The UW-Stout Football Centennial
MENOMONIE (November 4, 2020) - Here is something to take your mind off yesterday's election...or what lies ahead. Today is the anniversary date of the first official UW-Stout football game played on Nov. 4, 1911.
The formation of a Stout Institute football team was actually started in 1906 or 1907, but injuries prevented a team from taking to the field even before a game could be scheduled, and it was not attempted again until the fall of 1911.
The first Stout football game was played on November 4, 1911 between the Stout Institute and the River Falls Normal School, with Stout taking a 13-11 loss. Walter Anderson (he was known interchangeably throughout the yearbook as Andy or Swede) scored Stout's very first touchdown on what appears to be an 85-yard kickoff return.
This story is part of a 10-week series the UW-Stout Sports Information office did with The Dunn County News in 2011 to commemorate 100 years of Stout football.
The following story appeared in the 1912 Tower, the Stout Institute yearbook that began publication in 1909.
Stout Annual 1912
OFFICERS OF ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION
President--- Archie Milton
Vice President--- Weston Mitchell
Secretary--- Robert Holmes
Treasurer--- Oscar Esch
The Institute this year for the first time in its history was represented by a football team, which participated in representative games with other schools.
Several years ago a football team was organized in Stout, but in the first preliminary game a number of serious injuries took place, and it was deemed advisable to abolish it. The students this year, at the meeting of the Athletic Association, on October 14, 1911, decided to again take up the game if the consent of the faculty could be obtained. A committee was appointed to consult President Harvey in regard to the matter, and his consent to play was finally obtained.
The team's showing was excellent, taking into account the fact that practice was not started until late in the season, and that no assistance was received from a regular coach.
The Athletic Association authorized the purchase of suits and instructed Mr. Edick, our manager, to arrange a schedule. It being late in the season, the arranging of games was difficult, and as a result only two games could be scheduled with other schools.
The first call for candidates brought out enough athletes for two teams, and hard practice was the program until November 4th, when the team played its first game against the River Falls Normal School team at River Falls, where they were defeated by two points.
The merits of our team's work are not shown by the score, for a better class of football was played by Stout, than that of their opponents. River Falls won the toss, and Stout kicked off to the 20-yard line, the ball being returned five yards. The Normal School, using an off tackle formation to a great advantage, soon had a touchdown, but their try at goal failed.
The Normals then kicked to Stout, Anderson receiving the ball on his own 15-yard line, raced up the field, warding off all tacklers and planted the ball between the goal posts for a touchdown. Tice failed at goal. For the remainder of the quarter, the ball surged back and forth on the field, neither side doing any more scoring.
The second quarter opened with Stout in possession of the ball, who started a march down the field with the use of fake line plunges and forward passes, Milton finally receiving a perfect pass from Edick and scoring a touchdown, later kicking goal. In this same quarter the Normals scored a field goal from the 30-yard line, after which the first half soon ended, with score being 11 to 8 in favor of Stout.
During the third quarter neither side scored, but in the last quarter the Normals succeeded in scoring another touchdown by Stout's failure to kick at the critical moment. The try at goal failed, the game ending a few minutes later with River Falls in the lead, final score being 13 to 11.
On November 11th, our team won from the La Crosse Business University, by a difference of 30 to 2. The game was played on our grounds, but the day being cold and the ground frozen, made playing difficult and dangerous.
It was seen from the beginning of the game that Stout would win. The first score came when Tice circled the end for a touchdown after the first five minutes of play. Milton kicked goal. Milton repeated the play in the same quarter and also kicked goal. In the second quarter Tice scored another touchdown and kicked goal. La Crosse on a fumble, scored a safety, and this accounts for the two points credited to them. No more scoring was done in the first half, two more touchdowns were scored by Tice, also the goals following, and the game ended with 30 to 2 in favor of Stout.
A good start was given to football this year, and now it is up to the class of 1913 to push hard and have Stout represented next year with a team which can compete with the smaller colleges in this vicinity, and make a good showing.
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