The lost spring games: 1930-39
Wayne Blue picks up 10 yards for “Yale” in 1939. · The Lincoln Star · Newspapers.com
Depending on one’s criteria, there were spring games in as many as 22 of the 28 seasons from 1922 to 1949.
Our year-by-year rundown started with the 1940s. Below are the ’30s, and the final installment will cover the ’20s. All games were played at Memorial Stadium unless noted otherwise.
Abbrev. key: LS = Lincoln Star
1930s
YES
1930.04.05 (SAT): Red Young and Harold Frahm scored touchdowns as the Reds shut out the Blues, 12-0. (The State Journal referred to the teams as the Panthers and Bears.) Sportswriter Gregg McBride said the Huskers displayed “smooth working offense in spite of a stiff wind that blew away all hopes for aerial play.” • LS • LJ • DN
YES
1931.04.11 (SAT): All the scoring came in the fourth quarter as the Varsity downed the Freshmen, 14-6. The first touchdown came on a 60-yard interception return by Herman Witt, a Varsity substitute guard. Each team then had a short TD drive of about 20 yards — the Varsity’s set up by freshman George Sauer’s poor punt, and the Freshmen’s set up by Sauer’s 41-yard interception return. • LS • LJ • DN • Preview
YES
1932.04.08 (FRI): Ralph Eldridge scored on triple pass from 9 yards out for the only touchdown as the Whites beat the Reds, 7-0. The Reds’ Bernie Masterson and Steve Hokuf played the entire 60 minutes. Admission to the 4 p.m. game was 25 cents (10 cents for children), with proceeds going to the U.S. Olympic fund committee. • LS • LJ
YES
1933.04.08 (SAT): George Sauer scored two TDs and passed for a third in the Whites’ 22-0 win over the Reds. The game was played in unseasonable heat on the practice field at the south end of Memorial Stadium. • LJS • DN • Preview
YES
1934.04.12 (THU): A Blues team consisting largely of freshmen upset the Reds, 6-0, by bolting for 77 yards in the final half-minute of the first half. The touchdown came on a pass of about 40 yards from Henry Bauer to Lloyd Cardwell. According to the Daily Nebraskan, the Reds managed just three first downs. • LS • LJ • Preview
YES
1935.04.13 (SAT): The Reds came to life with a 60-yard touchdown drive in the final minute to beat the underdog Whites, 7-6. The winning sequence: A 20-yard pass from Jerry LaNoue to Elmer Dohrmann, a 39-yard run by Harold Brill, a 1-yard touchdown plunge by Ralph Eldridge and a PAT kick by LaNoue. • LJS • DN • Preview
YES
1936.04.04 (SAT): The Reds dominated, scoring six touchdowns in a three-way game with the Whites and Blues. Neither the World-Herald nor the Journal & Star gave a score, probably because of the rotation between Reds vs. Whites, Reds vs. Blues, and Whites vs. Blues. The Daily Nebraskan gave a score of Reds 44, Whites 0, even though some of those 44 points were given up by the Blues and/or scored by the Whites.
??
1937.04.17 (SAT): Is it a true spring game if fans can’t attend? A 60-yard touchdown gallop by John Howell was the highlight as the Reds hammered the Greens, 26-0, “behind closed gates” at Memorial Stadium. The Daily Nebraskan said first-year coach Biff Jones wanted an “unscouted” contest.
NO
1938: The scheduled game of Saturday, April 16, was canceled because of a swampy field. Players instead practiced inside East Stadium for two hours.
YES
1939.04.22 (SAT): Vike Francis’ 26-yard field goal late in the fourth quarter was the difference as the Harvards edged the Yales, 10-7. More than 2,000 fans attended. • LJS • DN • Preview
More Lost Spring Games: 1920s • 1940s