1903: Michigan Faces Foes on and Off the Field in Tumultuous Season (Part 1)

1903 Begins with Controversy 

Turmoil and frustration soured the off-season of 1903. The Wolverines were coming off their second national championship season and were the second of Yost’s “Point-a-minute” teams. The dominating nature of Yost’s teams was a sight to behold to students and fans alike. During the 1902 season, football’s popularity on campus spread like wildfire. In November of 1902, The Detroit Free Press reported up to 10,000 spectators watched Michigan defeat Minnesota¹, with many students lending their voices to a “musical effort that at times degenerated into an inharmonious blare of discordant sound…”. 

The Inlander, a student publication from the University of Michigan, dedicated it’s entire December 1902 issue to the Wolverines². One anecdote illustrates a conversation between a reporter and Captain Boyers of the West Point football team in which Boyer’s notes his astoundment at Michigan’s lopsided victories. He asked if Michigan’s opponents were weak, and the reporter assured him they were not, apart from “one or two exceptions”³.  

Hype surrounding Michigan’s mighty eleven grew stronger until the program became wrapped in controversy. On April 5^th, 1903, Stanford President David Starr Jordan accused Yost of “sinning against the spirit of amateur athletics” by allegedly paying players to come to Michigan. The accusation focused primarily on Michigan Center George Gregory who had played at Stanford in 1900 and was alleged to have flunked out⁴. 

Gregory responded in a quote from the Detroit Free Press on April 6^th saying, “it is a dirty outrage…it is a slander on Yost who is the squarest coach in the country, and it puts me in a bad light. There is absolutely no truth in what Jordan says, and I intend to write him about the matter.” 

The matter then worsened when Chicago coach Alonzo Stagg told reporters he had heard of rumors about Yost. Michigan called him out for the accusations to which Stagg had claimed he only meant his words as gossip and not for publication⁵.          

Even the campus publication The Michigan Alumnus expressed concern over the recruitment of players based solely on athletic ability and not on academic merit⁶. Michigan Professor Albert Pattengill would defend Yost saying “…the greatest sin we can lay at his door is that for two seasons he has led Michigan’s team to victory…we have made many inquiries and have…[no] cause for uneasiness…“⁷.  

The Season Begins with Case 

The allegations against Yost and Gregory would not be the only pre-season trouble for the Wolverines. Gregory and halfback Willie Heston were presented with a business opportunity in Washington making it unclear if they would return to the football team. Roster issues were already a problem for Yost as many of the 1902 squads best had graduated⁸. Further, 1902 starting fullback Paul Jones was hospitalized with a nearly fatal case of Typhoid Fever and medically retired from football⁹. Michigan Captain Curtis Redden noted in the Michiganensian, “no season in the history of Michigan football has opened with a gloomier outlook than that of nineteen hundred and three”¹⁰.  

On October 3^rd Michigan would open the season against Case Scientific School. Gregory and Heston would return to the team, with Heston scoring three touchdowns, one of which a 45-yard touchdown run. Tom Hammond, a fullback from Hyde Park, Illinois¹¹ and one of Yost‘s promising rookies, also scored twice. The final score of the game came from Hal Weeks, brother of former Michigan Quarterback “Boss” Weeks giving Michigan a comfortable 31 to 0 victory. Despite the lopsided score, the Michigan Alumnus called the Wolverines punting and PAT kicking “sad failures”¹².  

Back To Form

Michigan followed up their season opener by destroying Albion college 76 to 0. The game was called seven and a half minutes into the second half due to it being too dark to play¹³. Two days later, Michigan thumped Beloit 79 to 0 in a game the Michigan Alumnus called a “marked improvement in several directions”¹⁴.  After a frustrating off-season, Michigan was once again hitting its stride.

The next victim would be Ohio Normal. Michigan was stout defensively as the oppositions longest gain would be of seven yards. However, Michigan would be called for many “severe penalties for foul interference and off-side play”¹⁵.  

Indiana would be Michigan’s fourth game in nine days. Michigan’s offensive play was riddled with miscues from fumbling the ball to “misunderstanding of signals and slowness in starting a play”¹⁶. The Detroit Free Press noted ”if Minnesota had run up against the Ann arbor men this afternoon there would not have been anything to do but…rub Michigan off the championship chart”¹⁷. 

Michigan would follow up with an 88 to 0 drubbing of Ferris institute which “showed a marked improvement…but there is still need for betterment…”¹⁸. Michigan would fumble the ball three times, but still held Ferris to only eight yards of total offense. 

The Minnesota Game

Michigan would fail to average a point-a-minute for the first time in 1903 against Drake on October 24^th, winning the game 47 to 0¹⁹. The Minnesota game loomed, and the Gopher faithful were certain their team would win the championship having posted incredible scores in their games as well²⁰. Minnesota defeated Iowa 75 to 0 and Beloit 46 to 0. The Gophers had only allowed six points all season which came against Minneapolis Central High School²¹. It was a team ready for the challenge of Yost’s spectacular offense, and thus on Halloween night 1903, Michigan and Minnesota clashed with a shot at the conference title on the line. 

Despite Minnesota outgaining Michigan 155 yards to 60, the game would go to half a scoreless tie²². It would be superior conditioning and also the heroics of Heston, Maddock and Hammond that would give the Wolverines their only score. With Michigan looking as if they might pull out a win, Minnesota would get the ball at the Michigan 45. With time ticking down and one last chance to score, the Gophers scored a game tying touchdown²³.        

Once the PAT was scored, two-thousand Minnesota faithful stormed the field in a display the Michigan Alumnus called “…in response to impulse which does more credit to their enthusiasm than their love of fair play”²⁴. The game was called two minutes early and the tie became official. The New York Times reported it was ”…one of the most desperate football games seen” and it ”…left the prospective Western championship a matter for conjecture”²⁵.

CONTINUED IN PART TWO…

References

1. “Michigan victorious over sturdy Minnesota: The Eyes of enthusiasts the Country Over Were on Ann Arbor–A Great Contest Stubbornly Fought and Gallantly Won–Splendid Crowd Out to See the Struggle–Complete Story of Michigan’s Glory”. Detroit Free Press. November 28, 1902. p. 1. 
2. “Football Issue”. The Inlander. December 1902.
3. “Football Issue”. The Inlander. December 1902. p81
4. “Yost Methods Called Sinful: Michigan Coach Is Attacked by President Jordan”. Detroit Free Press. April 5, 1903. 
5. “Michigan Colleges: U. OF. M.”. Detroit Free Press. April 12, 1903. 
6. “The Real Danger”. The Michigan Alumnus. October 1903. pp. 4–5. 
7. “The Real Danger”. The Michigan Alumnus. October 1903. pp. 6
8. “The Outlook in Football”. The Michigan Alumnus. October 1903. pp. 28–29.
9. “Football Hero Physical Wreck”. The Meridien Daily Journal. March 20, 1903.
10. 1904 Michiganensian, p. 138.
11. “Football Player Wanted at Two Schools: Hammond” (PDF). Chicago Daily Tribune. 1903-01-18.
12. “The Case Game”. The Michigan Alumnus. November 1903. p. 84. 
13. “Three Points to the Minute”. Detroit Free Press. October 09, 1903. 
14. “The Beloit Game”. The Michigan Alumnus. November 1903. p. 85.
15. “The Ohio Normal Game”. The Michigan Alumnus. November 1903. p. 85.
16. “The Indiana Game”. The Michigan Alumnus. November 1903. p. 86. 
17. “Michigan’s Work Bad”. Detroit Free Press. October 18, 1903. 
18. “Ferris Team Never In It: Downed By Michigan Braves in Easiest Style; Big Rapids Made But Two Gains in Game”. Detroit Free Press. October 22, 1903.
19. “The Drake Game”. The Michigan Alumnus. November 1903. p. 87.
20. “Pick Minnesota: Thought Gophers Will Bring Yost and His Team Off Top; Michigan Will HAve to Work for Championship”. Dubuque Telegraph-Herald. October 26, 1903.
21. ”1903 Football Schedule”. Gophersports.com. 2022
22.  “Score Was 6 to 6, and There Were Two Minutes Left to Play”. Detroit Free Press. November 1, 1903.
23. “The Minnesota Game”. The Michigan Alumnus. November 1903. pp. 87–88.
24. “The Minnesota Game”. The Michigan Alumnus. November 1903. pp. 87–88.
25. “Michigan 6; Minnesota 6” (PDF). The New York Times. November 1, 1903.