THE DAILY NEBRASKAN
'Wisconsin should win from Illinois and
Minnesota from Chicago, neither of which
is impossible, the situation would he
hopelessly muddled, no matter how the
Chicago-Illinois battle comes out. Hut
dope is strong in the belief that Illinois
will defeat Chicago, and that the Illini
loam will maintain her clean slate against
Wisconsin. Nebraska's team is one of
the most powerful fighting machines the
game has had, but before she can lay
claims to the western title, she must dis
pose of two of the most doughty teams
in the game today the beefy, sturdy
.layhawkers, and the speedy, tricky
llawkeyes. Should Nebraska defeat Kan
sas and Iowa, by decisive scores, next
Saturday and the Saturday following,
.is she will do if she plays up to form,
ishe will share western honors with Illi
nois, and probably have the premier claim
to western honors. And it is also prob
able, although there is.no way to prove
tlie fact except by a post-season game,
that the best in the west is slightly bet
ter than the best in the east.
It is natural in a season claiming so
many high class elevens, that there
should be an abundance of all-western
material upon the western teams. Some
of the players who bid fair to get places
on the mythical nil-western eleven are
Pogue of Illinois, Russel, Cray, and Des
Jardien of Chicago, Solon of Minnesota,
Frank and Buck of Wisconsin, Halligan
and Rutherford of Nebraska, Gross of
Iowa, Julian of the Michigan Aggies, and
Maul bet sell and JIughitt of Michigan.
LETTERS FROM FORMER
CORNHUSKERS.
Alva, Oklahoma, Nov. 9, 1914.
The Daily Nebraskan,
H. I. Kyle, Sporting Editor.
Dear friends:
Your post card received asking for,
"a good 'homy' letter for our big 'foot
ball' review number. Tell us alnnit the
old days and your interest in the new."
Since it has been but eight years past,
from the beginning to the ending of my
Cornhusker school days, I hesitate to re
late history of the old days. However,
my interest in both the old and new is
growing keener each year. A sort of an
in-growing normal pain.
I take it for granted that you expect
a sort of "football" letter from me.
Just what would const hit e, "a good
'homy' letter," depends on the spirit
and fove for the thing, or things indulged
in as Nebraskans, backed by actual ser
vice, both as a student and alumnus.
Service in kind and degree will denote
the interest therein.
My interest in the old days dates back
to the '90 's. When a lad off down in
the foothills of southeastern Nebraska,
eagerly I would read of the giant Corn
huskers, fitted in stripes, fighting Min
nesota, Wisconsin or Indians for athletic
supremacy. Had anyone told me, that
some day I would be lugging a pigskin
into "Sweedish," "Von Cluck," or
"In'jin, "stone-wall, why surely I would
have thought him insane anyhow I'd be
running yet. However, history has re
peated the impossible.
From the first day that I was an eye
witness to a Cornhusker football machine
in action, my athletic heart jumped with
excitement and a faint hope of sometime
fighting for the scarlet and cream. Re
lations with various Lincoln High ath
letic events brought be in personal touch
with many Cornhusker athletes, whom I
admired greatly, and boylike dreamed
and patterned after in my own turning
desire to become a sure 'nough Corn
husker. Finally the time rolled 'round and I
found myself busting shins and shoulders
with an ambitious lot of prospectors for
a regular birth on a Cornhusker eleven.
At last my one fond hope was realized
and so 1 lugged the "pigskin" tliealloted
time, for dear old Neraska, seasons '07,
'OH, and '10. 1 think 1 can tell what I
put into football during that time but
space alone will not permit me to relate
the benefit received therefrom. Life is
one big game of football and if 1 have
met with any degree of success thus far
in the business world, this success can
be largely and rightfully attributed to
my football training, experiences and as
sociations, with Nebraskans.
During the last few years, Cornhusker
football teams have stood as the peer of
any eleven in the middle west, yes, I
dare say in the country. Nebraska spirit
is in no small measure responsible for
the high rank of our team. What are
you doing to build this "Nebraska spirit"
faster and stronger? When all question
marks are turned into the period, our
athletic teams will be ever victorious.
As I wired the fellows before the
Michigan Aggie game, "Fellows, physi
cally and mentally you're the equal of
any team, spirit alone will be the decid
ing factor in today's game," and so it
will hold true in all today's games, all
other conditions being equally applied.
As stated at the outset, spirit and love
for that thing that has spirited one,
backed by service, either as a "football
ist," debater or what-not or as a "fan"
or "fannie," will denote the personal in
terest therein. If we as fellow Nebras
kans are to share honors and prestige,
manifest by our Cornhusker teams, Ath
letically or Scholastieally, we must forge
and stand together a stronger lot of
boosting Nebraskans.
Annual Home Coming is indeed a
grand event, a big get together meeting
of the "ises" and "has-beens," it means
so much to the Alumni especially,
Alumni mean as much to the active stu
dent body. As yet 1 have not attended
one of these "stunt fests," time and
distance alone bas detained me in the
past but I hope not in the future.
A Cornhusker friend,
HARRY R. MINOR.
I
Pullman, Wash., Nov. 9.
H. I. Kyle,
Care Daily Nebraskan,
State University, Lincoln, Neb.
If every player does his part, all will
tackle hard and low and fight and fight
hard, the good old school will win. Am
with vou in spirit. Co to it hard.
TWISTER BENDER.
STIEHM'S ASSISTANTS.
By H. L. Kyle.
Much credit for the Cornhuskers' suc
cess this year must be given to Stiehm's
assistants, Hoeffel and Harmon. Joe
Hoeffel, who made an all-American end
at Wisconsin in 1912, has been of invalu
able service, as a scout, in bringing back
plays and formations of teams that were
to meet Nebraska later. He saw Michi
gan play the Michigan Aggies, and the
accuracy with which lie grasped the de
tails of the intricate plays of the Aggies
was little less than marvelous. It is high
ly probable that, had it not been for his
work in coaching tbe varsity on the
proper method of stopping the peculiar
offense of the. Aggies, the eastern team
would have scored before the Huskers
learned how to meet their attack.
ti
1
Dunng the Football
season, and at othef
times, we have given
out support ungrudgingly
to worthy student enter
prises. If you believe, as we do,
that you will derive benefit and
added satisfaction from buying
your clothes and furnishings where
the college man's point of view is
understood and his style prefer
ences anticipated, you will prob
ably call upon us to supply your
future apparel needs.
Prices as low as goods of equal
quality can be sold for anywhere.
Dewey Harmon, a former Cornhusker
star, had the difficult task of teaching
these foreign plays to the freshmen, so
that they could give the varsity actual
experience in solving the style of oppos
ing teams, before they were called upon
to meet them. Considering that he had
only two or three days in which to do
this, his work was of a matserful order.
All in all, Nebraska has one of the strong
est, best balanced coaching staffs to be
found anywhere.
FOOTBALL.
By Guy E. Reed.
What sort of game is it that causes
thousands of enthusiasts to come for
miles and renew their youth in the
spirit of college traditions Avhich float
across the gridiron in yells and songs?
Some say it is a barbarous game which
keeps burning the torch of militarism.
Others that is is a brutal, inhuman spec
tacle worse than the Spanish bull fight.
Still others that it is a game where the
spirit of unfair play is fostered, where
a plaj'er is praised in proportion to bis
craftiness in "getting away with some
dirty work."
It is a game ages old. All the critics
mustered in one grand army couldn't
abolish it. As early as 1175 in England
the country-sides and villages celebrated
football day. In 1365 Edward II tried to
abolish it without success. In 1388 Rich
ard II had the same idea in his head. It
almost proved to him that football ruled
by a diviner right than be. Later the
Scotch and English parliaments met the
same fate in an effort to abolish tbe
"maiming sport."
In early New England days the Puri
tans succeeded in quelling the "riotous"
spirit which tolerated such brutality.
1 $n t just as mre as a man has a foot lie
must have something to kick and what is
more apropriate than an inflated bladder.
Football bobbed up again as a village
sport. It was not until the early seven
ties that it apeared in our colleges. Yale
organized a team in 1871. Soon after
Harvard, Princeton and various other
eastern institutions started the sport. A
conference of these colleges in order to
form uniform rules was the beginning of
our modern intercollegiate football.
Nebraska had its first intercollegiate
football team in 1891. Since that time
the sport has had a gradual growth until
we recognize it now os the game of
games. The records of our teams have
done more to advertise our university as
a great institution than departments of
learning.
Football is a game where only the
strongest or the fastest, the most deter
mined can actually participate. It teaches
alertness, self restraint, unselfishness,
self-control, prompt decision, abstinence
from dissipation. True there is a moral
hazard in it a man must choose between
winning unfairly and losing fairly many
times. However is this not a hazard that
anyone must meet in the larger issues of
life?
PROSPECTIVE "ITS".
By Dewey Harmon.
The freshman team this year is prob
ably the strongest ever developed at Ne
braska University. The line is strong,
fast and heavy, from end to end, while
the backfield is made up of ex-high
school stars, who are famous throughout
the state. The team, as it now stands,
lines up about as follows:
E. Kositzky, left end. t
Shaw, left tackle.
Hughey, Gerke, left guard.
Moser, center.