Next month, The University of Wyoming kicks off their 119th football season. Here's a few interesting facts that you might not know about the program's long and storied history, which dates all the way back to 1893.

1. Wyoming was undefeated through their first five seasons. Mind you, they played one game during the inaugural 1893 season, and that was against a high school team, but a win's still a win. The first game in the program's history was a 14-0 shutout victory over Cheyenne High School. The Cowboys would go on to win their next 9 games before finally losing in 1898.

Wyoming only played one game in the 1901 and 1902 seasons, winning them both. The early success of the program would be short lived. From 1912 to 1924, Wyoming would suffer 12 consecutive losing seasons. After 1902, the Pokes have finished undefeated twice, going 10-0 in 1950 and 1956

2. The Cowboys' most lopsided victory would come at the hands of Northern Colorado University, who they pummeled by a score of 103-0, in 1949. That year, Coach Bowden Wyatt's team would end a streak of 10 consecutive losing seasons, compiling a 9-1 record before running the table and winning the Gator Bowl the following year.

3. The Cowboys have had their fare share of losing seasons, but none worse than the 1913 campaign when they finished 0-5 under coach R.W. Thacker. To add insult to injury, they didn't score an entire point during the entire year. All told, they were outscored by their opponents 183-0 in 1913, losing by an average of over 36 points per game.

4. The Border War rivalry with Colorado State dates back over a century. The Rams won the first meeting in 1899, 12-0. And although CSU holds a 58-44-5 advantage in the all time series, there was one glorious decade when Wyoming rang up 10 consecutive wins over their arch rivals from 1956-1965. The Cowboys dominated the series from 1949 up to 1973, winning 17 out of 21 meetings.

5. Wars have played a big role in the history of the program. When World War I broke out in 1918, play was suspended for the entire season. During World War II, there were no games played for three consecutive years from 1943-1945. War Memorial Stadium was built in 1950 as a tribute to those who had served. Since 1968, the Bronze Boot has been presented to the winner of the Border War. The boot was worn in the Vietnam War by Cpt. Dan J. Romero, who was also an ROTC instructor at Colorado State.

 

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