THE NEBRASKA 100

Lloyd Cardwell, dubbed "the Wild Hoss of the Plains," by then-World-Herald sports editor Frederick Ware, helped lead NU to Big Six football titles in 1935 and 1936. Scoring 120 points in 24 games during his three-year career, he also played defensive back.

In high school, he was second-team AllNebraska in basketball and won three pentathlon titles and four gold medals in the hurdles and long jump at the state meet.

Many may not know of his NFL career with the Detroit Lions, who made him a first-round pick in 1937. He signed for $250 and became a two-time all-pro selection.

"Cardy," as he was called during his long coaching career at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, was inducted into the UNO Hall of Fame in 1978. Supreme Court Justice Byron "Whizzer" White, a former Lions teammate, called him "a superior teammate, a terrific competitor and someone who was always ready to play."

Cardwell took over Omaha University's football team in 1947 and, seven years later, guided the team to a 7-6 win over Eastern Kentucky in the 1955 Tangerine Bowl.

He ended his football coaching career in 1959, then spent the next 20 years as the school's track coach. He retired in 1978.

-- John Fey