WHAT THEY THINK OFIwIalLI;:
Opinions From Various People Who Are Interested
in the Welfare of Our
Team.
THEORIES ABOUT THE DISASTROUS SLUMP
Each One Advances a Different Theory; All Consider It Very
Unfortunate.
The Benson of '08 bus been remark
able because of tlio quality ami quanti
ty of material for tlio team, for nover
before have wo had such an amount
of it. With two tackes, ono end and a
full baek to develop and seven old
players baek In harness, the eleven be
gan praetlee.
Under very trying- circumstances the
season progressed. The unfair nows
pnper criticisms in the early games
and the rigid enforcement (too rigid
In some oases) of athletic rules, winch
had boon a dead letter since '00, in
no way bonollted tlio team. The loss
of two vnlunblo players resulted' di
rectly 'because of those rulings and in
no small degree nlYcctcd the spirit and
play of other members of the team.
The successful play of the season
cannot be attributed to any GREA1'
support or encouragement received
from Nebraska, for the crowds at the
games were insignificant compared
with last year. The playing of our
team was all the more remarknble.
This was due greatly to the good feel
ing toward each other of tiie members
of the team, to the individual hard
work of every one; obedience to coach
and captain and the splendid interfer
ence taught by Coach Yost.
llecnuse the team was temporarily
weakened by the loss of good men,
ve could not end the season without
a defeat. Our record of eight victories,
one forfeit to us. and but three de
feats; of 271 points scored ( more than
any other two Nebraska teams togeth
er) and the fact that we defeated Kan
sas by n larger score than we have ever
defeated bcr before goes to show that
the team of 'OS holds the record above
all others made under the scarlet and
cream. i
The prospects for next season arc
favorable. The captain for '99 is an
able man and has always worked for
the good of football and athletics. He
has had experience in captaining
teams and has the good will of the
whole team. Then with two league
games on the campus, a spirit of uni
ty in the team and a little rooting
from an immense crowd on the side
lines, the team of '99 ought to bo an
other winner.
W. C. MELFORD, Captain.
Tho team was fortunate In 'having ws
fine material as ever wont upon the
football Held of tills school. Tlio men
were, taken os a whole, energetic wnd
conscientious workers mid' attended -to
business. A good number of tho old
men wore bach, which always furn
ishes a working blsls and there
were sufficient candidates to make
them earn their places. The men
were at a disadvantage l'i nlnvliiir
tho large games away from Jionic, and i
tills 'taken together with the fact that
three times during the season, two
gnmes were played within a day of one
another, shows that their work was of
an excellent standard. It is an unfor
tunate mistake to schedule two games
together, and it is not to wondered' at
if, the second is poorly played, or lost.
Mclford, as captain, always annulled
Ida men wisely. He has n good, cool
head and Is able to use it at critical
points. It is unnecessary to speak of
Ids ability as center for those who
know nnythiug of foot ball are well
a ware that in him tho University has
a center who has never boon eq italic 1
by any former one, or probably by
ng as to their abllitv. 'lilmv trviwi
themselves equal to all omergouclcs;
and oertalmly ono may consider them
UlO Strongest men ill their irivniv,lvrt
positions this side of tho Mississippi.
The new men phiyed fully as well, and
oven better ilium one llmd the right to
expect. New men must learn and tho
only way for tlheni to gain the neces
wiry experience Is to go through j sever
al largo games. It shows them nut
what they could do, but what they
cannot ilo; and a.ior thinking over
itihelr dellelencles for nlno months,
they enter tho next fall ready to hike
advantage of what they have lean-nod.
Thu first year a mam learns the game
of foot bull: after that he luar.nK to
play his own Indhldual game.
Tho team suffered from the fact that
it was necessary to change Its quarter
uncus every ga no or two. Any one
of 'the men who played would till the
position, If kept there through tho en
tire season, i't is a lamentable neces
sity which requires tho trying of now
men In this position, for above all the
(Mher backs must have the same men
to pass 'the ball to them gnnie after
game. llaeltN are men -wiiio work In
certain grooves, and for successful
team work these grooves must always
be tho same.
The line of development which a
team should follow ought to bo one of
a gradual accent, reaching the highest
degree a week or two before tho close
of the season remaining at this point.
This Is a most difficult thing to ac
complish. The 'varsity team started out
wcM, but came to its height somewhat
too .soon. As a result it was untfblc to
keep its "condition" until the end. It
was exactly the same thing as hap
pened at Princeton, last year. The line
along which Harvard developed this
year Is said by eastern exports to be
the most perfect of any team for years.
Is Is necessary to keep this point in
view In tho arrangement of games,
and the regular grind of practice must
be made to meet it. It is a hard tilling
much more advantageous to her than I
they would have been to our lighter
team. However, I think Nebraska,
with hor heavy tackle and guard inter
ference, would have played ui much
moro nggrcsslv game had she played
more- openly,
Tackle hack and full back runs
should be just around their tackles or
almost straight through them. Hut
half-backs should sweep around tllic
otids of lilio opposition1 unless tho ends
box itihnn in and then the half may
turn in.
1 'liellove hi modern foot ball and 1
thing the open plays present the scien
tific part of the game to the spectators
in the oest manner.
Nebraska's Interference las season
win be justly praised, for It was good
and wins well suited' to her heavy line
J. P. HOWARD,
Captain of Missouri '98.
awakening to the realization of cho
breadth of University training, an, ap
preciation of ills education that lies
outside class room and study hours
and n sense of tho responsibility of
the University student for nil things
that pertain to our life as a part of
his own that will, Jf he cherishes It,
yield him returns In fuller, rounder
development. In all his relations to
our multiplex organization let each
one take as his motto (with npologlcs
to thu Hhades of tho clnsslo poet)
"Ktudlnsus sum; Unlvensalttls nihil a
un nllonimi puts," and not only tin
Hiiei'i'HH of athletics assured, but tlio
tone of the whole life in the Universi
ty will ho raised, and the Individual
will secure a corrosondingly broader
and fuller development from his col
lege life.
HENRY H. WARD.
To answer 'briefly the questions of
tho Nebraska ns regarding athletics
let mo sav that in my onin'lon there
is nothing moro unfortunate tUinm the
evident luck In the University today of
general and genuine Interest In this
part of University life. Student sup
port Is given sparingly, and It al
most sceniH grudgingly, to tho various
forms of athletic sport. In private
conversation different reasons have
been assigned for this condition of if-
fairs which all students seem to recog
nize and most deplore. One says the
tenm 1b no good, another thinks it is
managed in the Interests of a choso'i
few, not his own, and a third objects
to the way the sport, is carried on or
the effect it has on the morale of the
participants; yet all agree in not ex
tending to it in any support Have ntot
these critics and many others reversed
the real order and arc not their rea
sons for withdrawing support, which
have nt times no doubt the color of
truth, really the result of their atti
tude rather than its causes? So long
I think tho team this year was the
strongest the University ever put on
the gridiron. It was richer in substi
tutes, having several that could play
most any position with credit to our
banner, the "Scarlet and Cream." It
played live more games than last year's
team, and harder ons. It played un
der difficulties fatal to the hest results.
Yet record was phenomenal. Having
a strong captain and good coach, the
team was victorious and the pennant
still waves over our institution. Any
school might win once, hut only the
strongest continues to win. Let Ne
braska demonstrate her superiority
still another year. The prospects for a
winning team next year are very
bright. Most of the old players will
be in their positions, with stronger de
termination than ever to uphold tiie
honor of our institution. There are
three or four positions to fill, but let
every one do what he can for the team
and it will do honor to tbe school.
From what 1 am told by the players
and various students, I feel that all
will work harmoniously for the best
interests of the team of '99, and that
enthusiasm will not be wanting to in
spire the players to their grandest ef
Sigma, Phi Gamma Delta, Delta Upsil
forts. The school can make the team
win, and I believe it will.
C. E. WILLIAMS, Captain '99.
The team which the University nut
out last season was as remarkable in
some ways as any that has ever rep
resented the institution. The points
which were especially developed were
the offensive play and the individual
work of the men. In these two points
the team was stronger than any other
that has ever been brought together.
The play which characterized the team
was brillinnt in nearly every game and
at times was spectacular. Of course
the accompanying defect of not being
able to sustain such work is not pe
culiar to this team alone, but is aiways
found with any team wlm.li develops
along those lines. The weak spot in
the 'varsity's play lay in its defense.
As it was strong on aggressive, it was
correspondingly deficient when it came
to stopping its opponets. The one
thine- that shows that it lacked
strenirth in this nart of the team work
is the fact that in every important
game, it was unable' to prevent the
"other fellows" from scoring.
fUMV M. ' -W' I i
my mmm v v.fq
W Jmwmm'- 1 " t
mrmW .
J
After n thing is done it becomes an
easy task to criticise It and show
how much bettor it could have been
carried out; as Thnekery says the bent
after dinner speeches he ever iiuido
were those which he delivered in t.lm
carriage on his wny home from tlio
dinner. Such critics do not always
consider the olrount.stnneos which de
termined the plan of action at tho
time, hence arc often uncharitable.
As for myself, I feel proud of tho
record which our footiball team made
for Itself during the season. At tiho
beginning, the "cranks" felt pretty
nine, lor tne loss oi such men ns
Shedd, Wiggins and Penrsc seemed to
weaken our chances for the pennant
very materially, flood men were found
to ill! these places, however, and un
der the able leadership of of the cap
tain and inspired by his grit and cour
age, the team came through the ordeal
with Hying colors and intor-statc pen
nant in their possession. Unfortu
nately for the general rnord, as soon
as the pennant was won, what had pre
viously been an Invincible team, ap
parently went to pieces, and the other
tennis which ought easily to have been
beaten, hnd no diflieulty in wresting
victory from us.
Various attempts have been made to
explain this slump in the team's wor!f,
but it seems to be due almost wholly
to lack of training. Previous to tho
Kansas game, when there was an ex
tra inducement to exertion, some show
of training was made by individual
members of the team, though train
ing as a whole was never indulged In,
after this their chief itnerest was
gone, the pennant was ours; otlmr
teams were looked upon with lofty in
difference ns small fry, with the Inev
itable consequences.
The team practised faithfully, they
worked hard on the field, but this ono
element of success perhaps the most
Iuqiortnnt was entirely wanting. Wo
have a right to be proud of the team,
but we should have a greater right to
feel proud, if so important a matter
as training had not been overlooked.
I cannot leave the subject without
saying something concerning the lack
of interest in athletics shown by tho
student liody generally. I am at a
loss to explain this. At other univer
sities with which I nm familiar, the
students support athletics in an en
thusinstie way, by voice, by deed an'I
by subscriptions; without all of these
it Is impossible to make n success of
any branch of athletics. I hope to sec
the time, and that very soon, when
such support will bo 'heartily accord
ed bv the students in this institution.
JOHN WHITE.
NEBRASKA'S FIRST SIX CHIEF EXECUTIVES.
any in the west; and whon nhe time
comes for him to step out it wiM be n
long time before another will "come
out of the west" to fill his shoes.
The strong part of the team this
year, taken as a whole, were the backs
and the left side of the line. We were
weak on the right end, and though one
man after another was tried, it seemed
Impossible to get the right one. The
backs were individually brilliant play
ers and worked well together. Nearly
all were good kickers, and were able
to carry the ball and to interfere well.
Although heavy, they were quick to
move, and this is always necessary.
The center, guards, and left end were
old men; and there could be no guess-
to bring about at best, this gradual de
velopment, and with the peculiar way
the 'varsity games followed one anoth
er, it can be truly wild that it was
practically impossible this year.
GEO. II. SHEDD, Captain of '97.
There ore now two almost distinct
systems of foot ball, the open and the
closed plays. And these were clearly
seen in the styles or systems of play
used by Nebraska and Missouri.
We use the open plays because we
think them the best under nil circum
stances and especially for light teams
such as we so often have.
Rut Nebraska used the closed plays
last season; and no doubt they were
ns the majority of students withhold
their Influence is it not true that ath
letics will me dominated by cliques of
their own interest, that questionable
methods arc likely to be introduced,
and certainly that financial success
cannot be nttnined? In England col
lege athletics stand above question by
force of public opinion in the univer
sities which zealously guards the good
name of the college as equally import
ant with success. Here among us
awakened general interest in sports
as a real part of University life would
conduce equally to moral and financijl
success. It is a sad thing that to
many students regard a University
education as attained by merely at
tending classes and securing credits.
OBSERVATIONS OF AN ALUMNUS.
To the interested alumnus the most
pleasing feature of a successful foot
ball season has been the development
of the fact of the supremacy of a faculty-students
athletic hoard. One not
acquainted with the athletic manage
ment or rather lack of management
of earlier university days cannot real
ize how radical is the change. Even
in the early '90's the manager of an
athletic team was responsible to no one
and made no report of his doing.
He could not indeed have made a re
port had he wished, for the lack of
any one to whom to report. The writ
er well remembers that in the spring
of 1S9U, he was manager of the Uni
versity base ball team, by whose ap
pointment he was and is now unable
to state. A tour and series of games
through Kansas wsis arranged nnd on
his own responsibility the manager
received transportation and advanced
necessary monies. The trip was fairly
successful in that expenses were ill
met. The writer will not soon forget
how on the train home the members
of the team gathered around him .is
he figured disbursements and receipts
and arrived at n grand total of fifty
cents to his credit. Ry unanimous
consent the train boy was summoned
and such further disbursements were
ns Mint a refiguring of account would
have failed to show any grand total
whatever. This is a fair instance o!
the way things were done in those
days.
The advantages of the present sys
tem are manifest. It demands busl-ncns-like
methods. To leave large
sums of money to the absolute con
trol of any one man is as unsatisfac
tory to the student body ns-jt is unfair
to the manager. The system inspires
tiie confidence and good will of the
public and especially of the business
world, -who must furnish athletic
goods on credit. It eliminates the
free trade idea in athletics. Last but
not least it brings home to tho aspir
ing athlete an all-important reminder