1903: Michigan Faces Foes on and Off the Field in Tumultuous Season (Part 2)

Fallout From Minnesota

Stories of the game’s brutality circled with the Detroit Free Press reporting that “several assert they heard ‘Podge’ Heffelfinger, who has assisted in coaching Minnesota, cry out from the side lines: Kill off Heston in the first ten minutes or you’ll lose”. The crowd then began chanting” Kill off Heston”. The classless nature of the crowd, brutal tactics of the Gopher eleven and the overt bias of the official (who allegedly interfered with Michigan players which led to the Gopher score) would be the subject of frustration in Ann Arbor¹.  

The game marked the beginning of the rivalry. Before the contest, Yost instructed an assistant to purchase a water jug from a nearby convenience store. A Minnesota equipment manager named Oscar Munson says he attempted to help Michigan pack their things in the post-game chaos but the Michigan equipment manager refused to take it². Minnesota ended up painting the jug brown and writing the score on it along with” Michigan Jug Captured by Oscar October 31st, 1903”³.  

Some accounts of the story say that when Michigan asked for it back, athletic director L. J. Cooke said they‘d have to win it back. Other accounts say they merely kept the jug as a trophy. It is documented that upon returning to play Minnesota in 1909, Yost and Cooke agreed to let the winner of the game keep the jug. Thus, the battle for the Little Brown Jug was born. 

Point-a-Minute in Jeopardy 

The Minnesota tie was the first non-victory for a Yost led Wolverine team. On November 7^th, Michigan had another inconsistent performance against Ohio State, winning 36 to 0. All points were scored in the first half and the Buckeyes nearly scored twice themselves. Both times Michigan was saved by time running out for the half and the game. Captain Curtis Redden chased down a Buckeye who recovered a Michigan fumble at the Michigan 20 yard-line, saving a touchdown⁴.  

Michigan’s offensive issues would continue against Wisconsin. The Michigan Alumnus noted: “It was the impression of many alumni…that in speed and…the team’s offensive play fell somewhat below the standard of last year…”⁵. The first half ended in a scoreless tie, but Michigan would go on to win 16 to 0. 

Michigan’s stout defense kept the team firmly planted in the conference title race. With the Chicago game looming, Michigan needed a strong performance down the stretch to keep their hopes alive.  

Michigan defeated Oberlin 42 to 0 in the Wolverines final home game of 1903⁶. The lopsided victory showed what Michigan was still capable of. Chicago coach Alonzo Stagg was in attendance even told the New York Time that he favored Michigan over his own team⁷.  

The Season Finale 

Chicago had wavered in their final few games of the season. The Maroons hadn’t allowed a point all season until their 11^th game in which they beat Illinois 18 to 6. After that, Chicago posted narrow victories against Wisconsin and Haskell but then lost to Army. 

Michigan played Chicago on Thanksgiving Day 1903 on a snowy Marshall Field in Chicago. The result was “surprising” given Michigan’s inconsistent performance that season. Stagg watched from a closed carriage, bundled up in blankets fighting illness as his team was outplayed by the Wolverines in every aspect of the game. The rivalry game would end 28 to 0 with Chicago having never even threatened the Wolverine goal line⁸.  

After the game, Walter Camp of Yale University was quoted saying: “The helping of the men on the Michigan team was high-grade football. Their work helping the man with the ball was as good as that displayed in any game I have seen this season…”     

National Champions Again 

In the end, Michigan would finish the season, for which there was little hope in the beginning, with their third straight national championship, sharing the honor with Princeton⁹. While the margin was much closer than 1902, the Wolverines once again achieved their famed ”Point-a-Minute” status scoring 565 points in 556 minutes of play for an average of 1.01 points per minute.  

Before the Chicago game, Yost announced he would return for a fourth season at Michigan. The announcement was hailed by the Michigan Alumnus saying that Michigan faithful could count on another year of clean and successful football¹⁰.  

It may have been a relief for fans that the season ended in a Western Conference championship even if it was shared with Minnesota¹¹. The season was certainly a roller coaster of emotions and sadly that didn‘t stop after the Chicago game. On January 5th, 1904, just three weeks after the teams end of season banquet, starting right guard Cecil Gooding passed away from Typhoid Fever at the age of 21. He was remembered for his outstanding work ethic and sportsmanlike play. The Michigan Alumnus noted that “he was a man off the field and on“¹². 

Despite the loss of several notable players like Captain Curtis Redden, Joe Maddock, George Gregory and second highest scorer Herb Graver, the 1904 season looked promising. Halfback Willie Heston would return along with 1903 leading scorer Tom Hammon¹³.  

The 1903 season would end up being remember fondly despite its rough beginnings. Though it saw the Wolverines first non-victory under Yost, Michigan were once again champions of the west.  

References

1. “No Doubt of Rough Usage: More Stories of Minnesota’s Fighting Tactics; Gopher Players Instructed to ‘Kill Off’ Heston”. Detroit Free Press. November 3, 1903.
2. “Michigan’s water worries were start of “Jug” series”. Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. October 21, 1960. p. 16. 
3. ”The Little Brown Jug: The Michigan-Minnesota Football Rivalry”. Magee, K., Stevens, J. M. 2014
4. “The Ohio Game”. The Michigan Alumnus. December 1903. pp. 138–140. 
5. “The Wisconsin Game”. The Michigan Alumnus. December 1903. pp. 138-140.
6. “The Oberlin Game”. The Michigan Alumnus. December 1903. p. 140. 
7. “Michigan 42; Oberlin 0” (PDF). The New York Times. November 22, 1903. 
8. “The Chicago Game”. The Michigan Alumnus. December 1903. p. 140. 
9. National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) (2015). “National Poll Rankings” (PDF). NCAA Division I Football Records. NCAA. pp. 105–106. Retrieved January 3, 2016.
10. “Yost Will Coach Next Year”. The Michigan Alumnus. December 1903. p. 142. 
11. “1903 Western Conference Year Summary”. SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 29, 2016. 
12. “Cecil Gooding”. The Michigan Alumnus. February 1904. p. 234.