Today's Tidbit... The 1901 Wisconsin-Nebraska Slugfest

Anyone who knows football understands that Wisconsin's visit to Nebraska is the top game this weekend. Two teams best known for pounding the rock have their fans pounding their heads as they search for their identities in their 18th meeting. The teams have met eight times in Madison, seven times in Lincoln, and once in Indianapolis for the 2012 Big Ten Championship game. Their first meeting, however, came in the city of Brotherly Suds, Milwaukee, in 1901.

Back then, teams often played in larger cities rather than on campus, hoping to attract a bigger crowd and gate. While Wisconsin played Beloit in Milwaukee earlier in the season, the Nebraska game would test whether games in Milwaukee could attract the fans needed to justify playing bigger games there. For the 1901 game, however, Nebraska received a guaranteed gate that allowed them to bring only 15 players on the trip. They also economized by taking the return train on Saturday evening to avoid a second night of hotel fees.

Played at the Lloyd Street Grounds, also known as Milwaukee Baseball Park, the home of the Milwaukee Brewers (now Baltimore Orioles); 7,000 fans paid the admission fee to check on the mighty Badgers.

The Lloyd Street Grounds (Wooden Grandstands)

Wisconsin entered the game 5-0, having outscored opponents 201-5, while Nebraska had shut out four opponents and lost to Minnesota 19-0. Wisconsin, coached by three-time Princeton All-American Phil King, employed the Princeton system that emphasized speed and sweeps rather than the line plunges most teams employed.