21 Days Until Gameday – Day #73 Red Willow County, Nebraska

3 WEEKS PEOPLE!!

We have 21 days until our first game of the 2026-2027 football season against the Ohio Bobcats on 9/5/2026.
Yesterday we looked at Polk County, Nebraska.

https://www.on3.com/boards/threads/23-days-until-gameday-–-day-71-platte-county-nebraska.8929559/

Red Willow County, Nebraska

• Established in 1873 and named for Red Willow Creek.
• License plate prefix #48.
• The population is ~10,300 and has been declining since 1980.
• The county is approximately 718 square miles.
• McCook is the county seat and the largest city in the county.
• The Republican River flows through the northern half of the county.
• The southern border of the county is along the Kansas border.
• Perry was originally named Campbell when the railroad extended to the town.
• In April 1955 Charles Harris, a delegate chosen by the Mayor of Lebanon, was part of a delegation of forty mayors of American cities called "Lebanon" which was invited to the Middle East by the government of the country Lebanon. The mayor of Lebanon in 1955 was Chester Keith, who couldn't go due to his age. When visiting Jerusalem, then partitioned between Israel and Jordan, Harris accidentally crossed the border and was shot to death by a Jordanian soldier. At the time, his death sparked a major international incident, with the UN launching an investigation, Israel and Jordan each putting the blame on the other.
• Danbury was named for Danbury, Connecticut.
• Indianola was home to a prisoner of war camp during WWII where it housed mostly German soldiers captured in North Africa and Italy. Camp Indianola covered over 250 acres and housed up to 3,000 prisoners thought it held just over 2,500 at its peak. The German POWs were hired out to farmers throughout the region. After the war, the camp was transferred to the Bureau of Reclamation. The German prisoners returned to Germany at the conclusion of the war though there are stories of a few who immigrated to the surrounding counties in Nebraska because they loved the area.
• Indianola was originally the county seat, but moved to McCook when the railroad opted to make its midpoint terminal on the Omaha to Denver route in McCook.
• Indianola was named after Indianola, Iowa.
• McCook is named after Brigadier General Alexander McCook of the Civil War.
• McCook Army Airfield was active from 1943-1945 during WWII as 1 of 11 training bases in Nebraska during the war. The airfield was the final training for heavy bomber crews of the B-17, B-24, and B-29. Over 15,000 servicemen would pass through McCook in those 2 years.
• McCook was home to the McCook Braves from 1956-1959 and featured Baseball Hall of Famer Phil Niekro.
• McCook is home to the first two-year JUCO in Nebraska, McCook Junior College.
• Sehnert’s Bakery & Bieroc Café was the only restaurant in Nebraska to win the James Beard America’s Classic Award until Johnny’s Café in Omaha won it in 2026.
• Heritage Days is held the last full weekend in September ever year and is the largest celebration in McCook.
• Red Willow County Fair is a 5-day event held in July every year.
• Heritage Hills Golf Course is an 18-hole championship course opened in 1981. It was listed in Golf Digest’s best 75 golf courses in 1984 and its top 100 toughest public courses in 1986.

Former Huskers and Spotlights (years are letterman years)
According to University of Nebraska-Lincoln records, there have been 9 letterman football players from Red Willow County, NE.


Brian Brown – DT 1989-1991, Indianola, NE.

• 6’6” 275lb defensive tackle wearing #94
• All-State player out of Republican Valley HS.
• Played at Nebraska from 1987-1991, lettering from 1989-1991.
• Played in 18 games in his career, finishing with 16 tackles, 1 TFL, and 1 fumble recovery.

Bob Best – DB 1966-1968, McCook, NE.

• 5’11” 175lb safety wearing #27.
• Lettered at Nebraska from 1966-1968.
• The 1966 team would finish 9-2 and Big Eight champions, ranked #6.
• The 1967 team would finish 6-4 in Bob Devaney’s 6th season.
• The 1968 team would finish 6-4 in Bob Devaney’s 7th season.

Jack Carroll – HB 1950, McCook, NE.

• 5’9” 160lb halfback wearing #45.
• Lettered at Nebraska his senior year in 1950.
• The 1950 team would finish 6-2-1 in Coach Bill Glassford’s 2nd season and ranked #17.

Clarence Cook – RE 1956-1957, McCook, NE.

• 6’4” 215lb end wearing #80.
• Selected in the 18th round of the 1957 NFL Draft by the Los Angeles Rams.
• The 1956 team would finish 4-6 in Coach Pete Elliott’s 1st and only season.
• The 1957 team would finish 1-9 in Coach Bill Jenning’s 1st season.

Howard Fletcher – E 1948, McCook, NE.

• 6’3” 180lb end wearing #34.
• The 1948 team would finish 2-8 in Coach Bernie Masterson’s 2nd season.

Charles Hoyt – G 1918, McCook, NE.

• The 1918 team would finish 2-3-1 in Coach William Kline’s 1st and only season.

Jeff Kinney – HB 1969-1971, McCook, NE.

• 6’2” 210lb halfback wearing #35.
• All-State and High School All-American for Coach Sam Sample out of McCook High School.
• Played at Nebraska from 1968-1971, lettering from 1969-1971.
• 1969 Big Eight Sophomore of the Year.
• 2x National Champion
• 2x All-Big Eight
• 1971 All-American
• 1971 Academic All-American
• Finished his career as the Husker all-time rusher with 2,420 yards and all-time career rushing touchdowns with 35
• Selected in the 1st round of the 1972 NFL Draft by the Kansas City Chiefs
• Nebraska High School Sports Hall of Fame member
• Nebraska Football Hall of Fame member
• In the Game of the Century, Kinney carried the ball on all but one play in the game winning drive.

Robert Kitchen – C 1960, McCook, NE.

• 6’ 165lb center wearing #54
• The 1960 team would finish 4-6 in Coach Jenning’s 4th season.

Brian Mohnsen – LB 1990, McCook, NE.

• 6’3” 240lb inside linebacker wearing #46.
• All-State player for Coach Larry Frost out of McCook HS.
• Walk-on at Nebraska from 1987-1990, lettering in 1990.
• Played in 4 games and finished with 3 tackles.
• Worked for the Husker football program as the director of the video scouting department
• The 1990 team would finish 9-3 and ranked #24.

Other Notable or Prominent People from/born in Red Willow County:

George Norris – Born in Kentucky but practiced law in Nebraska and settled in McCook. Served in Congress from 1903-1913 and in the Senate from 1913-1943. Norris is 1 of 8 Senators who were mentioned in Profiles in Courage by President John F. Kennedy. Senator Norris is the architect behind the Tennessee Valley Authority Act of 1933 which brought electricity to the rural South. The west legislative chamber of the Nebraska State Capitol is named in his honor. He is inducted in the Nebraska Hall of Fame.

John McCarl – Born in Iowa and moved to McCook at 14. Graduated from McCook HS in 1897 and graduated from UNL Law in 1903. He began practicing law in McCook. He was appointed as the first Comptroller General of the United States by President Harding.

Frank Morrison Jr – Born in McCook and son of Frank Morrison. Morrison Jr would practice law in Omaha before moving to Montana. He served on the Montana Supreme Court from 1981-1987.

Frank Morrison – Born in Colorado and moved to Nebraska after graduating from Kansas State. He would graduate from UNL Law. He served as Nebraska’s 31st Governor from 1961-1967. Morrison was the driving force behind the Great Platte River Road Archway Monument in Kearney. He was a personal confidant of both President Lyndon B. Johnson and President John F. Kennedy.

Ralph Brooks – Born in Eustis and graduated from Sargent HS in 1916 in Custer County. Moving to McCook in 1946, he became the superintendent of schools and president of McCook Junior College. He served as Governor of Nebraska from 1959-1960, and died while in office at the age of 62.

Ben Nelson – Born and raised in McCook, he would graduate from UNL Law in 1970. Nelson would serve as Governor of Nebraska from 1991-1999 and as a Senator from 2001-2013.




GO BIG RED




Resources:
https://storage.googleapis.com/husk.../ZD6pyAK8hFocPYXCFPaVccH8170tcm1uOYyc7u0R.pdf
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Willow_County,_Nebraska
https://redwillowcountyne.gov/
https://redwillowcountyne.gov/about-our-county/
https://nebraskacounties.org/nebraska-counties/county/red-willow.html
https://nebraskacounties.org/file_download/inline/db390820-0172-45ac-b77d-40c340c355d1
https://history.nebraska.gov/tag/red-willow-county/