Kansas State athletics, 1904-05: the revolving door finally breaks

For the third consecutive year, a recent graduate of Northwestern University traveled to Manhattan to take the reins of the KSAC football squad. This time, it was Reuben Booth, a former third baseman in Evanston who brought his mathematics degree to KSAC to serve as a professor.

His tenure began on a bright note, the Aggies crushing Fort Riley 28-0. But they wouldn’t win again. A close loss at Saint Mary’s was followed by a not-so-close loss at home to Bethany. They then suffered a home shutout in their first-ever game against Fort Hays State before traveling to Topeka and getting blown out 56-0 by Washburn. A 41-4 loss to Kansas in Manhattan was followed by the season-ending loss at Emporia State, a 34-6 affair.

Booth went back to Chicago after the year to earn a graduate degree, then spent a year at Purdue before moving back to Kansas. He settled in Olathe, and spent the rest of his life there; he passed away in 1953 at the age of 74.

And with that, the annual parade of coaches finally came to an end. It was Mike Ahearn’s turn.

Running total: 15-31-6, 9-31-1 against colleges

This marks the final KSAC baseball season for which actual results are unavailable, although we do know about one game that doesn’t count in the official record. On April 6, heading home after spring training, the Chicago Cubs -- including the storied double play combo of Tinker to Evers to Chance — stopped off in Manhattan to play an exhibition against the Aggies. The Cubs won, 13-0.

One other result from the 1905 campaign is known. After nearly a decade of baseball, on May 2 KSAC finally endured their first extra-inning contest, a 6-5 win over Friends.

The Aggies went 7-4 at home, but a 2-4 road record left them treading water at 9-8 in Mike Ahearn’s second year. It was the last time he’d helm a mediocre nine.

Running total: 48-53