Ancestral Home 2013

Perhaps the 1912 team would have been remembered longer had the 1913 squad not distinguished themselves as such colossal failures. The team suffered, with only three returning members from the champion team, two of whom were out with injuries early in the 1-and-5 season. Thus, few comparisons were ever made to the 1912 squad, sending them into sports obscurity. It is possible, however, that in 1913 some fans grew nostalgic for the boring, lop-sided victories of 1912, particularly in a season where the highlight was holding Lawrence to just two touchdowns.



*Oshkosh's 1912 Normal Champions*
"Not even the most pessimistic and gloomy supporter of our team could bring himself to show even the signs of a palpitating bosom, to say nothing of a whitened face and mournful demeanor." So read an anti-climactic Normal Advance news article about the end of the 1912 football season which found the Normal team (no formal name was yet bestowed upon the athletic teams) with a 5 and 1 record. The season was made bland by some pretty uneven scores. The team handed Milwaukee Normal a 76-to-nothing defeat. Whitewater was only slightly less embarrassed at the losing end of a 47-0 score. The team also defeated Carroll and Ripon Colleges, as well as St. John's Military Academy. Oshkosh's only defeat came from the hands of nearby Lawrence University. Lack of confidence was thought to be Oshkosh's problem. Were the Normalites afraid of a team from a big-shot university? One Oshkosh player was reported as saying: "I never expected that I should have a chance with the man opposing me. I did not realize that I could outplay him until toward the end of the 3rd quarter." Putting that loss behind them, Oshkosh moved forward, easily dispatching all other opponents.
*Coach Charles Meyer sent this night telegram to school after their single 1912 season loss.* (reproduced in the Normal Advance, November 1912, p. 68)
Perhaps the 1912 team would have been remembered longer had the 1913 squad not distinguished themselves as such colossal failures. The team suffered, with only three returning members from the champion team, two of whom were out with injuries early in the 1-and-5 season. Thus, few comparisons were ever made to the 1912 squad, sending them into sports obscurity. It is possible, however, that in 1913 some fans grew nostalgic for the boring, lop-sided victories of 1912, particularly in a season where the highlight was holding Lawrence to just two touchdowns.
*A far cry from being remembered in any ancestral home, this 1913 player is carried to an unmarked grave.* (Normal Advance,Nov. 1913, p. 76)