Charles "Cy" Sherman
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Charles "Cy" Sherman (March 10, 1871 – May 22, 1951) was an American journalist and is known as the "father of the Cornhuskers" after giving the Nebraska Cornhuskers football team the name "Cornhuskers" in 1899. He was a longtime sportswriter for the Lincoln Star. At his death he was called by the Star the "Dean of American Sprtswriters".[1]
Early life[edit]
Charles S. Sherman was raised in Plattsmouth, Nebraska where his father was the publisher of the Plattsmouth Tribune. Sherman spent time in his youth up in its shop in where he learned printing.[1]
Origin of the Cornhusker name[edit]
During the 1890 through 1899 seasons, the Huskers had been called multiple names including Treeplanters, Rattlesnake Boys, Antelopes, Old Gold Knights and Bugeaters. The school was changing its school colors to scarlet and cream in 1892 and the Old Gold Knights no longer made sense. By 1892, the team's most commonly used nickname was the Bugeaters, named after the insect-devouring bull bats.[2][3] Sherman attended a Thanksgiving 1893 game between Nebraska and the University of Iowa and when he saw the team called the "Bug Eaters" in the papers after the game, he decided the team should have a better name.[1]
Sherman was writing for the Nebraska State Journal starting in about 1898,[4] and in 1899 and was the first to use the name Cornhuskers to refer to Nebraska, which would become the only used name for the team in 1900. The reason for the change was that Sherman thought the name Bugeaters was unglamorous and was tired of referring to the Nebraska teams with that name. Sherman then became the sports editor of the Lincoln Star, later on and was made an honorary member of the Nebraska letterman's club for his contribution. He would help originate the Associated Press Poll for ranking football teams several years later.[2][3] When the Nebraska legislature passed a bill naming Nebraska the Cornhusker State, Sherman received the pen used to sign the bill.[1]
Other activities and death[edit]
In August 1913, Sherman moved to Red Lodge, Montana where he became editor and part owner of the Red Lodge Picket,[4][5] but returned to Nebraska and in about 1915 became editor of the star. In 1936, Sherman advanced the idea of the Associated Press members' national poll of top ten college football teams, a poll which would come to determine college football's national champions for subsequent decades. He was an advocate for sportsmanship and opposed commercialization and excess recruiting in the college game.[1]
During World War II, the Western Baseball League disbanded and in 1946, Sherman was one of six owners of franchises which organized a reconstituted league which began play in 1947. Sherman's team was the Lincoln Athletics, and they played on a field named for Sherman. In 1947 the president of the league was US Senator from Colorado, Edwin C. Johnson, and Sherman was treasurer.[6][1] The Lincoln A's disbanded in 1952, the year after Sherman died, and the Western League closed in 1958.
He retired from the Star on July 1, 1946 after nearly 60 years as a sports writer. At his death on May 22, 1951 in Lincoln, he was survived by his wife, Nancy, and three brothers and two sisters. Two of his brothers were also in the printing business.[1]
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Cy Sherman Dies; Dean of American Sports Writers, The Lincoln Star (Lincoln, Nebraska) May 23, 1951, page 1 and 2, accessed October 17, 2016 at https://www.newspapers.com/clip/7061146// and https://www.newspapers.com/clip/7061235//, obituary was widely republished, for instance, see Cy Sherman, Noted Nebraska Sports Editor, Dies, Northwest Arkansas Times (Fayetteville, Arkansas) May 23, 1951, page 8, accessed October 22, 2016 at https://www.newspapers.com/clip/7126792//
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Babcock, Mike. "Husker Football History" (PDF). Huskernside.com. Retrieved August 29, 2012.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Origin of Cornhusker Nickname". Huskers.com. July 26, 2009. Retrieved August 29, 2012.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Charles Sherman Leaves Lincoln Newspaper Work, Omaha Daily Bee (Omaha, Nebraska) August 20, 1913, page 3 accessed October 17, 2016 at https://www.newspapers.com/clip/7070227//
- ↑ [No Headline] Lincoln Daily News (Lincoln, Nebraska) November 4, 1913, page 8, accessed October 17, 2016 at https://www.newspapers.com/clip/7061429/no_headline_lincoln_daily_news/
- ↑ Attempt to Revive Baseball League, Waukesha Daily Freeman (Waukesha, Wisconsin) October 24, 1946, page 8, accessed October 22, 2016 at https://www.newspapers.com/clip/7126838//
External links[edit]
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