1907 Western Conference football season

1907 Western Conference football season
SportFootball
ChampionChicago
1907 Western Conference football standings
Conf. Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Chicago $ 4 0 0 4 1 0
Wisconsin 3 1 1 3 1 1
Illinois 3 2 0 3 2 0
Iowa 1 1 0 3 2 0
Minnesota 0 1 1 2 2 1
Indiana 0 3 0 2 3 1
Purdue 0 3 0 0 5 0
  • $ – Conference champion

The 1907 Western Conference football season was the twelfth 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 1907 college football season.

In April 1907, Michigan was voted out of the conference for refusing to adhere to new league rules that had been adopted earlier and spearheaded by UM president James Burrill Angell.[1][2] [3] As a result, Western Conference schools were not supposed to play Michigan again until they rejoined the league in 1918.

In 1907, Iowa helped form the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association with Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and Washington University in St. Louis, while still maintaining membership in the Western Conference. The MVIAA would eventually become the Big Eight Conference.

Season overview

With a 4-0 conference record, the Chicago Maroons would claim the 1907 championship, finishing 4-1 overall. Their only loss came to the Carlisle Indians, led by head coach Pop Warner, All-American Pete Hauser, and newcomer Jim Thorpe

Wisconsin would finish behind the Maroons at 3-1-1 (all Western games), and Illinois followed at 3-2 (also, all Western games). Iowa also had a 3-2 overall record, but went 1-1 in conference play.

Minnesota, Indiana, and Purdue all wrapped up the year winless in the conference, but only Purdue went the 1907 season without a victory.

Northwestern was in their second season without a football program, last playing a game in 1905. The Purple would be welcomed back to the gridiron in 1908.

Chicago

DateOpponentSiteResultAttendanceSource
October 12 IndianaW 27–6
October 19at IllinoisW 42–6
November 2at MinnesotaW 18–1218,000
November 9 Purdue
  • Marshall Field
  • Chicago, IL (rivalry)
W 56–0
November 23 Carlisle*
  • Marshall Field
  • Chicago, IL
L 4–18
  • *Non-conference game

Wisconsin

DateOpponentSiteResult
October 26IllinoisL 4–15
November 2at IowaW 6–5
November 9Indiana
  • Randall Field
  • Madison, WI
W 12–6
November 16at PurdueW 12–6
November 23Minnesota
T 17–17

Illinois

DateOpponentSiteResult
October 19ChicagoL 6–42
October 26at WisconsinW 15–4
November 2Purdue
  • Illinois Field
  • Champaign, IL (rivalry)
W 21–4
November 9at IowaL 12–25
November 22at Indiana
W 10–6

Iowa

DateOpponentSiteResultSource
October 10MissouriW 21–6
October 26at Drake*W 25–4[4]
November 2at WisconsinL 5–6
November 9Illinois
  • Iowa Field
  • Iowa City, IA
W 25–12
November 23at Iowa State*
L 14–20
  • *Non-conference game

[5][6]

Minnesota

DateOpponentSiteResultAttendance
October 12Iowa State*W 8–05,000
October 19Nebraska*
  • Northrop Field
  • Minneapolis, MN (rivalry)
W 8–58,000
November 2Chicago
  • Northrop Field
  • Minneapolis, MN
L 12–1818,000
November 16Carlisle*
  • Northrop Field
  • Minneapolis, MN
L 10–1215,000
November 23at WisconsinT 17–17
  • *Non-conference game

Indiana

DateOpponentSiteResult
October 5DePauw*
W 25–9
October 12at ChicagoL 6–27
October 19Indiana alumni
  • Jordan Field
  • Bloomington, IN
W 40–0
November 2at Notre DameT 0–0
November 9at WisconsinL 8–11
November 22Illinois*
  • Jordan Field
  • Bloomington, IN (rivalry)
L 6–10
  • *Non-conference game

Purdue

DateOpponentSiteResultSource
October 12Wabash*L 0–2
November 2at IllinoisL 4–21
November 9at ChicagoL 0–56
November 16Wisconsin
  • Stuart Field
  • West Lafayette, IN
L 6–12
November 23Notre Dame
  • Stuart Field
  • West Lafayette, IN (rivalry)
L 0–17[7]
  • *Non-conference game

[8]

Bowl games

No Western Conference schools participated in any bowl games during the 1907 season.

All-American honors

The following Western Conference players were selected as first-team players on the 1907 College Football All-America Team. (Consensus All-Americans displayed in bold).

Quarterbacks

Halfbacks

Key

NCAA recognized selectors for 1907

Other selectors

  • NYH = New York Herald[12]
  • NYT = New York Tribune[12]
  • NYW = New York World (Robert Edgren)[12]
  • NYP = New York Press[12]
  • FY = Fielding H. Yost, football coach of the University of Michigan, for the North American Press Syndicate.[13]
  • CF = Carl Flanders[12]
  • CR = Constant Reader[12]
  • AFR = Abilene Semi Weekly Farm Reporter.[14] "selected not according to their weight, but their conception of the new game"

Bold = Consensus All-American[15]

  • 1 – First-team selection
  • 2 – Second-team selection
  • 3 – Third-team selection


All-Western selections

  • Hewitt, End, Chicago (CA, CDN, CP, CRH)
  • Harlan Page, End, Chicago (CIO, CJ, CP) (CBHOF)
  • Harlan Rogers, End, Wisconsin (CE)
  • John Messmer, Tackle, Wisconsin (CA, CIO, CJ, COL [guard], CRH, WE [guard])
  • George Leland Case, Tackle, Minnesota (CDN, CIO, CP, WE)
  • Ivan Doseff, Tackle, Chicago (CE, CJ, COL)
  • Forest Van Hook, Guard, Illinois (CA, CDN, CE, CIO, CJ, COL, CP, CRH, WE)
  • William John Bandelin, Guard, Minnesota (CA, CE)
  • Harris, Guard, Chicago (CDN)
  • Walter Steffen, Quarterback, Chicago (CA, CDN, CE, CIO, CJ, COL, CP, CRH, WE) (CFHOF)
  • Leo DeTray, Halfback,Chicago (CA [fullback], CDN, CE, CIO, CJ, COL, CP, CRH [fullback], WE)
  • Carroll N. Kirk, Halfback,Iowa (CA, CE, CRH)
  • John Robert Schuknecht, Halfback,Minnesota (CIO, CJ, COL [fullback])
  • Harold Iddings, Halfback,Chicago (CDN, COL [end], WE)
  • Oscar Osthoff, Halfback, Wisconsin (CP)
  • George Capron, Fullback, Minnesota (CA [halfback], CDN, CE, CIO, CJ, COL [halfback], CP, CRH [halfback], WE [end])

References

  1. ^ The University of Michigan, an encyclopedic survey ... Wilfred B. Shaw, editor. 1941.
  2. ^ Duderstadt, James J. (September 4, 2003). Intercollegiate Athletics and the American University: A University President's Perspective. University of Michigan Press. ISBN 0-472-08943-9.
  3. ^ "CONFERENCE OUSTS MICHIGAN; Severs Relations with University for Non-Observance of Rules" (PDF). The New York Times. April 14, 1907.
  4. ^ "Old Gold Victor, But Drake Score: Iowa Wins by a Score of 25 to 4". The Des Moines Register. October 27, 1907. p. II-1 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference SR was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference MG was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ "1907 schedule". University of Notre Dame. Retrieved November 11, 2024.
  8. ^ "2022 Purdue Football Record Book" (PDF). Purdue University Athletics. p. 81. Retrieved January 29, 2023.
  9. ^ "Camp Selects His All American Team". Trenton Evening Times. December 27, 1903.
  10. ^ "Whitney Picks Out the Champ Eleven: All-American Eleven Taken from the East". La Crosse Tribune. December 26, 1907.
  11. ^ "Casper Whitney Shuns the West: Eleven Eastern Players Picked for All-American Eleven". Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette. December 26, 1907.
  12. ^ a b c d e f "All-America Elevens Picked: Difference of Opinion by Experts; Biglow of Yale General Choice for Captain". The Hartford Courant. December 9, 1907. p. 14. Archived from the original on February 16, 2013.
  13. ^ "COACH YOST AND HIS TEAM". Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette. December 2, 1907. ("Of all the football men in America, none has attained greater prominence than Fielding H. Yost, who has coached the University of Michigan for six years. Yost's football vision is broad. His football judgment is superior. His football pre-eminence is generally accepted. It is thus a matter of considerable football moment when Mr. Yost breaks his previous precedence and names an all-American football team. This he has done for the North American Press Syndicate.")
  14. ^ "Outlook Is Blue". Abilene Semi Weekly Farm Reporter. November 23, 1907. p. 2. Retrieved March 14, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ "Football Award Winners" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). 2016. p. 6. Retrieved October 21, 2017.