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College Football in Kansas

by Harold C. Evans

August 1940 (Vol. 9, No. 3), pages to 285-311.
Transcribed by lhn;
digitized with permission of the Kansas Historical Society.

Kansas Historical Quarterly, August 1940IN THE 1880's extracurricular activities in Kansas collegiate circles were largely confined to long-winded debating and oratorical contests. Literary societies had not been replaced by student "pep" organizations and inter-collegiate athletics was carried on in a desultory fashion by a few of the older and larger institutions. Garden varieties of athletics, such as lawn tennis and croquet, under the direction of youthful instructors from "back East" who wanted to keep fit by indulging in some dignified 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 the national pastime, played without faculty sanction, and schedules were limited to three or four games each season.

The New England influence that directed the educational policy at Washburn was eventually extended to the field of athletics. The tremendous increase in the popularity of football at Yale, Harvard, Princeton and the other "ivy league" colleges during the 1880's aroused a latent interest among the young men who pursued a higher education in the halls of Kansas University and Baker. Which of these schools pioneered in introducing the game to Kansas cannot be determined from the incomplete records.

Washburn, it is definitely known, had a football team in 1885. "Football!! Is booming!!!" announced the Washburn Argo, adding that the team had recently been equipped with white uniforms with red stockings and red caps. About all that this proves is that the Topeka school had not yet adopted the traditional Yale blue and white as its school colors. The Argo adds that "Stone is a most efficient captain." [1] The Stone referred to is Robert Stone, for years a prominent Topeka attorney. Editorially the Argo said:

The colleges of Kansas need stirring up; they need something that will bring the students together from the different institutions and while arousing spirited competition will create a fellow-feeling. There is nothing that will cause so great interest and enthusiasm in a college as athletic contests. Perhaps each college will send a delegation of ten or twelve to the state oratorical contest, but let two of our rival ball clubs or foot racers meet and we will see every student throw away his books and brimming over with patriotic enthusiasm rush to the ball ground or race course. In view of the lack of interest our

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colleges show in this line and the great need, we would recommend a State Inter-Collegiate Athletic association. Let us hear what our sister colleges have to say on this subject. [2]

Apparently this revolutionary editorial met little response among the student press, for it was five years before a program of intercollegiate athletics was launched in the state. Washburn, K. U., Baker, Lewis Academy of Wichita and the old Wichita University made unsuccessful attempts to introduce football between 1885 and 1890. Former Lewis Academy and Wichita University players recall that the game had its inception in Wichita in 1889, but add that it really did not get under way until 1890. [3]

The Argo of October 17, 1890, reveals that "lack of opposition" killed football at Washburn. A clue to the competition met by Washburn teams of the 1880's is found in the statement that the team was discouraged when it was forced to go to Kansas City for its games without receiving the promise of a return game. From this bit of information it is logical to deduce that the Kansas City Y. M. C. A. club was Washburn's opponent on these invasions of the Missouri metropolis, for the Y. M. C. A. team appeared on several college schedules in the 1890's.

Recorded football history in Kansas begins on November 22, 1890, at Baldwin, when the Topeka Capital reported that the game "had its first introduction into Western colleges today [November 22] . Baker University defeated Kansas University, 22 to 9." The Weekly University Courier modifies the Capital's statement by calling the Baker-K. U. contest the "first football match of any importance." [4] In either event, football had been recognized 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 in athletics," The Baker Beacon blared exultantly, "but she must now take in her sign or else make it read differently." [5] Baker scored on the "third scrimmage" when Lockhart sliced through the University line and crossed the goal. Three plays later the Methodists scored again with Coole carrying the ball across the line. The try for point was unsuccessful each time and the Baker total was only eight points, as touchdowns counted but four in those days, with two points added for a successful try for point.

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Consequently, after K. U. rallied and pushed over 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 was anxious," the Beacon reported, meaning the home crowd, no doubt, although it seems hardly possible that K. U. supporters felt much confidence in that one-point lead. If so, it was misplaced. Goodale of Baker soon scored a third touchdown for the Methodists. Try for point failed, but Baker led, 12 to 9. After some hard going Goodale scored again, but the try for goal went wide and the score stood 16 to 9 for Baker. Late in the game Atherton scored the fifth and last touchdown for the triumphant Baker team; this time goal was kicked and the score mounted to 22 points. K. U. had failed to add to its first half total. [6]

Baker followed its conquest of the University eleven with a 32 to 0 victory over Washburn. [7] Meanwhile K. U. made an unsuccessful foray against the Kansas City Y. M. C. A. and took an 18 to 10 beating. [9] Several hundred persons crowded about the playing field when the Baker team came to Lawrence on the afternoon of December 8 for a return game with K. U.

The final score of this contest has been a moot question for fifty years. University records give the score as 14 to 12 for Kansas. [9] Baker claimed in the Beacon of December 10, 1890, to have gained a 12 to 10 victory and hailed its team as state champions. A disputed play in the closing minutes was the basis of the controversy. With Baker leading 12 to 10 time was called on some technicality, according to the Baker version. While the Baldwin team was relaxed, Coleman, University center, snatched up the ball and dashed across the goal line, said Baker men. Umpire William Herbert Carruth, Kansas University professor, decided for Baker, but K. U. students refused to abide by the decision. The game ended a few moments later and supporters of both teams left the field chanting paeans of victory. Baker's claim to the state championship was only feebly disputed in Lawrence, however.

This concluded the first football season in Kansas 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 in the Graduate Magazine, in November, 1923, that he was probably

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wrong in calling time out. Nobody in Kansas qualified as a football expert at that remote date. The players coached themselves and interpreted the rules to their own satisfaction. The University coach was Prof. E. M. Hopkins, a Princeton alumnus, whose only qualification was that he had seen football played at his alma mater. It seemed that no one else on Mount Oread had ever seen a game prior to the historic campaign of 1890.

But this little flurry of gridiron activity fostered the organization of the first intercollegiate athletic association in the state. Baker, Washburn and K. U., the pioneering triumvirate, were ready to have at it again in 1891, and representatives of the three schools met in the spring to form the Triangular League and to map out a schedule of competition in football, baseball and tennis.

Play got under way late in the fall. The first contest on November 7, 1891, reported the following day in the Topeka Daily Capital, was between Baker and Washburn at Baldwin and resulted in a 28 to 18 victory for the defending state champions. Prominent in the Washburn lineup was J. C. Mohler, now secretary of the State Board of Agriculture. The Baker watchword was "stop Jake." Mohler got away frequently in spite of Baker's vigilance, but the Washburn defense could not cope with the powerful attack of the big Baker backs.

It was a K. U. year. The Jayhawks won a clear title in the new league, defeating Washburn twice, 32-10 and 38-10, and winning from Baker 18-4 and 8-0. [10] The first Kansas-Missouri game was played at Exposition 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's record 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 Western championship. 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 in the season. Unquestionably it was a great year for Kansas football. The Kansas-Nebraska meeting was the first in history. Illinois was beaten, 26 to 4; Iowa, 24 to 4; Nebraska, 12 to 0. Kansas and Missouri

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played the first of their traditional Thanksgiving week series, with the Tigers bowing, 12 to 4. [13]

Notwithstanding the "great depression" Kansas started the autumn of 1893 with a score of new teams on the gridiron. Baker had one of its most successful seasons, and incidentally its last until 1910, for the Kansas conference of the Methodist church banned the game from the Baker campus at 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 to 0. [14] Kansas, although not so fortunate, defeated Nebraska and Iowa, losing to Michigan, 22 to 0; Minnesota, 12 to 6; Denver A. C., 24 to 10; and meeting the first reverse at the hands of the Missouri Tigers, 10 to 4. [15]

Several high school and town teams took up the game during this season, including Topeka, Lawrence and Abilene. The Abilene team furnished the opposition for Kansas Wesleyan University in one of the Salina school'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 the Triangular League and no attempt was made to find a substitute for the Baldwin school. Ottawa University put a strong team on the field in 1894, one that tied K. U. and won a 28 to 0 victory over Missouri. [18] On November 3, the Kansas Aggies were beaten, 24 to 0, by Abilene in their first football game. Washburn had a stronger team than in past years and defeated two newcomers, the College of Emporia and Midland College of Atchison. Kansas University lost to Iowa, Michigan and 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 formerly provided by Baker. Between 1895 and 1899 Fairmount and Friends University of Wichita, St. Mary's College, Cooper College of Sterling, the Kansas City Medical College, Emporia Normal, the College of Emporia, Haskell Institute, Ottawa University, Midland College of Atchison, Kansas Wesleyan University, Washburn College and Kansas Aggies were competing with each other and with high-school

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and town teams in their respective neighborhoods. Some of the highschool and town team competition was more than the collegians could handle. The eleven that represented the little town of Glasco in the late 1890's was organized by a former Ottawa University player in 1896. It defeated Washburn and Ottawa and held K. U. to a close score.

Two intra-city feuds of long standing began in the 1890's: the College of Emporia-Emporia Normal rivalry and the Fairmount College-Friends University series in Wichita. Before the close of the century the annual Kansas-Missouri game was already cloaked with tradition and Washburn also was looking forward to its annual game with the University team as the big event of the season.

Under the tutelage of Fielding H. "Hurry Up" Yost, the University eleven was undefeated and un-tied in 1899. Yost, who later became famous as coach of Michigan's "point-a-minute" teams, is regarded as one of the greatest football technicians in the history of the American game. Among the heroes on Mount Oread that autumn were Bennie Owen, "Cussin' Tom" Smith and a giant tackle with the innocuous name of Rollo Krebs, who became the center of a controversy that was not settled for thirty-five years. In fact, l'affaire Krebs became one of those half-legendary athletic scandals that was embellished from year to year by imaginative sports writers.

Krebs' first appearance in the K. U. lineup was at Lincoln when the Jayhawks met Nebraska, and his phenomenal line play was an important factor in the 36 to 20 victory won by Kansas. A week later he assisted in the 23 to 0 defeat of Washburn. According to the University Weekly of December 2, 1899, Krebs was a young man who had learned the rudiments of football at his old home in Trinidad, Colo. His parents had moved to Birmingham, Kan., and the alleged 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 smashed the Tiger plays with monotonous regularity. Two Missouri linemen, who attempted to stop the new Kansas sensation, were carried from the field on stretchers that afternoon. Kansas won, 34 to 6.

Back in Lawrence enthusiastic students planned a great celebration in Krebs' honor after his expected return with the team, but the "phantom tackle" disappeared after the game. It was soon whispered about Mount Oread that the departed hero was not the green

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country lad his press agents had represented him to be. It was further alleged that Coach Yost had purposely imported this six-foot-three-inch, 210-pound gladiator to insure victories over Nebraska and Missouri and that he had played on other college fields before his Kansas debut.

The result was a housecleaning at K. U. As a matter of fact, the University was not alone among Kansas colleges which were tainted with professionalism. Even the staid Congregational college of Washburn once used Cy Leland's coachman in its line, a Washburn player of the 1890's confessed to the writer. There is also the tale of the Topeka fireman, one "Fatty" Clark, who was enrolled in the fine arts department at Washburn and starred in the Ichabod lineup.

The Krebs mystery was solved at last in 1934. The "phantom tackle," at that time 62 years of age and a mining engineer at Charleston, W. Va., came back to Lawrence the day before the Missouri game as guest of honor at a belated celebration. Krebs admitted that he had never been a resident either of Trinidad, Colo., or of Birmingham, Kan. His gridiron experience before his brief Kansas career consisted of five years' varsity competition at the University of West Virginia and a year in the professional ranks. He explained his disappearance at the conclusion of the 1899 campaign by stating tersely that he came to K. U. to play football, not to acquire an education. [19]

A tragic aftermath to the Krebs story was written two years later when the aging hero became totally blind after a mining accident. The cleanup that followed charges of professionalism resulted in a disastrous season at K. U. in 1900. It might be said that all was lost save honor. Yost had gone to Michigan, the machine of 1899 was shattered by graduation, and efforts to place the game on a higher plane were being made. Meanwhile, Bennie Owen, quarterback of the all-victorious Ninety-niners, was coaching the Washburn Ichabods with great success. Owen's team came to Lawrence on October 6 and routed the University eleven, 24 to 0. Owen insisted on quarter-backing the Ichabods against his alma mater. The Jayhawks demurred and the game was delayed for a few minutes until Bennie consented to remain on the bench. [20] The College of Emporia beat the Jayhawks, 18 to 0, and Washburn repeated in a return game at Topeka, 29 to 0. [21] Washburn lost to Haskell, 11 to 5, after defeating the Indians earlier in the season, 11 to 0.

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The early 1900's were marked by the rise of the Haskell 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. Bennie Owen was engaged as coach at the Lindsborg school [22] and the fruit of his efforts was a delight to residents of the Smoky Hill valley. Washburn went into a slump after Owen left; K. U.'s play was far from satisfactory. Wisconsin humbled the Jayhawks, 50 to 0, in 1901, and 38 to 0 in 1902. [23]

Owen's debut at Lindsborg was heralded in the Lindsborg Record of August 29, 1902, as follows:

We are particularly fortunate in securing the well known Benny Owen as coach at Bethany this year. All lovers of the gridiron sport remember his magnificent work at quarterback with K. U. . . . His name has a permanent spot in the football history at the university. As coach for Washburn the year they were in their glory and swept the state his work is well remembered. Owen served last year as assistant coach for the University of Michigan and contributed liberally to the success of their great team.

What Owen did to make the Swedes terrible is not definitely known, but they certainly performed in a fashion that struck fear from Lawrence to the Rocky Mountains and to the plains of Oklahoma. These comparative scores from the 1902 season reveal what a power the Swedes immediately became in Kansas football circles: Haskell, 24; K. U., 5. Bethany, 11; Haskell, 0. [24]

In 1903 Dr. Bert Kennedy, who was destined to become a towering figure in the Kansas football coaching profession, took over the task of reviving the Washburn Ichabods. His debut was inauspicious when his charges played a listless 0 to 0 tie with Emporia Normal in their first game .25 But the Washburn eleven came back with a 34 to 0 victory over K. S. A. C. and from then until the end of the season their march to the state championship was undisputed. [26] Kansas was beaten, 5 to 0, and Missouri, 6 to 0. [27] The Swedes challenged boldly, but were subdued, 12 to 6. [28]

Haskell, too, had a good season that rainy autumn of 1903. The Indians invaded Chicago and held Walter Eckersall and his teammates to a 17 to 11 score, [29] conquered K. U. and all their Kansas

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competition, but did not meet Kennedy's Washburn team. Kansas salvaged something out of a disastrous campaign by beating Missouri, 5 to 0, in the annual Thanksgiving game. [30]

Coach A. E. Hernstine's Haskell team led the way in 1904, while K. U. evened its accounts with Washburn by the score of 5 to 0.31 Bethany defeated the University of Oklahoma, 36 to 9. [32] The hapless Kansas Aggies suffered the most humiliating defeat in their history when Washburn beat them 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 be considered as championship contenders, were easily the class of the state.

Haskell smashed K. U., 23 to 6, Missouri, 39 to 0, and Nebraska, 14 to 6. Washburn, which had a good season under Dr. John Out land, fell by a 14 to 0 score. [35] At this time Coach Glenn "Pop" Warner's Carlisle 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 be what is colloquially known as a "natural." The game was scheduled for the Saturday after Thanksgiving, which fell on November 26.

The Haskell eleven warmed up for their Eastern rivals by playing Washington University of St. Louis on Thanksgiving Day and impressed 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 the type of game played in the Missouri Valley? Were the plains Indians overconfident or were they stale after a hard schedule and a game only two days before the meeting with the Warner men?

Glenn Warner was so impressed with the play of Haskell's famous

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Hauser brothers, Pete and Emil, that he lured the big Cheyenne lads to Carlisle where they performed with distinction. Of Pete, the fullback, Warner said he ranked "among the all-time stars." He received all-American recognition by Walter Camp while at Carlisle. [38]

The University of Oklahoma territory, tired of taking beatings in its annual football game with the "Terrible Swedes," opened negotiations with Bennie Owen, and the ex-K. U. quarterback listened with favor to the call from the South.39 It made little difference to Bethany, for football was temporarily abolished at the Lindsborg institution that year. The 1905 season, in which K. U. won the state title, was featured by a vast improvement at K. S. A. C. This was the year that M. F. "Mike" Ahearn took over the coaching duties. [40] The Aggies won six of their eight games, losing only to Washburn and K. U. The Jayhawks defeated all opponents in the Missouri Valley area, but succumbed to a great Colorado University team, 15 to 0. [41] Bennie Owen's first invasions 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 their former teacher a lesson, 9 to 6.

Football took an alarming toll in fatalities and serious injuries in 1905 and college authorities began to talk seriously of abolishing 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 of the dangers. Coaches and other supporters of the game offered suggestions. There was some talk of playing a trial post-season game under an improvised code, but none of the big Eastern colleges volunteered to make such a move.

Fairmount college of Wichita, coached by Willis Bates, a former Dartmouth player, had completed a successful season and Wichita promoters suggested that the Fairmount "Wheat Shockers" would be willing to act as guinea pigs if a suitable opponent could be found for a Christmas day "clinical contest." Washburn, which had beaten Fairmount in a close game during the regular season, readily agreed to appear against the Fairmount team in the holiday game.

The following rule changes were adopted: Ten yards in three downs instead of five yards; a field goal to count four points if made within thirty-five yards of the goal, five points if between thirty-five and forty-five yards, six points if made from behind the forty-

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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 a member of the offensive team.

To insure impartial officiating Coach John Outland of Washburn and Coach Willis Bates of Fairmount acted as referee and umpire, respectively. The game was shortened to twenty-minute halves.

It was one of those balmy December days that frequently occur in Kansas and a large crowd filled the stands. Washburn kicked off, Fairmount gained two yards in two plays and punted. Washburn gained six yards in two thrusts at the line and Millice punted. That, according to contemporary accounts, pretty well describes the whole game. Percy Bates, brother of the Fairmount coach, and Millice of Washburn were both great punters, and this phase of the contest, at least, was spectacular. The Wichita Eagle reported:

A great many of the spectators were pleased with the game. They said it was a great deal more satisfactory from a spectator's standpoint than the old game, as the people could see more of the plays. The fact that the ball was in the air a good deal also pleased the populace, who evidently delight in seeing the egg-shaped ball float across the horizon. The football enthusiasts of the city did not take this view of the matter, though. Col. Sam Hess said that he thought the game would be better if played with four downs in ten yards or two downs in five.

The score was 0 to 0. Washburn made four first downs, Fairmount three.. Neither team threatened the other's goal very seriously, although Hope of Washburn narrowly missed an attempted field goal. Washburn punted 18 times, Fairmount 20. Washburn received a fifteen-yard penalty for holding. The only successful means of gaining ground was by fake kicks or forward passes.

Of the first forward pass, Bliss Isely, who played in the game, writes, "the first forward pass in history was thrown that afternoon by Bill Davis to Art Solter and was good for a ten-yard gain. A number of passes were thrown, and all of them good, possibly because defense against the pass 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 free throw and it wobbled crazily through the air. Little comment was made on the pass, though both coaches condemned the ten yards in three downs ruling. The Washburn coach opined that a team would have to be four touchdowns stronger to win under such a ruling. [43] Nevertheless, the rules committee adopted both the ten yards in

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three downs rule and the pass, but they placed such restrictions upon the pass that 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 passer overshot his mark and the ball dropped to the ground it went to the defensive team.

Yet, within a few years, the forward pass was an important offensive weapon. Passers soon learned to grip the ball with one hand and spiral it with considerable accuracy and receivers became adept at snatching the gyrating oval out of the air. In 1907, Ralph Henry Barbour, who glorified the game of football in numerous exciting books for juvenile consumption, brought out a new thriller entitled Forward Pass in which the young hero scored the winning touchdown in the big game by means of this spectacular play.

Dr. Garfield Weede came to Washburn as coach in 1906 and the Ichabods went through a grueling 12-game schedule with three ties and one defeat. [44] The sensation of the season was K. S. A. C.'s first victory over its rival from Lawrence. Captain Mallon of the Aggies snatched up a blocked K. U. kick and raced half the distance of the field for a touchdown that gave the downtrodden Manhattan team a 6-4 victory. [45] The Aggies waited 18 years for another. But the Aggie record was marred by a 5 to 4 defeat by Washburn and a 12 to 6 loss to Coach Willis Bates' up-and-coming Fairmount team. [46] Fairmount gave Washburn its only defeat, 7 to 6. Washburn tied K. U., 0 to 0, and the Jayhawks won from Nebraska and tied Missouri. [47] Fairmount's claim to state honors was marred by a 6 to 0 loss to St. Mary's, a team Washburn defeated 42 to 0. [48]

There was no question about the Washburn claim in 1907. Armchair football fans in Topeka love to speak of that Washburn team whenever talk veers to the question of which was the greatest Washburn team of all time. Doctor Weede's protégés were undefeated and untied, and counted Kansas, Kansas Aggies, Haskell, Fairmount, Oklahoma, St. Mary's, and Emporia Normal among their victims. Glenn Millice, half-back, is remembered as one 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 beginning of the transition

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period in Kansas college football, a period in which the big state schools, Kansas University and Kansas State, outgrew the smaller colleges. Washburn slumped dismally, losing five games. Kansas Aggies' 23 to 4 victory over the Ichabods was the first game the Manhattan team had ever won from the Topekans. [50]

Down at Lawrence Doctor Kennedy produced an all-victorious eleven. Kansas won the Missouri Valley Conference title in competition with Iowa University, Iowa State, Nebraska, Missouri, Drake and Washington University of St. Louis [51] It was the immortal Tommy Johnson's first 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 Missouri were their only defeats. Crushing victories were scored over Kansas Wesleyan, Southwestern, Emporia Teachers, Creighton, Fairmount and Washburn. A dispute over the K. U. game caused a rift in relations between the Lawrence and Manhattan schools and no game was scheduled in 1910. [52]

The K. U. team of 1909 almost duplicated its success of the previous year. Tommy Johnson's sensational 70-yard touchdown run against Nebraska that gave his team a 6 to 0 victory at Lincoln is one of the never-to-be-forgotten feats in Kansas athletic annals. [53] But Missouri upset the Jayhawks, 12 to 6, in the Thanksgiving Day meeting at Kansas City and snatched the title away from Mount Oread. Haskell beat Nebraska, 16 to 5. [54]

Baker returned to competition in 1910. The Haskell Indians were at low ebb. Kansas University, captained by Tommy Johnson, finished fifth in the Missouri Valley race, losing to Nebraska, winning from Drake and tying Missouri in conference competition. Mike Ahearn's Aggies continued their victory march, overwhelming their Kansas opponents by one-sided scores, and adding Arkansas University, Missouri School of Mines and Creighton to their 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 to join the Missouri Valley Conference, as it was felt that the Kansas schools were not providing adequate competition for M. F. Ahearn's men. This, however, necessitated adherence to Missouri Valley eligibility rules and eliminated some good material.

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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, the College of Emporia provided a sensation by producing the first of a long line of fine teams. Washburn was mediocre, Fairmount, Baker and Emporia Teachers were strong. 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 the Kansas-Missouri game resulted in a 3 to 3 tie. Bennie Owen's Oklahoma Sooners won their first victory over their coach's alma mater, 3 to 0. [56]

Washburn, coached by W. L. Driver, a former Missouri player, made a gallant effort to regain its front rank position in 1912 and succeeded in beating its old rival, the University, 10 to 0. It was the Ichabod's last win from the Jawhawks. Notwithstanding this reverse, Kansas defeated K. S. A. C., 19 to 6, and Missouri, 12 to 3. Nebraska, on the road to national gridiron prominence, stopped the K. U. team, 14 to 3. [57] Coach Guy Lowman's Aggies won the Kansas Conference title by shattering Washburn's hopes with a 21 to 3 defeat on Thanksgiving Day. [58]

Several important rules changes went into effect in 1912. Forward passing across the goal line was legalized, touchdowns were to count 6 points instead of 5, the offensive team was given four downs to gain ten yards. There were other changes of a minor nature but these were the most important in their effect on the development of the game.

The field goal, which originally counted 5 points, had been reduced to 4 points in 1904 and to 3 points in 1909. By increasing the value of the touchdown to 6 points, with an additional point for the goal after touchdown, it would require three field goals to beat a touchdown and point conversion. Naturally the field goal lost favor and when the goal posts were moved to their present position ten yards back of the goal line by a code revision fifteen years later it almost became a forgotten method of scoring in college football. In recent years, however, there has been a revival of this spectacular play. The professional football rules makers have placed the goal posts back on the goal line and there is considerable agitation in college circles for following their example.

Kansas Aggies became the seventh member of the Missouri Valley

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Conference in 1913, finishing in a tie for last place. Nebraska and Kansas were the new member's only conference opponents and each beat the Aggies handily. Southwestern College reached the zenith of its gridiron glory that autumn by handing the Aggies a 13 to 10 defeat. [59] Kansas finished third in the Valley with three victories and defeats by Missouri and Nebraska. Haskell was back in old-time form and had a great season, but lost a heartbreaking 7 to 6 decision to Nebraska. [60] In 1914 Friends University had an undefeated season.

Gradually the two big schools established the fact that they were too strong for the teachers' colleges and the denominational schools. Washburn beat Kansas Aggies, 26 to 16, in 1914 and has never won another game from its early-day rival. Since 1915, when Emporia Teachers defeated the Aggies, 13 to 0, the Manhattan school has lost only one game to a smaller Kansas college. 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 one football game to a Kansas rival other than the State College. Wichita University won 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 since Tommy Johnson's victory run in 1909. The Cornhuskers were heavy favorites when the Jayhawks came to Lincoln on November 18, 1916. Coach Herman C. "Beau" Olcott devised a shrewd plan of battle. During the first half Kansas was constantly on the defensive. Only one serious attempt was made at offensive play. On every other occasion when Kansas got the ball Lindsey punted on the first or second down. When the intermission time came the K. U. goal line was unmarred by Husker cleats, but Nebraska led, 3 to 0, by virtue of a field goal.

Kansas opened up in the third quarter and scored a touchdown before the Huskers could rally their defense. Goal was kicked and Kansas led, 7 to 3. After that the Jayhawks went on the defensive again and withstood desperate Nebraska attacks until the final gun sounded. [63]

Kansas Aggies won their first conference victory, beating Missouri 7 to 6. [64] The annual K. U.-Kansas Aggie struggle resulted in a score-

300 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

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 period of the United States' participation in the World War, the Missouri Valley and Kansas 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 among the great players on that team. H. M. "Swede" Neilson, whose touchdown had beaten Nebraska in 1916, was the captain. Kansas soldiers training with the 35th division at Camp Doniphan, Okla., went to Norman some 200 strong to cheer the Jayhawks on to a 13 to 6 victory over the Sooners.

In 1918 the Students Army Training Corps interrupted the athletic program and only a few games were played. Missouri did not attempt to organize a team and the Aggies were substituted for the Tigers as a 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 brief schedule. K. U. defeated Baker, but lost to Nebraska and Oklahoma.

Kansas-trained football players achieved the highest recognition in competition with teams composed of players from every section of the United States in the A. E. F. play-offs which took place in France during the winter and early spring of 1919. The 89th division team, which learned to soldier at Camp Funston and was composed of men from Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska, won the A. E. F. gridiron title after defeating another Western army eleven, the 36th division, which was composed of Texas and Oklahoma National Guardsmen. The championship game was played at Paris, March 29, 1919. The score was 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 the service and captained the 1919 K. U. eleven. The 89th division, stationed in Germany after the Armistice, organized a football team that swept through the Rhineland like one of Hitler's Panzer divisions. After winning the Third Army title the 89th beat the St. Nazaire Base Section eleven, which had Eddie Mahan, former

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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 assistant coach at K. U. before the war. These two, with Laslett, an end, were chosen for the mythical all-A. E. F. eleven by the sports editor of The Stars and Stripes. [70] Both Clark and Lindsey coached at the University after the war.

On the 35th division team, which gave a good account of itself, were several Kansas collegians, including "Pinky" Beals of Washburn, George "Rook" Woodward of K. U., Hyndman of Pittsburg, and Kalama, giant Haskell center. When the 35th played the 7th division at Commercy one rainy afternoon in February, 1919, Beals looked across the field and saw Lt. Sam Stewart, who was Washburn's 1916 captain. Stewart was in the backfield for the regular army team. This game resulted in a scoreless tie, but the 7th division won 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 this campaign by holding K. U. to a scoreless tie and threatening to win the Kansas Conference championship, but Gwinn Henry's Presbyterians at the College of Emporia upset the Ichabods, 7 to 0, [71] to gain the title. It was becoming a habit with the Presbyterians. Kansas Aggies had a bad season, losing all but one of their conference games and also dropping a game to Haskell. K. U. won but one conference game, the annual contest with the Aggies.

Two games on the K. U. 1920 schedule stand out from the pages of Kansas gridiron lore. The first was the early season contest with 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 a dream. He dreamed about football, of course, and naturally it had to do with the impending battle with the men from Ames.

"I seemed to see Harley Little carrying the ball," Dr. Allen re

302 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

lated. The K. U. coach said that he regarded this as a good omen. Kansas won the 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. Before spectators were aware of what was going on, Harley Little was clear of the secondary defense, with the exception of the Ames safety. Lonborg, running interference, took care of the Ames safety and Little sprinted 75 yards to the only touchdown of the game. Kansas won, 7 to 0. [72]

The Kansas Aggies were the next K. U. opponents and their coach wired Doctor Allen that dreams wouldn't turn the trick at Manhattan. Dream or no dream, the University won the game, 14 to 0. [73]

For sheer thrills the Kansas-Nebraska game of 1920 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 was occupied in 1921. Nebraska, a heavy favorite, rolled up 20 points in the first half. Kansas displayed little offensive power. In the third quarter Nebraska fumbled 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" tried it again early in the fourth period. Mandeville scored again. Goal was kicked and the score stood, Kansas 14, Nebraska, 20. Lonborg was replaced at quarterback by John Bunn, but Bunn followed his example and on the first opportunity flipped a pass to Mandeville that resulted in another Kansas touchdown. The score stood 20 to 20. With victory within their reach, the Jayhawks missed their goal and the game ended in a tie. [74]

Coach Allen's psychic powers failed to work against Missouri. The Tigers defeated Kansas, 16 to 7. Beaten by K. U., Missouri and Iowa State and tied by Washburn and Emporia Teachers, the Kansas Aggies rose to 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 Emporia Teachers 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 a surprising 10 to 7 victory over a supposedly invincible Emporia Teachers eleven in 1921. The Emporians had been raging through the Kansas Confer

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ence that season. Washburn's play had been erratic. When Coach Dwight Ream of Washburn caught Marvin Stevens, his quarterback, at a dance the night before the game, he kept him on the bench during the first half. "Steve," as he was known to his Washburn team mates, went into the game in the third quarter. He led the Washburn second-half offensive that carried the ball deep into Emporia territory and kicked a field goal to give his team an upset victory. [76]

Stevens attended Yale after he left Washburn and was 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 was head football coach at Yale for several years and now holds that position at New York University.

Gwinn Henry went from the College of Emporia to the University of Missouri in 1923. His teams were perennial leaders in the Kan sas Conference. "Potsy" Clark had his best team at K. U. in 1923. The Jayhawks were unbeaten that season, though their record was blurred by scoreless ties with Kansas Aggies and Nebraska and a 3 to 3 tie with Missouri. Only six points were scored against this great defensive team. Oklahoma and Missouri each scored field goals against K. U. While the team's claim to distinction was its defensive power, it ran up the second largest score ever amassed by a K. U. team in beating Washington University of St. Louis, 83 to 0. [77] The 3 to 3 draw with Missouri's Tigers was played at Lawrence in a Thanksgiving Day blizzard.

A victory drought of eighteen years in competition with K. U. was broken by Charley Bachman's Aggies on a sultry October day in 1924. The score was 6 to 0 and this event proved to be the turning point in the long series between the two large state schools.

So consistent had been the Jayhawk victory string that Aggie supporters had built up the superstition of a "jinx." The Aggies often seemed to be at their season's worst against the University team. In 1921, when the smooth-working Swartz to Stark passing combination was reflecting favorable publicity on the Manhattan team and its Notre Dame coach, the Aggies appeared to be almost certain to break their losing streak against K. U. But disappointed Manhattanites sat in the fog and rain at Lawrence that afternoon and saw their heroes do everything wrong in the first half, allowing the Jayhawks to take a 21 to 0 lead. The Aggies rallied in the second half and

304 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

outplayed their opponents, but their offensive produced a lone touchdown and the game ended, 21 to 7.

The K. U. cheering section formed a habit of chanting "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 scoring drive seemed sure to result in a touchdown, but a fumble gave K. U. the ball. It was 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 that afternoon 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 new arrival in the Aggie backfield was little Donald Meek, reserve halfback. The ball bounded Meeks' way and he scooped it up, tucked it securely under his arm and started 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. trench mortars reverberating from the Bluestem hills around Manhattan acclaimed the six points and the victorious Aggie team. It was the dawn of a new era in Kansas football. A brief resume of subsequent K. U.-Kansas State football history reveals how completely the Aggies dominated the series after that game. Since the jinx was buried that afternoon with military honors K. U. has won but five games from the "Wildcats," as Kansas State teams are known today. The Manhattan men followed their 1924 victory with triumphs in 1925, 1926 and 1927.

The University team finally broke the string in 1928 with a 7 to 0 victory at Manhattan. Kansas State won, 6 to 0, in 1929. In 1930 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 a 60-yard run from scrimmage. The Wildcats won in 1931, 13 to 0, with Ralph Graham as 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's amazing 1934 team stopped the Jayhawks, 13 to 0; Kansas scored an upset 9 to 2 victory in 1935. It was easy for State in 1936, 26 to 6. In 1937 a K. U. team that had tied Nebraska and was entertaining hopes of a Big Six title was beaten at 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, 27 to 7. Visitors to the National Cornhusking Contest at Lawrence in 1939 saw the Wildcats win, 27 to 6, as a side attraction to the husking bee.

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While the Aggies were shattering precedent in 1924 Gwinn Henry was bringing the Missouri Tigers to the top of the Missouri Valley ladder. In 1925 the Tigers came to Lawrence undefeated on the Saturday before Thanksgiving. K. U. had lost to Iowa State, Nebraska and Kansas State, all Missouri victims.

Charles "Stony" Wall, a reserve lineman, carved himself a niche in the K. U. hall of football fame that afternoon. The Jayhawks displayed a surprising defense and were battling the favored Tigers in a 7 to 7 deadlock in the closing minutes of the game. Kansas stopped a desperate Missouri drive near its goal line and Zuber went back to punt with a strong south wind at his 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 the ball within striking distance with time for one play.

When "Stony" Wall ran out and reported to the officials everyone in the Kansas cheering section knew that Coach Clark had decided to gamble with a field goal rather than a forward pass. Wall responded by place kicking the ball between the posts as the game ended. Spectators insisted that the ball was in the air when the final gun was fired. [79]

Kansas won another upset victory over the Tigers in 1927 and nearly precipitated a rupture in athletic relations with its traditional rival. The Missouri Valley schools had agreed not to "scout" each other in the belief that such a practice was unsportsmanlike. But, Coach Frank Cappon of Kansas had perfected such an impregnable defense that the Tigers hammered at the line all afternoon to produce one touchdown. It didn't look like the same Kansas team that Nebraska had beaten, 47 to 13. Kansas also unveiled a passing attack and scored twice to win, 14 to 7. [80]

Missouri claimed that Kansas had violated the anti-scouting rule and produced evidence to show that persons not connected with the K. U. staff had acted as volunteer scouts at previous Missouri games and had provided Coach Cappon with charts of the Tiger plays that enabled him to improvise a method of stopping Clark and Flamank, Missouri ball carriers, in their devastating cut-back plays. The upshot of the affair was Cappon's resignation. H. W. "Bill" Hargiss, who had enjoyed a long and successful career as head coach of the Emporia Teachers, was engaged to replace Cappon in 1928.

306 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

When Missouri Valley representatives met in December, 1927, delegates expressed dissatisfaction with the ten-team conference. Some of the smaller schools such as Washington and Grinnell had not been able to provide much competition. The result was the formation of the present Big Six Conference by the withdrawal of Nebraska, Missouri, Oklahoma, Iowa State and the two Kansas representatives. [81]

The action of the big Missouri Valley schools was imitated by seven of the larger Kansas Conference colleges who withdrew from the cumbersome old league and formed the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, commonly known as the Central Conference. New conference members included Wichita University, Washburn, Southwestern, College of Emporia and the three state teachers' colleges. In the old conference only Baker, Bethany, St. Benedict's. Ottawa, St. Mary's, McPherson and Kansas Wesleyan remained after Friends University, Sterling College and Bethel College withdrew from organized competition.

College of Emporia climaxed a long record of successful campaigning in Kansas football by winning the first Central Conference title in 1928. The Presbyterians were undefeated, untied and unscored upon. The annual Thanksgiving Day grudge game between the College and the Teachers decided the race. Both were undefeated in conference play. Many believed the Teachers had the stronger team, but selves, McCartney and company scored a decisive 18 to 0 victory on a rain-swept field. It was C. of E.'s last "powerhouse" team. A subsequent change in athletic policy dropped the Presbyterians from their pinnacle. C. of E. soon found Central Conference competition too strong and went back to the Kansas Conference, effective December 1, 1933. [82]

The prosperous 1920's saw the construction of several new stadia or "bowls." University students razed the wooden bleachers and grandstand at old McCook field in the spring of 1921 and work on Memorial Stadium was started during the summer. Games were played on the new field in 1921, but it was not officially dedicated until the following year. The stadium at Kansas State was begun in 1922 and the first section was ready for occupancy in time for the football season that fall. Washburn's Moore bowl was dedicated in 1928.

Former students and others interested in Haskell Institute con

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tributed to a fund for the construction of a concrete stadium dedicated October 27-30, 1926. Thousands of Indians from reservations in the Southwest attended the ceremonies and saw the Indian eleven rout Bucknell University, 36 to 0. [83]

Haskell, however, was a road team in the days of its gridiron glory. The Indians were much in demand and played in every section of the United States. Notre Dame, Gonzaga University of Spokane, Wash., St. Xavier of Cincinnati, Temple University of Philadelphia, Boston College and the University of Minnesota were numbered among Haskell's opponents. Football relations between K. U. and Haskell were renewed in 1930 after an interval of twenty-six years. The Lawrence teams met regularly during the early 1900's, but the 1905 game was canceled and relations were severed because students of the rival institutions had begun to take their football too seriously and frequent clashes occurred on the streets of Lawrence.

The 1930 game was played at the Haskell stadium before a homecoming crowd of Indians. K. U. won, 33 to 7, but the Indians were much better than the score indicates. All the breaks of the game went to K. U. Indian fumbles were converted into Jayhawk touchdowns, Indian touchdowns were nullified by penalties. Only two of the K. U. touchdowns were earned and Louis "Little Rabbit" Weller made some sensational gains through the University defense.

A return game was played in the K. U. stadium October 2, 1931. This was the only night game ever played by the Jayhawks on their 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 Weller would be a marked man, built their offense around a big fullback named Walter Johnson, who ripped the Jayhawk line to shreds. Weller, used as a decoy, carried the ball on only a few occasions. The score was 6 to 0, Haskell.

Post-season charity games were a feature in 1930 and 1931, as the depression's grip tightened. The first was played in 1930 when all-star teams representing the Central and Kansas Conferences met at Topeka, with the Central eleven winning, 21 to 7. [84] Washburn, co-champion of the Central Conference with Wichita University, met K. U. in a post season contest at Topeka early in December, 1931. The Ichabods were beaten, 6 to 0. Kansas State defeated Wichita

308 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

University, 20 to 6, at Wichita. Ralph Graham, Eldon Auker and Henry Cronkite were the K-State luminaries that season [85]

Night football, though scorned by Kansas' Big Six members, is now played by all the smaller colleges, and most of the high schools of the state have lighted fields. The smaller schools, who had been forced to play many of their games on weekdays because of the Saturday competition at Lawrence or Manhattan, have found that night football is the answer to their attendance problems.

The ghost of Rollo Krebs stalked across the gridiron at Lawrence in 1930, casting a shadow over the best prospects the University had enjoyed in more than two decades. Not since 1899, when the Krebs scandal rocked Mount Oread, had the Jayhawkers faced such violent charges of professionalism and other unfair athletic practices. Jim Bausch, all-time all-star fullback and 1932 Olympic decathlon champion, was the storm center. Bausch was a graduate of Cathedral High School, Wichita, where he had been an outstanding athlete. He enrolled at Wichita University but K. U. alumni in Wichita 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 injuries part of the season.

In 1930 Jim was in prime condition. The Jayhawks beat Creighton, Haskell, Kansas State and Iowa State and the newspapers were shouting the team's praises, calling it the greatest that ever represented the University of Kansas. Rumblings soon began to be heard throughout the Big Six. To discuss the details of the controversy that almost resulted in Kansas' expulsion from the conference would demand more space than the subject can be alloted in this chronology of Kansas football.

When the proud Jayhawks lost their big intersectional game with Pennsylvania by two touchdowns and performed indifferently in losing to a mediocre Nebraska team, 16 to 0, the clamor subsided. The Big Six decided to let K. U. stay, Bausch or no Bausch. The team won 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 worst seasons. Missouri was beaten 32 to 0 by the Jayhawks but held Oklahoma to a scoreless tie five days later and by so doing gave K. U. its only Big Six football title. Kansas State's victory over Nebraska was its first. A long pass to Cronkite produced the winning touchdown for Coach "Bo" McMillan's team.

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Lynn Waldorf's feat of producing a championship team in 1934, his first and only year at Kansas State, is without parallel in Kansas coaching annals. The new mentor inherited few of the stars of previous years. Graham and Russell were among those lost through graduation. But Waldorf built up a team that edged past one obstacle after another in the conference race, concluding its performance with 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 Valley and it cost them their coach. Impressed with Waldorf's record, Northwestern made him an attractive offer and he became head coach at the Evanston school the following autumn.

Washburn's ambitious athletic program resulted in its withdrawal from the Central Conference in 1934. The Ichabods entered the Missouri Valley Conference the following year. The loss of Washburn left the Central with only five members. Wichita University, which had vied with Washburn for conference honors, found a new rival in Fort Hays State. The Western Kansans won the conference title in 1934 and 1936. Pittsburg Teachers has had some strong teams. In 1935 they were tied with Wichita for the title.

St. Benedict's, the only Kansas Catholic college in 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 Conference in 1939. St. Benedict's "Ravens" were one of the eight undefeated and untied football teams in the nation in 1936. The Notre Dame regime was continued under Marty Peters when Mullins went to Loyola of the South in 1937.

For the past three years Al Gebert's Wichita team has dominated the Central Conference. Ottawa, Baker and Kansas Wesleyan are leaders in the older conference. Washburn, after five lean years in the Missouri Valley, will leave the conference at the end of this season. Haskell, with a smaller enrollment and youthful material, has confined its competition to high-school teams since 1938.

Fifty years of college football in Kansas have seen many traditional rivalries wax and wane. Emporia Teachers outgrew the College of Emporia and an attempt to revive this annual classic in 1939 resulted in a one-sided victory for the Teachers. Wichita and Friends quit playing after the 1934 game which the municipal university won by a large score. Washburn no longer has a place on K. U. or Kansas State schedules except as a "breather." The Baker-

310 KANSAS HISTORICAL QUARTERLY

Ottawa, McPherson-Bethany, Hays-Kansas Wesleyan and Emporia Teachers-Pittsburg Teachers rivalries have continued. Washburn and Wichita are also rivals of long standing.

While a number of Kansas collegians have enjoyed brief careers in professional football, the success achieved by Glen Campbell and Dale Burnett of Emporia Teachers is outstanding. Campbell, end, and Burnett, fullback, were teammates at the Emporia school in 1928. Both were signed by the New York Giants after they left college. Campbell retired after a few years of competition, Burnett was on the Giants' roster until recently.

Two former Kansas college players, who later coached football where they learned the game, are nationally prominent in the officiating world. They are Ernest C. Quigley of St. Mary's and Dwight Ream of Topeka. Quigley is also a National League baseball umpire. For twenty-five years he has been in demand as a football official and has worked in some of the most important annual games. Ream, a Washburn halfback in 1912, 1913 and 1914, coached the Ichabods in 1920 and 1921. In recent years he has been recognized as one of the leading officials in the Middle West and worked in the Orange Bowl game at Miami on New Year's Day, 1940.

The game has undergone many changes since 1890 and the modern stream-lined football eleven presents a far different appearance from the heavily padded teams of the old days. When football was a game of bruising power and speed was nonessential the players weighted themselves down with cumbersome equipment. Heavy turtle-neck jerseys were protected from the strain of the push and pull style of play by laced canvas vests. Arm and shoulder pads, now worn underneath the jersey, were frankly in evidence. Sensitive shins were protected by shin-guards made of reinforced canvas that looked very much like lamp chimney wrappers strapped to the leg. Pants were of heavy canvas with thick padding. Rubber nose guards, held in place at the top by a strap around the head and at the bottom by a mouthpiece, gave the players a terrifying appearance. Despite these precautions against injury to other portions of his anatomy the old-time player usually entrusted the safety of his cranium to a heavy crop of hair. A few wore a type of headgear that was primitive in design, but most of the warriors discarded this protection in the heat of battle.

Today, when emphasis is placed on speed, silk pants have replaced those of padded canvas, shin and nose guards have been relegated

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to the museum. Jerseys are of light but durable material and the old vest has gone 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 in color with the rest of the uniform. Night football has popularized the white helmet, especially for pass receivers. The ball, too, is given a coat of white paint for use under the flood lights. Many players prefer to play without socks.

Now that football is a part of the athletic program in several hundred Kansas high schools the coaching profession is attracting collegians. Full-time coaches are seldom employed by the smaller high schools and the football tutor is usually required to spend some time in the classroom in addition to his afternoons on the practice field or in the stadium. Consequently the three teachers' colleges are enjoying an advantage over the small denominational colleges, for football players who plan to take up high-school coaching must also equip themselves to teach English, mathematics and other highschool courses in order to pass the requirements of exacting school officials.

College and high-school athletic coaches from several states in the Missouri Valley and Rocky Mountain areas attend an annual coaching school at Washburn College, Topeka. The school, which offers a schedule of instruction in football, baseball, basketball and track, is held during the latter part of August. It is sponsored by the Kansas State High School Activities Association. This vacation institute for the men who earn a living by teaching competitive 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 coaches who 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 the second largest coaching school in the country and the only one that is sponsored by a high-school activities association. [86]

Notes

1. Washburn Argo, Topeka, December, 1855.
2. Ibid.
3. Wichita Sunday Eagle, December 18, 1927.
4. Topeka Daily Capital, November 23, 1890; University Courier, Lawrence, November 28, 1890.
5. The Baker Beacon, Baldwin, November 26, 1890.
6. Ibid.
7. Ibid., December 3, 1890.
8. University Courier, Lawrence, December 5, 1890.
9. Ibid., December 12, 1890.
10. Football at the University of Kansas, a pamphlet published by the K. U. News Bureau, 1938.
11. University Courier, Lawrence, November 6, 1891.
12. Ibid., December 11, 1891.
13. Football at the University of Kansas.
14. Topeka Daily Capital, October 15, 22, 29 and December 1, 1893.
15. Ibid., December 1, 1893; Football at the University of Kansas.
16. Topeka Daily Capital, November 19, 1893.
17. Ibid., December 1, 1893.
18. Ibid., October 28, November 11, 1894.
19. Kansas City (Mo.) Star, November 28, 1934.
20. Topeka Daily Capital, October 7, 1900.
21. Ibid.., November 11, 1900.
22. Lindsborg Record, August 29, 1902.
23. Football at the University of Kansas.
24. Topeka Daily Capital, November 16, 28, 1902.
25. Ibid., October 4, 1903.
26. Ibid., November 8, 1903.
27. Ibid., November 1, 19, 1903.
28. Ibid., November 15, 1903.
29. Ibid., November 8, 1903.
30. Football at the University of Kansas.
31. Topeka Daily Capital, October 30, 1904.
32. Ibid., November 25, 1904.
33. Ibid., November 13, 1904.
34. Ibid., November 6, 1904.
35. Ibid., November 20, 1904.
36. Kansas City (Mo.) Times, November 25, 1904.
37. Topeka Daily Capital, November 27, 1904.
38. Warner, Glenn S., "The Indian Massacres," Collier's, October 17, 1931.
39. Lindsborg Record, September 15, 1905.
40. "Records of the Kansas State College Athletic Department" (typed copy).
41. Football at the University of Kansas.
42. From Bliss Isely's writings, copy furnished by Wichita University.
43. Wichita Daily EagleDecember 26, 1905.
44. Washburn Kaw, Topeka, 1907.
45. Topeka Daily Capital, November 24, 1906.
46. Kansas State College, "Athletic Department Records."
47. Topeka Daily Capital, November 4, 11, 18, 30, 1906.
48. Wichita Eagle, October 23, 1906; Washburn Kaw, 1907.
49. Ibid., 1908.
50. Topeka Daily Capital, November 22, 1908.
51. Football at the University of Kansas.
52. Kansas State College, "Athletic' Department Records."
53. Topeka Daily Capital, November 7, 1909.
54. Ibid., November 26, 1909.
55. Kansas State College, "Athletic Department Records."
56. Topeka Daily Capital, November 12, 19, 26, 1911.
57. Football at the University of Kansas.
58. Kansas State College, "Athletic Department Records."
59. Ibid.
60. Topeka Daily Capital, October 26, 1913.
61. Kansas State College, "Athletic Department Records."
62. Football at the University of Kansas.
63. Topeka Daily Capital, November 19, 1916.
64. Ibid., November 12, 1916.
65. Ibid., December 1, 1916.
66. Ibid., November 18, 1917.
67. Ibid., November 29, 1918.
68. The Stars and Stripes, France, April 4, 1919.
69. Ibid., March 21, 1919. 70. Ibid., April 11, 1919.
71. Topeka Daily Capital, November 15, 1919.
72. Kansas City (Mo.) Star, October 24, 1920; Topeka Daily Capital, October 27, 1920.
73. Ibid., October 31, 1920.
74. Ibid., November 14, 1920; Kansas City (Mo.) Star, November 14.
75. Topeka Daily Capital, November 21, 26, 1920.
76. Ibid., November 6, 1921.
77. Football at the University of Kansas.
78. Topeka Daily Capital, October 19, 1924.
79. Ibid., November 22, 1925.
80. Ibid., November 20, 1927.
81. Ibid., December 4, 1927.
82. The New College Life, Emporia, September 4, 1933.
83. Topeka Daily Capital, October 31, 1920.
84. Ibid., December 7, 1930.
85. Ibid., December 6, 1931.
86. Ibid., August 18, 1940.