MENOMONIE (November 6, 2020) - Tonight was to have been the tip-off to the UW-Stout men's basketball season. The Blue Devils were originally scheduled to travel to St. Olaf College Nov. 6, but like so many things during this pandemic, the first half of the Blue Devils' season was canceled.
It was nearly 114 years ago - January 11, 1907 - that the Stout Manual Training school played Wisconsin for Stout's first known varsity basketball contest.
Details of the game are sketchy and why the University of Wisconsin traveled to Menomonie to take on tiny Stout at the armory on that Friday night is not known.
Speculation is Wisconsin was on their way to play at the University of Minnesota or some other school and saw an opportunity to pick up a game along the way.
While an article tucked away on an inside page of The Dunn County News mentions "a record breaking crowd of more than 500" were present at the game, there is no mention whether Senator James Huff Stout, the institute's founder, was present. In all likelihood, Stout was not present because the state legislature was in session.
Following is a chronology of the events leading up to the birth of UW-Stout basketball from the pages of The Dunn County News.
An article in March 1906 reported a game scheduled for March 16, 1906 between the high school and Wisconsin was canceled.
In the Nov. 29, 1906 edition, under the headline "Stout School Notes", the following appeared: "The basketball team is developing rapidly and a fast team is assured."
In the Dec. 7, 1906, edition, again under "Stout School Note," the following appeared: "On account of the number of other attractions that will take place before the Christmas vacation, no basket ball games will be played in this city until after New Year's. Every effort is being put forth, however, to secure at least one game, before the closing of school, out of town."
Then, in the Jan. 10, 1907 edition, a head line appears "STOUTS TO PLAY WISCONSIN U" The article read: "The University of Wisconsin basketball team will play the Stout training school at the armory Friday evening, Jan. 11. The game will be called at 8:15. Provision has been made to accommodate a big crowd.
"The spectators tomorrow night will have two good games for one admission. The high school team will play the Elk Mound village five. "Both games will be snappy, full of life.
"This is the first time Menomonie has had the chance to rub shoulders with the varsity in basket ball, though many efforts have been made before to get games. Both teams play the game. The armory will be crowded Friday evening. The two games may be seen for 25 cents.
"The Stout school will line up as follows:
Forwards - Bailey and Jungek
Center - Zittleman
Guards - Spalding and McNeel"
The game was played as scheduled with Wisconsin coming up with the win. The following article appeared in Jan. 17, 1907, edition of The Dunn County News, buried on an inside page along with the· church announcements, social news and an article about John Rockefeller donating $3 million of oil money to "Chicago university."
"The game between the high school and Elk Mound preceded the varsity game, high school winning 53 to 14."
There was in a later edition a rumor that Stout was going to play the University of Minnesota in basketball later in April. There is no record that game ever was played.
Stout's next recorded game was played in January or February of 1909, a 29-13 loss to Holcomb. Stout eventually played Minnesota, suffering a 36-8 setback during the 1909-10 season.
The possibility that Stout played basketball and other sports, including football, baseball and track, before 1907 is very real.
In a history of UW-Stout, it is mentioned that Stout had a basketball team in 1906, but no records of games exist. There are also photos of women's basketball teams during that era, but even less information is available about the women's teams. In 1906, an athletic association was formed for the support and promotion of athletics.
"Meetings were held regularly during the year, and at the close of the school year, an official letter "S" is presented to very athlete who as represented the institution in a championship contest with another school," a September, 1907, edition of the "Bulletin of the Stout Training Schools" reads.
The Tower, Stout Institute's yearbook, started publication with the 1908-09 school year. The section on the men's basketball team talked about the 1907 and 1908 team, as well as the 1909 team, and made reference to a 1906 team - and maybe even earlier.
"Do you question me when I say the basketball teams of Stout Institute have been a credit to the school, if looked at from the correct view?" a sports scribe wrote in the 1909 Tower basketball section. "Having begun each season with rather inexperienced men and very few of our old players, we have done well. A school having only a two years' course and a limited number from which to pick finds it a great task to work up a winning team every year."
"The team of 1906 was a very strong one and showed good work in all of its games, whether it lost or won. The team won the majority of the games played. The team of 1907 was really the strongest team which Stout has ever had," The Tower said. "This is partly due to the fact that there were old players from the lineup of 1906, and partly because an exceptionally good man played forward." But there is no known record of games played in 1906.
Early instructors who would have headed up the beginnings of Stout athletics and could be considered the first athletic directors were N.J. MacArthur, from 1901-09, and O.C. Mauthe, from 1909-18. They were also in charge of physical education and athletics at Menomonie High School.
