1913 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team
Encyclopedia
The 1913 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team was the representative of the University of Nebraska in the 1913 college football season
. The team was coached by Ewald O. Stiehm
and played their home games at Nebraska Field
in Lincoln, Nebraska
.
This was the first year that Nebraska utilized a Spring football practice session.
The young Nebraska team got off to a good, confidence-building start with a shutout victory over Washburn to start the season in the first meeting of these teams.
Despite scoring first, Kansas State was handed their third consecutive loss in the series, remaining winless against Nebraska.
When Minnesota arrived in Lincoln for the 13th meeting of these teams in what had become an annual epic grudge match, it was only the second time the game was held in Nebraska. Perhaps aided by the emotion of the Homecoming festivities, the Cornhuskers held their ground and fought the Golden Gophers to a scoreless first half, and then with much effort managed to secure a 3rd quarter touchdown. Minnesota would not allow Nebraska to score again but were also unable to respond, and Nebraska secured its second victory in the series. Of the Cornhuskers, coach Williams
of Minnesota said "I cannot say I expected the Gophers to be defeated. Nebraska has a great team."
Following the Minnesota victory, a surprisingly difficult fight faced the Cornhuskers when Haskell returned to continue their series with Nebraska. The fierce contest injured Nebraska's team captain, who had to leave the game and was initially feared to be lost for the season. In the end, the Cornhuskers barely escaped with a 1-point margin of victory and sent the Haskell Indians home with another defeat, dropping them to 2-6 on the series.
Still without the team captain, the Cornhuskers met the Cyclones in Ames and made their fourth and final appearance at the soon-to-be-replaced State Field. Iowa State provided some fight to make it a game, but ultimately fell again to Nebraska and dropped farther back in the series to 3-9-1.
Coach Stiehm allowed the starters to take a break and played mainly reserves against Nebraska Wesleyan, as these teams resumed a series begun in 1896, though five years had passed since their last meeting. The backups were still more than a match for NWU, and Nebraska improved to 4-0 in the series.
Cornhusker defense was the order of the day, and Nebraska made use of players returning from injury to hold the Jayhawks scoreless. The win secured Nebraska as unbeaten in conference play and improved their record over Kansas to 12-8.
Iowa arrived in Lincoln with a reputation as a fast squad that used formations difficult to defend. Nebraska rose to the occasion and held the Hawkeyes off the board for the entire game. Using players still hobbled by injuries suffered during the Haskell game, the Cornhuskers punched in an early touchdown to go up, and a late one to seal the outcome. More than once Iowa threatened to score but came away empty, and fell farther behind Nebraska in the series to 4-8-3.
1913 college football season
The 1913 college football season had no clear-cut champion, with the Official NCAA Division I Football Records Book listing Auburn, Chicago, and Harvard as national champions. Only Harvard and Chicago claim national championships for the 1913 season....
. The team was coached by Ewald O. Stiehm
Ewald O. Stiehm
-External links:* * at College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com...
and played their home games at Nebraska Field
Nebraska Field
Nebraska Field hosted the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers football team beginning in 1909 until it was replaced with the new Memorial Stadium, which was built in the same location and opened for the 1923 Nebraska football season...
in Lincoln, Nebraska
Lincoln, Nebraska
The City of Lincoln is the capital and the second-most populous city of the US state of Nebraska. Lincoln is also the county seat of Lancaster County and the home of the University of Nebraska. Lincoln's 2010 Census population was 258,379....
.
Before the season
Coach Stiehm returned for his third year after earning conference championships in both of his previous seasons. Although the roster grew slightly from 15 to 17 players, only two starters from 1912 were still part of the program, which required some position changes to be made.This was the first year that Nebraska utilized a Spring football practice session.
Schedule
| Date | Opponent | Site | Result | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 4* | Washburn Washburn University Washburn University is a co-educational, public institution of higher learning in Topeka, Kansas, USA. It offers undergraduate and graduate programs, as well as professional programs in law and business. Washburn has 550 faculty members, who teach more than 6,400 undergraduate students and... |
Nebraska Field • Lincoln, Nebraska Lincoln, Nebraska The City of Lincoln is the capital and the second-most populous city of the US state of Nebraska. Lincoln is also the county seat of Lancaster County and the home of the University of Nebraska. Lincoln's 2010 Census population was 258,379.... |
W 19-0 | - |
| October 11 | Nebraska Field • Lincoln, Nebraska | W 24-6 | - | |
| October 18*† | Minnesota | Nebraska Field • Lincoln, Nebraska | W 7-0 | - |
| October 25* | Haskell Haskell Indian Nations University Haskell Indian Nations University is a tribal university located in Lawrence, Kansas, for members of federally recognized Native American tribes in the United States... |
Nebraska Field • Lincoln, Nebraska | W 7-6 | - |
| November 1 | at | State Field • Ames, Iowa Ames, Iowa Ames is a city located in the central part of the U.S. state of Iowa in Story County, and approximately north of Des Moines. The U.S. Census Bureau designates that Ames, Iowa metropolitan statistical area as encompassing all of Story County, and which, when combined with the Boone, Iowa... |
W 18-9 | - |
| November 8* | Nebraska Wesleyan Nebraska Wesleyan University Nebraska Wesleyan University is a private, coeducational university located in Lincoln, Nebraska. It was founded in 1887 by Nebraska Methodists. As of 2007, it has 1,600 full-time students and 300 faculty and staff. The school teaches in the tradition of a liberal arts college education.... |
Nebraska Field • Lincoln, Nebraska | W 42-7 | - |
| November 15 | at | Central Park • Lawrence, Kansas Lawrence, Kansas Lawrence is the sixth largest city in the U.S. State of Kansas and the county seat of Douglas County. Located in northeastern Kansas, Lawrence is the anchor city of the Lawrence, Kansas, Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Douglas County... |
W 9-0 | - |
| November 22* | Nebraska Field • Lincoln, Nebraska | W 12-0 | - | |
| *Non-Conference Game. †Homecoming | ||||
Roster
Abbott, Earl RG Balis, Arthur E Beck, Charles E Cameron, Robert RT Elwell, John HB Freitag, Albert G Halligan, Vic Vic Halligan Victor H. Halligan was an American football player. He played for the University of Nebraska from 1912 to 1914 and was the first All-American football player to be selected from the Nebraska Cornhuskers football team.... LT Howard, Warren FB Mastin, Guy E Mulligan, Harold E Pearson, Monte LT Purdy, Leonard HB Ross, Clinton RG Rutherford, Richard HB Shields, Paul G Thompson, Robert C Towle, Max QB |
||||||
Coaching staff
| Name | Title | First year in this position |
Years at Nebraska | Alma Mater |
| Ewald O. Stiehm Ewald O. Stiehm -External links:* * at College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com... |
|Head Coach | 1911 | 1911–1915 | |
| Jack Best | |Trainer | 1890 | 1890–1922 | |
| Dudley | |Assistant Coach | |||
| Haarman | |First Assistant Coach |
Washburn
|
The young Nebraska team got off to a good, confidence-building start with a shutout victory over Washburn to start the season in the first meeting of these teams.
Kansas State
|
Despite scoring first, Kansas State was handed their third consecutive loss in the series, remaining winless against Nebraska.
Minnesota
|
When Minnesota arrived in Lincoln for the 13th meeting of these teams in what had become an annual epic grudge match, it was only the second time the game was held in Nebraska. Perhaps aided by the emotion of the Homecoming festivities, the Cornhuskers held their ground and fought the Golden Gophers to a scoreless first half, and then with much effort managed to secure a 3rd quarter touchdown. Minnesota would not allow Nebraska to score again but were also unable to respond, and Nebraska secured its second victory in the series. Of the Cornhuskers, coach Williams
Henry L. Williams
Dr. Henry Lane Williams was an American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at the United States Military Academy in 1891 and the University of Minnesota from 1900 to 1921, compiling a career college football record of 141–34–12...
of Minnesota said "I cannot say I expected the Gophers to be defeated. Nebraska has a great team."
Haskell
|
Following the Minnesota victory, a surprisingly difficult fight faced the Cornhuskers when Haskell returned to continue their series with Nebraska. The fierce contest injured Nebraska's team captain, who had to leave the game and was initially feared to be lost for the season. In the end, the Cornhuskers barely escaped with a 1-point margin of victory and sent the Haskell Indians home with another defeat, dropping them to 2-6 on the series.
Iowa State
|
Still without the team captain, the Cornhuskers met the Cyclones in Ames and made their fourth and final appearance at the soon-to-be-replaced State Field. Iowa State provided some fight to make it a game, but ultimately fell again to Nebraska and dropped farther back in the series to 3-9-1.
Nebraska Wesleyan
|
Coach Stiehm allowed the starters to take a break and played mainly reserves against Nebraska Wesleyan, as these teams resumed a series begun in 1896, though five years had passed since their last meeting. The backups were still more than a match for NWU, and Nebraska improved to 4-0 in the series.
Kansas
|
Cornhusker defense was the order of the day, and Nebraska made use of players returning from injury to hold the Jayhawks scoreless. The win secured Nebraska as unbeaten in conference play and improved their record over Kansas to 12-8.
Iowa
|
Iowa arrived in Lincoln with a reputation as a fast squad that used formations difficult to defend. Nebraska rose to the occasion and held the Hawkeyes off the board for the entire game. Using players still hobbled by injuries suffered during the Haskell game, the Cornhuskers punched in an early touchdown to go up, and a late one to seal the outcome. More than once Iowa threatened to score but came away empty, and fell farther behind Nebraska in the series to 4-8-3.
After the season
Despite the worries at the beginning of the season that the 1913 Nebraska squad was inexperienced, coach Stiehm managed to lead his squad to an undefeated season and 3rd straight conference title. After his third year, coach Stiehm had again improved his record, to 20-2-2 (.875), while the program also improved to 138-47-10 (.733) overall and 12-2-2 (.813) in conference.Awards
| Award | Name(s) |
|---|---|
| All-Western 1st team | Vic Halligan |
| All-Western 2nd team | Richard Rutherford |
| All-Western honorable mention | Leonard Purdy |
| All-Missouri 1st team | Charles Beck, Vic Halligan, Guy Mastin, Leonard Purdy, Richard Rutherford, Max Towle |