The 1918 Big Ten Conference football season was the 23rd season of college football played by the member schools of the Big Ten Conference (officially known as the Western Intercollegiate Conference Athletic Association and sometimes referred to as the Western Conference) and was a part of the 1918 college football season.
The 1918 season was played during World War I and the 1918 flu pandemic that killed 50 to 100 million persons worldwide. Due to travel and quarantine restrictions, many games were canceled, and the Big Ten teams played irregular schedules, some as short as five games and one as long as 11 games.
The 1918 Michigan Wolverines football team, under head coach Fielding H. Yost, finished with a perfect record of 5–0, shut out four of five opponents, led the conference in scoring defense (1.2 points per game allowed), and outscored all opponents by a combined total of 96 to 6. Fullback Frank Steketee was selected by Walter Camp as a first-team All-American, while tackle Angus Goetz and center Ernie Vick received first-team All-Big Ten honors. Michigan has been recognized as the 1918 national champion by the Billingsley Report and as a co-national champion with Pittsburgh by the National Championship Foundation.
The 1918 Illinois Fighting Illini football team, under head coach Robert Zuppke, tied for the Big Ten championship but lost two non-conference games. Center Jack Depler was a consensus first-team All-American. Tackle Burt Ingwersen received first-team All-Big Ten honors.
Season overview
Results and team statistics Conf. RankTeamHead coachOverall recordConf. recordPPGPAG1 (tie)IllinoisRobert Zuppke5–24–012.32.01 (tie)MichiganFielding H. Yost5–01–019.21.21 (tie)PurdueA. G. Scanlon3–31–014.512.84 (tie)IowaHoward Jones6–22–113.74.04 (tie)MinnesotaHenry L. Williams5–2–12–116.64.96NorthwesternFred J. Murphy2–2–11–115.012.27WisconsinGuy Lowman3–31–27.07.38Ohio StateJohn Wilce3–30–322.36.89ChicagoAmos A. Stagg4–6–10–511.68.310IndianaEwald O. Stiehm2–30–016.07.8 Key
PPG = Average of points scored per game (highest team average in bold) PAG = Average of points allowed per game (lowest team average in bold)
Pre-season Threat of cancellation During the spring and summer of 1918, World War I moved into new phases with the German spring offensive followed by the Allies' Hundred Days Offensive. During the summer, the Big Ten universities considered calling off the fall football schedule. After the Department of War in mid-September encouraged the continuation of intercollegiate football, conference leadership decided to proceed with the football season. However, many of the conference's top players did not play due to military service. Players serving in the military included Chic Harley and Gaylord Stinchcomb of Ohio State and Archie Weston of Michigan.
The football season was also jeopardized by the 1918 flu pandemic which began in January 1918. The pandemic infected 500 million persons and resulted in the deaths of 50 to 100 million persons.
Quarantine and travel restrictions In late September 1918, the Big Ten's faculty committee adopted a resolution that declared freshman eligible to play football, suspended the conference's activities as a controlling body during the period of emergency, and agreed to be governed by any rules of the War Department.
In late September, the War Department imposed quarantine and travel restrictions. The restrictions were clarified in early October, and included the following provisions: (1) a prohibition on more than one-and-a-half hours per day of football practice; (2) a prohibition on football games during the month of October that required absence from campus "for a longer period than from noon to taps on Saturday" (thus eliminating games that required lengthy travel); and (3) making allowance for only four November games per school, two at home and two on the road, "which shall in no case involve longer absences than from retreat Friday to taps Sunday."
The restrictions threatened to "kill" football in the west, where lengthy travel was required. Many games were canceled, including the planned resumption of the rivalry between Michigan and Minnesota. Concerns over spread of the flu pandemic also led to limitations on public gatherings and resulted in some games being played in stadiums with closed gates and with no spectators.
Coaching changes Two Big Ten teams changed head coaches between the 1917 and 1918 football seasons:
On September 10, 1918, Purdue's athletic director O. F. Cutts announced that Cleo A. O'Donnell was at his home in Boston and would probably not return as the school's head football coach. Cutts stated that assistant coach Butch Scanlon would take change of the team when students reported. At Wisconsin, John R. Richards was taken away from his duties as head football coach in mid-October 1918, after being appointed to a commission in charge of the welfare of war workers. Guy Lowman took over as head coach for the 1918 season; Lowman had come to Wisconsin in September 1917 to take charge of Wisconsin's physical education department and to serve as head coach of the basketball team and coach of the freshman football and baseball teams. Richards returned as head football coach in 1919.
Regular season September 28 On September 28, 1918, Iowa was the only Big Ten team to play a game. Great Lakes Naval Training Station 10, Iowa 0. Iowa lost to the Great Lakes Naval Training Station team, 10–0, before a crowd of 4,000 in Iowa City. Walter Eckersall in the Chicago Tribune called it "one of the best early games seen in the west in the last decade." The 1918 Great Lakes Navy Bluejackets football team compiled a 3–0–1 record against Big Ten opponents, went on to win the 1919 Rose Bowl, and featured three players (George Halas, Jimmy Conzelman, and Paddy Driscoll) who were later inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Charlie Bachman, who was hired as Northwestern's coach after the season and was later inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame, also played for the 1918 Great Lakes team.
October 5 On October 5, 1918, the football season officially opened with six Big Ten football teams participating in non-conference games. The games resulted in five wins and one loss, giving the Big Ten a 5–2 non-conference record to that point in the season. Chicago, Northwestern, Wisconsin, and Purdue did not play games. Purdue had its game against Franklin College canceled and tried unsuccessfully to schedule a game against a team from Fort Benjamin Harrison. Wisconsin was unable to arrange a game due to the pandemic and instead conducted a scrimmage between the first and second teams.
Michigan 33, Case 0. Michigan defeated the Case Scientific School (now Case Western Reserve University), 33–0, at Ferry Field in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Michigan came into the game with only two players (Angus Goetz and Abe Cohn) who had ever played for Michigan previously. The Detroit Free Press called Abe Cohn "an eye opener" as a ground gainer and noted: "He made a gain practically every time he was given the ball and, when he was stopped, it always took two or three men to turn the trick." Freshman Frank Steketee entered the game as a substitute and scored 21 points on three touchdowns and three kicks for goal. Illinois 3, Chanute Aviation Field 0. Illinois defeated the team from Chanute Aviation Field (Rantoul, Illinois), 3–0, before a crowd of 2,500 in Urbana, Illinois. The game's only points were scored by Illinois guard Leitsch on a field goal from the 38-yard line. The Chanute team was led by Archie Weston, who had played for Michigan in 1917. Eleven planes from the Chanute Field flew over the game. Illinois had originally been scheduled to play Iowa State on the date, but that game was canceled due to travel restrictions. Iowa 12, Nebraska 0. Iowa defeated Nebraska, 12–0, in Lincoln, Nebraska. After a scoreless first half, Iowa scored two touchdowns in the third quarter. The victory was the first for an Iowa team over a Nebraska team since 1899. Minnesota 0, Minnesota Consolidated 0. Minnesota's S.A.T.C. football team played a scoreless tie against Minnesota Consolidated, an all-star team organized by Sigmund Harris, before a crowd of 1,500 in Minneapolis. The Minneapolis Tribune wrote that the game proved to be "more or less of a good scrimmage" and "a tame affair with 'pep and punch' lacking on both sides." Minnesota had originally been scheduled to play South Dakota, but was forced to reschedule against the collection of all stars. Kentucky 24, Indiana 7. Indiana's S.A.T.C. team lost to Kentucky, 24–7, in Bloomington, Indiana. Kentucky's coach, Andrew Gill, was an Indiana alumnus. Ohio State 41, Ohio Wesleyan 0. Ohio State defeated Ohio Wesleyan, 41–0, in Columbus, Ohio.
October 12 On October 12, 1918, four Big Ten teams played non-conference games, resulting in two wins and two losses and giving the conference a 7–4 record to that point in the season. The day's games gave the Big Ten a 7–4 non-conference record to that point in the season. Several planned games were canceled due to the flu pandemic, including games between Michigan and Camp Custer, Wisconsin and Ripon, Indiana and Wabash, and Purdue and DePauw. Minnesota staged a game between its S.A.T.C. unit and an "all star" unit that was actually the team's second string; The Minneapolis Tribune described it as "not an honest-to-goodness football game, but just a scrub affair."
Great Lakes Naval Training Station 7, Illinois 0. Illinois lost to Great Lakes, 7–0, in Urbana, Illinois. Great Lakes scored a touchdown in the first quarter, and both teams were held scoreless thereafter. Paddy Driscoll returned the kickoff at the start of the second half for 65 yards. Iowa 27, Coe 0. Iowa defeated Coe College, 27–0, in Iowa City. The game was played before members of Iowa's Student Army Training Corps only. The game was canceled but then put back on schedule early on the day of the game. Ohio State 34, Denison 0. Ohio State defeated Denison, 34–0, in Columbus, Ohio. With Chic Harley serving in the military, halfback Thomas Davies was the star for the Buckeyes. United States Naval Reserve School 14, Chicago 7. Chicago lost to the team from the United States Naval Reserve School by a 14–7 score at Stagg Field in Chicago. The Naval Reserve School was established on Chicago's Municipal Pier in June 1918.
October 16 On Wednesday, October 16, 1918, Chicago played the first of four midweek practice games.
Chicago 46, Crane Tech 0. In a midweek game, Chicago defeated Crane Tech College, 46–0, at Stagg Field in Chicago. Amos Alonzo Stagg, Jr., made his college football debut in the game. Due to the influenza epidemic, city official forbade further athletic contests after this game.
October 19 On October 19, 1918, only three of the Big Ten football teams saw action, playing and winning non-conference games. The day's games gave the Big Ten an 11–4 non-conference record to that point in the season, including Chicago's midweek practice game.
Iowa 34, Cornell (IA) 0. Iowa defeated Cornell (IA), 34–0, in Iowa City. Minnesota 30, Overland Aviation Station 0. Minnesota, playing as an S.A.T.C. unit, defeated the Overland Aviation mechanics, 30–0, at Northrop Field in Minneapolis. The game was attended by 5,000 persons limited to soldiers from the Overland building and students enrolled in S.A.T.C. Minnesota scored five touchdowns but missed all five attempts at goal after touchdown. The Overland team was led by halfback Fred Chicken. Chicago 41, Hyde Park High School 0 (game played Friday, October 18). In an "unadvertised crowdless practice game", Chicago defeated Hyde Park High School, 41–0. Amos Alonzo Stagg, Jr., "ran the team for three quarters."
October 26