If they stayed the full three-year course, the sophomores on the 1957 and 1959 Kansas football squads shared in feats about which they can feel special pride.
Both groups posted 3-0 sweeps of Nebraska.
That’s right, KU posted a 5-0 record against NU from 1957 through 1961, the longest Jayhawk winning streak in the lopsided series which now stands at 21-82-3, Cornhuskers.
A string of 5-0 pales in comparison to to the 32-game stranglehold NU has on Kansas. But it still looks darn good considering KU has only 21 wins. Pepper Rodgers led the Jayhawks to victories over Nebraska in 1967 and 1968; since then the Huskers have averaged winning by about 35 points. Will it ever end?
Chuck Mather’s last Kansas team got that 5-0 anti-Nebraska run started in ’57. Jack Mitchell teams followed with the only four-game binge on record. Now for names?
First the 1957 sophomores as listed in the Jayhawk media guide. Freshmen weren’t eligible.
Rookie ends were Ernest Lackovic, North Bergen, N.J.; Grant Miller, Elmhurst, Ill.; Lloyd Nichols, Gainesville, Texas; John Peppercorn, Mission; Dale Remsberg, Iola; and Sam Simpson, Worland, Wyo. I know Peppercorn, Remsberg and Simpson have had a chance to share their glory with friends and loved ones.
Soph tackles in ’57: Jim Brooks, Wilimington, Ohio; Wayne Coulter, Wichita; Bill Dryer, Great Bend; Don Hermick, Mentor, Ohio; Werner Kuhlman, Washington; Lee Meyer, LaGrange, Ill.; John Montgomery, Erie; Harland Mook, Lincoln, Neb. Haven’t heard much from them.
The newcomer guards: Jim Barth, Dodge City; Larry Davis, Carollton, Ohio; Gerald Horejs, Chicago.; Ed Janes, St. Louis; Bob Murray, Kansas City, Mo.; Dick Rohlf, Kirkwood, Mo.; and Chet Vanatta, Bartlesville, Okla. Some of those monikers ring a few bells?
Centers were Bill Burnison, Ontario, Calif., and Norman Vonesh Franklin Park, Ill. Burnison was also a good boxer.
Quarterbacks: Bob Casteel, Pontiac, Mich.; Phil Comstock, Unionville, Mo.; and Duane Morris, Salina, who also was a doggone good straight-on place-kicker. Duane, local businessman and the husband of Phog Allen’s granddaughter, Judy, was the senior triggerman for one of the greatest backfields in KU history in ’59 left half John Hadl, right half Curtis McClinton and fullback Doyle Schick. Hadl was a soph all-league halfback in ’59, then an All-America quarterback in ’60 and ’61.
The soph halfbacks in ’57: Bill Crank, Hamilton, Ohio; Dave Harris, Washington, D.C.; Buddy Merritt, Ellis; John Suder, Cincinnati; Jack Uhlir, Chicago, Ill.; Ray Barnes, Tacoma, Wash.; Gene Dittenber, Lincoln, Neb.; and Charles Lukinac, Muncie, Kan. John Suder, also a place-kicker, has been in business here for years.
Three soph fullbacks: DeWitt Lewis, Barnesville, Ohio; Roger Minger, Omaha, Neb.; and Pete Whitenight, Lawence stockbroker and investment adviser. Lewis, wound up as an eager lineman and, early on, tended to draw flags. Coach Mitchell once blurted: “Dammit, Lewis, if they cut off the top of your head, they’ll find ‘offside’ engraved on your brain.”
The ’59 KU soph crop was one of the finest in school history, products of Mitchell’s great ’58 freshman harvest.
Ends: Larry Allen, Kansas City, Mo.; Mike Deer, Neodesha; Andy Graham, Lawrence; Mike Holland, Russell; Harry Jolley, Topeka. Tackles: Ed Alberg, Topeka; Wilfred Bales, Tulsa, Okla.; Wallace Barnes, Larned; Richard Davis, Memphis, Tenn.; John Ellman, Chicago; Newton “Your Friendly Pharmacist” King, Luray; and Larry Waylan, Herington. Fond memories gush out of that pack.
Guards: Elvin Basham, Kansas City, Mo.; Benny Boydston, Muskogee, Okla.; John Collins, Garden City; Larry Lousch, Coldwater; Larry Martin, Wakefield; Bill McKinney, Bartlesville, Okla.; and Jim Mills, Olathe. Centers: Mike Bogard, Augusta; Dick Hamilton, Encino, Calif; Clyde Kensinger, Sapulpa, Okla.; and Kent Staab, Dodge City. Boydston, later an end, has had a long career as a teacher, coach and good citizen here. If KU only had linemen that good and that deep now!
Quarterbacks: Dan Ertz, Hutchinson; Lee Flachsbarth, Atchison; and Larry McCallister, Kansas City, Mo. The Flash had knee trouble, wound up as an end and resettled here a long time ago.
Rookie halfbacks: Jim Baker, Raytown, Mo.; Hadl, who still can be found around town; Ron Leitch, Grand Junction, Colo.; Byron Sears, Eureka; Jim Jarrett, Coffeyville; Curtis McClinton, Wichita; John Tonge, Kansas City, Mo.; and Gib Wilson, Kansas City. At fullback were newcomers Mike Fisher, E. Hartford, Conn., later a tackle and KU staff member; and Larry Weimer, Clay Center.
During that 1957-61 span, KU posted a 28-19-1 record on the field. Those ’57 and ’59 sophs can take pride in that, too. The Nebraska coach for the period was former Oklahoma star and assistant Bill Jennings who later assisted Mitchell at Kansas and now lives here in retirement.
Jennings was succeeded in 1962 by Bob Devaney0 and the Jayhawks have won only two games since that KU Glory Train was derailed after 1961. Little wonder those ’57 and ’59 rookies feel so good. They have every right to.
