In the [Nebraska] Legislature of 1897, J. N. Gaffin, a farmer from Saunders County, introduced a bill to make football illegal. A violation would bring a fine of $20 to $100 and imprisonment in the county jail. The death of a Doane College player at Hastings inspired the measure. Several amendments were offered, extending the ban to baseball, skating, and swimming. Nothing, however, came of the measure.
