A deep cut. That was it. An ordinary injury became the extraordinary reason why the University of Cincinnati’s football stadium has been called Nippert for almost 90 years.

It was not because a guy named Nippert donated a ton of money. And it has nothing to do with whether or not a body is buried under the commemorative granite marker at the south end of the stadium. (No one is buried there.)

To understand how a deep cut could generate nearly a century of naming rights, travel back to Thanksgiving Day 1923 -- a time before protective gear and antibiotics. The driving rain on the field was continuous and overwhelming. UC’s Carson Field that day was called a “sea of mud.” The players’ jerseys and leather helmets were so completely mud covered that fans in the stands were not sure which players were Bearcats and which were Redskins.

The matchup between old rivals UC and Miami University, Ohio (whose team is now named the Redhawks), was the last game of the season for what the Cincinnatian yearbook called “the most successful football team [UC] has had during the last 15 years.”

No one seems to know when during the game the injury occurred. Perhaps a defensive lineman plowed through the middle, stepping on UC’s center. Regardless, a football cleat sliced the Bearcat’s leg. The gash was quickly coated with mud and went unnoticed. In the end, UC triumphed 23-0.