University Daily Kansan / Monday, September 22, 1986
7
Sports Monday
900th game puts Jayhawks in rare company
Courtesy of Kansas Archives
The 1892 Kansas Jayhawks finished with a 7-1 record under head coach A.W. were three shut outs They were against Baker, 14.0, Washburn, 3.6 Shepard. Their only loss was to Baker 18.0 Included in the team's seven wins Nebraska, 12.0
Controversy shadows KU's first victory
Bv NICOLE SAUZEK
Sports writer
Donned in quilted knickers, sweaters and a few stocking caps, the University Eleven began intercollegiate football for the Jayhawks in 1890 with a little pushing, a lot of shoving and a scoring disagreement in the third and final game of the season.
The famous game was Monday, Dec. 8, 1890 — an afternoon described in record books as ideal for such a game.
The University Eleven was playing Baker for the second time that year. Baker had won the first match between the two teams 22-9. The game also was KU's team debut.
Both teams claimed victory this time, though Just who won never was officially decided.
In the second half, Kansas scored four points on a touchdown but missed the conversion. In 1890, a touchdown was worth four points and a conversion worth two. Baker scored six points, taking a 12-10 lead.
According to record books, Baker scored the first points of the game "by a touchdown at goal and a back over." But before the first half ended, Kansas had tied the score.
It was the last play of the game that caused the scoring discrepancy.
Baker had the ball near the KU goal line with 10 minutes left to play. On a wedge play, Baker tried to force the ball over the goal line. The ball was fumbled, then recovered by a Jayhawk player, who returned it for a touchdown.
During the play. Baker's team captain, who was
out of the game because he had a dislocated shoulder, called time-out from the sideline. The official, professor William Carruth, blew his whistle before the touchdown was made.
"Some little error on the part of Baker caught the eye of Captain Peairs, who being near me, caught my elbow and demanded time." wrote Carruth in the 1923 Graduate Magazine.
"Undoubtedly I blundered in calling time on the demand of Pears. But I was reeferee, and I did call time. Kansas had no right to take the ball until the whistle was sounded to resume play."
Kansas claimed they won the game 14-12 because play resumed after the whistle had blown
Baker claimed the game 12-10, even though it was reported in the record books that a few of the Baker players admitted defeat.
'69 Orange Bowl still haunts 'Hawk fans
By BRIAN SNYDER
Most KU students were in grade school when the Kansas football team competed in its last Orange Bowl in 1969.
Jayhawks' Bowl History
Doyle, Hicks, Jakobiec and Shanklin are names which have been lost to the past. But for longtime Jayhawk fans, these names represent a link to the last dominant football team at Kansas.
The 1963 KU football team completed the regular season with a 9/1 record and tied for first place in the Big Eight Conference with Oklahoma, the only team to beat Kansas in the regular season that year.
Kansas linebacker Rick Abernethy said Friday, "I felt no shame in losing to an Oklahoma team."
Quarterback Bobby Douglas said, "What I remember most about the season is the loss to Oklahoma (27/23 at Lawrence). Our defense had an off day but we should have beaten them. We were a better football team."
The Orange Bowl matched Kansas against Penn State. In a dramatic game characterized by confusing plays, the Jayhawks lost in the last seconds after Penn State got a second chance at a two-point conversion
because Kansas had 12 men on the field.
It was one of the Jayhaws most successful seasons, but the last minutes of the Orange Bowl are what KU fans remember most.
Douglass on Rogers: "Coach Rogers was a flamboyant coach. He
on fourth and a little over a yard to go.
With a 14-7 lead in the fourth quarter, Kansas has the ball on Penn State's five yard line. KU head coach Pepper Rogers decides against a field goal and goes for the first down
See ORANGE, p. 9, col. 1
KU football history ripe with tradition
By NICOLE SAUZEK
Sports writer
John Hadi still remembers how scared he was when he made his debut at Kansas as a sophomore in 1959.
His jitters turned into the most memorable game of his career when he returned an interception 98 yards for a record-breaking touchdown against Texas Christian.
Hadl, KU All-American halfback and quarterback, also holds the record for the longest punt, 94 yards, and the most interception return yards in one game - 153.
Hadi's debut is only one of the many memorable moments in the history of KU football. The Jayhawks have played 909 collegiate games between the first one in 1890 and Saturday's victory over Utah State. KU's overall record stands at 445 wins, 399 losses and 56 ties.
Only 11 colleges in the NCAA have played as many games. Kansas, Nebraska and Texas are the only teams west of the Mississippi on the list.
Many changes in style, rules and athletic ability have prevailed over the years in addition to the memory of great players and great plays.
Ray Evans, a KU All-American halfback and member of the College Football Hall of Fame, played for KU from 1941-42 and from 1946-47 on both offense and defense. His career was
interrupted when he left school to serve in World War II.
"In my day, before the war, we had to play both ways." Evans said. "You really had to pace yourself. Sometimes when I had an open field I was so damned tired I couldn't run."
Evans, who finished his eligibility after the war, also remembers when leather helmets were replaced by plastic ones in 1946. It was a big thrill for the team, he said, even though the quality wasn't close to today's equipment.
Freshmen weren't allowed to play varsity sports until the early '70s. Only during a war, when there was a shortage of athletes, were freshmen put on varsity teams, said Evans.
"The idea was to let freshmen get their feet on the ground and learn how to study," he said. "I think it was a good idea."
The freshman rule also kept many gifted athletes of the playing fields, where today they are spotlighted.
Such an athlete was Gale Sayers, the only Kansas football player ever to be inducted in both the college and professional football halls of fame.
Sayers was an All-American hallback for the Jahayhaws in '63 and '64. He also holds the record for the longest single play from scrimmage, 99 yards. He was offensive leader for the Jahayhs all three years of var-
See HISTORY, p. 10, col. 4.
Gale Sayers is the only Kansas Jayhawk to be named to both the college and professional football hall of fames. Sayers rushed for 2,675 yards in three years at Kansas and was named to the All-America team in 1963 and 1964.
Utah State defensive end Todd Thornton sacks Kansas quarterback Mike Orth as Utah State defensive tackle Jim Paucielio looks on. Orth's fumbled at the end of the third quarter and was recovered by the Aggies. The Jayhawks won $^{16-13}$
Dan Ruettimann/KANSAN
Valesente ruins shirt but wins
Punt return gives Kansas head coach first coaching victory
By ANNE LUSCOMBE Sports writer
Sports writer
Back in the locker room after Saturday's game — the 900th game in the history of Kansas football — head coach Bob Valentele looked down at his shirt and saw a large blue ink stain on the pocket.
In the excitement of Kansas' called back 74-yard touchdown punt return with KU leading 10-7 in the third quarter, Valesente forgot to put the cap back on the pen. During that play, he said he was just one of the crowd, trying to see around the hulking players blocking his view on the sidelines.
Although he missed most of corner back Milt Garner's ill-fated attempt, Valesente had a clear view of Garner's second try later in the game. This time no penalty flags were thrown.
Valesente's only regret after the game was ruining his shirt. It was a small price to pay for his first coaching win and the Jayhawks first win of the season 16-13 over Utah State.
For Garner, this was his first assignment as punt returner since high school. For Valesen, it was a
last minute decision to send Garner into the game to replace injured wide receiver Willie Vaughn. For the Jayhawks, it was just what they needed.
With less than five minutes left in the game and Kansas behind 13-10, Garner returned a third down 51-yard punt for a 58-yard touchdown. He actually covered a lot more ground than that.
blocker, free safety Wayne Ziegler. Bouncing off Ziegler. Garner strode into the end zone, giving Kansas the victory.
Garner scrambled to the right sideline and saw several Utah State players heading his way, so he ran toward the left sideline. About midway up the field he ran into his lead
The quiet crowd confused Garner momentarily. The crowd went wild the first time he returned a punt for a touchdown, which was called back. This time, the stadium was nearly
"I saw a lot of blue shirts and then I saw a lot of white shirts." Garner said "I was just trying to get away from the white shirts and I ran into Ziegler."
See UTAH STATE, p. 9, col. 1
Smith declared ineligible
Quintin Smith, the Kansas freshman wide receiver who had earned a starting job, has been ruled ineligible under Proposition 48 guidelines because he did not take his American College Test on a national testing day, the NCAA said Friday.
"We are going to go along with what the NCAA has said," Kansas
head coach Bob Valesente said yesterday. "He has been declared ineligible, and now we have to move forward and start preparing for Indiana State."
Since Smith has decided to stay on scholarship at Kansas, he will lose a year of eligibility. He will have three years of eligibility remaining.