Husker Full House

FoCUS ON NEBRASKA

HUSKER FULL HOUSE

CELEBRATING 50 YEARS OF SELLOUTS

FoCUS ON NEBRASKA

HUSKER FULL HOUSE

CELEBRATING 50 YEARS OF SELLOUTS

STADIUM (on the cover) EDITORS’ CHOICE Patrick Thiem, Omaha

The 300th straight sellout in 2009

HOT WEATHER (title page) EDITORS’ CHOICE Taylor Wilson, Omaha Sunny day in Lincoln

TAILGATING (right) EDITORS’ CHOICE Jill Bates, Neligh Husker roadkill

JUBILATION (facing page) EDITORS’ CHOICE Kelly Roberts, Omaha

Touchdown!

EDITOR Dan Sullivan DESIGNER Christine Zueck-Watkins Photo IMAGING Jolene McHugh contributing Editors Joan von Kampen, Pam Thomas, Pam Richter, Bob Glissmann INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MANAGER Michelle Gullett Print and Production Coordinators Pat “Murphy” Benoit, Wayne Harty Director of Marketing Rich Warren Director of Photography Jeff Bundy EXECUTIVE EDITOR Mike Reilly PRESIDENT AND PUBLISHER Terry Kroeger reprint information Omaha World-Herald photos are available from the OWHstore. Call 402-444-1014 to place an order or go to OWHstore.com.

Copyright 2013. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior consent of the publisher, Omaha World-Herald Co. Omaha World-Herald Co., 1314 Douglas St. Omaha, NE 68102-1811 First Edition ISBN: 978-0-615-90983-7 Printed by Walsworth Publishing Co., Marceline, MO

FoCUS ON NEBRASKA

HUSKER FULL HOUSE

CELEBRATING 50 YEARS OF SELLOUTS 1 | M ILESTON ES & M E M OR IES A sellout streak timeline 106 | T H E R E IS N O P LAC E LIK E N E BR A SK A Big Red’s unique traditions 114 | W H E R E T H E Y ’R E A LL T R U E B LU E The many ways fans show support 122 | W E ’LL A LL ST ICK TOGE T H E R Fans share good times and bad 130 | IN A LL K IN DS OF W EAT H E R Hot, cold, wet, who cares?

138 | FOR DEA R OLD N E B R A SK A U. Game day in Lincoln is unbeatable 146 | CON T EST W IN N E RS Focus on Nebraska voting choices 156 | P H OTOGR A P H E RS IN DE X

The greatest tradition of all. Marking the 50th anniversary of Bob Devaney’s arrival at Nebraska, the Omaha World-Herald in 2012 set out to discover which traditions Husker football fans cherished the most.

Readers responded that one stood out above the rest: the 50-year sellout streak at Memorial Stadium. As a result, this year’s Focus on Nebraska photography contest was designed to capture all of the excitement of Saturdays in Lincoln. The online contest drew hundreds of submissions in 20 categories, and we tabulated thousands of votes in choosing the favorites.

World-Herald staff members also weighed in, choosing a photo as an “editors’ choice” in each category. The book combines the fans’ submissions with World-Herald photography to capture the five decades of sellouts at Memorial Stadium. The result is a tribute to the foundation of Husker football: the fans.

Every fall they prove that

there is no place like Nebraska.

FACES: Left, from top, Brady O’Brien of Omaha, Josh Erlandson of North Platte, Rachel Foehlinger of Omaha. Right, from top, Carla Bouc of Belleville, Ill.; Rose Crowley of Omaha, Paul Favela of Lincoln. FACING PAGE: Memorial Stadium in 1960, when permanent seating totaled about 31,000.

Milestones & Memories

A look at five decades of sellouts at Memorial Stadium through the eyes of World-Herald photographers

FACING PAGE: Bob Devaney and the Huskers defeated Oklahoma 21-9 on Thanksgiving to complete their first undefeated regular season since 1915.

milestones & memories

1965

THIS PAGE: The center section added to the north end zone, right, boosted stadium capacity to more than 52,000. • Nebraska drum major Jim Wickless and his wife, below, shared a hot dog for the Thanksgiving Day game against Oklahoma.

HU S K E R FU L L H O U S E

8

1977 milestones & memories HU S K E R FU L L H O U S E

32

THIS PAGE: Singer Gordon MacRae, who lived in Lincoln, stopped between engagements in Cincinnati and Los Angeles to sing the national anthem at the Kansas game on a blustery November day. The star of the musical “Oklahoma!” sang the anthem occasionally at home games for more than a decade.

• Below, Tom Osborne’s unranked Nebraska team beat Alabama coaching legend Bear Bryant 31-24 in a nonconference matchup. A young Husker fan snatched Bryant’s trademark houndstooth hat when the teams reappeared after halftime, but a Nebraska trooper retrieved it for the Alabama coach. “I’m running low on my supply,” Bryant said of his hats afterward.

FACING PAGE: How exciting was the Alabama game?

The face of Mike McCann, top, told the story.

• Don McPherson on drums and brother Robert and son Scott on trombone proved at the Baylor game that the alumni band hadn’t missed a beat.

HU S K E R FU L L H O U S E

33

milestones & memories

1984 milestones & memories HU S K E R FU L L H O U S E

46

THIS PAGE: Brothers Don, left, and Andy Drozd of Columbus celebrated Shane Swanson’s 49-yard punt return for a touchdown that broke a 3-3 fourth-quarter tie against Oklahoma State. The Huskers went on to win 17-3.

FACING PAGE: The evolution of tailgating continued with the addition of a card table and coolers. Tim and Jeana Treacy of Chicago, left, joined Doug and Mary Carper of Lincoln for the Oklahoma State game.

1995 milestones & memories HU S K E R FU L L H O U S E

68

THIS PAGE: The Big Eight’s final game featured longtime rivals Nebraska and Oklahoma. Tom Osborne again faced Howard Schnellenberger, right, who had led Miami past the Huskers in the 1984 Orange Bowl. The game was the last of the annual matchups that often had settled conference championships, and not always the way fans wanted. “A lot of the memories, unfortunately, are negative, “ said fan Dwight Wininger of Lincoln.

“And it seemed like so many of the heartbreakers were in Lincoln.” All the pregame drama was lost, however, as NU blasted the Sooners 37-0.

FACING PAGE: A win over Oklahoma was still enough to set off an attack on Memorial Stadium goalposts. Fans rushed the field after the game, mobbed the team at the 40-yard line and bounced on goalposts to the beat of Kool & the Gang’s “Celebration.”

2008 milestones & memories HU S K E R FU L L H O U S E

94

THIS PAGE: Fans cheered the Blackshirts on Western Michigan’s opening drive, above. • The stadium erupted when Alex Henery kicked a 57-yard field goal, below left, with 1:43 remaining in a 40-31 win over Colorado. • The band showed off its new uniforms, below right.

FACING PAGE: Shirts were optional for a late-November game, above left. • Bill and Louise Mountford of Lincoln, above right, celebrated 25 years with season tickets. • A view from the North Stadium as the sun slipped away.

HU S K E R FU L L H O U S E

95

milestones & memories

Contest winners

The Omaha World-Herald received hundreds of submissions for the Focus on Nebraska football photo contest.

Thousands of votes were tabulated to select the most popular choices in 20 categories.

HATS Stanley Groth, Pilger

Blackout day

A match for the shirt

CHEERLEADERS Derek Jackson, Omaha

CELEBRITIES Joe Eisenberg, Lincoln

Go Team Jack!

CONTEST WINNERS

Newest member of the squad

147 HU S K E R FU L L H O U S E

CHILDREN Paul Bellinger Sr., Omaha

HATS Lynn Weiss, Omaha

A balloon bundle

A 1977 Husker party

COACHES Jack Denker, Arlington

FAMILIES Gary Parrott, Windsor, Colo.

Fifty years of attending games

CONTEST WINNERS

Comment for officials

153 HU S K E R FU L L H O U S E

BALLOONS Karen Ellis, Lincoln

PHOTOGRAPHERS INDEX HU S K E R FU L L H O U S E

156

Newlyweds Jake and Mellisa Renter kiss after a 2010 loss to Texas. They had married the night before.

Allan, Tom 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 18, 19, 21, 25, 29, 30, 33, 44 Batson, Bill 48, 67, 68, 69, 73, 74 Beiermann, Jeff 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 80, 82, 85, 86, 87, 88, 90, 91 Bundy, Jeff 58, 61, 63, 68, 70, 72, 74, 80, 82, 84 Burnett, James R. 42, 48, 58, 59, 64, 66 Carney, Jeffrey Z. 70, 87

Chandler, Craig 81, 89, 92, 93 Davis, Mark iv, 100 Evans, Mel 47, 53, 55, 56 Gaps, John J. III 43, 45 Gratz, Rebecca iv, 86, 91, 95, 98, 103, 105 Hall, Pat 7 Janda, Richard 15, 35, 37, 43, 71

Johnson, Phil 39, 44, 49, 62, 64, 72 Machian, Chris 96, 105 Miller, Matt 83, 87, 88, 90, 92, 94, 97, 99, 102, 156 Oyabu, Nobuko 79 Paskach, Robert 28, 30, 32, 42, 60, 62, 64 Perrine, Corey 101 Plambeck, Tom 18

Rath, Ed 51 Schukar, Alyssa iv, 94, 97, 100, 101 Sievers, Kent iv, 79, 84, 90, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 103, 105 Smith, Rudy 20, 33, 37, 38, 41, 52, 54, 56, 61 Soderlin, Ryan 102, 104 Taylor, Robert 38 Young, Chris 57

Husker tickets used in the book are courtesy of Larry Sparks and Don Summerside.

Reprint Information Omaha World-Herald photos are available from the OWHstore.

Call 402-444-1014 to place an order or go to OWHstore.com.

FoCUS ON NEBRASKA

HUSKER FULL HOUSE

CELEBRATING 50 YEARS OF SELLOUTS University of Nebraska football teams have played before sold-out Memorial Stadium crowds every home game since 1962.

The World-Herald honors the sellout streak in pictures, combining the best from the newspaper’s award-winning photographers and those submitted in the Focus on Nebraska photo contest. The result proves once again that There Is No Place Like Nebraska.

$29.95 Š 2013 all rights reserved.

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