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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 1, 1961)
Friday, December 1, 1961 The Daily Nebraskan Page 3 Busker Fan-'Some , -Editor's note: The follow ing sports depth article was received by the Daily Ne braskan from the Univer sity's School of Journalism. It was written by senior Hal Brown, past sports editor for the Nebraskan. The col lected information in the article was gathered from interviews with the nine Cornhusker coaches who are still alive, reports in over newspapers covering a 50-year period. He talked to sports editors and form er sports editors, fans and former players. It was his Idea to find out why the Nebraska fan is as he is. By Hal Brown To the outsider the non Nebraskan the Cornhus ker football fan may ap pear to be some kind of a super-loyal nut. Under normal circum stances, the Cornhusker football fan probably couldn't care less about what an outsider thinks. But this week after almost two decades of football drought, Nebraska is in the process of picking a new athletic director. What does the new re gime face? Is the Cornhusker fan a frightening, coach-devouring, different breed of cat? Strange Is there something strange about Nebraska's football tradition beyond the ' normal urge to win? The answers to some of these questions can be found in three places: 1. The bare statistics of Cornhusker support by Cornhusker fans through droughts, depressions, and almost endless losing sea sons. 2. The peculiar parallel of Cornhusker football tra dition with Nebraska's his tory. 3. The observations of the nine living members of one of the most exclusive clubs in the world. Each member, roasted on Ne braska's own gridiron fires, is an ex-Cornhusker football coach. Statistics The statistics help prove that the Cornhusker fan is in some way different from the average grandstand quarterback. In most of the Big Eight schools, it takes a winning team to fill the stadium. Conference members with larger stadiums than Ne braska's, have trouble at tracting crowds of more than 10-15,000 unless their team is on a winning streak. But that's not true at old N.U. -Everyone of the Corn husker home attendance records have been set in post World War II years, a 16 year period dur ing which there have been only three winning seasons. The single game attend ence record was set in 1950 when 39,770 saw the Hus kers blank Penn State 19-0. That year happened to be a winning one with a 6-2-1 record. But the home at tendance record for a whole NU Board of Regents Fires Coach Jennings (Continued from Page 1) when he made a speech in terpreted as critical of Ne braska fans, sports writers and sportscasters, and downgrading of the state in general. ' This season was re garded as the "must" year for Jennings and there was some rumor that with a successful grid year he would move up to the va cated athletic director's job. 1961 Team His 1961 team, however, after a big pre-season build up, won only three games, while losing six and tying one. The Huskers lost their last two games of the year 7-0 to Colorado and 21-14 to Oklahoma in two of the most disappointing losses in Jennings' NU coaching ca reer. The Huskers failed to make a first and ten in the muddy loss to the Buffs and blew a 14-0 halftime edge In the Oklahoma game. '"Jennings failed to pro duce a winner in his five years as head coach but his teams provided some upsets whicl shocked the nation. Grid Eleven Jennings' grid elevens smacked Penn State and Pittsburgh in 1958, Minne season was set in 1960. That year 199,971 paid their way in to" six games as the Huskers finished with a 4-6 win-loss t record in their sixth straight losing season. The record for a five game home schedule was set in 1951 during an even more dismal season. While the Huskers won two and lost eight, 179,444 paid to see home games. Team Support You needn't even go be yond the 1961 season to find support for a losing team. On Nov. 18, 26,000 fans shivered in snowy stands to watch Colorado clobber Nebraska in a game in which the Huskers made not a single first down. A week later on Thanksgiving weekend, when most of the student body was away from the campus, more than 25, 000 fans saw Oklaho ma snatch victory from the Cornhuskers. There are statistics ga lore to prove that the Corn husker fan backed his team during the dry, broke days of the thirties. Week after week, when dollars were as scarce as rain, the Corn huskers played, to a nearly full stadium. But statistics don't make a tradition. Why did the Cornhusker fan still put out his dollars when they were so scarce during the thirties? Why did he go on supporting losing post war teams when a win was the exception? Perhaps the answers can be found in Nebraska's state and football history. The name, Cornhuskers, is a solid part of that histori cal tradition, 'but Nebraska teams had already estab lished a winning reputation by the time they were giv en an official name in 1900. In late November of 1890 the University had fielded its first football team which defeated the Omaha YMCA by 10-0. Nebraska went on to finish a. perfect 2-0 sea son that first year by beat ing Doane College 18-0. Un der such titles ,as the ante lopes, the rattlesnake boys, and the bugcatchers, Uni versity teams ran up win ning seasons until 1899. Cornhuskers The "next yearCy Sher man,' later to become sports editor of the Lincoln Eve ning Journal, gave them a name that stuck The Corn huskers. How the Cornhuskers fared in that first year of the 20th Century is reported by Frederick Ware, now ex ecutive editor of the Omaha World-Herald, and Gregg McBride, a veteran of three decades of Cornhusker cov erage, in their book, "Fifty Years of Football." They quote Cy Sherman as say ing: "That name Cornhuskers fits 'em. Seven wins, two ties, and only one lost in their first season. I think I did a good Job when I hung it on 'em." Now Nebraska's super loyal fan had something to cheer about by name. Even the irrepressible William Jennings Bryan repressed himself for football. At the sota and Oklahoma in 1959 and Texas, Army and Okla homa last year. The first Oklahoma win, a 25-21 victory in Lincoln, was especially ( sweet for Jennings as it broke the Sooners' 74-game undefeated conference record and was achieved against an old col legia, Bud Wilkinson. Jennings had been an as sistant coach under Wilkin son at Oklahoma for six years before coming to Ne braska. He had also played football for Oklahoma in 193&-39-40. As a wingback and end, he set several Sooner pass-catching rec ords which he still holds. . DAILY NEBRASKAN CLASSIFIEDS POLICY Classified ids for the Dally NebrMkaii must be entered two days in advance and must be paid for in advance. Corrections will be made if errors are brought to our attention within 48 hours. ' . I FOR SALE 53 Chrysler New Yorker, Power brakes, iteerini. Automatic, two door, clean, food Urea and motor. Call HE 2-5792. PERSONAL College men need one person to share house. Must have car. Call GA 3-6049 after S. Attention:;:; Important announcement;::; from this day on, one "itub" who re side! at 1910 Vine (at times) will of- ficially be known ai "squisiles" or "so.uig;s" for short. Minnesota game of 1900, the crowd roared for a pre game speech from Bryan. Ware and McBride describe the following results: Order of Day "Nothing but football is in order this day," sang the Boy Orator, and his eyes glistened, "What about the game? What's your idea?" the crowd demanded, and Bry an was Bryan again "You Nebraska can con quer," he bellowed, and ad ded, even more resound ingly: "Let each person punctu ate that as he will!" Conversation Bryan wasn't talking very much. But sports ob servers of the day noted Standing empty, in the clear winter sun after another season of gridiron competi tion, the University's Memorial stadium rings with, the past echoed cheers of both winning And losing seasons and the ghosts of thousands of "super-loyal" fans who have filled the stadium during home that everyone else in the state was. "The game had become a topic of year around conversation in country stores and .barber shops, and in city clubs, as well as on the campus," one sports historian noted. And as the Cornhusker teams began to build an al most unprecedented tradi tion for winning, the state took the football players to its heart. Nebraska com piled nine straight winning seasons before it settled for a tie record in 1909. It then racked up eight more win ning years before losing in 1918. Ellsworth Moser, a mem ber of J u m b o Stiehm's great teams during this period recalls, 'When you were a member of the foot ball team at the University you were a hero. When the boys would return to their home towns In Nebraska they would be greeted by a parade and a big celebra tion. The town would be turned over to them. It was the ultimate ambition of every kid in the state to grow up and play football for the Cornhuskers." Looking back to the 1920's, national football historians repeatedly cite Nebraska as one of the top teams in the nation. During the days of Knute Rockne and his famed Notre Dame Four Horsemen, the Cornhuskers became a stumbling block. Powerful Teams Harry Stuhldreher, one of Trpy and Connie irV love again! " .7 t ' ,1 THOY DCtflHIlllS CGHOTlSYr'cGUrr.E LLOYD flOLUri lit- MrV ISl.UHI.ll DAVES NttvUOl C BRIAN AHERNE - GRANT WILLIAMS m NATALIE SCHAFER KENT SMITH tECHNICOLOR Kind the Four Horsemen, spoke at. a banquet in Omaha in 1947. He was quoted by the World-Herald as saying, "They talk about powerful, teams at Minnesota and Southern California and other such schools, but don't you believe.it. The most powerful teams of all were those Nebraska teams which we met in Lincoln." The final home game in 1922 illustrates the growth of the Cornhusker super-fan. As the team faced Notre Dame, every seat was filled. There was a large pile of . coal at the east end of the field, which is now the south practice field. Spectators covered the coal pile. Trees around the field were full of 4 i .jaaa GHOSTS, ECIIOS OF youngsters, and one observ er noted wryly, "The trees were also full of people who were no longer kids." Further evidence can be found in the account of the Thanksgiving Day Parade preceding the Notre Dame game in 1925. Passengers 1 who had, ridden special ' trains from Superior pa-", raded the streets of Lincoln , as a tribute to Ed Weir, the great AU-AmeriCan tackle. Ed's younger brother, Bill, led the parade with a sign reading, "Watch THIS Weir in 1931". Bill Weir, lite much of the rest of the state's youth, was planning a football career with the Cornhuskers. In those early twenties the Cornhusker fan built a Career Cues: "This age of specialization opens special opportunities for the well-rounded man!" Robtrt Saudek, President Robert Saudek Associates, Inc. "The more specialists society creates to cope with its complexities, the easier it can be for a non-specialist to achieve success. If that teems paradoxical, look at it this way: the more men who go out for specific positions on the ball club, the more chance you have to wind up as manager! Today's world - in government, business, the arts, even science -needs the well-rounded man. He's the man who fS r ,y--:.iia;vj'y l nHummmtemr -v.HhHf mwivfmm And for a special kind Have a red cigarette of Super-Loyal Nut memorial to the state's' war dead and to the Cornhus'k ers. From their own pock- .... ets, fans pledged $300,000 toward the half-million dol lar stadium. Evolution For the evolution of Ne braska's super-fan in the twenties, ask the men who coached the teams. Fred Dawson, who ' coached the great teams in the early 1920's", says, "We always had wonderful sup port from the student body and from O Street in Lin coln. For stimulation of a . team there's nothing like ' mobs from the student body cheering them on at prac tice sessions. The merchants of Lincoln were invaluable. They gave the boys jobs. It if i J 4 i PAST F V,f" vtS 4 games to watch their Cornhuskers. The football team has a past history that no fan can be ashamed of, but even more important, the fans have a tradition of loyalty and support that no team has ever been ashamed of. was unheard of then to pro vide room, board, and tu ition for athletes." Ernest Bearg, who fol lowed Dawson as head coach, points out, "There was a tremendous interest and the football coach was as big a man as the gov ernor. All the young people wanted to go to the Uni versity to play football. "We played the best of them all," he recalls, "and the team meant so much to Nebraska. Nebraska was in the same position in those days that Oklahoma was in recent years. The Cornhus kers would have been rated in the top 10 many of those ytf&rs if they had had rat ings then." Z. ' .-. .iSjstsikhi&f of smoking satisfaction... THE BEST TOBACCO MAKES THE BEST SMOKE Then came the terrible thirties. , , Observers believe that the real clue to the Cornhusker fan's super support can be found in these years. Hard times on the farm had started in Nebraska in the mid-twenties and by the thirties when (drought joined depression, the state was in for one of 'Js toughest periods in history. Hot winds blew away the state's topsoil. The cold chant of the auctioneer sold farms and furniture at a fraction of their value at tax sales. And yet, Nebraskans sup ported the Cornhuskers. Perhaps the World-Herald's Ware put his finger on It when he 6aid that the team ' was about all the people of the state had during those tough times. "People would come to the stadium on Saturday to forget their troubles, and then forget them for the re mainder of the week as they discussed the preced ing or upcoming game." 1937 Incident John Bentley, who cov ered the Cornhuskers for many years for the Lincoln Journal and is now sports information director for the University, remembers an incident that happened dur ing the 1937 season. "We had just upset Min nesota and this fan was walking from the stadium when he said, "Now, if it would just rain.' " The Cornhusker team, ob servers believe, had become something more than sim ply the state's football play ers. It had become some thing which the state could be proud during a time when there was very little else. When it didn't rain, when (he banks failed, Ne braskans could still point to their winning Cornhusk ers. The coaches for that period helped make that point. Sr. Paul's Methodist Church 12 & M Dr. Fronk Court Sermon This Sunday THE INNKEEPER'S DILEMMA Services at 9:30 & 11:00 Music Director Richard Grace University of Nebraska School of Music can see the entire picture. ..the man who can draw on a broad background of knowledge, evaluate the problem, then assign the details to specialists. The world of entertainment may seem somewhat spe cial, but it's a case in point. These days, it demands more of its people than ever before. Today's musical comedy score is often as sophisticated as grand opera. Drama draws heavily on psychology and history. Television pro ductions are concerned with nuclear science and political science. If you've ever watched 'Omnibus' you may have seen how our productions have run the gamut of a wide range of man's interests. So I suggest to you that even though you may concen trate on one special field of interest, keep your viewpoint broad. Keep your college curriculum as diversified as pos sible. AttendMectures and concerts, the theatres and mu seums. Above all, read and read, and listen and listen! But pay scant heed to the oracle who says there's no route to the top but that of specialization. I don't believe it!" In) l'1,-' )jh (sbsrt taudsk it th creator of many of television's most famous programs in cluding tha award-winning "Omnibus" serial. Former network executive and head of the TV-Radio Workshop of the Ford Foundation, Bob enjoys "Camel break". He's been a Camel fan since undergraduate days at Harvard. - Dana X. Bible- who coached from 1929 through 1936 without a losing season, says, "Wherever you went in the state, east, west, north, or south, you might be visiting with a farmer and he would say, 'How are we going to do Saturday?' You knew he meant the Uni versity of Nebraska football team. Pride That type of spirit wasn't found in many places at that time. The people took so much pride, and I can't make it forceful enough that everywhere you went, it was THEIR team. Biff Jones took over for Bible in 1937 and was the last really successful ' NU coach, who took his team to the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1, 1941. He says, "There was a real loyalty to the state and to the football team. People thought nothing of driving across the state to see the Cornhuskers. Going to the football game in Lincoln on a Saturday afternoon was the focal point in the lives of most of the people of the state." By 1942, Col. Biff Jones had been called to the Army, and apparently, the Husker winning tradition went with him. Situation One brief statement ex plains the situation that oc curred at the University of Nebraska two decades ago: One day you're a winner and then almost overnight everything changes. During the 21-year period from 1920 through the 1940 season, the Cornhuskers had experienced only one losing season. That lone black mark on an otherwise spot less record came In 1938 Continued on Page 6 i Tobuvo Company Wtmton-Rilnv Kortb Clrolin jH-' H m V