[2][3] [5][6] On February 17, 1899, Hubert C. Avery, captain of the 1899 Kansas football team, was married to Nellie Criss.
[7] After spending the summer in Colorado, Yost arrived in Lawrence, Kansas, on September 4, 1899,[9] and football practice began the following day.
[7] On September 19, 1899, the Lawrence Daily Journal reported on a practice football game in which 37-year-old Dr. James Naismith (the coach of the Kansas basketball team and inventor of the sport) played against the 13-man varsity squad.
"[10] On September 21, 1899, the Journal reported in further detail on Yost's training sessions, noting that the afternoon's practice began with a focus on punting and catching the ball.
"[13] On September 30, Kansas opened its season with a 12–0 victory over the Haskell Indians before a crowd of 500 spectators at McCook Field in Lawrence.
[17] The Lawrence Daily Journal reported that the Washburn team was "as weak as ever" and credited the performance of Tucker, Avery, Wilcox, Nofsinger, and Moore.
The game was expected to be Kansas' toughest contest with the possible exception of Missouri, and the Kansas players were reportedly training under coach Yost with a focus on "perfecting signal week this week, team plays, and new strategems with all of which they expect to surprise their most ardent champions.
"[24] The Lawrence Daily Journal reported that the game was played "under a broiling sun" and "on a dusty field" and that Tucker was "easily the star" for Kansas.
[30] The Lawrence Daily Journal wrote that Kansas won the game "with ease", led by an "impregnable line" and with Moore, Tucker and Avery advancing the ball "with unfailing regularity and certain precision.
Kansas used substitutes in place of some of its starters to avoid incurring injuries prior to the Thanksgiving Day game against Missouri.
Missouri's coach White objected to playing the game indoors, noting that the low ceiling would not allow "good kicking", the sidelines would be formed by the building's walls and create a hazard to the players, and the crowd noise "would prevent signals being heard."
For these reasons, Missouri insisted that the game be played outdoors on "regulation grounds" under the rules of the Western Intercollegiate Football Association, "or not at all.
"[37] On December 4, 1899, coach Yost published an All-Western football team and selected seven of his own Kansas players for the unit: Smith at guard; Wilcox and Tucker at tackle; Algie at end; Owen at quarterback; Moore at halfback; and Avery at fullback.