In 1897 men's basketball is introduced at Michigan State Normal School. The inaugural team went 2–1. 1897–98 was the first season of basketball at the school, which would become Eastern Michigan University Eagles men's basketball team. L.P. Whitcomb was elected the basketball manager at the same meeting that basketball became an official school sport.
Roster Number Name Position Class Hometown Games Played John W. Mitchell Forward Junior Ida, MI 1 Walter J. Rankin Forward Junior Ray, MI 1 Earl Reid Guard Sophomore Alpine, MI 1 Benjamin J. Watters Guard Senior Marlette, MI 1 Fred Q. Gorten Center Sophomore Ypsilanti, MI 1
Schedule
!colspan=9 style="background:#006633; color:#FFFFFF;"| Non-conference regular season
Game Notes March 4, 1898 The Eastern Michigan school newspaper and the Ann Arbor Daily Times wrote that the game was played in Detroit, MI. The Ann Arbor Daily Times also reported the score as 0-1. The Media Guide shows the game was a home game and the score was 0-2.
March 15, 1898 EMU led 2-0 at the half. Two minutes into the 2nd half EMU scored to make it 4-0. Then had to leave to "catch their train" and the game was ended. References