Repository: UIHistories Project: Illio - 1896 [PAGE 210]

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the yellow U**U wort rnfely stowed away under the jacketsof Htepbenaoii,Donnely» Fulkeraon and other Punlu.- inn, Even in thin organised team tho training table Wat entirely overlooked, and just before going on the hold a hearty dinner wan dcspatched,at * liicb was served ice cream, pie and other like dishes. Our team had advanced in foot bull HO that they had signal, and they were probably the moat complex ever used by any team; they wen- HO intricate that not only our oppom nts failed to decipher our plays, hut we ourselves could not tell what they were. Our only plays wore to pans the ball to either half-hack and

let h i m go a r o u n d IUH own end that in, try to go. l i e never went. Purdue, on t h e . O t h e r h a n d , went a n y w h e r e and e v e r y w h e r e they pleaned, and when they wanted to go a long distance they used the deadly " criss-cross." The Purdue men wore the regulation foot-ball suits, and it was a common complaint from the Illinois m e n that t h e y could not tell which of the Purdue men had the hall, for t h e ball a n d t h e i r suitn were HO nearly t h e name color. T h e score for the game Htood t»2 to 0 in favor of P u r d u e . The third and last game of the season was played on t h e Champaign Fair it round on Thanksgiving day with Wesleyan. The team had added to its list of plays a Y rush, and t h e half hack around the opposite end with interference; with these plays Illinois won h e r first victory by the score of 12 to 6. T h e C h a m p a i g n Gazette came out t h e n e x t day with a column headed, " Patent L e a t h e r s Cannot Compete with C o w h i d e s . " Wesleyan started t h e game with caps on, but Purdue had given us a little coaching on that point, a n d most of those capsare now serving as souvenirs of the first victory of t h e University of Illinois foot ball team. During t h e game several of our fellows were hurt, and when our substitute list was e x h a u s t e d we had to g a t h e r players from the spectators, so that at the end of 1 t h e game t h e r e were two players in citizens dress and one in a military captain's uniform. T h e n e x t year a coach was e m p l o y e d , and t h e team gained its first knowledge of t r u e foot ball. After less t h a n a week's training and coaching Illinois met Lake Forest, t h e n considered the best eleven in the state, and, although defeated, showed m a r k e d i m p r o v e m e n t , and later in the year won the p e n n a n t in a league composed of K n o x , Wesleyan, E u r e k a and Illinois.

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