publications

Football at the Omaha Medical College, 1900

“The football season of 1900 has closed and the shaggy-haired heroes–the pride and boast of the Omaha Medical College–have laid away their football togs with a feeling of pleasant satisfaction,” wrote team manager D. F. Lee in the December 1900 issue of The Pulse, OMC’s official journal. “The Omaha Medics have become famous throughout the west and middle west. . . .



“The outlook at the beginning of the season was not very encouraging. The team, though successful in two games late in the previous season, had not as yet achieved a reputation sufficient to be in demand and moreover the treasury was empty. The football accoutrements for playing were poor. I applied to the Faculty to contribute funds to purchase football, sweaters, hose, shoes and other necessary paraphernalia suitable and befitting a team representing the Omaha Medical College. The different members of the Faculty responded generously and with these voluntary contributions I was enabled to purchase elegant purple and gold sweaters, hose, Yale cleat shoes and other accoutrements which have elicited praise and admiration from the people on every public appearance of the team. . . .



“After three games had been played the Omaha Medics had rolled up the proud record of sixty-five points scored to none scored by their opponents. Bellevue, our rival Creighton, and Hastings had quickly followed one another in an attempt to wrest the palm from the victorious Medics.” The Sioux City Medics and the Doane Tigers cancelled their matches with OMC because of team injuries, leaving the Omaha Medics to train for the last two games of the season, with Drake University on November 24 and Rush Medical College of Chicago on Thanksgiving Day. The game with Drake did not come off as scheduled, but Lee described the contest with Rush:



“The game was advertised as the stellar attraction of Thanksgiving day in Omaha, and so it was. Despite the fact that cheap rates to Lincoln carried five hundred people down to see the great Nebraska and Minnesota game; despite the game of the Omaha High School and Genoa Indians, that drew a thousand people on the same afternoon here, and despite a crowd of two thousand people at the Council Bluffs-Tabor game in Mat Tinley’s home across the muddy, the Omaha Medics had a crowd of two thousand people eager and willing to root for them. The Thanksgiving game was not won, but not a single spectator complained, because they saw a fine clean football game, which had enough sensational playing in it to keep them on the alert.”

Become a Member!

Our members make history happen.

Join Now

Other Publications

The Bachelors’ Protective Union of Kearney

When the Bachelors' Protective Union gave a gala reception for two of its newly married, former members and their brides in March of 1890, the social club for young, ...

U.S. Weather Bureau in 1890s Nebraska

The U.S. Weather Bureau was established by an act of Congress on October 1, 1890. It took over the weather service that had been established in the office of the Chief ...

Canning the Way to Victory

During American participation in World War I the U.S. Food Administration, under the direction of Herbert Hoover, launched a massive campaign to persuade Americans to ...

The Shoemaker’s Ashes

"Edward Kuehl, one of the most peculiar characters that ever lived in Omaha, or anywhere else, was found dead in his bed last night in the back room of his place of ...

Crazy Horse Surrender Ledger Foreward

Red Dog, an Oglala Lakota who lived at the Red Cloud Agency, Nebraska, 1876-77 (Nebraska State Historical Society RG2955.ph).   In the summer of 1876, following the ...

Darryl F. Zanuck

Darryl F. Zanuck Darryl F. Zanuck (1902-1979), a native Nebraskan, produced some of Hollywood's most important and controversial films. He helped found 20th Century Fox ...

The Burlington’s Profitable Pork Special

Nebraska railroads were much concerned with developing an adequate economy in the areas they served. The Burlington, for example, had a long history of caring for the ...

Bungalow Filling Stations

After the giant Standard Oil Company was broken into thirty-four separate companies in 1911, the newly independent Standard Oil of Nebraska dominated the state's market ...

The Bull Fight

This is the perfect time of year for a visit to the old fishin' hole. But a group of fisherfolk from Plainview discovered that this bucolic pastime sometimes has ...

Buffalo Soldiers West

African-American soldiers on the western frontier are the focus of an exhibit at the Nebraska History Museum in Lincoln. Buffalo Soldiers West, on loan from the Colorado ...

Protection for Buffalo

The extermination of the buffalo on the Plains occurred largely between 1870 and 1885. The Nebraska State Journal of Lincoln on February 1, 1874, editorialized in vain ...

Buffalo Hunting

In late October 1877 young Rolf Johnson and three friends left their homes in Phelps County, Nebraska, for a buffalo hunt in northeastern Colorado. The hunt was not very ...

About NSHS

The Nebraska State Historical Society was founded in 1878 by citizens who recognized Nebraska was going through great changes and they sought to record the stories of both indigenous and immigrant peoples. It was designated a state institution and began receiving funds from the legislature in 1883. Legislation in 1994 changed NSHS from a state institution to a state agency. The division is headed by Interim Director Cindy Drake. They are assisted by an administrative staff responsible for financial and personnel functions, museum store services, security, and facilities maintenance for NSHS.

Explore Nebraska

Discover the real places and people of our past at these NSHS sites.

Upcoming Events

View our new and upcoming events to see how you can get involved.

Become a Member

The work we do to discover, preserve, and share Nebraska's history wouldn't be possible without the support of NSHS members.

NSHS Education

Learn more about the educational programs provided at our museums, sites, and online.

Education Digital Learning Resources

Find games, lists, and more to enhance your history education curriculum.

Latest Hall of Fame Inductee

The Nebraska Hall of Fame was established in 1961 to officially recognize prominent Nebraskans.

Listen to our Podcast

Listen to the articles and authors published in the Nebraska History Magazine with our new Nebraska History Podcast!

Nebraska Collections

NSHS's mission is to collect, preserve, and open our shared history to all Nebraskans.

Our YouTube Video Collection

Get a closer look at Nebraska's history through your own eyes, with our extensive video collections.

Additional Research Resources

NSHS's Research and Reference Services help connect you to the material we collect and preserve.

NSHS Services

Digital Resources

Find all of our digital resources, files, videos, and more, all in one easy-to-search page!

Support The Historical Society

Make a cash donation to help us acquire, preserve, and interpret Nebraska’s history. Gifts to the Nebraska State Historical Society help leave a legacy and may help your taxes, too! Support the work of NSHS.

Volunteers are the heroes of NSHS. So much history, so little time! Your work helps us share access to Nebraska’s stories at our museums and sites, the reference room, and online.