1899 Nebraska Bugeaters football team

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1899 Nebraska Bugeaters football
ConferenceIndependent
Record1–7–1
Head coach
Home stadium Antelope Field
Seasons
  1898
1900  
1899 Midwestern college football independents records
Conf.Overall
TeamW L TW L T
Kansas   10 0 0
North Dakota   6 0 0
Detroit College   5 0 0
Lincoln (MO)   1 0 0
Ohio State   9 0 1
Iowa   8 0 1
Washington University   5 1 0
Missouri   9 2 0
Chicago P&S   4 1 0
Mount Union   5 1 1
Indiana   6 2 0
South Dakota Agricultural   3 1 0
Wabash   1 0 1
Cincinnati   5 2 0
Drake   5 2 0
Heidelberg   5 2 0
Buchtel   2 1 0
Doane   2 1 0
Northern Illinois State   1 0 2
Notre Dame   6 3 1
Central Michigan   3 2 0
Fairmount   2 1 2
Carthage   3 2 1
Western Reserve   5 4 0
Wittenberg   5 4 0
Iowa State   5 4 1
College of Emporia   1 1 1
Ohio   2 2 0
Rush Medical   3 3 1
Ohio Wesleyan   5 5 0
Haskell   4 5 0
Lake Forest   4 6 2
Kansas State   2 3 0
Iowa State Normal   1 3 2
Washburn   2 5 2
Butler   1 3 0
Miami (OH)   1 5 0
Nebraska   1 7 1
North Dakota Agricultural   0 1 0
Baldwin–Wallace   0 4 0

The 1899 Nebraska Bugeaters football team represented the University of Nebraska in the 1899 college football season. The team was coached by first-year head coach Alonzo Edwin Branch and played their home games at Antelope Field in Lincoln, Nebraska. They competed as an independent.

Contents

Following the departure of Fielding H. Yost following the 1898 season, Nebraska hired Branch, a recent graduate of Williams College with little football coaching experience. In his only season as head coach, Branch led Nebraska to its first losing season, and only sub-.500 record in its first 38 years of football.

This was NU's final season before officially becoming the "Cornhuskers" in 1900.

Schedule

DateTimeOpponentSiteResultSource
September 30at Lincoln High School Lincoln, NE W 6–0 (exhibition)
October 6at Iowa State
L 0–33
October 14 Kansas City Medics
T 6–6
October 21 Missouri
  • Antelope Field
  • Lincoln, NE (rivalry)
L 0–11
October 28at Kansas City MedicsL 0–24
November 43:00 p.m.vs. Iowa
L 0–30
November 11at Drake Des Moines, IA W 12–6
November 18 Kansas
  • Antelope Field
  • Lincoln, NE (rivalry)
L 20–36 [1] [2]
November 24at South Dakota Vermillion, SD L 5–6
November 303:30 p.m.vs. Grinnell
  • Ames Avenue Park
  • Omaha, NE
L 0–12

Coaching staff

Coach [3] PositionFirst yearAlma mater
Alonzo Edwin Branch Head coach1899 Williams
Jack BestTrainer1890 Nebraska
Austin John Collett Manager1899 Nebraska

Roster

[4]

Bell, JohnnyHB
Benedict, RaymondHB
Brew, FredT
Carver, FredFB
Cortelyou, SpencerE
Crandall, HarryQB
Dasenbrock, JohnG
Drain, RalphQB
Gordon, AnthonyFB
Hunter, FredHB
Kingsbury, RaymondFB
Koehler, John C
Pearse, ArthurRT
PlougheadRG
Reasoner, IraT
Ringer, JohnLG
Tukey, HarryQB
TysonC
WallaceLT
Westover, JohnLT
Williams, Charles ErwinHB

Game summaries

At Lincoln High

Nebraska at Lincoln High
Team12Total
Nebraska6
Lincoln High 0

Nebraska met the Lincoln High School football team in a pre-season exhibition game for the second time. It is unclear whether the score was the result of a tightly contested game, or an act of sportsmanship by the university team against high schoolers. [5] [6]

At Iowa State

Nebraska at Iowa State
Team12Total
Nebraska000
Iowa State 28533
  • Date: October 6
  • Location: State Field, Ames, IA

Nebraska suffered its worst-ever defeat to open the 1899 season, trailing 28–0 at halftime and losing 33–0. Iowa State had begun preparation for the football season prior to that start of the school year, a practice not commonplace at the time. [5]

Kansas City Medics

Kansas City Medics at Nebraska
Team12Total
Kansas City Medics066
Nebraska066

After allowing 33 points to Iowa State the week prior, Nebraska's defense held the Kansas City Medics off the scoreboard in a scoreless first half. A second-half touchdown from each team culminated in a 6–6 tie. [5]

Missouri

Missouri at Nebraska
Team12Total
Missouri 11
Nebraska0

Despite a valiant defensive performance, Nebraska's offensive woes continued in an 11–0 loss, the second of five times NU was shut out in 1899. [5]

At Kansas City Medics

Nebraska at Kansas City Medics
Team12Total
Nebraska000
KC Medics121224

After playing to a 6–6 tie weeks earlier, Nebraska could not keep pace with the Kansas City Medics in their second meeting. [5]

Iowa

Iowa vs. Nebraska
Team12Total
Iowa 30
Nebraska0

Nebraska was shut out for the third consecutive week by Iowa in Omaha. [5]

At Drake

Nebraska at Drake
Team12Total
Nebraska6612
Drake 066

Nebraska defeated Drake 12–6 in what would be the first and only college football head coaching win for Branch (after a brief stint at Miami (OH), he ended his career with a record of 1–11–1). [5]

Kansas

Kansas at Nebraska
Team12Total
Kansas 241236
Nebraska51520

Despite a strong second-half performance against Kansas in Lincoln, Nebraska was unable to overcome a 24–5 deficit. The team's performance was so poor that rumors began to spread suggesting team captain and starting halfback Charles Williams may quit the team. [5]

At South Dakota

Nebraska at South Dakota
Team12Total
Nebraska505
South Dakota 066

Nebraska led 5–0 in its first-ever game against South Dakota, but were unable to capitalize on scoring opportunities in the first half. A second-half touchdown gave South Dakota a 6–5 victory. Team captain Charles Williams left the NU program following the game. [5]

Grinnell

Grinnell vs. Nebraska
Team12Total
Grinnell 12
Nebraska0

Grinnell became the fifth team to shut out Nebraska in 1899, defeating the Bugeaters 12–0 on a muddy, wet afternoon in Omaha. [5]

References

  1. "K.U. 36, Nebraska 22". Kansas City Journal. November 19, 1899. p. 5 via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  2. "Kansas Won With Ease". Lawrence Daily Journal. November 20, 1899. p. 4 via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  3. "Nebraska head coaches". HuskerMax. Retrieved November 11, 2009.
  4. "Nebraska Football 1899 Roster". University of Nebraska-Lincoln Athletics Department. Retrieved November 11, 2009.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "1899 Game Recaps". Husker Press Box. Retrieved November 11, 2009.[ permanent dead link ]
  6. "the 1890s". HuskerMax. Retrieved November 11, 2009.