University of Minnesota - Gopher Yearbook (Minneapolis, MN)

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Undcfcatcd-Untied Minnesota football champions. 1941. BIG TEN FORERUNNER: OLD AND NEW CHARACTERISTICS Then, in 1892, the forerunner of the Big Ten was organized. It was called the Intercollegiate Athletic Association of the Northwest, and Minnesota greeted its inauguration by earning its first undefeated-untied season. It did the same the following year. By the end of the century Minnesota football was out of debt and coaches were being hired from the alumni. But it wasn't till the turn of the century that football began to take on modern characteristics. Dr. Henry L. Williams, called the father of Minnesota football, guided the team for the first two decades of the new century, starting off slowly by playing Minneapolis Central to a scoreless tie. This was the era of playing oddly-named teams in strange places; 1901 was typical of this trend. The Gophers whipped the Chicago College of Physicians and Surgeons 27-0 in the opener. They followed that up with a victory over the Haskell Indians, the game being played on an improvised field in front of Pillsbury hall. The North Dakota game that year was played behind closed doors, with no results being published. It was rumored, though, that touchdowns were scored about one every two minutes. The next season was keynoted by the game with Grinnell in which the Gophers scored over 100 points. Northrop field was given its christening by the 1903 club, sometimes called the “Giants of the North.” For the Michigan game that year 20,000 fans jammed the stands by 10 a.m. The game — first in the Little Brown jug series — ended a 6-6 tie. But thc‘‘giants of the north were dwarfed by 1904’s “point a minute team, perhaps the greatest scoring club in the history of football. In If games this team scorer! 723 points, its opponents, 12. But the Gophers went to the other extreme in the years immediately following. Points were scarce. Then in 1909 Minnesota had its first all-American in Johnny McGovern. Five years later the campus celebrated its first homecoming. The Gophers lost only one game that season— to Illinois, 21-6. A halfback named Bernic M. Bier-man scored the only Gopher touchdown. Illinois was causing a lot of trouble during that era. In 1916 it spoiled an undefeated Gopher season, 14-9. The Gopher team that year was one of the finest in Minnesota history, and the best under Williams. Minnesota finally solved the Illini riddle in 1924 under coach William H. Spaulding. Illinois hail the immortal Red Grange that year, but Minnesota won 20-7. It was a good season, but not so good as the one in 1922. when Lari Martincau, with a cast on his hand, led the Gophers to a 13-12 victory over the Haskell Indians. Page 319

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isi iiutehcfa ,? ( id = (ht y Si,9 JeaM ( ( INTERCOLLEGIATE BIRTH: NEARLY FOILED BY EARLY DINNER. There was once a time at this University, believe it or not, that intercollegiate sporting events caused hardly a ripple among either students or the general public. As a matter of act, there was a time on this campus that intercollegiate sporting events did not exist. It took 31 years after the official signing of the University charter before a Minnesota team engaged in competition. This initial meeting, in 1882, was a series of sports events between the colleges of Hamline and Carleton and the University of Minnesota. Although it was a historymaking event, it almost didn’t take place. Carleton showed up late and Hamline had to leave early to gel back in time for dinner. Later that year Hamline handed Minnesota its first football defeat. The St. Paul school got its “break when a spectator yelled “foul.” The Gophers thought the referee had called an infraction and stopped playing. Hamline scored a touchdown. The following year the Gophers lost another one — this time to an organization impressively named the Carleton Farmers' Alliance Football Association. Four years later Minnesota football was revolutionized when Fred Jones became coach. He had his quarterback call signals, then considered a radical innovation. And for the first time in Minnesota history spectators were charged admission to the games. There were no season tickets 1‘he home field “advantage became known to players during this period. Hie Gophers, for instance, would play Shattuck (a prep school) two games a year, with each club winning on its home field. Another step toward big time football occurred in 1890 when the Gophers went outside the state for some of its games. They beat Grinnell college in Iowa 14-8 and followed this up the next week by smashing Wisconsin 63-0. Undefeated iwlicd Minnesota football champions. 1H92. Page 318

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University golf course, (nee high and model “ I cm. Women's athletics, baggy bloomer and blacl{ srlf( stocking era. FOOTBALL GREATS: MEMORABLE INCIDENTS OF THE GAME Dr. Clarence W. Spears took over as coach for the remainder of the decade. In five years his teams sustained only nine losses. Spears was an advocate of rugged, “knock-down” football, and he sometimes had difficulty in finding opponents. In 1926 Minnesota had to play Michigan twice to complete the slate. The Gophers finally brought home the Little Brown Jug the following year after an eight-season absence. And in 1928 all-American Bronko Nagurski made his debut. Fritz Crislcr’s 1930-31 tenure was uneventful, except that his first year was the Gopher’s | oorcst in a decade. But in 1932 the era of Bernie Bicrman began. Bierman was to dominate the national football scene for the next ten years. All-Americans like Bud Wilkinson, Bruce Smith, George Franck and Dick Wildung played during these years. And there were some memorable incidents. Horace Bell kicked a 45-yard field goal in 1936 and in the same year Bud Wilkinson lateralled to Andy Uram who ran almost the length of the field to beat Nebraska in the final 68 seconds of play. The year 1950 meant the end of Bierman football at Minnesota and the beginning, perhaps, of a new era — that of Wes Feslcr. Basketball at Minnesota hit the big time in 1919 when the Gophers came through with the only undefeated season in their history— 13 wins, no losses. The team, headed by the late Dr. |. L. Cooke, averaged 30.4 points per game (a fairly high average in those days), while the op| onenis averaged 16.1. Toughest game of the season was with Indiana. The Gophers won, 20-14. Page 320