the 1918 matchup in football was also cancelled due

Posted on: November 28, 2016 at 11:16:30 CT

to flu pandemic.

http://www2.kusports.com/news/2011/jan/14/engleman-truly-was-ku-great/

Howard Engleman once read a Journal-World story about the “smallest basketball crowd in KU history” against Hawaii Loa on Oahu in 1990. He politely begged to differ.

“I was at Missouri in old Brewer Fieldhouse when taking Phog’s place in 1947. There had been a flu epidemic in Columbia but instead of delaying the game they decided to play it with no spectators allowed,” Engleman recalled. “The only people there were the teams, officials and MU football players to see nobody got in.

“We won the game (48-38) and I remember Otto Schnellbacher getting fouled. He stepped to the line, and an MU footballer (against whom two-sport star Schnellbacher had competed on the gridiron) yelled, ‘Hey, Schnelly! Is that your nose or a banana you’re eating?’ Otto gave him the finger, spitefully made both free throws and we won. But Otto wasn’t out of line because there were no women in the hall. What precious memories,” noted the socially correct Engleman.