LTP: Let’s start with stadium history. What are some of the coolest tidbits about either Deering Field, Northwestern Field, Dyche or Ryan Field that stick out to you that even the avid NU fan likely doesn’t know about?

HTP: First, thanks for offering up these questions, LTP, and thanks for providing NU fans with a great daily resource for Wildcat info and commentary.

Regarding the NU stadium history, which your site had been discussing last week: I didn’t know a lot of the stranger parts of the history of our stadium until I began doing research in 2004 for the book I wrote in ’05 about NU football history. While doing the background work with the Northwestern University Archives, I came across some of the early schematics that James Rogers, the school’s architect, had produced. One early version of Dyche Stadium would have had matching towers on the east side, not just on the west. However, an even earlier version would have given the stadium upper decks in the end zone sections and two tiers of decks for the east and west stands. In 1926, it would have been the first and only triple-decker stadium in the country, and it would have seated over 80,000. Can you imagine an 80,000-seat stadium on Central Street?

LTP: I can. I’m delusional, however. I have a hard time envisioning 80,000 full seats though!

HTP: Dyche/ Ryan has had a lot of uses throughout the years, besides NU football. Famously, the Bears played one game there, and the school has returned to using the stadium for its commencement exercises. One use that is now becoming a little more obscure is from the 1950s, when the school used to host Fourth of July fireworks at the stadium. I seriously doubt the city of Evanston would allow that now, but it would be pretty cool to bring it back, along with an Athletic Dept. tie-in. (ed note: I hope you’re reading NU..you can leverage the local mayors you’re meeting with on this one!)

LTP: There has been quite a buzz about NU potentially playing Illinois or even another team (ie. Rice) in future years at Wrigley. Aside fromthe Cleveland Stadium debacle, which I refuse to go into, what “neutral site” nuggets do you have for us that are compelling?

HTP: I agree: the less said about Cleveland, the better. Probably the most famous home game NU has played at a neutral site was the 1925 Michigan game, which NU moved to Soldier Field. Northwestern Field was too small for the ‘Cats by ’25, so the school decided to tear it down after the season and build a new stadium. NU abandoned Northwestern Field before their last home game, with Michigan.

There have been several articles written about that game: George Beres, NU’s former sports information director, wrote a column about it (Beres knew NU athletic director Tug Wilson and heard some of the game’s details directly from Wilson), which is archived on my site (ed: click here and scroll down to “1925: The Soldier Field Shocker”).

Michigan was undefeated and unscored upon, and their coach, Fielding Yost, absolutely did not want to play the game. It had been raining all day, and the field was a muddy sea. Wilson knew the field conditions were to Northwestern’s advantage (although, it should be noted that NU in 1925 was a really good team, and would have taken Michigan at least a little by surprise, even on a good field). The ‘Cats upended Michigan 3 to 2 by intentionally inflicting a safety on themselves. The rules at the time gave the ball back to the team that suffered a safety. NU, close to its own goal line and with the awful weather conditions facing them, knew that if Michigan got the ball back, the Wolverines would either tie or win.

After the game, Yost was furious. He appealed to the NCAA to have the rule changed, which it was: after that season, a team suffering a safety was required to free kick to the opponent.

No other team scored on Michigan for the remainder of the season, but the team’s national title hopes had been dashed by NU. Yost maintained, even years later, that the 1925 Michigan team was the best he had coached, but had been robbed of its due championship. So, in one game at Soldier Field, Northwestern had played spoiler for the national title, had triggered a major change to the rules of football, and had set the stage for its Big Ten championship the following season.

When Northwestern won that game, Wildcat fans were so berserk with joy that they rioted. They returned to Evanston and set fire to an abandoned fraternity house. They marched toward Central Street, intending to burn down the abandoned Northwestern Field, and had to be turned back by police. Sounds more like something you’d see in Columbus than Evanston.

LTP: Wow. Wow, wow, wow. That is simply amazing. Who knew that NU-Michigan would be so influential in two separate centuries. First, the gamechanging safety rule and then, in 2000, the gamechanging 54-51 spreading the spread game.

I’ve been lobbying for all kinds of things as of late – an NU Football Film Archives night, butts in seats at Ryan Field, signs of progress from the marketing department, and a tribute to Otto Graham – perhaps a statue at Ryan Field. Aside from the obvious weekly sell-outs, what is atop your NU wish list?

HTP: I think the changes that our last two athletic directors have been making are big steps in the right direction. Murphy and now Phillips have shown a determination to market the program in the right way.

It’s always good to get coverage in the Chicago print and broadcast media. NU needs to keep pressing to get as much air and print exposure as possible. They just need to keep the brand in front of the Chicago market, never letting it forget that NU is a part of this community. I think NU needs to go after Chicago-area alumni who are not ticket holders. There are a lot of alumni who have no interest in the program; sending them a package, similar to the DVD package NU sent current ticket holders might open some eyes and make area alumni consider attending. Heck, even a phonathon, conducted by players and targeting area non-season ticket alumni, would be interesting. The callers would not be asking for donations, but to invite them to Ryan Field.

As for the Archives, there are things I’d personally love to see, though I’m not sure they would benefit marketing substantially. I’d like to see a series of NU football history DVDs: one with early footage, one devoted to the ’49 Rose Bowl, one covering Ara’s teams, and several devoted to the recent title teams.

Imagine, for instance, a 1995 highlight DVD with several audio tracks: one from the network coverage, a second track with Dave & Ted’s WGN coverage, and a third track providing commentary from Coaches Barnett and Fitzgerald as they watch the game highlights together. That’d be awesome.

LTP: (Salivating) Indeed! OK, setting the record straight. You’ve gone to great lengths to document discrepancies in the “official” NU results on your site. Thelist is rather lengthy. It would appear that the Big Ten Champion 1903 incorrect score against Chicago Dental – according to your sources we won 18-11, but NU lists it as a loss, thus creating a discrepancy of a 10-win vs 9-win season – is your biggest beef? Is that the one that bothers you the most? Why has NU not adopted many of the corrections or have they?

HTP: Well, I give NU credit: they have made a lot of effort to improve their records. They did a lot of research and added a wealth of information and corrections to their official history in 2002, and more recently they added great information about national rankings for NU and for its opponents for every game. I’m sure that took a lot of work.

It is rather puzzling that there are a few discrepancies or omissions that remain. There are a few scores and locations that NU chooses to leave blank, when they could easily be filled in, now that multiple primary sources have been cross-checked and confirmed. And yes, the Chicago Dental game is a prime example. It’s particularly frustrating because that game was even mentioned in some of the coverage by the national media when NU went on its Rose Bowl run during the ’95 season (one columnist bemoaned the school’s history of losing, pointing out that this was the school that even lost to Chicago Dental). Why not claim the win? Why not notch another 10-win season in NU’s history?

Also, why not claim the program’s right to the oldest tradition of football in the Midwest? NU played a game in 1876 against an amateur team from Chicago, and the game made news at the time—it was covered by at least two Chicago newspapers. True, the game was not intercollegiate, but NU recognizes other early games against non-collegiate teams. ESPN’s recent football encyclopedia (edited, by the way, by a Purple Mafia member…) actually does credit NU with this game, and places only five other major college teams (all east coast) with football traditions older than NU. Why not boast about this part of the program’s history?

LTP: Well, Mike Wolf, Northwestern’s Assistant AD will be joining us next Friday so we’ll ask him. He’s a great contributor (read: sets me straight when I make a factual error) and I’m sure can shed some light on this.

Give us the background on your NU fandom. There are diehard fans and then there are those that go to painstaking lengths to ensure games from the 1800s are accurately recorded. Where did the love of NU history come from? What is your favorite moment/player/game that the average fan doesn’t know about?

HTP: I enjoy history, and I’m an NU fan. When I started to look at some of the old game programs and learn a little more about the program’s history, a compelling story became clear. Here was a team that always seemed on the ropes: it always had to fight, the odds always seemed stacked against it as it competed against bigger schools, with bigger fan bases, with much larger recruiting pools. Yet, for most of its history—not just recently—it was relentless, and has fought the good fight. I wanted to know as much of that story as I could find.

My favorite games and plays are listed on my site. As for favorite players, several obvious ones come to mind: Otto Graham, Matt Hartl, Zak Kustok, Darnell Autry, Coach Fitzgerald, and Paddy Driscoll. If you want to go way, way, back, however, take a look at Alvin Culver in the 1800s. Here’s a guy that literally saved the team. In 1894, when NU’s coach abandoned the team, the administration stepped in and shut the program down, mid-season. Culver stepped up, asked the administration to give him a shot at heading the team, and kept the program going. That’s pretty gutsy. It’s not hair-raising, like Matt Hartl taking oxygen on the sidelines of the Pigskin Classic so that he could keep playing with only one good lung, but it’s still a great example of NU’s relentless spirit.

LTP: Great stuff! What’s next for HailtoPurple? Why not a daily presence like LTP so we can grow in numbers and take on the other Big Ten bullies?

HTP: Well, because I look at the amount of effort you put into your site, and I think you’ve got to be a madman to keep a day job and produce great daily output for LTP like you do. I just don’t have that kind of time and energy any more.

I did have more time for a while, back in 2000 and later in 2005, leading up to the book. But now, with work and family obligations, I’m content to do a few features in the offseason and try to keep up during the season itself. Jonathan Hodges, the Waterboy, and others provide terrific stuff that I’ve been honored to host, and hopefully a few NU fans will continue to get a kick out of our two cents, as they surf the Interwebs to get their Wildcat fix.

LTP: Damn! I was hoping you’d bite on the bait and take this over for me! My wife is not going to be happy…Seriously though, thanks for coming on board. For those of you who have never visited http://www.hailtopurple.com/ it is a must. But be forewarned, you’ll get time-sucked for HOURS. Larry, we’ll have you back on as history begs – thanks for a great edition of Purple Mafia Profiles