THE HESPERIAN
31
the good name and good work of the Uni
versity, that the boys took to athletics in
stead of to hazing, and to sowing wild oats
in general.
In those days, Grant Memorial Hall was
only a theory two rows of storm-broken
cottonwoods, holding undisputed sway where
the Hall now stands and the site of Science
Hall was then only a patch of weeds, kept
more or less under control by John Green's
scythe. The northeast corner of the campus
was the base-ball ground, and general ral
lying point for all things athletic. Base
ball was the leading game then, and the
boys may have still clung to the country
school-house tradition that "over the fence
is out," for the east and north lines of the
campus were marked by a straggling, scraw
ny, pugnacious, countrficd, hedge-fence.
I say the boys may have clung to that old
tradition it was very proper if they did
but I cannot vouch for it, as I was little
more than on speaking terms with base-ball
bats, and did not get in touch with the game.
But several new men entered the University
that year whose natural propensities and
prepdom training at other colleges, had
given them a taste for foot-ball. A number
of these congenial spirits talked the matter
over, and finally wo chipped in a quarter
all round and purchased a ball. Thus was
laid the corner-stone for the organization of
the first foot-ball team. No games were at
tempted or oven seriously thought of that
year. The novelty of kicking the ball about
and limbering our joints was enough for
most of the boys. Occasionally they chose
up sides, fifteen or twenty on a side, and
played a purely kicking game, the only ob
ject being to force the ball across the goal
line at at about a certain point, and if the
ball were caught back of the goal lino it was
counted no goal. As soon as a goal was
kicked the players changed sides. Another
am using rule that was sometimes enforrod
was this: If any player batted the ball with
his hand a foul was called, and the unlucky
transgressor was compelled to stand in the
center of a compact circle and there drop the
ball and attempt to kick it. The instant the
ball was dropped everyone began kicking.
It made lively work sometimes for the fel
low in the center. Thus the days wore away
with an occasional diversion from having the
rubber bladder punctured by a two violent
contact with the obnoxious hedge fence.
Although not m school the next year, the
reports that have been made to me show that
the ball was kicked about in much the same
aimless way, but that the interest was great
ly deepened.
When the fall of 1889 called the boys to
gether again, a different order of events was
inaugurated. Everybody seemed to have
the kicking fever, from the first prep in his
Tam-O'-Shanter to the dignified senior with
his plug hat. Even the girls looked wist
fully on, and it is even rumored that they
organized an eleven and practiced in the
Armory behind closed doors. The north
west corner of the campus was appropriated
and it made a fairly presentable spot on
which to play, even though there were a
dozen or more boxelders and six or eight
stumps in the way. Permission was obtain
ed of the faculty to remove the most object
ionable of the trees and all of the stumps.
But suddenly nearly every fellow discovered
that he had some back work to makeup, and
it devolved on a few of the faithful ones to
do the grubbing. How well I remember of
going out with Stockton and Anderson one
frosty morning to grub out a particularly re
fractory stump. John Green kindly loaned
us an old axe that ho used to break coal
with. To this day, I have a suspicion that
the handle was cracked when it left his hands,
but anyway we succeeded in breaking it be
yond all repair. John loudly insisted that
the axe was as harp as a razor and as good
as new when he loaned it. We meekly let
him impose on us and bought a new handle
but we got the stum).
In a short time the side lines were run,
goals erected and a schedule of class games
arranged. There was lively competition for