1896 Michigan Wolverines football team
Encyclopedia
The 1896 Michigan Wolverines football team represented the University of Michigan
in the 1896 college football season
. They played their home games at Regents Field
in Ann Arbor, Michigan
and competed in the newly-established Western Conference, later to be known as the Big Ten Conference
. The team, with William Ward as head coach, started the season with nine consecutive wins in which the Wolverines outscored their opponents by a combined score of 256 to 4. In the final game of the season, played on Thanksgiving Day at the Chicago Coliseum
, the team lost a close game to Amos Alonzo Stagg
's University of Chicago
team by a score of 7–6. The 1896 Michigan–Chicago game was the first college football game played indoors, and the last portion of the game was also played under electric lights. Henry M. Senter
was the team captain.
). The 1896 season was the first for Michigan in conference play. Michigan's three conference games in 1896 were against Purdue, Minnesota and Chicago. Second, William McCauley
, who had led Michigan to a 17–2–1 record in two seasons as coach, resigned as Michigan's football coach. Princeton graduate, William Ward, was hired to replace McCauley. Before leaving Ann Arbor in November 1896, McCauley assisted Ward in coaching the 1896 team.
Michigan conducted tryouts for the 1896 football team at Sand Beach. The Michiganensian for 1897 reported on the group appearing for try-outs as follows: "Never before had the Athletic field been so teeming with aspirants for foot-ball honors."
. The Wolverines won, 18–0, scoring two touchdowns in the first half and a goal and a safety in the second half. The World of New York reported on the game as follows: "The University of Michigan opened its football season here this afternoon by a loosely played game with the Michigan State Normal eleven. Only four members of last year's 'Varsity eleven were in the game, although four of them were on the ground ready to play."
. The game was played in halves of 20 and 10 minutes, and Michigan won easily by a score of 44 to 0. A newspaper account of the game described Michigan's performance as follows:
. The game was played in 15 minute halves at Ann Arbor's Regents Field. Halfback Gustave Ferbert
scored a touchdown "on a brilliant twenty-yard run" in the first half, and Villa and Pingree scored two touchdowns each for Michigan. Steel and Hogg each added two goals after touchdown for Michigan. A newspaper account of the game described Michigan's performance as follows:
Michigan's line up against the Physicians and Surgeons was Palmer and Ayers (left end), Giovanni Villa (left tackle), Bert Carr (left guard), John David Wombacher (center), John W.F. Bennett (right guard), Frederick Henninger (right tackle), Thaddeus Farnham (right end), J. DeForest Richards (quarterback), Gustave Ferbert and Gordon (left halfback), Hazen Pingree (right halfback), Steel and James R. Hogg (fullback).
to open its conference scheduled against the Purdue Boilermakers
and came away with a fifth straight shutout and a score of 16–0. The game was played in front of a crowd of 2,000 at Purdue's Stuart Field. One newspaper described the game as "the most desperate game that has ever been played on Stuart Field" and concluded that "Michigan won by superior weight." The same account noted that "the prettiest play of the game" was a 40–yard run by Ferbert and has tackle by Marshall. Michigan's scoring came on two touchdowns by Caley and one by Hogg. Michigan's lineup was Loomis Hutchinson (left end), Giovanni Villa (left tackle), Carey (left guard), Wombacher (center), Bennett (right guard), Henninger (right tackle), Farnham (right end), Greenleaf (quarterback), Ferbert (left halfback), Caley (right halfback), and Hogg (fullback).
. The game was played at the Detroit Athletic Club
field in Detroit and ended in a sixth straight shutout by a one-sided score of 44–0. Michigan's scoring came on seven touchdowns and five goals after touchown (all five kicked by halfback Ferbert). During the 60 minutes of play, the ball was in Lehigh's possession "not more than ten minutes," and most of that was in the first half. One newspaper account stated that "the Eastern boys were outclassed from start to finish." The same report gave the following account of the game:
Michigan's lineup in the Lehigh game was Thad Farnham (left end), Giovanni "Count" Villa (left tackle), Carr (left guard), Wombacher (center), Baker (right guard), Henninger (right tackle), Hutchinson (right end), Howard Felver (quarterback), Caley (left halfback), Gustave Ferbert
(right halfback), and Hogg (fullback).
The 1897 Michiganensian noted that the game was Lehigh's worst defeat of the 1896 season and suggested that the game was important in measuring Michigan's standing: "This was the only contest with an eastern team and furnished some basis for comparison. ... Comparison with the eastern leaders was necessarily indirect, but it can conservatively be said that at this time Michigan was playing in much the same form as the great eastern quartette."
in Minneapolis. In a game played in 35 minute halves at Athletic Field in Minneapolis, the Wolverines came away with the win by a score of 6–4. Michigan came within ten yards of a touchdown five minutes into the game but did not score. The first half ended in a scoreless tie. When Michigan scored its touchdown in the second half, Michigan fans in the bleachers signaled the event with cowbells. Michigan's touchdown was scored by fullback duffy and the goal after touchdown was kicked by Ferbert. Minnesota responded with a touchdown (worth 4 points under 1896 rules), but the score came at the far corner of the field where a straight kick for the goal after touchdown (worth 2 points) was impossible. Accordingly, Minnesota attempted a double kick, kicking the ball first to the fullback Loomis. Loomis caught the ball so close to the goal posts that his kick for goal "was easily stopped by Michigan players." The blocked kick was the difference in a close game. Michigan's lineup was Hutchins (right end), Henninger (right tackle), Bennett (right guard), Wombacher (center), Carr (left guard), Villa (left tackle), Farnham (left end), Felver (quarterback), Caley (right halfback), Ferbert (left halfback), and Hogg and Duff at fullback.
by a score of 10–0 in front of a crowd of 1,000 spectators in Ann Arbor. An account of the game published in The World of New York reported: "Michigan put a substitute team against Oberlin to-day and won by making two touchdowns in the first half. Oberlin forced the fighting towards the end of the game."
In the final home game of the 1896 season, Michigan defeated Wittenberg College by a score of 28–0. The game was described by the press as "a fine exhibition of football," and the Wittenberg team was credited with playing "a sportsmanlike and fast game." The game was played on "extremely muddy grounds" at Regents Field, but the conditions did not stop Michigan's interference. Three minutes into the game, Michigan's right end scored the first touchdown "on a pretty quarterback kick from the thirty yard line." Michigan reportedly "found no trouble in gaining as she pleased," scoring 18 points in the first half and 10 more in the second. Halfbacks Coley and Pingree each scored two touchdowns for Michigan. The game was played in halves of 20 and 15 minutes. Michigan's lineup in the game was Farnham (left end), Villa (left tackle), Carr (left guard), Wombacher (center), Bennett (right guard), Henninger (right tackle), Greenleaf (right end), Drumheller (quarterback), Pingree and Gordon (left halfback), Coley (right halfback), and Hogg (fullback).
Through the first nine games, Michigan was undefeated and had outscored its opponents by a combined score of 256 to 4.
's Chicago Maroons
on Thanksgiving Day. Michigan lost the game, which was described as "one of the most desperately contested games ever played in Chicago," by a score of 7–6. The game featured "few trick plays," as both teams relied on "straight, hard football." Hazen Pingree, Jr. (whose father, Hazen S. Pingree
, had been elected Governor of Michigan three weeks earlier) was the star of the game for Michigan, as one newspaper reported that Pingree's effort "in the first half was the 'whole thing,' the plucky little fellow seldom failing to make the required distance." Pingree was unable to play in the second half, and Gustave Ferbert
, who later became a millionaire in the Klondike Gold Rush, took over in the second half and "was equally effective."
Chicago's scoring came on a blocked punt resulting in a safety and a drop kick (worth five points under the rules at the time) by Clarence Herschberger
from the 45–yard line. Michigan's sole touchdown came in the second half when Henninger was pushed into the endzone from the two-yard line, and Ferbert "kicked and easy goal." Michigan drove the ball to Chicago's 20–yard line late in the game, but Chicago recovered a fumble and "Michigan's chances of victory were dashed."
The Michiganensian described the defeat as follows:
and was "the first collegiate game of football played under a roof." Adding to the novelty, as daylight turned to darkness, the field inside the Coliseum was lit with electric lighting. According to a newspaper account, the field grew dark in the second half, and play was halted for ten minutes to discuss whether play should continue. Play was resumed, and the lights were finally turned on after Michigan scored a touchdown.
The crowd was stated in varying press accounts to be either 15,000, or 20,000. Noting that the game was played in the same building "in which five months ago W. J. Bryan
was nominated for the presidency," the press proclaimed the experiment in indoor football to be a success:
Another newspaper described the novelty of indoor football as follows:
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
in the 1896 college football season
1896 college football season
The 1896 college football season had no clear-cut champion, with the Official NCAA Division I Football Records Book listing Lafayette and Princeton as national champions.-Conference standings:The following is an incomplete list of conference standings:...
. They played their home games at Regents Field
Regents Field
Regents Field was the home field for the University of Michigan football team from 1893 to 1905. It was located along South State Street in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where Schembechler Hall stands today....
in Ann Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County. The 2010 census places the population at 113,934, making it the sixth largest city in Michigan. The Ann Arbor Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 344,791 as of 2010...
and competed in the newly-established Western Conference, later to be known as the Big Ten Conference
Big Ten Conference
The Big Ten Conference is the United States' oldest Division I college athletic conference. Its twelve member institutions are located primarily in the Midwestern United States, stretching from Nebraska in the west to Pennsylvania in the east...
. The team, with William Ward as head coach, started the season with nine consecutive wins in which the Wolverines outscored their opponents by a combined score of 256 to 4. In the final game of the season, played on Thanksgiving Day at the Chicago Coliseum
Chicago Coliseum
The Chicago Coliseum was the name of a succession of three large indoor arenas in Chicago, Illinois from the 1860s to 1982 that each served as a sports venue, convention center, and exhibition hall over the course of their respective histories. The first Coliseum briefly made an appearance in the...
, the team lost a close game to Amos Alonzo Stagg
Amos Alonzo Stagg
Amos Alonzo Stagg was an American athlete and pioneering college coach in multiple sports, primarily American football...
's University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
team by a score of 7–6. The 1896 Michigan–Chicago game was the first college football game played indoors, and the last portion of the game was also played under electric lights. Henry M. Senter
Henry M. Senter
Henry Mortimer "Mort" Senter was an American football player and businessman. He played college football for the University of Michigan from 1893 to 1896. He was selected as a first-team All-Western end in 1895 and as captain of the 1896 team. After receiving his degree, he moved to Colombia...
was the team captain.
Preseason developments
Before the 1896 football season took the field, two developments occurred. First, Michigan joined the Western Inter-collegiate Athletic Conference (later renamed the Big Ten ConferenceBig Ten Conference
The Big Ten Conference is the United States' oldest Division I college athletic conference. Its twelve member institutions are located primarily in the Midwestern United States, stretching from Nebraska in the west to Pennsylvania in the east...
). The 1896 season was the first for Michigan in conference play. Michigan's three conference games in 1896 were against Purdue, Minnesota and Chicago. Second, William McCauley
William McCauley
William Lloyd "Jerry" McCauley was the third head coach of the University of Michigan football team. McCauley was born in approximately 1871 and listed his home town as Stanley, New York. He attended preparatory school at Geneva Prep...
, who had led Michigan to a 17–2–1 record in two seasons as coach, resigned as Michigan's football coach. Princeton graduate, William Ward, was hired to replace McCauley. Before leaving Ann Arbor in November 1896, McCauley assisted Ward in coaching the 1896 team.
Michigan conducted tryouts for the 1896 football team at Sand Beach. The Michiganensian for 1897 reported on the group appearing for try-outs as follows: "Never before had the Athletic field been so teeming with aspirants for foot-ball honors."
Schedule
Michigan 18, Michigan State Normal 0
Michigan opened its 1896 season with a home game against Michigan State Normal, later known as Eastern Michigan UniversityEastern Michigan University
Eastern Michigan University is a comprehensive, co-educational public university located in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Ypsilanti is west of Detroit and eight miles east of Ann Arbor. The university was founded in 1849 as Michigan State Normal School...
. The Wolverines won, 18–0, scoring two touchdowns in the first half and a goal and a safety in the second half. The World of New York reported on the game as follows: "The University of Michigan opened its football season here this afternoon by a loosely played game with the Michigan State Normal eleven. Only four members of last year's 'Varsity eleven were in the game, although four of them were on the ground ready to play."
Michigan 44, Grand Rapids High School 0
Michigan played its second game of the season at home against the team from Grand Rapids High SchoolGrand Rapids High School
Grand Rapids High School is a four year public high school located in Grand Rapids, Minnesota on 800 Conifer Drive. GRHS offers a wide range of extra curricular activities, and boasts one of the only competitive field show marching band programs north of Minneapolis/St...
. The game was played in halves of 20 and 10 minutes, and Michigan won easily by a score of 44 to 0. A newspaper account of the game described Michigan's performance as follows:
"Michigan is now rapidly rounding into form and the team played a much stronger game today than a week ago. Several of the new men did some creditable work, and the interference at all times was excellent. Hazen Pingree, at half, made several brilliant runs, and Hannan, at full, punted very well. Bennett, Wombacher, Palmer and Farnham also showed up well in the line. Grand Rapids was never able to gain and the 'varsity scored as she pleased."Michigan's lineup in the game was Palmer (left end), Giovanni "Count" Villa (left tackle), Fred Baker (left guard), John David Wombacher (center), John W.F. Bennett (right guard), Frederick Henninger (right tackle), Thaddeus Farnham (right end), Richards (quarterback), Hazen Pingree (right halfback), Thomas Jesse Drumheller and Steel (left halfback), and William Caley and Hannan (fullback).
Michigan 28, College of Physicians and Surgeons 0
Michigan's third game of the season was a mid-week match against the team from the College of Physicians and Surgeons in ChicagoUniversity of Illinois College of Medicine
The University of Illinois College of Medicine offers a four-year program leading to the MD degree at four different sites in Illinois: Chicago, Peoria, Rockford, and Urbana–Champaign....
. The game was played in 15 minute halves at Ann Arbor's Regents Field. Halfback Gustave Ferbert
Gustave Ferbert
-Gold prospecting in Alaska:After his coaching career at Michigan, Ferbert went to Alaska to search for gold. In May 1900, amid the Klondike Gold Rush, newspapers reported that Ferbert had left Ann Arbor for Seattle, where he planned to join "High" Allen and "Count" Villa, described as "two other...
scored a touchdown "on a brilliant twenty-yard run" in the first half, and Villa and Pingree scored two touchdowns each for Michigan. Steel and Hogg each added two goals after touchdown for Michigan. A newspaper account of the game described Michigan's performance as follows:
"The game put up by Michigan was the best of the season. This was the first game in which the 'varsity work has been tried against a heavy team, but, as a rule, the interference was fast and sure and their team work good. Farnham, Pingree, Ferbert, and Villa carried off the honors for Michigan."
Michigan's line up against the Physicians and Surgeons was Palmer and Ayers (left end), Giovanni Villa (left tackle), Bert Carr (left guard), John David Wombacher (center), John W.F. Bennett (right guard), Frederick Henninger (right tackle), Thaddeus Farnham (right end), J. DeForest Richards (quarterback), Gustave Ferbert and Gordon (left halfback), Hazen Pingree (right halfback), Steel and James R. Hogg (fullback).
Michigan 66, Rush Lake Forest 0
Michigan's fourth game was played against Rush Lake Forest two days after the game against the Physicians and Surgeons team. Michigan compiled its highest point total of the season, winning the game 66–0. Through the first four games of the season, Michigan had outscored its opponents by a combined tally of 156 to 0.Michigan 16, Purdue 0
The team traveled to Lafayette, IndianaLafayette, Indiana
Lafayette is a city in and the county seat of Tippecanoe County, Indiana, United States, northwest of Indianapolis. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 67,140. West Lafayette, on the other side of the Wabash River, is home to Purdue University, which has a large impact on...
to open its conference scheduled against the Purdue Boilermakers
Purdue Boilermakers football
The Purdue Boilermakers football team is the intercollegiate football program of the Purdue University Boilermakers. The program is classified in the NCAA's Division I Bowl Subdivision, and the team competes in the Big Ten Conference. The Boilermakers have an all-time record of...
and came away with a fifth straight shutout and a score of 16–0. The game was played in front of a crowd of 2,000 at Purdue's Stuart Field. One newspaper described the game as "the most desperate game that has ever been played on Stuart Field" and concluded that "Michigan won by superior weight." The same account noted that "the prettiest play of the game" was a 40–yard run by Ferbert and has tackle by Marshall. Michigan's scoring came on two touchdowns by Caley and one by Hogg. Michigan's lineup was Loomis Hutchinson (left end), Giovanni Villa (left tackle), Carey (left guard), Wombacher (center), Bennett (right guard), Henninger (right tackle), Farnham (right end), Greenleaf (quarterback), Ferbert (left halfback), Caley (right halfback), and Hogg (fullback).
Michigan 44, Lehigh 0
Michigan's sixth opponent was the Lehigh Mountain HawksLehigh Mountain Hawks
The Lehigh Mountain Hawks are the athletic teams representing Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, United States. The Hawks participate in NCAA Division I competition as a member of the Patriot League...
. The game was played at the Detroit Athletic Club
Detroit Athletic Club
The Detroit Athletic Club , is a private social club and athletic club located in the heart of Detroit's theater, sports, and entertainment district. The clubhouse was designed by Albert Kahn and inspired by Rome's Palazzo Farnese. It maintains reciprocal agreements for their members at other...
field in Detroit and ended in a sixth straight shutout by a one-sided score of 44–0. Michigan's scoring came on seven touchdowns and five goals after touchown (all five kicked by halfback Ferbert). During the 60 minutes of play, the ball was in Lehigh's possession "not more than ten minutes," and most of that was in the first half. One newspaper account stated that "the Eastern boys were outclassed from start to finish." The same report gave the following account of the game:
"The team play of the University of Michigan was excellent and the interference as good as has ever been seen in this city. The star of the game was probably Ferbert, though the plays of Villa, Farnham, Henninger, and Caley were at times brilliant. ... The University of Michigan is celebrating the victory here tonight, and pointing proudly to the fact that the best Pennsylvania [1896 national champions] could do against Lehigh was 32 to 0."
Michigan's lineup in the Lehigh game was Thad Farnham (left end), Giovanni "Count" Villa (left tackle), Carr (left guard), Wombacher (center), Baker (right guard), Henninger (right tackle), Hutchinson (right end), Howard Felver (quarterback), Caley (left halfback), Gustave Ferbert
Gustave Ferbert
-Gold prospecting in Alaska:After his coaching career at Michigan, Ferbert went to Alaska to search for gold. In May 1900, amid the Klondike Gold Rush, newspapers reported that Ferbert had left Ann Arbor for Seattle, where he planned to join "High" Allen and "Count" Villa, described as "two other...
(right halfback), and Hogg (fullback).
The 1897 Michiganensian noted that the game was Lehigh's worst defeat of the 1896 season and suggested that the game was important in measuring Michigan's standing: "This was the only contest with an eastern team and furnished some basis for comparison. ... Comparison with the eastern leaders was necessarily indirect, but it can conservatively be said that at this time Michigan was playing in much the same form as the great eastern quartette."
Michigan 6, Minnesota 4
The first close game of the season game in early November in a conference game against the Minnesota Golden GophersMinnesota Golden Gophers football
The University of Minnesota Golden Gophers are one of the oldest programs in college football history. They compete in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision and the Big Ten Conference. The Golden Gophers have claimed six national championships and have an all time record of 646–481–44 as...
in Minneapolis. In a game played in 35 minute halves at Athletic Field in Minneapolis, the Wolverines came away with the win by a score of 6–4. Michigan came within ten yards of a touchdown five minutes into the game but did not score. The first half ended in a scoreless tie. When Michigan scored its touchdown in the second half, Michigan fans in the bleachers signaled the event with cowbells. Michigan's touchdown was scored by fullback duffy and the goal after touchdown was kicked by Ferbert. Minnesota responded with a touchdown (worth 4 points under 1896 rules), but the score came at the far corner of the field where a straight kick for the goal after touchdown (worth 2 points) was impossible. Accordingly, Minnesota attempted a double kick, kicking the ball first to the fullback Loomis. Loomis caught the ball so close to the goal posts that his kick for goal "was easily stopped by Michigan players." The blocked kick was the difference in a close game. Michigan's lineup was Hutchins (right end), Henninger (right tackle), Bennett (right guard), Wombacher (center), Carr (left guard), Villa (left tackle), Farnham (left end), Felver (quarterback), Caley (right halfback), Ferbert (left halfback), and Hogg and Duff at fullback.
Michigan 10, Oberlin 0
After the road game against Minnesota, the Wolverines defeated Oberlin CollegeOberlin College
Oberlin College is a private liberal arts college in Oberlin, Ohio, noteworthy for having been the first American institution of higher learning to regularly admit female and black students. Connected to the college is the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, the oldest continuously operating...
by a score of 10–0 in front of a crowd of 1,000 spectators in Ann Arbor. An account of the game published in The World of New York reported: "Michigan put a substitute team against Oberlin to-day and won by making two touchdowns in the first half. Oberlin forced the fighting towards the end of the game."
Michigan 28, Wittenberg 0
Through the first nine games, Michigan was undefeated and had outscored its opponents by a combined score of 256 to 4.
Chicago 7, Michigan 6
The final game of the season, to decide the Western Conference championship, matched Michigan against Amos Alonzo StaggAmos Alonzo Stagg
Amos Alonzo Stagg was an American athlete and pioneering college coach in multiple sports, primarily American football...
's Chicago Maroons
Chicago Maroons
The Maroons are the intercollegiate sports teams of the University of Chicago. They are named after the color maroon, one of the school's colors. They compete in the NCAA's Division III. They are primarily members of the University Athletic Association and were co-founders of the Big Ten...
on Thanksgiving Day. Michigan lost the game, which was described as "one of the most desperately contested games ever played in Chicago," by a score of 7–6. The game featured "few trick plays," as both teams relied on "straight, hard football." Hazen Pingree, Jr. (whose father, Hazen S. Pingree
Hazen S. Pingree
Hazen Stuart Pingree was a four-term Republican mayor of Detroit and the 24th Governor of the US state of Michigan .-Early life in Maine and Massachusetts:...
, had been elected Governor of Michigan three weeks earlier) was the star of the game for Michigan, as one newspaper reported that Pingree's effort "in the first half was the 'whole thing,' the plucky little fellow seldom failing to make the required distance." Pingree was unable to play in the second half, and Gustave Ferbert
Gustave Ferbert
-Gold prospecting in Alaska:After his coaching career at Michigan, Ferbert went to Alaska to search for gold. In May 1900, amid the Klondike Gold Rush, newspapers reported that Ferbert had left Ann Arbor for Seattle, where he planned to join "High" Allen and "Count" Villa, described as "two other...
, who later became a millionaire in the Klondike Gold Rush, took over in the second half and "was equally effective."
Chicago's scoring came on a blocked punt resulting in a safety and a drop kick (worth five points under the rules at the time) by Clarence Herschberger
Clarence Herschberger
Clarence B. "Herschie" Herschberger was an American football fullback, punter and placekicker. He played for the University of Chicago from 1896–1898 and became the first western player to be selected as a first-team All-American in 1898...
from the 45–yard line. Michigan's sole touchdown came in the second half when Henninger was pushed into the endzone from the two-yard line, and Ferbert "kicked and easy goal." Michigan drove the ball to Chicago's 20–yard line late in the game, but Chicago recovered a fumble and "Michigan's chances of victory were dashed."
The Michiganensian described the defeat as follows:
"There had been every reason to expect a victory from Chicago. Michigan had played strong and consistent foot ball throughout her schedule – Chicago had been erratic and unsteady. But there is certainly no sport more full of surprises than foot-ball, and the Thanksgiving Day contest of '96 furnished as sensational a surprise in as exciting a contest as had ever come off on a western gridiron. There was one great difference in the character of the play of the two teams. Michigan was playing her stock game of football, hard and steady, the game she could have been depended on to play at any time. Chicago seemed to have been trained and nerved to this one game. There could have been little doubt what the result of a series of contests would have been. But this one game, Chicago won by good generalship, by the most advantageous use of her greatest resource – a magnificent player in a telling place.
Indoor football
The most unusual feature of the Michigan-Chicago game on Thanksgiving Day was that it was played indoors at the Chicago ColiseumChicago Coliseum
The Chicago Coliseum was the name of a succession of three large indoor arenas in Chicago, Illinois from the 1860s to 1982 that each served as a sports venue, convention center, and exhibition hall over the course of their respective histories. The first Coliseum briefly made an appearance in the...
and was "the first collegiate game of football played under a roof." Adding to the novelty, as daylight turned to darkness, the field inside the Coliseum was lit with electric lighting. According to a newspaper account, the field grew dark in the second half, and play was halted for ten minutes to discuss whether play should continue. Play was resumed, and the lights were finally turned on after Michigan scored a touchdown.
The crowd was stated in varying press accounts to be either 15,000, or 20,000. Noting that the game was played in the same building "in which five months ago W. J. Bryan
William Jennings Bryan
William Jennings Bryan was an American politician in the late-19th and early-20th centuries. He was a dominant force in the liberal wing of the Democratic Party, standing three times as its candidate for President of the United States...
was nominated for the presidency," the press proclaimed the experiment in indoor football to be a success:
"One thing at least was settled by the game, and that is, that indoor football is literally and figuratively speaking a howling success. The men had no trouble in catching punts, and football was played on its merits, without the handicaps of a wet field or a strong wind. Toward the end of the second half it got very dark, and the spectators were treated to a novelty in the shape of football by electric light."
Another newspaper described the novelty of indoor football as follows:
"Indoor football is an innovation, but it promises to become a permanency for late games. While the other fields about Chicago were sloppy and the players were floundering about in the seas of mud, the athletes in the Coliseum played on dry surface and secure from the elements. A two-inch layer of tan bark was placed over the hard earth, and there was no inconvenience from dust. None of the punts touched the beams overhead and spectators and players were captivated with the comfortable conditions under which the game was played. Darkness came on at 4:00 and the players were scarcely distinguishable for a time, but electric lights soon rendered each play distinct."
Starting lineup
- Ends
- Henry Mortimer SenterHenry M. SenterHenry Mortimer "Mort" Senter was an American football player and businessman. He played college football for the University of Michigan from 1893 to 1896. He was selected as a first-team All-Western end in 1895 and as captain of the 1896 team. After receiving his degree, he moved to Colombia...
(captain), Houghton, Michigan - George GreenleafGeorge GreenleafGeorge Franklin Greenleaf, Jr. was an American football player and medical doctor. A native of Brazil, Indiana, Greenleaf was the son of George F. Greenleaf, Sr. and Agnes Dalgleish Staines...
, Brazil, Indiana - Thaddeus Loomis Farnham, Rosford, Ohio
- Loomis Hutchinson, Ceresco, Michigan
- Tackles
- Giovanni R. Villa, Walla Walla, Washington
- Frederick W. HenningerFrederick W. HenningerFrederick William "Pa" Henninger was an American businessman and football player and coach. He played football for the University of Michigan from 1893 to 1896 and was the captain of the 1895 team that outscored their opponents by a combined score of 266 to 14...
, Barberton, Ohio- Guards
- Bert M. Carr, Cedar Spring, Michigan
- John W. F. BennettJohn W. F. BennettJohn W.F. Bennett was an American civil engineer and football player. He played football for the University of Michigan from 1896 to 1898...
, Jackson, Michigan - Fred L. Baker, Hillsdale, Michigan
- Center
- John WombacherJohn WombacherJohn David Wombacher was an American football player.Wombacher grew up in Peoria, Illinois. His father, Ferdinand Wombacher , was an Illinois native and a dairyman. His mother, Louisa Wombacher , was also an Illinois native. Both of his parents were the children of German immigrants...
, Joliet, Illinois- Quarterbacks
- Thomas Jesse DrumhellerThomas Jesse DrumhellerThomas Jesse Drumheller was an American football player, lawyer and sheep rancher. He played college football as the quarterback for the University of Michigan in 1896 and was the roommate of Herbert Hoover at Stanford University...
, Walla Walla, Washington - Howard C. Felver, Batavia, Illinois
- J. De Forest RichardsJ. De Forest RichardsJ. De Forest Richards was an American football player and banker. He was the son of the fifth Governor of Wyoming and played college football at the University of Michigan from 1894 to 1897...
- Fullbacks
- James R. Hogg, Knoxville, Tennessee (St. Albans Military Academy)
- Ignatius M. DuffyIgnatius M. DuffyIgnatius Michael Duffy was an American football coach. He served as the head coach at Alma College in 1895 and as an assistant coach at the University of Michigan in 1897. He played college football for one season at Michigan.-Biography:A native of Ann Arbor, Michigan, Duffy attended Ann Arbor...
, Ann Arbor, Michigan- Halfbacks
- Gustave Herman FerbertGustave Ferbert-Gold prospecting in Alaska:After his coaching career at Michigan, Ferbert went to Alaska to search for gold. In May 1900, amid the Klondike Gold Rush, newspapers reported that Ferbert had left Ann Arbor for Seattle, where he planned to join "High" Allen and "Count" Villa, described as "two other...
, Cleveland, Ohio - William Henry Caley, Boulder, Colorado (University of Colorado)
- Hazen Stuart Pingree, Jr.,
Coaching staff
- Coach: William Ward
- Assistant coach: William McCauleyWilliam McCauleyWilliam Lloyd "Jerry" McCauley was the third head coach of the University of Michigan football team. McCauley was born in approximately 1871 and listed his home town as Stanley, New York. He attended preparatory school at Geneva Prep...
- Trainer: James Robinson, hired in 1896 from his position with the Manhattan Athletic ClubManhattan Athletic ClubThe Manhattan Athletic Club was an athletic club in Manhattan, New York.The Manhattan Athletic Club was organized on November 7, 1877, and legally incorporated on April 1, 1878. Its emblem was a "cherry diamond"....
- Manager: Ward W. Hughes
- Assistant manager: Charles O. Cook
External links
- 1896 Football Team – Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan Athletics History
- Michigan Alumnus, 1896-1897 - includes summaries of each game
- The Inlander, 1896-1897
- 1897 Michiganensian - University of Michigan yearbook for the 1896-1897 academic year