4

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

Nebreske had withdrawn from the oid Missouri Valley Conference at the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

ley Conference.

And, although the other schools of the conference had a two year agree-
ment which eubeied ever from 1920, they refused to play their 1920 games with the
Cornhuskers. However, Kansas kept her agreement and was the only one of the is-

souri valley schools to play he Cornhuskers that: year.

The game was played on old hicCook 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-O 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.

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 evalueticn of the completed stadium at present is $660,000. The
Athletic Association completed the building of the’ giant. Kansas horseshve, the
only completed. stadium in the Big Six at that time, 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 stadiun. OU j elteH .. oLf,

Until Coach Shenk's Kansas Jayhewkers of 1944 cefeated 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 19/4."

Maybe this fact that ! fansas 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 uniderselling
of a courageous Kansas team who did the impossible in winning a Kansas triumoh to
gain a tie with the vaunted Cornhuskers of that year. Further. it seemed justifie-
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
Jaynawker following on a hilarious victory march. It 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 ssaerlet-
clad Nebraska football gients of Coach "Henry ("Indian") Schulte. ran rceughshed cver
the light but scrappy Kansas Jayhawkers, during the first half of the 1920 Homezom-
ing Day game. at Lav.rerce, Kansas, 20 to Q.