Nebraska Risks Losing Baseball

Credits

Project Editor: Drew Hartley, History 470: Digital History, Spring 2008

Baseball has been known as America's past-time through the days of war and violence of the early 1900's (Goldstein, 122). Today is no different as baseball thrives through High School, College and Professional teams. At the University of Nebraska, College athletics have been a major staple of success and wealth since the day the University was founded in 1869. At this time, intercollegiate athletics were rare, but there was heavy competition between students who attended the University. At a University which is known for the Cornhusker football program, the Nebraska baseball program had lived in the shadow of football season until recently thanks to the likes of professional baseball players like Alex Gordon and Joba Chambarlain. The new found popularity was due in part to the recent success of the baseball team which has reached post season glory on nothing short of a regular basis. But this success was not always a possibility as the Cornhusker baseball team was threatened with being shut down forever after Cornhusker players participated on professional teams during the summer months.

First Sport at UNL: (1883/4)

In 1883 the first collegiate baseball team was formed at the University of Nebraska. Not only was this baseball squad the first baseball team at U.N.L., it was also the first ever collegiate sport to be established at Nebraska. There were three teams of "nines" which participated at three different levels (Sombrero, 280). The Varsity, which was the best of the three teams of nine. The Junior Varsity was next, and followed by a team that was made up of the players left over from the other two squads. During this short season, the three teams competed against each other in front of small on campus grounds. The first game between the Varsity team and the JV team resulted in a score of 31-23. The Varsity team won the game, but the game was cut short because the game brat broke during play. In the 1884 season there were no intercollegiate games scheduled, but a few short years later Nebraska played its first intercollegiate baseball game. It was during the 1889 season when Nebraska had its first intercollegiate schedule. The team finished 1-3 on the season, beating Doane College and then losing twice to Ulysses University.

1887/88 Baseball Team

Although the first baseball team at Nebraska was established in the 1883/84 season, the first team to be photographed was this team of players in 1887/88.

Missouri Valley Conference Meeting Minutes

MVC Closes Program: (1911)

The 1910 season ended with a 5-4 victory over Cotner College which pushed the season record to a mediocre 7-7-1 (Media Guide, 130), but baseball fans were excited about the team which was improving with every season. This excitement turned to disappointment and frustration as the Missouri Valley Conference in which Nebraska was a part of, threatened to abandon the Nebraska baseball program due to the assumption of professional athletes playing on the team. Many students felt that this was unfair. Many athletes played baseball in the summer for minor league teams that paid the players for their services during the summer. In the Missouri Valley Conference there were strict rules about such issues. Players and coaches at Nebraska failed to provide proper information which resulted in the abandonment of the baseball program before the 1911 season ever got started.

In the seventh section of the meeting minutes the Missouri Valley Conference considers doing away with baseball for the entire conference. Much of the controversy was due to the lack of identification and documented materials to show that the college players were not participating in summer pro leagues. In this particualr meeting, the minutes show that there as disccusion of discontinuing baseball. The minutes read Question of Discontinuing Intercollegiate Baseball. "Motion carried that consideration of the question of discontinuing intercollegiate baseball be postponed until the next meeting of the conferences."

This photo is of the 1910/11 Nebraska Baseball team. Soon after this photograph was taken, the Missouri Valley Conference decided to make Nebraska get rid of their baseball program due to professionals playing on the team. During the 1910 season, prior to being abandoned, the team had a record of 7-7-1 and was on the rise in the conference.

Brief Season (1912)

After a full season without baseball, there was an attempt at reviving the program and putting Nebraska baseball back on the map. There was an open try-out for any student who wanted to participate in the program. The try-out was successful and a team of nine was fielded to start a new season of baseball. During the 1912 season, the Cornhuskers had a record of 3-0 beating Doane College, Tarkio College, and Kearney Normal before the season was again abandoned (Media Guide, 130). The three games proved to be a success, but Nebraska went five more years without a baseball team.

Throughout the early 1900's, there were many attempts at reviving the baseball program. One of the most significant attempts came in 1912 when Nebraska fielded a team of 9 players through an open try-out. As shown the season was once again cut short but not before Nebraska had won all three of the scheduled games in teh month of April. This was the last season until the final revival in 1919 that the program played intercollegiate games.

Attempted Revival (1917)

After 5 years without an intercollegiate baseball game being played, Nebraska was once again holding a try-out for amateurs who wished to play baseball (1918 Cornhusker, 111). Baseball was not just dead to the University of Nebraska at this time, but the entire Missouri Valley Conference lacked to play many intercollegiate games due to World War I. During the spring of 1917, the tryouts were held and a team was fielded in hopes of competing against other schools during the summer. The season turned out to be nothing short of a dream, as the team was fielded but no games were played that summer, and the Nebraska baseball program remained dead for yet another season.

The Final Revival (1919)

After three whole years of not playing a single baseball game, the Nebraska Cornhuskers again revived the beloved baseball program. Coach Paul Schissler started a brand new season with a large number of players, which he then chose his team for the upcoming season. There was one player who had been a part of the last team which attempted to revive (1917) who tried out for the team in 1919. John Picket, the man who had played on the previous team was named team captain for the season (1920 Cornhusker, 254). The beginning of the first season back was a bit rough for the Huskers as they dropped the first four games of the season. The team did hit stride midway through the season and went on a winning streak. The team ended the season with a 7-6 record as the excitement of the students grew with each game of the season. The revival was for good and the baseball program added more and more games to the schedule every year.

Bibliography

Primary Sources

Cornhusker Yearbook, 1911.
Cornhusker Yearbook, 1918.
Cornhusker Yearbook, 1920.
Cornhusker Yearbook, 1921.
Nebraska Baseball Media Guide. 2003/2004
Nebraska Baseball Team Photo. 1887., Fine Arts Studio
Team Photo. University of Nebraska Baseball Team 1921, Yearbook
Nebraska Baseball Team Photo. 1910., Fine Arts Studio
The Sombrero. 1. State Journal Company, Law Publishers: The Students of the University of Nebraska, 1883.
The Sombrero. 2. State Journal Company, Law Publishers: The Students of the University of Nebraska, 1883.
Missouri Valley Conference Meeting Minutes. 1910.

Secondary Sources

Goldstein, Warran Jay. Playing For Keeps: A History of Baseball. 1989. Cornell University Press.
Helmer, Dianna Star and Owen, Tom. The History of Baseball. 2000. The Rosen Publishing Group.
Rader, Benjamin G. Baseball: A History of America's Game. 2002. University of Illinois Press.
The Semi-Centennial Anniversary Book (1869-1919). Lincoln, Nebraska: The University of Nebraska Lincoln.