1897 Western Conference football season

The 1897 Western Conference football season was the second season of college football played by the member schools of the Western Conference (later known as the Big Ten Conference) and was a part of the 1897 college football season.

Pat O'Dea of Wisconsin
1897 Western Conference football season
SportFootball
Number of teams7
ChampionWisconsin
1897 Western Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
Wisconsin $ 3 0 0  9 1 0
Chicago 3 1 0  11 1 0
Michigan 2 1 0  6 1 1
Illinois 1 1 0  6 2 0
Purdue 1 2 0  5 3 1
Northwestern 0 2 0  5 3 0
Minnesota 0 3 0  4 4 0
  • $ Conference champion

Wisconsin, coached by Philip King, won its second consecutive conference championship with a record of 9–1 (3–0 against conference opponents). The Badgers' sole loss was against a team of Wisconsin alumni. The Badgers shut out eight opponents and outscored all opponents, 210 to 14. On defense, the team led the conference, allowing an average of 1.4 points per game. Pat O'Dea, an Australian who played fullback and excelled as a kicker, starred for the Badgers.

Chicago, coached by Amos Alonzo Stagg, finished in second place with an 11–1 record. On offense, Chicago led the conference with an average of 26.9 points per game. The most important game of the Western Conference season was played between Chicago and Wisconsin on November 13, 1897, at Marshall Field in Chicago. Wisconsin won the game, 23-8.[1]

Three Western Conference players from the 1897 season were later inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame: O'Dea of Wisconsin; fullback Clarence Herschberger of Chicago; and end Neil Snow of Michigan.

Season overview

Results and team statistics

Conf. Rank Team Head coach Overall record Conf. record PPG PAG
1WisconsinPhilip King9–13–021.01.4
2ChicagoAmos A. Stagg11–13–126.95.7
3MichiganGustave Ferbert6–1–12–121.03.9
4IllinoisGeorge Huff6–21–123.85.6
5PurdueWilliam W. Church5–3–11–211.812.0
6NorthwesternJesse Van Doozer5–30–28.66.9
7MinnesotaAlexander Jerrems4–40-314.09.6

Key

PPG = Average of points scored per game[2]
PAG = Average of points allowed per game[2]

Regular season

Only 10 conference games were played during the 1897 season as follows:

  • October 23, 1897: Chicago defeated Northwestern, 21-6, at Chicago
  • October 23, 1897: Illinois defeated Purdue, 34-4, at Champaign, Illinois
  • October 30, 1897: Chicago defeated Illinois, 18-12, at Champaign, Illinois
  • October 30, 1897: Wisconsin defeated Minnesota, 39-0, at Minneapolis.
  • November 6, 1897: Michigan defeated Purdue, 34-4, at Ann Arbor, Michigan
  • November 13, 1897: Michigan defeated Minnesota, 14-0, at Detroit
  • November 13, 1897: Wisconsin defeated Chicago, 23-8, at the Chicago Coliseum[3]
  • November 25, 1897: Purdue defeated Minnesota, 6-0, at West Lafayette, Indiana
  • November 25, 1897: Chicago defeated Michigan, 21-12, at Chicago[4]
  • November 25, 1897: Wisconsin defeated Northwestern, 22-0, at Evanston, Illinois.

Notable non-conference games during the 1897 season included the following:

Bowl games

No bowl games were played during the 1897 season.

Awards and honors

All-Western players

An All-Western team was selected by The Northwestern, consisting of the following players:[5]

All-Americans

No Western Conference players were selected for the 1897 College Football All-America Team.

References

  1. "Wisconsin Wins Easily: The Chicago 'Varsity Eleven Goes Down in Defeat Before the Badgers". Chicago Inter Ocean. November 14, 1897. p. 10.
  2. "1897 Western Conference Year Summary". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 28, 2016.
  3. "Chicago Is Beaten". Chicago Tribune. November 14, 1897. p. 3 via Newspapers.com.
  4. "Chicago's: 21 to 12; Michigan Men Are Defeated in a Spectacular Game". Chicago Tribune. November 26, 1897. pp. 1–2 via Newspapers.com.
  5. "All-Western, All-Eastern, All-American". The Northwestern. December 14, 1899. p. 11.
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