October 6, 1928: Wisconsin's Victory In the Tall Grass

October 6, 1928: The football team at the University of Wisconsin hosted the University of Notre Dame at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin. It becomes known as "The Tall Grass Game."

The host Badgers, coached by Glenn Thistlethwaite, were opening their season. The visiting Fighting Irish, coached by Knute Rockne, had opened theirs a week earlier, defeating Loyola University of New Orleans.

Notre Dame arrived in Madison, only to find that the grass on the football field at Camp Randall had not been mowed in a week. Rumor was that Thistlethwaite wanted to slow down the speedy Notre Dame players. Rockne demanded the field be trimmed, and Thistlethwaite refused. Rockne may have been all-powerful in South Bend, Indiana, but he had no power over the Badger State.

A raucous sellout crowd of 40,000 saw Wisconsin pull the upset, 22-6. Wisconsin fans still refer to the game as "The Victory In The Tall Grass." Notre Dame hadn't lost to a Big Ten Conference team in 7 years.

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October 6, 1928 was a Saturday. Among the other college football games played that day were these:

* Michigan State were not yet members of the Big 10 -- eventually, they would replace the University of Chicago as such -- and, on this day, they were beaten by Albion College, 2-0 at College Field in East Lansing. It wasn't an upset, though: Albion, based in the Michigan city of the same name, went 8-0 that season, although Michigan State were the only team they played that would now be recognized as a major team. Albion now compete in NCAA Division III.

* The University of Michigan were members of the Big 10, but fared no better, losing to Ohio Wesleyan, 17-7 at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor.

* The service academies: Army beat Southern Methodist University (SMU), 14-13 at Michie Stadium in West Point, New York; and Navy lost to Boston College, 6-0 at Thompson Stadium in Annapolis, Maryland.

* Among New York City teams: Columbia beat Union College, 27-0 at Baker Field in Upper Manhattan; New York University (NYU) beat West Virginia Wesleyan, 26-7 at Ohio Field in The Bronx; City College of New York (CCNY) played Lebanon Valley College to a tie, 6-6 at Annville, Pennsylvania; and Fordham beat George Washington University, 20-0 at Fordham Field in The Bronx.

GWU dropped their football program after the 1966 season. West Virginia Wesleyan now compete in NCAA Division II. Union, based in Schenectady, New York, outside Albany, and Lebanon Valley both now compete in Division III.

* And in New Jersey: Princeton beat Vermont, 50-0 at Palmer Stadium in Princeton; while Rutgers beat Albright, 19-0 at Nielson Field in New Brunswick. Albright, in Reading, Pennsylvania, now compete in Division III. Vermont dropped football after the 1974 season.

This was a travel day for the World Series. The New York Yankees went on to sweep the St. Louis Cardinals in 4 straight games.

And in English soccer, the team I would eventually support, Arsenal, traveled from North London to Stanley Park in Liverpool, and lost to Everton, 4-2 at Goodison Park.