The 1898 Michigan Wolverines football team represented the University of Michigan in the 1898 Western Conference football season. With Gustave Ferbert in his second year as head coach, the team compiled an undefeated 10–0 record, outscored its opponents 205–26, and won the Western Conference (now known as the Big Ten Conference) championship for the first time in the school's history.
The 1898 season included the first meeting in the Michigan - Michigan State football rivalry with Michigan winning the inaugural game by a score of 39–0. The 1898 Wolverines shut out a total of six opponents, including Notre Dame (23–0). The team concluded its season by playing Amos Alonzo Stagg's University of Chicago team for the Western Conference championship. The Wolverines beat the favored Chicago Maroons by a 12–11 score in a game that inspired Louis Elbel to write Michigan's fight song "The Victors".
Several Michigan players received post-season honors. Halfback Charles Widman was the team's scoring leader with 12 touchdowns, including a 65-yard touchdown run against Chicago. Center William Cunningham was selected as a first-team All-American by Caspar Whitney in Harper's Weekly – the first Michigan football player to receive first-team All-American honors. Walter Camp selected two Michigan players, Cunningham and tackle Allen Steckle, as second-team All-Americans. Five Wolverines were chosen as first-team players on Caspar Whitney's All-Western team: William Caley at halfback, Cunningham at center, Steckle at tackle, and Neil Snow and John W. F. Bennett at the ends.
Schedule
Season summary
Preseason
By 1897, the finances of the Michigan Athletic Association under constantly changing student control were "at a low ebb." In 1898, the Association asked Charles A. Baird, formerly a student manager of the football team, to return to Ann Arbor as the "graduate manager" or "superintendent" of athletics. Baird was given "complete control of all branches of athletics at Michigan" in order to induce him to return to the school. One of Baird's first moves was to persuade trainer Keene Fitzpatrick to rejoin him at the school. Fitzpatrick had been the trainer of the 1894 and 1895 teams, but spent the 1896 and 1897 seasons as the trainer for Yale's football team. Baird and Fitzpatrick have been credited with much of the success of the 1898 football team. Gustave Ferbert, who had played on the 1893–1895 teams managed by Baird, stayed on as coach in 1898.
The 1897 team had finished with a record of 6–1–1, losing the Western Conference championship on the last day of the season to the University of Chicago. Several key linemen from the 1897 team returned in 1898, including ends John W. F. Bennett and Clayton Teetzel, tackle Allen Steckle, guard William Caley, and center William Cunningham. However, the starters from the 1897 backfield were lost to graduation and had to be replaced largely with untested players, including quarterbacks Charles E. Street and William Wilson Talcott, fullback Alanson Weeks, and freshman halfback Charles Widman. Fullback Leo J. Keena returned from the 1897 team, but he had contracted malaria while serving during the summer of 1898 in the Spanish–American War and was unable to play beyond the fourth game of the season.("The feature of the game was a place kick for goal made by Keena from the 23-yard line.")
Michigan State Normal
Michigan opened its 1898 season with a 21–0 win over Michigan State Normal School (now known as Eastern Michigan University). The game was considered to be "essentially a practice game" in which the coaches played 24 men at different times to assess their abilities. Michigan's first touchdown came after three minutes of play on a drive that started on Normal's 40-yard line. Waldo Avery ran around end for 22 yards and subsequently ran across the goal line from the 10-yard line. Leo J. Keena kicked the goal from touchdown. George Whitcomb scored the second touchdown on a 15-yard run, and Neil Snow scored the third touchdown of the half after recovering a fumbled punt.
The second half was reported to be a "very poor exhibition of football" with substitutes playing at most positions. Michigan's sole points of the second half came on a fumble recovery by William Louis Day. Michigan missed the extra point kicks on its final three touchdowns. (Touchdowns were worth five points and goals from touchdown (or extra points) worth one point under 1898 rules.) Guy Blencoe also missed a field goal from placement from the 40-yard line in the second half. In assessing the team's performance, the Detroit Free Press opined that the team was green, ragged, and slow, and concluded that "the coaches certainly have their work cut out for them if they are going to make a winning team out of the raw material at hand."
Michigan's starting lineup against Normal was Snow (left end), Wood (left tackle), France (left guard), Carr (center), Kramer (right guard), Steckle (right tackle), Bennett (right end), Talcott (quarterback), Avery (left halfback), Van Cleve (right halfback), and Keena (fullback). Players appearing in the game as substitutes for Michigan were White (left tackle), Brown (center), Smith (center), Allen (right guard), Dyer (right guard), Day (right tackle), Mohr (left halfback), Whitcomb (right halfback), Blencoe (right halfback), Malone (right halfback), Weeks (fullback), and Hoover (fullback).
Kenyon
On October 8, 1898, Michigan defeated the team from Kenyon College, 29–0. In the first half, the Kenyon eleven "played a snappy game" and drove the ball to Michigan's two-yard line before the Michigan line held. Michigan led 6–0 at halftime. In the second half, Michigan added 23 points. Waldo Avery, Charles Widman, Leo J. Keena, Guy Blencoe, and Neil Snow scored touchdowns for Michigan. Keena kicked four goals from touchdown. In its account of the game, the Chicago Daily Tribune wrote that Whitcomb, Widman, and Talcott "put up the best game."
The game was played in 20-minute halves. Michigan's starting lineup against Kenyon was Teetzel (left end), Wood (left tackle), Caley (left guard), Brown (center), France (right guard), Steckle (right tackle), Snow (right end), Barabee (quarterback), Avery (left halfback), Whitcomb (right halfback), and Keena (fullback). Players appearing as substitutes for Michigan were Hicks (left end), Dye (center), Allen (right guard), McDonald (right tackle), Talcott (quarterback), Widman (left halfback), and Blencoe (right halfback).
Michigan Agricultural The 1898 season marked the first game played in the intrastate rivalry between Michigan and Michigan State (then known as Michigan Agricultural College). The teams met in Ann Arbor on October 12, 1898, and Michigan won 39–0. The Detroit Free Press wrote that the game was "essentially a practice game," as Michigan played 25 different players during the game. Charles Widman scored two touchdowns and was "the strongest ground-gainer" for Michigan. Additional Michigan touchdowns were scored by Clayton Teetzel, Clifford Barabee, Allen Steckle, and Fred William Hartsburg. Teetzel and Leo J. Keena kicked two extra points each. In the second half, Keena also kicked a field goal from a place-kick, "the first time a Michigan eleven has ever scored in that fashion."
The game was played in 20-minute halves. Michigan's starting lineup against Michigan Agricultural was Teetzel (left end), Day (left tackle), Caley (left guard), Smith (center), France (right guard), McDonald (right tackle), Snow (right end), Talcott (quarterback), Widman (left halfback), Whitcomb (right halfback), and Barabee (fullback). Players appearing in the game as substitutes for Michigan were Hicks (left end), Wood (left tackle), Kramer (left guard), Brown (center), Dye (center), Bennett (right guard), Steckle (right tackle), Richardson (right end), Hartsburg (quarterback), Weeks (quarterback and right halfback), Baldwin (left halfback), Keena (fullback). The referee was J. C. Knight.
After the 1898 shutout, Michigan sent its freshman team against Michigan Agricultural for the next three years. The two rivals have played each other more than 100 times since the inaugural meeting in 1898.
Western Reserve
On October 15, 1898, Michigan defeated the team from Adelbert College, a branch of Western Reserve University, 18–0. George Whitcomb scored two touchdowns for Michigan, and Charles Widman scored one. Whitcomb made "the star run of the game" on a 55-yard touchdown run in the second half. Charles Street kicked two extra points, and Leo J. Keena kicked one. The game was played in halves of 25 and 20 minutes. Michigan's starting lineup against Western Reserve was Teetzel (left end), Wood (left tackle), Caley (left guard), Dye (center), France (right guard), Steckle (right tackle), Snow (right end), Talcott (quarterback), Widman (left halfback), Barabee (right halfback), and Hannan (fullback). Players appearing in the game as substitutes for Michigan were White (left tackle), Brown (center), McDonald (right tackle), Blencoe (left halfback), Whitcomb (right halfback), Keena (fullback), and Street (fullback). The referee was R. M. Simmons.
Case On Wednesday, October 19, 1898, Michigan played a mid-week game against the team from the Case Scientific School from Cleveland. Michigan won the game, 23–5. On Michigan's opening drive, William Caley missed on a place kick for a field goal from the 20-yard line. Clifford Barabee scored Michigan's first touchdown ten minutes into the first half. Neil Snow kicked the goal after touchdown. Charles Widman scored Michigan's second touchdown with three minutes left in the first half, and Snow again kicked the goal after touchdown. According to The Michigan Alumnus, "Widman was the star ground gainer for Michigan and his two long runs of 45 and 33 yards were clever exhibitions." On the kickoff that followed Michigan's second touchdown, the Wolverines were called for holding, and Case took over at Michigan's 25-yard line. Case took advantage of its field position with a drop kick for a field goal (good for five points) from the 35-yard line. Widman scored another touchdown just before the close of the first half, and Snow successfully kicked his third goal from touchdown. In the second half, play was impaired by the onset of darkness. Allen Steckle scored the only points of the second half on a 12-yard run.
The game was played in halves of 20 and 15 minutes. Michigan's starting lineup against Case was Teetzel (left end), White (left tackle), Caley (left guard), Brown (center), France (right guard), Steckle (right tackle), Snow (right end), Talcott (quarterback), Widman (left halfback), Barabee (right halfback), and Weeks (fullback). Players appearing in the game as substitutes for Michigan were Smith (center) and Street (fullback). The referee was Clarke from Chicago.
Notre Dame
On October 22, 1898, Michigan played Notre Dame for the first time since 1888. Michigan won the game, 23–0, in Ann Arbor. William Caley scored three touchdowns in the game, and Clifford Barabee scored Michigan's other touchdown, while Neil Snow was successful on three of four attempts at goals from touchdown. Charles Widman set up the first touchdown with a 45-yard run around Notre Dame's left end before he was tackled at the three-yard line. Caley carried the ball across the goal line, but Snow's kick for goal failed. Michigan's second touchdown came late in the first half after Fleming fumbled a punt, and Barabee recovered the ball at the Notre Dame 45-yard line. Widman ran for 26 yards, and Barabee then gained another 10 yards. Caley ran the ball across the goal line from the three-yard line, and Snow kicked the goal.