpoints and the victorious Aggie team. It was the dawn of a new era in Kansasfootball. A brief resume of subsequent K. U.-Kansas State football historyreveals how completely the Aggies dominated the series after that game. Since thejinx was buried that afternoon with military honors K. U. has won but five gamesfrom the "Wildcats," as Kansas State teams are known today. The Manhattan menfollowed their 1924 victory with triumphs in 1925, 1926 and 1927. The University team finally broke the string in1928 with a 7 to 0 victory at Manhattan. Kansas State won, 6 to 0, in 1929. In1930 a Big Six championship team from Lawrence rolled over their rivals, 14 to 0.Jim Bausch made both touchdowns, one from the opening kick-off, the second on a60-yard run from scrimmage. The Wildcats won in 1931, 13 to 0, with Ralph Grahamas their offensive star. Dope favored the State Collegians in 1932, but K. U.displayed unpredicted power in a 19 to 0 upset. In 1933 the Wildcats won, 6 to 0. Lynn Waldorf'samazing 1934 team stopped the Jayhawks, 13 to 0; Kansas scored an upset 9 to 2victory in 1935. It was easy for State in 1936, 26 to 6. In 1937 a K. U. teamthat had tied Nebraska and was entertaining hopes of a Big Six title was beatenat Lawrence, 7 to 0. Fresh in memory is Coach Fry's ill-timed boast in 1938, "K.U. will be a breather." The infuriated Jayhawks crushed their boastful rivals, 27to 7. Visitors to the National Cornhusking Contest at Lawrence in 1939 saw theWildcats win, 27 to 6, as a side attraction to the husking bee. |
While the Aggies were shattering precedent in1924 Gwinn Henry was bringing the Missouri Tigers to the top of the MissouriValley ladder. In 1925 the Tigers came to Lawrence undefeated on the Saturdaybefore Thanksgiving. K. U. had lost to Iowa State, Nebraska and Kansas State, allMissouri victims. Charles "Stony" Wall, a reserve lineman, carvedhimself a niche in the K. U. hall of football fame that afternoon. The Jayhawksdisplayed a surprising defense and were battling the favored Tigers in a 7 to 7deadlock in the closing minutes of the game. Kansas stopped a desperate Missouridrive near its goal line and Zuber went back to punt with a strong south wind athis back. A phenomenal kick rolled almost to the Tiger goal line and Missouri was"in a hole." The return punt carried a short distance and Kansas soon had theball within striking distance with time for one play. When "Stony" Wall ran out and reported to theofficials everyone in the Kansas cheering section knew that Coach Clark haddecided to gamble with a field goal rather than a forward pass. Wall responded byplace kicking the ball between the posts as the game ended. Spectators insistedthat the ball was in the air when the final gun was fired. [79] Kansas won another upset victory over the Tigersin 1927 and nearly precipitated a rupture in athletic relations with itstraditional rival. The Missouri Valley schools had agreed not to "scout" eachother in the belief that such a practice was unsportsmanlike. But, Coach FrankCappon of Kansas had perfected such an impregnable defense that the Tigershammered at the line all afternoon to produce one touchdown. It didn't look likethe same Kansas team that Nebraska had beaten, 47 to 13. Kansas also unveiled apassing attack and scored twice to win, 14 to 7. [80] Missouri claimed that Kansas had violated theanti-scouting rule and produced evidence to show that persons not connected withthe K. U. staff had acted as volunteer scouts at previous Missouri games and hadprovided Coach Cappon with charts of the Tiger plays that enabled him toimprovise a method of stopping Clark and Flamank, Missouri ball carriers, intheir devastating cut-back plays. The upshot of the affair was Cappon'sresignation. H. W. "Bill" Hargiss, who had enjoyed a long and successful careeras head coach of the Emporia Teachers, was engaged to replace Cappon in 1928. |
When Missouri Valley representatives met inDecember, 1927, delegates expressed dissatisfaction with the ten-team conference.Some of the smaller schools such as Washington and Grinnell had not been able toprovide much competition. The result was the formation of the present Big SixConference by the withdrawal of Nebraska, Missouri, Oklahoma, Iowa State and thetwo Kansas representatives. [81] The action of the big Missouri Valley schoolswas imitated by seven of the largerKansas Conference colleges who withdrew from the cumbersome old league and formedthe Central Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, commonly known as the CentralConference. New conference members included Wichita University, Washburn,Southwestern, College of Emporia and the three state teachers' colleges. In theold conference only Baker, Bethany, St. Benedict's. Ottawa, St. Mary's, McPhersonand Kansas Wesleyan remained after Friends University, Sterling College andBethel College withdrew from organized competition. College of Emporia climaxed a long record ofsuccessful campaigning in Kansas football by winning the first Central Conferencetitle in 1928. The Presbyterians were undefeated, untied and unscored upon. Theannual Thanksgiving Day grudge game between the College and the Teachers decidedthe race. Both were undefeated in conference play. Many believed the Teachers hadthe stronger team, but selves, McCartney and company scored a decisive 18 to 0victory on a rain-swept field. It was C. of E.'s last "powerhouse" team. Asubsequent change in athletic policy dropped the Presbyterians from theirpinnacle. C. of E. soon found Central Conference competition too strong and wentback to the Kansas Conference, effective December 1, 1933. [82] The prosperous 1920's saw the construction ofseveral new stadia or "bowls." University students razed the wooden bleachers andgrandstand at old McCook field in the spring of 1921 and work on Memorial Stadiumwas started during the summer. Games were played on the new field in 1921, but itwas not officially dedicated until the following year. The stadium at KansasState was begun in 1922 and the first section was ready for occupancy in time forthe football season that fall. Washburn's Moore bowl was dedicated in 1928. Former students and others interested in HaskellInstitute con |
tributed to a fund for the construction of a concrete stadium dedicatedOctober 27-30, 1926. Thousands of Indians from reservations in the Southwestattended the ceremonies and saw the Indian eleven rout Bucknell University, 36 to0. [83] Haskell, however, was a road team in the days ofits gridiron glory. The Indians were much in demand and played in every sectionof the United States. Notre Dame, Gonzaga University of Spokane, Wash., St.Xavier of Cincinnati, Temple University of Philadelphia, Boston College and theUniversity of Minnesota were numbered among Haskell's opponents. Footballrelations between K. U. and Haskell were renewed in 1930 after an interval oftwenty-six years. The Lawrence teams met regularly during the early 1900's, butthe 1905 game was canceled and relations were severed because students of therival institutions had begun to take their football too seriously and frequentclashes occurred on the streets of Lawrence. The 1930 game was played at the Haskell stadiumbefore a homecoming crowd of Indians. K. U. won, 33 to 7, but the Indians weremuch better than the score indicates. All the breaks of the game went to K. U.Indian fumbles were converted into Jayhawk touchdowns, Indian touchdowns werenullified by penalties. Only two of the K. U. touchdowns were earned and Louis"Little Rabbit" Weller made some sensational gains through the Universitydefense. A return game was played in the K. U. stadiumOctober 2, 1931. This was the only night game ever played by the Jayhawks ontheir home field. The Haskell lighting system was borrowed for the occasion.Haskell had lost to Washburn, 6 to 0, the week before and Bill Hargiss'protégés expected an easy victory. But the Indians, knowing that Wellerwould be a marked man, built their offense around a big fullback named WalterJohnson, who ripped the Jayhawk line to shreds. Weller, used as a decoy, carriedthe ball on only a few occasions. The score was 6 to 0, Haskell. Post-season charity games were a feature in 1930and 1931, as the depression's grip tightened. The first was played in 1930 whenall-star teams representing the Central and Kansas Conferences met at Topeka,with the Central eleven winning, 21 to 7. [84] Washburn, co-champion of theCentral Conference with Wichita University, met K. U. in a post season contest atTopeka early in December, 1931. The Ichabods were beaten, 6 to 0. Kansas Statedefeated Wichita |
University, 20 to 6, at Wichita. Ralph Graham, Eldon Auker and Henry Cronkitewere the K-State luminaries that season [85] Night football, though scorned by Kansas' BigSix members, is now played by all the smaller colleges, and most of the highschools of the state have lighted fields. The smaller schools, who had beenforced to play many of their games on weekdays because of the Saturdaycompetition at Lawrence or Manhattan, have found that night football is theanswer to their attendance problems. The ghost of Rollo Krebs stalked across thegridiron at Lawrence in 1930, casting a shadow over the best prospects theUniversity had enjoyed in more than two decades. Not since 1899, when the Krebsscandal rocked Mount Oread, had the Jayhawkers faced such violent charges ofprofessionalism and other unfair athletic practices. Jim Bausch, all-timeall-star fullback and 1932 Olympic decathlon champion, was the storm center.Bausch was a graduate of Cathedral High School, Wichita, where he had been anoutstanding athlete. He enrolled at Wichita University but K. U. alumni inWichita carried on some effective missionary work and Jim soon matriculated at K.U. He played with the Jayhawks in 1929, but was out of the game with injuriespart of the season. In 1930 Jim was in prime condition. The Jayhawksbeat Creighton, Haskell, Kansas State and Iowa State and the newspapers wereshouting the team's praises, calling it the greatest that ever represented theUniversity of Kansas. Rumblings soon began to be heard throughout the Big Six. Todiscuss the details of the controversy that almost resulted in Kansas' expulsionfrom the conference would demand more space than the subject can be alloted inthis chronology of Kansas football. When the proud Jayhawks lost their bigintersectional game with Pennsylvania by two touchdowns and performedindifferently in losing to a mediocre Nebraska team, 16 to 0, the clamorsubsided. The Big Six decided to let K. U. stay, Bausch or no Bausch. The teamwon the remaining games of its schedule from Oklahoma and Missouri. Nebraska,tied by Missouri and beaten by Kansas State and Oklahoma, had one of its worstseasons. Missouri was beaten 32 to 0 by the Jayhawks but held Oklahoma to ascoreless tie five days later and by so doing gave K. U. its only Big Sixfootball title. Kansas State's victory over Nebraska was its first. A long passto Cronkite produced the winning touchdown for Coach "Bo" McMillan's team. |
Lynn Waldorf's feat of producing a championship team in 1934, his first andonly year at Kansas State, is without parallel in Kansas coaching annals. The newmentor inherited few of the stars of previous years. Graham and Russell wereamong those lost through graduation. But Waldorf built up a team that edged pastone obstacle after another in the conference race, concluding its performancewith a 19 to 7 defeat of the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Lincoln on Thanksgiving Day.It was Kansas State's only championship in the Bix Six or the old Missouri Valleyand it cost them their coach. Impressed with Waldorf's record, Northwestern madehim an attractive offer and he became head coach at the Evanston school thefollowing autumn. Washburn's ambitious athletic program resultedin its withdrawal from the Central Conference in 1934. The Ichabods entered theMissouri Valley Conference the following year. The loss of Washburn left theCentral with only five members. Wichita University, which had vied with Washburnfor conference honors, found a new rival in Fort Hays State. The Western Kansanswon the conference title in 1934 and 1936. Pittsburg Teachers has had some strongteams. In 1935 they were tied with Wichita for the title. St. Benedict's, the only Kansas Catholic collegein competitive athletics since St. Mary's changed its educational policy in 1931,began to produce some fine teams under the able coaching of Larry "Moon" Mullins,former Notre Dame star. The Atchison team was admitted to the Central Conferencein 1939. St. Benedict's "Ravens" were one of the eight undefeated and untiedfootball teams in the nation in 1936. The Notre Dame regime was continued underMarty Peters when Mullins went to Loyola of the South in 1937. For the past three years Al Gebert's Wichitateam has dominated the Central Conference. Ottawa, Baker and Kansas Wesleyan areleaders in the older conference. Washburn, after five lean years in the MissouriValley, will leave the conference at the end of this season. Haskell, with asmaller enrollment and youthful material, has confined its competition tohigh-school teams since 1938. Fifty years of college football in Kansas have seenmany traditional rivalries wax and wane. Emporia Teachers outgrew the College ofEmporia and an attempt to revive this annual classic in 1939 resulted in aone-sided victory for the Teachers. Wichita and Friends quit playing after the1934 game which the municipal university won by a large score. Washburn no longerhas a place on K. U. or Kansas State schedules except as a "breather." TheBaker- |
Ottawa, McPherson-Bethany, Hays-Kansas Wesleyan and Emporia Teachers-PittsburgTeachers rivalries have continued. Washburn and Wichita are also rivals of longstanding. While a number of Kansas collegians have enjoyedbrief careers in professional football, the success achieved by Glen Campbell andDale Burnett of Emporia Teachers is outstanding. Campbell, end, and Burnett,fullback, were teammates at the Emporia school in 1928. Both were signed by theNew York Giants after they left college. Campbell retired after a few years ofcompetition, Burnett was on the Giants' roster until recently. Two former Kansas college players, who latercoached football where they learned the game, are nationally prominent in theofficiating world. They are Ernest C. Quigley of St. Mary's and Dwight Ream ofTopeka. Quigley is also a National League baseball umpire. For twenty-five yearshe has been in demand as a football official and has worked in some of the mostimportant annual games. Ream, a Washburn halfback in 1912, 1913 and 1914, coachedthe Ichabods in 1920 and 1921. In recent years he has been recognized as one ofthe leading officials in the Middle West and worked in the Orange Bowl game atMiami on New Year's Day, 1940. The game has undergone many changes since 1890 andthe modern stream-lined football eleven presents a far different appearance fromthe heavily padded teams of the old days. When football was a game of bruisingpower and speed was nonessential the players weighted themselves down withcumbersome equipment. Heavy turtle-neck jerseys were protected from the strain ofthe push and pull style of play by laced canvas vests. Arm and shoulder pads, nowworn underneath the jersey, were frankly in evidence. Sensitive shins wereprotected by shin-guards made of reinforced canvas that looked very much likelamp chimney wrappers strapped to the leg. Pants were of heavy canvas with thickpadding. Rubber nose guards, held in place at the top by a strap around the headand at the bottom by a mouthpiece, gave the players a terrifying appearance.Despite these precautions against injury to other portions of his anatomy theold-time player usually entrusted the safety of his cranium to a heavy crop ofhair. A few wore a type of headgear that was primitive in design, but most of thewarriors discarded this protection in the heat of battle. Today, when emphasis is placed on speed, silkpants have replaced those of padded canvas, shin and nose guards have beenrelegated |
to the museum. Jerseys are of light but durable material and the old vest hasgone the way of the nose guard. Immunity against severe head injuries, however,is almost assured by the heavy leather helmet which is often dyed to harmonize incolor with the rest of the uniform. Night football has popularized the whitehelmet, especially for pass receivers. The ball, too, is given a coat of whitepaint for use under the flood lights. Many players prefer to play withoutsocks. Now that football is a part of the athleticprogram in several hundred Kansas high schools the coaching profession isattracting collegians. Full-time coaches are seldom employed by the smaller highschools and the football tutor is usually required to spend some time in theclassroom in addition to his afternoons on the practice field or in the stadium.Consequently the three teachers' colleges are enjoying an advantage over thesmall denominational colleges, for football players who plan to take uphigh-school coaching must also equip themselves to teach English, mathematics andother highschool courses in order to pass the requirements of exacting schoolofficials. College and high-school athletic coaches fromseveral states in the Missouri Valley and Rocky Mountain areas attend an annualcoaching school at Washburn College, Topeka. The school, which offers a scheduleof instruction in football, baseball, basketball and track, is held during thelatter part of August. It is sponsored by the Kansas State High School ActivitiesAssociation. This vacation institute for the men who earn a living by teachingcompetitive sports was established in 1933 through the efforts of Ernest A.Thomas, director of the association. The peak attendance was 223 in 1938. Among the nationally celebrated football coacheswho have conducted classes at the school are Lynn Waldorf, Northwestern; "Bo"McMillan, Indiana; "Jock" Sutherland, formerly of Pittsburgh; Madison "Matty"Bell, Southern Methodist; Bernie Bierman, Minnesota; Andy Kerr, Colgate; Leo R."Dutch" Meyer, Texas Christian, and H. O. "Fritz" Crisler, Michigan. It is thesecond largest coaching school in the country and the only one that is sponsoredby a high-school activities association. [86] 1. WashburnArgo, Topeka, December, 1855. |