Saturday, December 15, 2007

Mayer

Mayer: Revenge never certain

By Bill Mayer

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The legend of sweet revenge in athletics is often badly overrated. Current Missouri football fans may come to recognize that, except it may take a year to drive home such a realization. As it did for Kansas in 1960-61.

You're doubtlessly aware that the Missouri Tigers and their faithful are gurgling with new resentment. KU got a BCS Orange Bowl bid, and MU wound up a notch down in the Cotton Bowl. Zealots emphasize that MU beat KU in their showdown, and whipped Illinois, a Rose Bowl invitee with a 9-3 record.

MU's decisive victory over KU came in Kansas City's Arrowhead Stadium with Kansas as the "home" team. Next fall in the same money-grabbing arena, MU will be the designated host. Already followers are forecasting how Missouri will "get even" for this year's perceived mistreatment. They contend MU will be fired so high it will obliterate KU and wind up in a much better bowl.

A year's a long time to nurse a sports grudge and make it pay. KU old-timers know that. Many of the devoted vowed that KU in '61 would avenge the rooking the Jayhawks took in Kansas City's infamous Mezzanine Bowl in late 1960. All that did was set the stage for disappointment, though the scenery brightened after Kansas won its first bowl game.

MU was 9-0 and rated No. 1 nationally when Kansas turned the Tigers inside-out with a 23-7 flogging at Columbia in '60. Yet MU's Don Faurot and Texas Christian's Dutch Meyer had set the stage for a couple of KU forfeits that led to an "official" 11-0 Missouri record and an Orange Bowl victory. Meyer was involved because KU halfback Bert Coan had starred as a freshman at TCU, had been given a plane ride to the Chicago All-Star game by KU alumnus Bud Adams, then Coan wound up at KU. Meyer was livid, Faurot was, well, being Dedicated Don.

Faurot and Co. got the league faculty representatives to change the eligibility rules in a meeting at a Kansas City hotel. Nice-guy KU failed to raise enough hell, and the decision to forfeit Kansas victories over MU and Colorado was announced in the mezzanine. MU won two "bowl" games that season.

Kansas continues to list a 7-2-1 record for '60, with an asterisk. Officially it is 5-4-1. After the Kansas City do-over and the W-L alteration, a lot of KU people stressed that MU sure-in-hell would have an ass-to-risk when it came to Lawrence the following Nov. 25. There was enormous buildup on that basis, enough that the crowd here was just under 41,000 (all Memorial Stadium could then hold).

But either Missouri people had tutored their players better or KU people had overplayed the revenge factor. Missouri edged Kansas, 10-7, in a bruising battle. So much for getting even. The loss left KU with a 6-3-1 record after September expectations had been stratospheric; players, coaches and loyalists were devastated. Still, something good was coming.

Old Bud Adams pulled some strings to get KU an invitation to the Dec. 17 Bluebonnet Bowl in Houston, coach Jack Mitchell conned his deflated athletes into voting to go, and they were delighted with the 33-7 holiday excursion. Missouri wound up with a 7-2-1 record and no bowl trip, so KU gained some salve for its wounds.

But forget that sweet revenge KU had counted on by walloping Missouri for the second straight year. Outraged MU fans could suffer the same kind of pain next fall. We can hope, huh?

Comments

KEITHMILES05 (anonymous) says...

Hey old geezer..........why must you resort to 40-50 year old stories? YAWN.

December 15, 2007 at 9:02 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

kupopp (anonymous) says...

Keith- why are you so negative?
It is called an Opinion column, not to be confused with cutting edge sports news. In case you didn't get the connection, he is using your "40-50 year old story" as an projection of why the mizzou (I don't think enough of them to capitalize) fans may not be able to count on revenge for their perceived slight for this year's team. Translated- a current story.
Good grief, Charlie Brown! Lighten up!

December 15, 2007 at 9:47 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

jross1972 (Johann Ross) says...

I agree kupopp...

Keith you really need to rebalance your chi or something. It doesnt take a genius to be reflexively critical. In fact, I think it shows yourself to be somewhat dimwitted. Hey, if youre into namecalling with the "geezer" bit then you deserve it back at ya. More than that, its the truth. You gave NO WEIGHT whatsoever to what Mayer says.

December 15, 2007 at 11:46 a.m. ( | suggest removal )

HawkDigestCom (anonymous) says...

Mizzou looking for revenge? A year ago they kept us out of a bowl. This year they snatched the Big 12 North title from us. You're starting to get a number of guys on the team that don't know what's it's like to beat Missouri. I'd say KU should be the team looking for vengeance.

December 15, 2007 at 12:14 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

seattlehawk_78 (anonymous) says...

I don't get it. Every time Keegan, Mayer, or Woodling write a story there seems to be an abundance of negative comments about the writer. Why do so many people dislike these guys? Did I miss something?

December 15, 2007 at 1:30 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

seattlehawk_78 (anonymous) says...

As far as the official record goes I will continue to count the 1960 game as a win and will take it to my grave. The voters that year felt that the free plane ride was not a sufficient advantage for KU's 16 point margin of victory and voted mizwho out of their number 1 ranking and simultaneously provided further evidence of the existence of God.

The Jayhawks beat mizwho in their house and deprived them of the ultimate prize, that's gotta sting! I always thought their behavior could be attributed to a genetic predisposition but apparently there is a historical basis in the equation.

December 15, 2007 at 2:45 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

63Jayhawk (anonymous) says...

KEITHMILES05, if you're lucky, you too may someday be an " old geezer"...if you're lucky.

December 15, 2007 at 3:46 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

fabio (anonymous) says...

Seattlehawk-Im so glad you asked. I havent given a you know what about Woodling since this terrible article about our football program a few months back.

http://www2.kusports.com/news/2007/ju...

Mayer is right. The revenge thing can definately be overrated sometimes. All I heard from KSU fans before the Sunflower Showdown this year was how KSU was ready to get revenge for last years beatdown in Lawrence. Texas was talking about getting revenge for their loss in Manhattan last year and got creamed by KSU in Austin a year after.
I know there werent many KU fans left in Arrowhead when the game ended but for those that were, did you notice the KU players walk out to midfield and all the Mizzou players instinctively ran to the corner of the stadium where there fans were. Pinkel was able to stop maybe 4 or 5 of his players to go shake hands with our kids. If there is gonna be a revenge factor next year, it will be for our kids remembering how Mizzou acted after the game.

December 15, 2007 at 4:06 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

dagger108 (anonymous) says...

Agree or disagree, but at least maintain a level of respect. We're on the same team, right?

I really appreciated some more insight into what happen with Bert. I've heard about the difference in records for the past 3 decades, but not about the full story. It would be interesting to resurrected the original stories from that year. I had always wondered why KU would contest the results of using an ineligible player, so the story is a wonderful move toward understanding for me.

Thank you.

December 15, 2007 at 4:19 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

LAJayhawk (anonymous) says...

I'll admit I've been critical of Mayer in the past, but this is actually a decent piece of opinion page journalism. He was coherent and relevant, and I have been interested to know what the story was with those forfeits. Decent job today Mr. Mayer.

Anyone else getting really impatient for January 3rd??

December 15, 2007 at 5:10 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

CaliforniaJhk (anonymous) says...

I'm glad to see this type of article that steers us away from all the current trash-talk and hate-baiters. I've always thought that Lawrence was a clean place to live and the Jayhawks showed the type of sportsmanship I was proud to follow. I never want to be part of the venomous behavior I have seen in Columbia which is why I don't go there and why I'm particularly glad our football games are now at Arrowhead.

December 15, 2007 at 6:25 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

mansassgayhawks (anonymous) says...

Man. I have a 2 month old sister that cries less than you queers.

December 16, 2007 at 8:21 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

JayViking (anonymous) says...

Not generally a fan of you Mayer, but this one was good.

I'm getting quite impatient for Jan 3rd, but I have to make some monies from now until then so I can enjoy the trip. :)

December 17, 2007 at 10:20 a.m. ( | suggest removal )