Jimmy Nippert was a law student, following in the footsteps of his father who was a judge, and he played center on the football team. The University of Cincinnati football team, founded in 1885, began their long-standing rivalry with Miami University in 1888. It was during the 1923 meeting of these two rivals that the beginning of the tragedy occurred.

The Cincinnati-Miami game was played on Thanksgiving Day in 1923. The field that day was described as "a sea of mud" due to heavy rains. Despite the conditions, and despite suffering a spike wound during the game, Jimmy Nippert played the entire game. Only after the game was it apparent that Jimmy had suffered a serious cut on his right leg.