1896 Nebraska Bugeaters football team

The 1896 Nebraska Bugeaters football team represented the University of Nebraska in the 1896 college football season. The team was coached by first-year head coach Edward N. Robinson and played their home games in at the "M" Street Park in Lincoln, Nebraska. They competed as members of the Western Interstate University Football Association.

1896 Nebraska Bugeaters football
Nebraska state champion
ConferenceWestern Interstate University Football Association
Record6–3–1 (1–1–1 WIUFA)
Head coach
Home stadium"M" Street Park
1896 Western Interstate University Football Association standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
Iowa $ 2 0 17 1 1
Kansas 2 1 07 3 0
Nebraska 1 1 16 3 1
Missouri 0 3 07 5 0
  • $ Conference champion

Future College Football Hall of Fame head coach Robinson became Nebraska's third official head coach when Charles Thomas left for Arkansas. Robinson was the first Nebraska coach to require each player to pass a physical.

Schedule

DateTimeOpponentSiteResultAttendanceSource
October 17Doane*
W 20–0
October 26at MissouriW 8–4
October 31Nebraska Wesleyan*
  • "M" Street Park
  • Lincoln, NE
W 18–8
November 73:00 p.m. at Kansas
L 4–181,200[1][2]
November 9at Kansas City Medics*Kansas City, MOW 6–4
November 12Butte AC*
  • "M" Street Park
  • Lincoln, NE
L 6–29
November 19Iowa Agricultural*
  • "M" Street Park
  • Lincoln, NE
W 12–4
November 23Nebraska Wesleyan*
  • "M" Street Park
  • Lincoln, NE
W 28–0
November 263:30 p.m.vs. Iowa
T 0–0[3]
November 283:00 p.m.vs. Iowa
  • University Park
  • Omaha, NE
L 0–6[4]

Coaching staff

Coach[5] Position First year Alma mater
Eddie N. RobinsonHead coach1896Brown
Jack BestTrainer1890Nebraska
Harry OuryManager1896Nebraska
John CameronAssistant manager1896Nebraska

Roster

Benedict, Bruce E
Burt, Frederick HB
Cameron, John E
Cook, Hugh HB
Corby, [unknown] RT
Cowgill, Howard QB
Dungan, Will LT
Garrett, Harry FB
Hansen, Albert LG
Jones, Harry E
Kellar, C.E. LG
Kindler, [unknown] PLAYER

 

Melford, William E
Packard, Leonard FB
Pearse, Arthur RT
Placek, Emil QB
Robbins, J.S. C
Shedd, George HB
Thorpe, Orley QB
Turner, Edmund RG
Whipple, Otis E
Wiggins, Frank E
[6]

Game summaries

Doane

Doane at Nebraska
1 2Total
Doane 0 0 0
Nebraska 6 14 20
  • Date: October 17
  • Location: "M" Street Park, Lincoln, NE

Nebraska hosted Doane in Lincoln for the eighth meeting of these squads. The Bugeaters started slow but pulled away in the second half to win 20–0.

At Missouri

Nebraska at Missouri
1 2Total
Nebraska 0 8 8
Missouri 4 0 4

Nebraska made its first trip to Columbia to open conference play in 1896. Missouri scored the only points of the first half, but was unable to answer two second-half Nebraska touchdowns.[7][8]

Nebraska Wesleyan (October)

Nebraska Wesleyan at Nebraska
1 2Total
Nebraska Wesleyan 8 0 8
Nebraska 12 6 18
  • Date: October 31
  • Location: "M" Street Park, Lincoln, NE

Nebraska hosted nearby Nebraska Wesleyan for the first time, though it was essentially a home game for both teams; Nebraska Wesleyan was then located in the town of University Place, later absorbed into Lincoln. Wesleyan's first points came following a blocked punt, and another touchdown before halftime kept the game close, but they were never able to pull ahead of the Bugeaters.[7][8]

At Kansas

Nebraska at Kansas
1 2Total
Nebraska 4 0 4
Kansas 6 12 18

Kansas rebounded from an error-prone first half, shutting out the Bugeaters in the second half en route to an 18–4 win.[7][8]

University of Kansas records suggest that this game was played on November 8, 1896.[9]

At KC Medics

Nebraska at Kansas City Medics
1 2Total
Nebraska 0 6 6
Kansas City Medics 0 4 4

Nebraska traveled to Missouri for their first meeting with the Kansas City Medics. Both teams agreed beforehand to play a shorter-than-normal game, and the abbreviated first half ended scoreless. The Bugeaters went ahead 6–0 after halftime and survived a scare when KC scored with 30 seconds left to play, but missed the game-tying field kick.[7][8]

Butte AC

Butte AC at Nebraska
1 2Total
Butte AC 20
Nebraska 6
  • Date: November 12
  • Location: "M" Street Park, Lincoln, NE

The Butte Athletic Club made the lengthy trip to Lincoln after a visit from Nebraska in 1895. Butte dominated the Bugeaters for the second consecutive year, scoring the game's final 14 points to win 20–6. This was the final meeting between Butte AC and Nebraska.[7][8]

Iowa Agricultural

Iowa Agricultural at Nebraska
1 2Total
Iowa Agricultural 4
Nebraska 12
  • Date: November 19
  • Location: "M" Street Park, Lincoln, NE

This was the first meeting between teams that would later meet annually for decades, as members of the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association, Big Eight, and Big 12. Iowa Agricultural, later renamed Iowa State, entered 7–1, but Nebraska controlled the game en route to a 12–4 victory.[7][8]

Nebraska Wesleyan (November)

Nebraska Wesleyan at Nebraska
1 2Total
Nebraska Wesleyan 0 0 0
Nebraska 28 0 28
  • Date: November 23
  • Location: "M" Street Park, Lincoln, NE

Nebraska led 28–0 at halftime in the second 1896 meeting between the two teams. Wesleyan, playing without several key players, never managed to get the ball inside Nebraska's 10-yard line. Nebraska's wins over Nebraska Wesleyan and victory over Doane made the Bugeaters Nebraska's state champion for the second consecutive year.[7][8]

Iowa (November 26)

Iowa vs. Nebraska
1 2Total
Iowa 0 0 0
Nebraska 0 0 0
  • Date: November 26
  • Location: Omaha, NE
  • Game start: 3:30 p.m.
  • Game weather: Blizzard

Heavy snow and blizzards kept many spectators away on Thanksgiving Day in 1896, and the conditions led to a sloppy, scoreless game. The teams agreed to play for an additional ten minutes to break the tie, again without producing any points. Both teams, displeased with the scoreless draw, agreed to play again two days later.[7][8]

Iowa (November 28)

Iowa vs. Nebraska
1 2Total
Iowa 6 0 6
Nebraska 0 0 0
  • Date: November 28
  • Location: Omaha, NE
  • Game start: 3:00 p.m.

The rematch between Iowa and Nebraska was held as scheduled just two days later, and the weather was marginally better. A first-half Iowa touchdown proved to be the only scoring of the game. While this game is an official contest in both schools' record books, it did not take the place of the scoreless conference game on November 26. As such, this game counts toward both teams' overall records, but not toward WIUFA standings or statistics. Iowa still won the conference championship outright at 2–0–1.[8]

References

  1. "Kansas And Nebraska". Lawrence Daily World. Lawrence, Kansas. November 6, 1896. p. 3. Retrieved October 5, 2023 via Newspapers.com open access.
  2. "Jayhawkers Won A Splendid Victory From Nebraska". Kansas City Times. Kansas City, Missouri. November 8, 1896. p. 2. Retrieved October 5, 2023 via Newspapers.com open access.
  3. "Nebraska-Iowa Game". The Courier. November 28, 1896. p. 10. Retrieved October 11, 2022 via Newspapers.com.
  4. "Iowa the Victor". The Chicago Chronicle. November 29, 1896. p. 10. Retrieved October 11, 2022 via Newspapers.com.
  5. "Nebraska head coaches". HuskerMax. Retrieved November 10, 2009.
  6. "Nebraska Football 1896 Roster". University of Nebraska-Lincoln Athletics Department. Retrieved November 9, 2009.
  7. "1896 Game Recaps". Husker Press Box. Retrieved November 9, 2009.
  8. "the 1890s". HuskerMax. Retrieved November 9, 2009.
  9. "Western Inter-State UniversityFoot Ball Association anomalies". HuskerMax. Retrieved November 10, 2009.
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