“It ain’t no rivalry ’til both folks in the fight figure they can beat the other guy.”
Homespun Bear Bryant said that when he began to reconstruct ailing Texas A&M to defeat archrival Texas; again when he went to rescue Alabama so it could keep hated Auburn in the loss column. After an 11-season drought, Kansas University, which once owned Kansas State in football, made the “rivalry” mean something when it upset K-State here last fall. The Jayhawks enter today’s game with a whopping 62-35-5 dominance in the series and the thorough belief that it again can “beat the other guy.”
The rivalry which has spawned so many great stories is back. Lot more fun that way.
Kansas Staters with short memories and too-recent record books need to be reminded that Kansas was 8-0 against the Wildcats from 1907 through 1915, 8-0 from 1945 through 1952 and went 13 years without losing a game to the Purples. KU won from 1956 to 1965, tied in 1966, then won in 1967 and 1968.
At its very worst, KU never floundered through a 28-game losing streak (all losses, no ties) as K-State did from 1945 into 1948. Fortunately, both foes have achieved levels of expectations for themselves and their fans to make this once again a good series.
A great beauty of this rivalry are the cross-overs and in-
breeding that have occurred, with one-time foes becoming good friends and contributing heavily to each school’s benefit. Lawrence has thousands of tremendous citizens with KSU backgrounds; Manhattan’s likewise. It’s always heartwarming to see the interaction when fangs and claws surrender to affability and respect.
One of the most interesting chain of events regarding KU and KSU football came out of that 3-3 tie in 1966 at Manhattan. KSU fans wanted KU to win so it could fire coach Doug Weaver (8-60-1 at KSU). Kansas folks rooted for the Wildcats so they could oust Jack Mitchell (44-42-5). Tie game, both got canned.
Pepper Rodgers came to KU from a UCLA assistantship. He learned Weaver was in law school at KU and hired him as an aide for 1967-69. Doug had been a 5-foot-9, 170-pound linebacking miracle with some great Michigan State teams in 1950-52. He was overjoyed when Pepper got him back into coaching.
Pepper left here for UCLA and later head-coached Georgia Tech, where he was hired by, you guessed it, Doug Weaver. Rodgers also tutored the defunct pro Memphis Showboats and spent time as a Washington Redskins executive.
Weaver served as a coach and athletic director at Southern Illinois, then went to Georgia Tech as athletic director, and guess whom, as AD, he had to fire. Why, Pepper Rodgers, whom he’d hired the same as Pepper took him aboard at KU. How’s that for irony?
Later, Weaver was athletic director at Michigan State, his alma mater, and he and wife Nancy are now retired in Stillwater, home of the OSU Cowboys. A strong Lawrence connection remains since son Doug is a talented guy who’s a lecturer (and performer) in theater and film at KU. Vibrant Daddy Doug was a good guitarist-vocalist, and the talent seeped through to son Doug.
Pepper and Old Doug? “They still get together, and by the time they get to telling tales, you can get sick you laugh so hard,” says young Doug.
A zillion stories from the KU-KSU rivalry, and this is one of the best.
