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LSU – Wisconsin: Classic North Vs. South Matchup

LSU and Wisconsin have an unusual football history. This Saturday’s matchup in Houston will be only the third game played between the founding member of the Big 10 and the founding member of the SEC. LSU leads the series 2-0 with wins in Madison and Baton Rouge. Following the neutral site game in Houston, the next game is scheduled to be played in Green Bay in 2016.

1957 and 1958

The first football home-and-home series between Louisiana State University and the University of Wisconsin was scheduled for 1957 and 1958, but cancelled due to racial segregation controversy. The first game was set to be played at Camp Randall in Madison in October of 1957, the second at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge in September of 1958.

In July of 1956, the Louisiana legislature passed a social segregation law that banned all integrated sporting events in the state. Louisiana Governor Earl Long signed the bill into law soon after.

Almost immediately, Wisconsin Athletic Director Ivan Williamson announced that the University was canceling its contract with LSU. According to the official statement of the athletic department, the new law "would have the effect of denying to the University of Wisconsin the privilege of selecting the members of its team without regard to race or color in any contest played in Louisiana."[i]

In the mid-1950s, numerous black athletes took the field for the Badgers. The 1957 team featured the Big 10's first African-American quarterback, Sidney Williams, which would have been the first Wisconsin team to play against LSU.

The 57-58 games were not only highly anticipated in Wisconsin and Louisiana, they were in the college football spotlight all over the country. Historically, Wisconsin had played few southern schools in football. Both schools were gridiron powerhouses and fans missed out on what can only be assumed would have been classic games. In 1958 LSU went 11-0 and was awarded the Coaches and AP National Championship. Wisconsin went 7-1-1 and finished 6th.

After Much Ado, the Madison and Baton Rouge Games

LSU and Wisconsin fans finally got their matchup when a home-and-home series was once again scheduled in the early 1970s. Louisiana abolished the segregated sports law three years after it passed.[ii] But even that was not enough. When the Tigers and their faithful fans traveled up north in 1971, many Wisconsin fans still held on to their belief the opposing team and fans were racist Southerners. The game was played Sept. 25, 1971 and much of the focus building up centered around LSU's all white team.

A TigerFan poster who said he was on the team recently recalled this:

"The press had been raking us over the coals for being a racist team for about two weeks prior to the game. The school newspaper had been especially brutal in the condemnation of our ‘racist team’."[iii]

The hatred festered and the Badger fans directed it toward the college athletes representing LSU, creating a truly hostile environment.

"When we entered the field the booing rivaled Tiger Stadium at its loudest. We were also pelted with trash, drinks, and curses. The coaches told us to not remove our helmets. We didn’t need the warning." [iv]

The game set a crowd record with an attendance of 78,535. Cries of "Racists! Racists! Racists!" rained down on the Tigers from the Camp Randall stands.[v]

While the statement that LSU did not have black players in 1971 was true, there is a footnote that was widely disregarded. In 1971, Lora Hinton became LSU's first black football scholarship recipient. Hinton did not play that year due to a knee injury. It would not be until 1973 that he became the first black varsity letterman for LSU. LSU's first black player came in 1972 when Mike Williams played cornerback. LSU had attempted, unsuccessfully, to recruit a black player in 1970, Charles Battle.[vi] So the 1971 LSU team did not feature any black players on the trip to Madison.

Despite the hostile crowd and northern hospitality, LSU beat Wisconsin 38-28 at Camp Randall in a hard fought battle.

"The exit from the field was even more treacherous than the entry. It included numerous whiskey bottles and other objects that could have caused serious damage. It was a very surreal experience that I will never forget." [vii]

The next year the home-and-home series brought Wisconsin down to the deep south on Sept. 30, 1972. When the Yankees came to Baton Rouge and Tiger Stadium, they were met by fans waving the popular LSU Confederate Flag. Around the time of the Civil War Centennial, a young LSU student, proud of his Confederate heritage, made Confederate battle flags in purple and gold. It was done specifically to remind or teach people that LSU's Tiger moniker was not based on an arbitrary animal, but on the Confederate brigade in Wheat’s Battalion known as the Louisiana Fighting Tigers.[viii] The Tigers carried the reputation of fearless, hard fighting troops. The Flag was used by fans for nearly 50 years before it became a highly contentious issue.

The 1972 LSU team had the university’s first black football player. That squad went on to defeat Wisconsin 27-7 in Tiger Stadium. Forty two years later the series resumes with both teams ranked in the preseason top 15.

Houston and Green Bay

Times have changed. In 2014 LSU’s football team grossly outnumbers Wisconsin when it comes to black players. The Badgers are now the team with more white players. Wisconsin’s two quarterbacks competing for the start are both white; LSU’s two quarterbacks expected to share duties behind center are both black.

Racism against blacks and whites is still alive and strong all over the country, but racial hatred is not expected to overshadow Saturday’s matchup. In fact, it’s so far from most football fans’ radar the topic has gone largely unnoted leading up to the game. When LSU and Wisconsin take the field in Reliant Stadium it will be a classic North vs South matchup. Let’s hope the Louisiana Fighting Tigers stop this war of Northern Aggression.

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via scvcamp133.webs.com

[i] http://www.uwbadgers.com/history/black-history-lsu.html

[ii] http://www.jsonline.com/news/wisconsin/32484714.html

[iii] http://www.tigerfan.com/threads/lsu-vs-wisconsin-sept-25-1971.109229/

[iv] http://www.tigerfan.com/threads/lsu-vs-wisconsin-sept-25-1971.109229/

[v] http://goldenrankings.com/tigerden9.htm#tigersbadgers1

[vi] http://scvcamp133.webs.com/lsuconfederateflag.htm

[vii] http://www.tigerfan.com/threads/lsu-vs-wisconsin-sept-25-1971.109229/

[viii] http://scvcamp133.webs.com/lsuconfederateflag.htm