4

Missouri Valley Conference, took the Kansan's measure at Normal 21-9. It was one
of the toughest games ever played at Norman, so the followers of the Sooners Said. .

Nebraska had withdrawn from the old Missouri Valley Conference at the
end of the 1919 season, due to a disagreement between the Conference and the Uni-
versity of Nebraska. Nebraska contended that they had a right to play their foot-
ball games at Omaha because the Medical School of Nebraska was located there. The
other schools objected to this ruling, stressing the rule that .all games should be
played on the campus gridiron. Therefore, Nebraska withdrew from the Missouri Val-
ley Conference.

And, although the other schools of the conference had a two year agree—
ment which carried over from 1920, they refused to play their 1920 games with the
Cornhuskers. However, Kansas kept her agreement and was the only one of the Mis-
souri Valley schools to play the Cornhuskers that year.

The game was played on old McCook Field with her wooden bleachers with a
crowd of 10,000 risking their lives and their chances on the Jayhawkers.

It was that thrilling come-back of the Kansas team, from a 20-0 deficit,
that warmed the cockles of the student body and the followers of the Jayhawkers,
and that game; in fact, built the Kansas Memorial Stadium. ig

The game‘was played on Saturday, November 13, 1920, .and on, Monday morn-
ing, November 15, 1920, a wild and joyous Kansas student body, meeting for. convo-
cation in Robinson Gymnasium, pledged $160,000 toward the building of the Kansas
Stadium. The evaluation of the completed ‘stadium at present is. $660,000, The
Athletic Association completed the building of the giant Kansas horseshoe, .the
only completed stadium in the Big’ Six at’ that timé, and the largest and most beau-
tiful in this’ conference area.’ Kansas with a fighting, midget team, the lightest
team in the history of Kansas, scored in’ every game that. She played.. Kansas scored
117 points to her opponents 60. She won’5 games, lost 2 and tied Nebraska in the
game that built the stadium “' 7) bor losditist sy tiun tats

Until Coach Shenk's Kansas Jayhawkers of 1944 defeated Nebraska 20-0,
Kansas had not achieved this feat at Lawrence since 1896, so Kansas shattered an
old jinx, and the Jayhawkers of 1944 will long be remembered as "the team that
beat Nebraska in football at Lawrence in 1944." _ 9,

Maybe this fact that Kansas had not defeated Nebraska at Lawrence since
1896, made a good jinx story, and caused even the local newspaper correspondents
to play up that unusual feature. It always appeared to me as a bit of underselling
of a courageous Kansas team who did the impossible in winning a Kansas triumph to
gain.a tie with the vaunted Cornhuskers of that year. Further, it seemed justifia-
ble to me to lionize this doughty band of Kansans. It was this irrepressible band
of young Kansans’ who exploded the Cornhuskers hopes and sent a frenzied and loyal
Jayhnawker following on a hilarious victory march.” Tt is with this in mind that I
am reprinting one of my stories from the "Tales of Yesteryears" regarding that
great Kansas comeback in the game that ---~- :

Built a Stadium»

Swooping down from the north, as did Attila's Huns of old, the scarlet-
clad Nebraska football giants of Coach Henry ("Indian") Schulte ran roughshod over
the light but scrappy Kansas Jayhawkers, during the first half of the 1920 Homecom—
ing Day game, at Lawrence, Kansas, 20 to 0. :