1913 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team

The 1913 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team was an American football team that represented the University of Nebraska in the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) during the 1913 college football season. In its third season under head coach Ewald O. Stiehm, the team compiled a perfect 8–0 record (3–0 against conference opponents), tied for the MVC championship, and outscored opponents by a total of 138 to 28.[1] The team played its home games at Nebraska Field in Lincoln, Nebraska.

1913 Nebraska Cornhuskers football
Missouri Valley co-champion
Conference	Missouri Valley Conference
1913 record	8–0 (3–0 MVC)
Head coach	Ewald O. Stiehm (3rd season)
Home stadium	Nebraska Field

1913 Missouri Valley football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
Missouri +	4	–	0	–	0			7	–	1	–	0
Nebraska +	3	–	0	–	0			8	–	0	–	0
Kansas	3	–	2	–	0			5	–	3	–	0
Iowa State	2	–	2	–	0			4	–	4	–	0
Drake	1	–	3	–	0			4	–	3	–	1
Kansas State	0	–	2	–	0			3	–	4	–	1
Washington University	0	–	4	–	0			1	–	5	–	0
+ – Conference co-champions

The 1913 season was part of a 34-game unbeaten streak that ran from 1912 to 1916.

Before the season

Coach Stiehm returned for his third year after earning conference championships in both of his previous seasons. Although the roster grew slightly from 15 to 17 players, only two starters from 1912 were still part of the program, which required some position changes to be made.

This was the first year that Nebraska utilized a Spring football practice session.[2][3]

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	Result
October 4	3 p.m.	Washburn*	Nebraska Field Lincoln, NE	W 19–0
October 11	3 p.m.	Kansas State	Nebraska Field Lincoln, NE	W 24–6
October 18	3 p.m.	Minnesota*	Nebraska Field Lincoln, NE	W 7–0
October 25	3 p.m.	Haskell*	Nebraska Field Lincoln, NE	W 7–6
November 1	3 p.m.	at Iowa State	State Field Ames, IA	W 18–9
November 8	3 p.m.	Nebraska Wesleyan*	Nebraska Field Lincoln, NE	W 42–7
November 15	2:45 p.m.	at Kansas	Central Park Lawrence, KS	W 9–0
November 22	3 p.m.	Iowa*	Nebraska Field Lincoln, NE	W 12–0
*Non-conference game Homecoming

[4]

Roster

[5]

Abbott, Earl RG Balis, Arthur E Beck, Charles E Cameron, Robert RT Elwell, John HB Freitag, Albert G Halligan, Vic LT Howard, Warren FB Mastin, Guy E Mulligan, Harold E Pearson, Monte LT Purdy, Leonard HB Ross, Clinton RG Rutherford, Richard HB Shields, Paul G Thompson, Robert C Towle, Max QB

Coaching staff

Name	Title	First year in this position	Years at Nebraska	Alma Mater
Ewald O. Stiehm	Head Coach	1911	1911–1915
Jack Best	Trainer	1890	1890–1922
Dudley	Assistant Coach
Haarman	First Assistant Coach

[6][7]

Game summaries

Washburn

Washburn at Nebraska

1 2 Total Washburn 0 • Nebraska 19 Date: 1913-10-04 Location: Nebraska Field • Lincoln, Nebraska

The young Nebraska team got off to a good, confidence-building start with a shutout victory over Washburn to start the season in the first meeting of these teams. [2][8]

Kansas State

Kansas State at Nebraska

1 2 Total Kansas State 6 • Nebraska 24 Date: 1913-10-11 Location: Nebraska Field • Lincoln, Nebraska

Despite scoring first, Kansas State was handed their third consecutive loss in the series, remaining winless against Nebraska. [2][8]

Minnesota

Minnesota at Nebraska

1 2 3 4 Total Minnesota 0 0 0 0 0 • Nebraska 0 0 7 0 7 Date: 1913-10-18 Location: Nebraska Field • Lincoln, Nebraska

When Minnesota arrived in Lincoln for the 13th meeting of these teams in what had become an annual epic grudge match, it was only the second time the game was held in Nebraska. Perhaps aided by the emotion of the Homecoming festivities, the Cornhuskers held their ground and fought the Golden Gophers to a scoreless first half, and then with much effort managed to secure a 3rd-quarter touchdown. Minnesota would not allow Nebraska to score again but were also unable to respond, and Nebraska secured its second victory in the series. Of the Cornhuskers, coach Williams of Minnesota said "I cannot say I expected the Gophers to be defeated. Nebraska has a great team." [2][8][9]

Haskell

Haskell at Nebraska

1 2 Total Haskell 6 • Nebraska 7 Date: 1913-10-25 Location: Nebraska Field • Lincoln, Nebraska

Following the Minnesota victory, a surprisingly difficult fight faced the Cornhuskers when Haskell returned to continue their series with Nebraska. The fierce contest injured Nebraska's team captain, who had to leave the game and was initially feared to be lost for the season. In the end, the Cornhuskers barely escaped with a 1-point margin of victory and sent the Haskell Indians home with another defeat, dropping them to 2-6 on the series. [8][9]

Iowa State

Nebraska at Iowa State

1 2 Total • Nebraska 18 Iowa State 9 Date: 1913-11-01 Location: State Field • Ames, Iowa

Still without the team captain, the Cornhuskers met the Cyclones in Ames and made their fourth and final appearance at the soon-to-be-replaced State Field. Iowa State provided some fight to make it a game, but ultimately fell again to Nebraska and dropped farther back in the series to 3-9-1. [8][9]

Nebraska Wesleyan

Nebraska Wesleyan at Nebraska

1 2 Total Nebraska Wesleyan 7 • Nebraska 42 Date: 1913-11-08 Location: Nebraska Field • Lincoln, Nebraska

Coach Stiehm allowed the starters to take a break and played mainly reserves against Nebraska Wesleyan, as these teams resumed a series begun in 1896, though five years had passed since their last meeting. The backups were still more than a match for NWU, and Nebraska improved to 4-0 in the series. [8][9]

Kansas

Nebraska at Kansas

1 2 Total • Nebraska 9 Kansas 0 Date: 1913-11-15 Location: Central Park • Lawrence, Kansas

Cornhusker defense was the order of the day, and Nebraska made use of players returning from injury to hold the Jayhawks scoreless. The win secured Nebraska as unbeaten in conference play and improved their record over Kansas to 12-8. [8][10]

Iowa

Iowa at Nebraska

1 2 3 4 Total Iowa 0 0 0 0 0 • Nebraska 6 0 0 6 12 Date: 1913-11-22 Location: Nebraska Field • Lincoln, Nebraska

Iowa arrived in Lincoln with a reputation as a fast squad that used formations difficult to defend. Nebraska rose to the occasion and held the Hawkeyes off the board for the entire game. Using players still hobbled by injuries suffered during the Haskell game, the Cornhuskers punched in an early touchdown to go up, and a late one to seal the outcome. More than once Iowa threatened to score but came away empty, and fell farther behind Nebraska in the series to 4-8-3. [2][8]

After the season

Despite the worries at the beginning of the season that the 1913 Nebraska squad was inexperienced, coach Stiehm managed to lead his squad to an undefeated season and 3rd straight conference title. After his third year, coach Stiehm had again improved his record, to 20-2-2 (.875), while the program also improved to 138-47-10 (.733) overall and 12-2-2 (.813) in conference.[10]

Awards

Award	Name(s)
All-Western 1st team	Vic Halligan
All-Western 2nd team	Richard Rutherford
All-Western honorable mention	Leonard Purdy
All-Missouri 1st team	Charles Beck, Vic Halligan, Guy Mastin, Leonard Purdy, Richard Rutherford, Max Towle

[10]

References

1. "1913 Nebraska Cornhuskers Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved March 1, 2019.
2. "1914 Cornhusker - University of Nebraska Yearbook (Page 345)". University of Nebraska–Lincoln Libraries. Retrieved 2009-11-21.
3. "1915 Cornhusker - University of Nebraska Yearbook (Page 150)". University of Nebraska–Lincoln Libraries. Retrieved 2009-11-21.
4. "Football - 1913 Schedule/Results". University of Nebraska-Lincoln Athletics Department. Retrieved 2009-11-21.
5. "Nebraska Football 1913 Roster". University of Nebraska-Lincoln Athletics Department. Retrieved 2009-11-21.
6. "1914 Cornhusker - University of Nebraska Yearbook (Page 354)". University of Nebraska–Lincoln Libraries. Retrieved 2009-11-21.
7. "Nebraska head coaches". HuskerMax. Retrieved 2009-11-21.
8. "the 1910s". HuskerMax. Retrieved 2009-11-21.
9. "1914 Cornhusker - University of Nebraska Yearbook (Page 346)". University of Nebraska–Lincoln Libraries. Retrieved 2009-11-21.
10. "1914 Cornhusker - University of Nebraska Yearbook (Page 347)". University of Nebraska–Lincoln Libraries. Retrieved 2009-11-21.