1899 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team
Encyclopedia
The 1899 Nebraska Bugeaters football team was the representative of the University of Nebraska in the 1899 college football season
. The team was coached by Alonzo Edwin Branch and played their home games at Antelope Field in Lincoln, Nebraska
.
Nebraska's football team began its history as the "Old Gold Knights", and was also sometimes known as the "Tree Planters", "Nebraskans", "The Rattlesnake Boys", "Red Stockings", "Antelopes" or "Goldenrods" in their early years.
The University met the Lincoln High School football team for the second time in this exhibition game, and came away with a 6-0 win although it did not count towards the season record. There does not seem to be a historical record to indicate that the score was the result of a close fought game or the Bugeaters not pushing as hard as they could have, though the way the season went perhaps credit is due to the high schoolers. Nebraska was now 2-0 against Lincoln High School.
Nebraska suffered its worst ever defeat to open the official slate for 1899, falling behind at Iowa State by 28-0 at halftime. The ineffective Bugeater offense was never able to come up with anything all day, and the preparation of the Cyclones showed the value of the practices they had been getting in since August. Nebraska slipped to 2-2 all time against Iowa State.
The first half remained scoreless as both teams fought to gain a foothold. Nebraska's defense had improved over the previous week, but only enough so that the teams were merely evenly matched. Both squads managed a second half touchdown each but could do nothing further to decide the match, fittingly leaving these squads with an evenly divided 1-1-1 all time record, as well as one recorded cancellation from 1897.
Nebraska's offensive woes and ineptitude continued as Missouri walked all over the Bugeaters in Lincoln. The Bugeater defense remained stout, however, keeping the scoring from getting out of hand. Without any offense, however, Nebraska suffered their second shutout loss of the season as Missouri drew closer to Nebraska in the series by pulling up to 3-5.
The Kansas City Medics brought Nebraska to their home field and proceeded to demolish the Bugeaters, settling the issue of the tied game from two weeks prior. The Medics pulled ahead on the series 2-1-1, and the Nebraska season began to spiral downhill.
The struggles of the team under coach Branch continued as Nebraska suffered their third straight shutout defeat and fourth shutout of the season as Iowa romped over the Bugeaters in Omaha.
At last, after four losses and a tie to start the season (excluding the exhibition game), Nebraska finally managed to put up a 'W' on the books with a close win at Drake, getting out of Des Moines with a one-score margin of victory and evening the Drake series at 1-1.
The 1899 Nebraska collapse finally became serious enough to warrant media attention that survives to the present day, as speculation regarding team captain Williams and his leadership swirled amongst rumors that he might quit the team. Nebraska did manage to outscore Kansas by 3 points in the second half, but coming after a 24-5 first half deficit, it was of no value. Kansas increased their series lead to 5-3.
It may have seemed like the light was shining on Nebraska briefly, as they pulled ahead 5-0 in their first ever game against South Dakota. The Bugeaters drew as close as South Dakota's 5-yard line later on, but failed to score before the half and never put any more points up. South Dakota's 6 points in the second half brought defeat upon the Bugeaters yet again. Following this game, Captain Williams did in fact leave the program.
The indignity of the 1899 season fittingly ended on a muddy, wet field in Omaha with Grinnell's 12-0 shutout defeat of the Bugeaters to close out what was by far the worst season in program history. Nebraska fell to 1-2 against Grinnell all time.
1899 was the first year that the nickname "Cornhuskers" was used to identify the team, used by Charles "Cy" Sherman
in one of his pieces written for the Nebraska State Journal
, and it was adopted as the official team name beginning next season.
1899 college football season
The 1899 college football season had no clear-cut champion, with the Official NCAA Division I Football Records Book listing Harvard and Princeton as national champions....
. The team was coached by Alonzo Edwin Branch and played their home games at Antelope Field 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....
.
Nebraska's football team began its history as the "Old Gold Knights", and was also sometimes known as the "Tree Planters", "Nebraskans", "The Rattlesnake Boys", "Red Stockings", "Antelopes" or "Goldenrods" in their early years.
Before the season
Nebraska's high level of turnover at the top continued as yet another new head coach arrived. Coach Branch was recently finished with school, and the Nebraska appointment was his first college head coaching position.Schedule
| Date | Opponent | Site | Result | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 30* | at Lincoln High | 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 6-0 | - |
| October 6 | 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... |
L 0-33 | - |
| October 14 | KC Medics | Antelope Field • Lincoln, Nebraska | T 6-6 | - |
| October 21 | Antelope Field • Lincoln, Nebraska | L 0-11 | - | |
| October 28 | at KC Medics | Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties... |
L 0-24 | - |
| November 4 | Iowa | Omaha, Nebraska Omaha, Nebraska Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River... |
L 0-30 | - |
| November 11 | at Drake Drake Bulldogs football The Drake Bulldogs football program represents Drake University in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision level. Drake began competing in intercollegiate football in 1893.-Historic 1922 season:... |
Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines is the capital and the most populous city in the US state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small portion of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines which was shortened to "Des Moines" in 1857... |
W 12-6 | - |
| November 18 | Antelope Field • Lincoln, Nebraska | L 20-36 | - | |
| November 24 | at South Dakota | Vermillion, South Dakota Vermillion, South Dakota Vermillion is a city in and the county seat of Clay County, in the southeastern corner of the U.S. state of South Dakota, and the tenth largest city in the state. According to the 2010 Census, the population was 10,571. Vermillion lies atop a bluff near the Missouri River.The area has been home to... |
L 5-6 | - |
| November 30 | Grinnell Grinnell College Grinnell College is a private liberal arts college in Grinnell, Iowa, U.S. known for its strong tradition of social activism. It was founded in 1846, when a group of pioneer New England Congregationalists established the Trustees of Iowa College.... |
Omaha, Nebraska Omaha, Nebraska Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River... |
L 0-12 | - |
| *Exhibition Game. | ||||
Roster
Bell, Johnny HB Benedict, Raymond HB Brew, Fred T Carver, Fred FB Cortelyou, Spencer E Crandall, Harry QB Dasenbrock, John G Drain, Ralph QB Gordon, Anthony FB Hunter, Fred HB Kingsbury, Raymond FB Koehler, John C Pearse, Arthur RT Ploughead RG Reasoner, Ira T Ringer, John LG Tukey, Harry QB Tyson C Wallace LT Westover, John LT Williams, Charles Erwin HB |
||||||
Coaching staff
| Name | Title | First year in this position |
Years at Nebraska | Alma Mater |
| Alonzo Edwin Branch | |Head Coach | 1899 | 1899 | Williams Williams College Williams College is a private liberal arts college located in Williamstown, Massachusetts, United States. It was established in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams. Originally a men's college, Williams became co-educational in 1970. Fraternities were also phased out during this... |
| Jack Best | |Trainer | 1890 | 1890–1922 | |
| Austin Collett | |Manager | |||
| Fred Williams | |Captain |
Lincoln High
|
The University met the Lincoln High School football team for the second time in this exhibition game, and came away with a 6-0 win although it did not count towards the season record. There does not seem to be a historical record to indicate that the score was the result of a close fought game or the Bugeaters not pushing as hard as they could have, though the way the season went perhaps credit is due to the high schoolers. Nebraska was now 2-0 against Lincoln High School.
Iowa State
|
Nebraska suffered its worst ever defeat to open the official slate for 1899, falling behind at Iowa State by 28-0 at halftime. The ineffective Bugeater offense was never able to come up with anything all day, and the preparation of the Cyclones showed the value of the practices they had been getting in since August. Nebraska slipped to 2-2 all time against Iowa State.
KC Medics
|
The first half remained scoreless as both teams fought to gain a foothold. Nebraska's defense had improved over the previous week, but only enough so that the teams were merely evenly matched. Both squads managed a second half touchdown each but could do nothing further to decide the match, fittingly leaving these squads with an evenly divided 1-1-1 all time record, as well as one recorded cancellation from 1897.
Missouri
|
Nebraska's offensive woes and ineptitude continued as Missouri walked all over the Bugeaters in Lincoln. The Bugeater defense remained stout, however, keeping the scoring from getting out of hand. Without any offense, however, Nebraska suffered their second shutout loss of the season as Missouri drew closer to Nebraska in the series by pulling up to 3-5.
KC Medics
|
The Kansas City Medics brought Nebraska to their home field and proceeded to demolish the Bugeaters, settling the issue of the tied game from two weeks prior. The Medics pulled ahead on the series 2-1-1, and the Nebraska season began to spiral downhill.
Iowa
|
The struggles of the team under coach Branch continued as Nebraska suffered their third straight shutout defeat and fourth shutout of the season as Iowa romped over the Bugeaters in Omaha.
Drake
|
At last, after four losses and a tie to start the season (excluding the exhibition game), Nebraska finally managed to put up a 'W' on the books with a close win at Drake, getting out of Des Moines with a one-score margin of victory and evening the Drake series at 1-1.
Kansas
|
The 1899 Nebraska collapse finally became serious enough to warrant media attention that survives to the present day, as speculation regarding team captain Williams and his leadership swirled amongst rumors that he might quit the team. Nebraska did manage to outscore Kansas by 3 points in the second half, but coming after a 24-5 first half deficit, it was of no value. Kansas increased their series lead to 5-3.
South Dakota
|
It may have seemed like the light was shining on Nebraska briefly, as they pulled ahead 5-0 in their first ever game against South Dakota. The Bugeaters drew as close as South Dakota's 5-yard line later on, but failed to score before the half and never put any more points up. South Dakota's 6 points in the second half brought defeat upon the Bugeaters yet again. Following this game, Captain Williams did in fact leave the program.
Grinnell
|
The indignity of the 1899 season fittingly ended on a muddy, wet field in Omaha with Grinnell's 12-0 shutout defeat of the Bugeaters to close out what was by far the worst season in program history. Nebraska fell to 1-2 against Grinnell all time.
After the season
The disastrous 1899 season was Nebraska's first losing season. Coach Branch departed after his one and only season. His single-season record of 1-7-1 (.167) was the worst single season record in program history until 1957, and brought Nebraska's overall program record down to 41-25-4 (.614).1899 was the first year that the nickname "Cornhuskers" was used to identify the team, used by Charles "Cy" Sherman
Charles "Cy" Sherman
Charles "Cy" Sherman is known as the "father of the Cornhuskers" after giving the Nebraska Cornhuskers Football team the name Cornhuskers in 1899. During the 1890 through 1899 seasons, the Huskers had been called multiple names including Treeplanters, Rattlesnake Boys, Antelopes, Old Gold Knights...
in one of his pieces written for the Nebraska State Journal
Lincoln Journal Star
The Lincoln Journal Star is Lincoln, Nebraska's major daily newspaper. Owned by Lee Enterprises, the Journal Star was created by the 1995 merger of Lincoln's morning newspaper and its evening newspaper The Lincoln Journal Star is Lincoln, Nebraska's major daily newspaper. Owned by Lee...
, and it was adopted as the official team name beginning next season.