1895 Michigan Wolverines football team
Encyclopedia
The 1895 Michigan Wolverines football team represented the University of Michigan
in the 1895 college football season
. The team, coached by medical student William McCauley
, compiled an 8–1 record, won seven of their games by shutouts, and outscored their opponents by a combined score of 266 to 14. The 1895 Wolverines won their first five games by a combined score of 220 to 0. The sole loss of the season was a 4–0 setback against the Harvard Crimson
, then one of the three great football powers. Michigan finished the season with a 12–0 win over Western rival, Amos Alonzo Stagg
's Chicago Maroons
. Undefeated against Western opponents, the 1895 Wolverines laid claim to the Western football championship.
in Ann Arbor
, Michigan defeated the Michigan Military Academy
from Orchard Lake, Michigan, by a score of 31 to 0. A newspaper account of the game noted that the score would have been more lopsided except that the Wolverines gave up the ball several times "on fouls and off-sides." The account also reported that "Michigan showed up vastly better than last year at this time in every feature of the game."
, played in 25-minute halves in front of a crowd of 600 spectators at Regents Field. Michigan scored the first touchdown
of the game 30 seconds after the game had commenced on a 70-yard end run by the quarterback
and Wyoming-native, J. DeForest Richards. Fullback
John Bloomingston from Chicago was the high scorer with 14 points on a touchdown and five goals after touchdown. (Under 1895 rules, a touchdown was scored as four points, and a successful kick for a "goal after touchdown" was scored as two points.) Halfback
John W. Hollister
was the second highest scorer with three touchdowns. Tackle
Jesse Yont from Nebraska also added a touchdown, as Michigan won by a score of 42 to 0.
, also known at the time as Adelbert College, by a score of 64 to 0. The game was played in 40-minute halves at Regents Field on October 19, 1895. The margin of victory was a surprise as Adelbert had won the Western football championship in 1894 and had narrowly lost to Eastern football power Cornell
the previous week by a score of 12 to 4. Against Michigan, however, Adelbert had the ball only five or six minutes in the entire games and, as one newspaper wrote, "was never in the hunt." Bloomingston led the scoring with 32 points on three touchdowns and ten kicks for goals from touchdown. Tackle Giovanni "Count" Villa, from Walla Walla, Washington
, and end Henry M. Senter
, from Houghton, Michigan
, each scored two touchdowns. Yont, Richards, and halfback Gustave "Dutch" Ferbert
, from Cleveland
, each scored one touchdown. A Chicago newspaper described Michigan's performance as follows:
at Regents Field. The Wolverines won their fifth consecutive shutout, outscoring Oberlin 42 to 0. A newspaper account of the game reported:
, a substitute quarterback from New Mexico, and Emmett Shields, a substitute halfback from Houghton, Michigan
. Bloomingston succeeded in kicking all seven goals after touchdown. Michigan's line-up for the game was Greenleaf (right end), Yont and Heninger (right tackle), Heninger and Wombacher (right guard), Carr (center), Hooper (left guard), Villa (left tackle), Farnum (left end), Hollister and Shields (right halfback), Ferbert (left halfback), and Bloomingston (fullback).
, on November 9, 1895. Harvard was one of the elite teams in the early days of college football, winning three national championship
s in the 1890s, and the match between great squads from the east and west was widely anticipated. Before game, The World of New York wrote:
The game was played at Soldier's Field in Cambridge
as a "drizzling rain fell throughout the game" on a field that was wet, muddy and slippery. Despite the inclement weather, 6,000 spectators attended the game. The Michigan team was heavier than Harvard's, and Michigan's "interference" was reported to be "clearly superior" to Harvard's. Michigan's offense had success in easily making holes in Harvard's line, but lost the ball repeatedly through off-side penalties. With the game played in the rain, both teams played a kicking game, punting the ball back and forth to gain advantage in field position. The punting game favored Harvard, as "an exchange of punts nearly always resulted in a loss of ground to Michigan." The first half ended with no scoring. In the second half, Harvard blocked two Michigan punts and scored the game's only touchdown on a blocked punt. The score came when Harvard kicked to Michigan's 18-yard line, and Bloomingston immediately attempted to punt the ball back to Harvard. Norton Shaw of Harvard blocked the punt, and the ball was driven behind the goal line where a Harvard player fell on the ball for a touchdown. Harvard failed to convert its goal after touchdown resulting in the score of 4 to 0.
A press account of the game praised Michigan's efforts, noting that "they played a strong, fast game but weakened in the second half." The report continued: "The Michigan team deserves great credit for their work and the dash and spirit of their play. Both sides played straight foot ball, resorting very little to trick plays of any kind." Another newspaper praised the performance of the Michigan team as follows:
The game was played in 25-minute halves, and Michigan's lineup was Senter (left end), Villa (left tackle), Hooper (left guard), Carr (center), Hall (right guard), Heninger (right tackle), Greenleaf (right end), Ferbert (left halfback), Hollister (right halfback), and Bloomingston (fullback).
After the season had ended, Edwin Denby, a Michigan player who later became U.S. Secretary of the Navy
, wrote an account of the season in the university yearbook, The Palladium. With respect to the Harvard game, Denby noted that the Michigan football team had traveled to "the distant and holy places of the East" and proved to the Eastern press "that we were farmers, miners, cutthroats, thugs and garroters, and to the reasonable people of the country that the men who came out of the West knew one or two games besides mumblepeg and marbles." Denby continued that the loss to Harvard was "a virtual victory" and asserted that those best qualified to judge were of the opinion that, "given equal conditions," Michigan would have won:
The game was played in halves of 30 and 25 minutes, and Michigan's lineup was Greenleaf (right end), Henninger (right tackle), Hall (right guard), Denby (center), Hooper (left guard), Yont (left tackle), Senter (left end), Holmes (quarterback), Hollister (right halfback), Ferbert (left halfback), and Bloomingston (fullback).
In his review of the season in The Palladium, Edwin Denby wrote that the closeness of the Purdue game could be explained by the fact that many of the regulars had been battered in the Harvard game and were replaced by substitutes in the Purdue game." However, Denby gave credit to Purdue as "the best we met in the West." Denby also opined that the last five minutes of the Purdue game "were worth most of the other games of the season put together." He described the line-plunging of Giovanni Villa against Purdue as follows: "It was exhilerating [sic] to note how when Villa took the ball and plunged through the Purdue line as the beautiful lady in the circus jumps through paper hoops, the rest of the Michigan men slouched down the field, crushing and driving everything before them by sheer muscle and determination."
Halfback Ferbert scored two touchdowns for Michigan, and Hall and Farnum added one each. Michigan's lineup in the game was Farnham (right end), Henninger (right tackle), Hall (right guard), Denby (center), Hooper (left guard), Villa (left tackle), Senter and Greenleaf (left end), Richards and Morley (quarterback), Ferbert (left halfback), Hollister and Holmes (right halfback), and Bloomingston (fullback).
's Chicago Maroons
. The game was played on Thanksgiving Day in front of more than 6,000 spectators at Marshall Field in Chicago. Due to the inclement weather, the field had to be "carefully scraped and sawdust scattered over the thin layer of ice" before the game began. Michigan's first scoring drive came in the first half when the right halfback, John Hollister, took the ball on Chicago's 45-yard line and ran around the right end for a 35-yard gain, a play the press called "a prettily-executed criss cross." Later in the drive, Henninger fumbled the ball which rolled beyond the goal line where it was recovered by Richards for the game's first touchdown. The running of Michigan's fullback John Bloomingston, a Chicago native, was reportedly the high point of the game. A Chicago newspaper described one run by Bloomingston as follows:
The final score was 12–0. Michigan's dominance over Stagg's team led one Chicago newspaper to write the following:
Following the game The World of New York wrote that the Michigan players had "clinched their claim to the Western championship."
Following the 1895 season, a number of Michigan players were honored on All-Western teams. One Chicago newspaper, the Daily Inter Ocean, included six Wolverines on its All-Western team. The Michigan players recognized by the Daily Inter Ocean were Gustave Ferbert
(first-team halfback), John Bloomington (first-team fullback), James Hooper (first-team guard), Giovanni Villa (first-team tackle), Henry Senter (first-team end), and James Baird (substitute quarterback). In announcing its All-Western selections, the Daily Inter Ocean made the following comments about the Michigan players selected:
The coaching and training staff of the 1895 Michigan Wolverines consisted of four men. Former Princeton football star William McCauley
was the coach. Keene Fitzpatrick
, considered "one of the pioneers of intercollegiate sport," was the trainer (and also the school's track coach). Charles A. Baird
, who was named the university's first athletic director three years later, was the team manager. Frederick Henninger was the team captain. A newspaper profile of Henninger in November 1895 said:
In his review of the 1895 season, Edwin Denby described the contributions made by the team's four leaders:
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
in the 1895 college football season
1895 college football season
The 1895 college football season had no clear-cut champion, with the Official NCAA Division I Football Records Book listing Penn and Yale as national champions....
. The team, coached by medical student William McCauley
William McCauley
William Lloyd "Jerry" McCauley was the third head coach of the University of Michigan football team. McCauley was born in approximately 1871 and listed his home town as Stanley, New York. He attended preparatory school at Geneva Prep...
, compiled an 8–1 record, won seven of their games by shutouts, and outscored their opponents by a combined score of 266 to 14. The 1895 Wolverines won their first five games by a combined score of 220 to 0. The sole loss of the season was a 4–0 setback against the Harvard Crimson
Harvard Crimson
The Harvard Crimson are the athletic teams of Harvard University. The school's teams compete in NCAA Division I. As of 2006, there were 41 Division I intercollegiate varsity sports teams for women and men at Harvard, more than at any other NCAA Division I college in the country...
, then one of the three great football powers. Michigan finished the season with a 12–0 win over Western rival, Amos Alonzo Stagg
Amos Alonzo Stagg
Amos Alonzo Stagg was an American athlete and pioneering college coach in multiple sports, primarily American football...
's Chicago Maroons
Chicago Maroons
The Maroons are the intercollegiate sports teams of the University of Chicago. They are named after the color maroon, one of the school's colors. They compete in the NCAA's Division III. They are primarily members of the University Athletic Association and were co-founders of the Big Ten...
. Undefeated against Western opponents, the 1895 Wolverines laid claim to the Western football championship.
Schedule
Michigan 31, Michigan Military Academy 0
In the opening game played at Regents FieldRegents Field
Regents Field was the home field for the University of Michigan football team from 1893 to 1905. It was located along South State Street in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where Schembechler Hall stands today....
in Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County. The 2010 census places the population at 113,934, making it the sixth largest city in Michigan. The Ann Arbor Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 344,791 as of 2010...
, Michigan defeated the Michigan Military Academy
Michigan Military Academy
The Michigan Military Academy, also known as the M.M.A., was an all-boys military prep school in Orchard Lake Village, Oakland County, Michigan. It was founded in 1877 by Captain J. Sumner Rogers, and closed in 1908 due to bankruptcy...
from Orchard Lake, Michigan, by a score of 31 to 0. A newspaper account of the game noted that the score would have been more lopsided except that the Wolverines gave up the ball several times "on fouls and off-sides." The account also reported that "Michigan showed up vastly better than last year at this time in every feature of the game."
Michigan 42, Detroit Athletic Club 0
The following week, the Wolverines had an "easy" game against the Detroit Athletic ClubDetroit Athletic Club
The Detroit Athletic Club , is a private social club and athletic club located in the heart of Detroit's theater, sports, and entertainment district. The clubhouse was designed by Albert Kahn and inspired by Rome's Palazzo Farnese. It maintains reciprocal agreements for their members at other...
, played in 25-minute halves in front of a crowd of 600 spectators at Regents Field. Michigan scored the first touchdown
Touchdown
A touchdown is a means of scoring in American and Canadian football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone.-Description:...
of the game 30 seconds after the game had commenced on a 70-yard end run by the quarterback
Quarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
and Wyoming-native, J. DeForest Richards. Fullback
Fullback (American football)
A fullback is a position in the offensive backfield in American and Canadian football, and is one of the two running back positions along with the halfback...
John Bloomingston from Chicago was the high scorer with 14 points on a touchdown and five goals after touchdown. (Under 1895 rules, a touchdown was scored as four points, and a successful kick for a "goal after touchdown" was scored as two points.) Halfback
Halfback (American football)
A halfback, sometimes referred to as a tailback, is an offensive position in American football, which lines up in the backfield and generally is responsible for carrying the ball on run plays. Historically, from the 1870s through the 1950s, the halfback position was both an offensive and defensive...
John W. Hollister
John W. Hollister
John Willis Hollister was an American football player and coach in the United States.Hollister was born in North Pawlet, Vermont in 1869, the son of F. S. Hollister, "a traveling agent," and Julia L. Hollister. Hollister attended Middlebury College from 1889 to 1890 and received a bachelor of...
was the second highest scorer with three touchdowns. Tackle
Tackle (American football)
Tackle is a playing position in American and Canadian football. Historically, in the one-platoon system a tackle played on both offense and defense. In the modern system of specialized units, offensive tackle and defensive tackle are separate positions....
Jesse Yont from Nebraska also added a touchdown, as Michigan won by a score of 42 to 0.
Michigan 64, Western Reserve 0
In the third game of the season, Michigan defeated the team from Cleveland's Western ReserveCase Western Reserve University
Case Western Reserve University is a private research university located in Cleveland, Ohio, USA...
, also known at the time as Adelbert College, by a score of 64 to 0. The game was played in 40-minute halves at Regents Field on October 19, 1895. The margin of victory was a surprise as Adelbert had won the Western football championship in 1894 and had narrowly lost to Eastern football power Cornell
Cornell Big Red football
The Cornell Big Red football team represents Cornell University in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Championship Subdivision college football competition as a member of the Ivy League. It is one of the oldest and most storied football programs in the nation...
the previous week by a score of 12 to 4. Against Michigan, however, Adelbert had the ball only five or six minutes in the entire games and, as one newspaper wrote, "was never in the hunt." Bloomingston led the scoring with 32 points on three touchdowns and ten kicks for goals from touchdown. Tackle Giovanni "Count" Villa, from Walla Walla, Washington
Walla Walla, Washington
Walla Walla is the largest city in and the county seat of Walla Walla County, Washington, United States. The population was 31,731 at the 2010 census...
, and end Henry M. Senter
Henry M. Senter
Henry Mortimer "Mort" Senter was an American football player and businessman. He played college football for the University of Michigan from 1893 to 1896. He was selected as a first-team All-Western end in 1895 and as captain of the 1896 team. After receiving his degree, he moved to Colombia...
, from Houghton, Michigan
Houghton, Michigan
Houghton is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan's Upper Peninsula and largest city in the Copper Country on the Keweenaw Peninsula. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 7,708. It is the county seat of Houghton County...
, each scored two touchdowns. Yont, Richards, and halfback Gustave "Dutch" Ferbert
Gustave Ferbert
-Gold prospecting in Alaska:After his coaching career at Michigan, Ferbert went to Alaska to search for gold. In May 1900, amid the Klondike Gold Rush, newspapers reported that Ferbert had left Ann Arbor for Seattle, where he planned to join "High" Allen and "Count" Villa, described as "two other...
, from Cleveland
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
, each scored one touchdown. A Chicago newspaper described Michigan's performance as follows:
"Michigan's advantage in weight was great and the interference and general team plays showed great improvement. Michigan's gain was on the main short and fast dashes through the line and close in on the end, but there was no lack of pretty end skirting with brilliant interference."
Michigan 40, Rush Lake Forest 0
Michigan's fourth game of the season was a home game against Rush Lake Forest. Michigan won the game by a score of 40 to 0.Michigan 42, Oberlin 0
On November 2, 1895, Michigan played Oberlin CollegeOberlin College
Oberlin College is a private liberal arts college in Oberlin, Ohio, noteworthy for having been the first American institution of higher learning to regularly admit female and black students. Connected to the college is the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, the oldest continuously operating...
at Regents Field. The Wolverines won their fifth consecutive shutout, outscoring Oberlin 42 to 0. A newspaper account of the game reported:
"Michigan was crippled by the absence of Baird, Senter and Hall, but the play showed improvement over last week. Bloomingston and Ferbert were the star ground gainers. There were three touchdowns in the first and four in the second."Michigan touchdowns were scored by Ferbert, Bloomingston, Villa, Frederick Henninger, the team captain from Colorado, Thad Farnum, an end from Ohio, William Morley
Bill Morley
William Raymond "Bill" Morley, Jr. was an American football player and coach and cattle and sheep rancher. Born in New Mexico, he played college football for the University of Michigan and Columbia University and was selected as an All-American in 1900 and 1901. Morley served as the head coach...
, a substitute quarterback from New Mexico, and Emmett Shields, a substitute halfback from Houghton, Michigan
Houghton, Michigan
Houghton is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan's Upper Peninsula and largest city in the Copper Country on the Keweenaw Peninsula. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 7,708. It is the county seat of Houghton County...
. Bloomingston succeeded in kicking all seven goals after touchdown. Michigan's line-up for the game was Greenleaf (right end), Yont and Heninger (right tackle), Heninger and Wombacher (right guard), Carr (center), Hooper (left guard), Villa (left tackle), Farnum (left end), Hollister and Shields (right halfback), Ferbert (left halfback), and Bloomingston (fullback).
Harvard 4, Michigan 0
Michigan traveled east to face HarvardHarvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, on November 9, 1895. Harvard was one of the elite teams in the early days of college football, winning three national championship
NCAA Division I FBS National Football Championship
A college football national championship in the highest level of collegiate play in the United States, currently the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Bowl Subdivision , is a designation awarded annually by various third-party organizations to their selection of the best...
s in the 1890s, and the match between great squads from the east and west was widely anticipated. Before game, The World of New York wrote:
"The football team of the University of Michigan, reputed to be the strongest eleven in the West, is now quartered at AuburndaleAuburndale, MassachusettsAuburndale is one of the 13 villages of Newton, Massachusetts. It lies at the western end of Newton near the intersection of interstate highways 90 and 95, and is bisected by the Massachusetts Turnpike. Auburndale is surrounded by three other Newton villages as well as the city of Waltham and the...
awaiting tomorrow's game with Harvard on Soldier's Field. Nineteen men have come East on the team. Their line is very evenly balanced, and Bob Wrenn has written to Cambridge that the Michigan quarter-back is the best in the business. They have a long string of victories to their credit this fall, and Harvard will have to play football to score. There is absolutely no way of judging the relative merits of the teams, so the veil of doubt will add to the interest of the game."
The game was played at Soldier's Field in Cambridge
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
as a "drizzling rain fell throughout the game" on a field that was wet, muddy and slippery. Despite the inclement weather, 6,000 spectators attended the game. The Michigan team was heavier than Harvard's, and Michigan's "interference" was reported to be "clearly superior" to Harvard's. Michigan's offense had success in easily making holes in Harvard's line, but lost the ball repeatedly through off-side penalties. With the game played in the rain, both teams played a kicking game, punting the ball back and forth to gain advantage in field position. The punting game favored Harvard, as "an exchange of punts nearly always resulted in a loss of ground to Michigan." The first half ended with no scoring. In the second half, Harvard blocked two Michigan punts and scored the game's only touchdown on a blocked punt. The score came when Harvard kicked to Michigan's 18-yard line, and Bloomingston immediately attempted to punt the ball back to Harvard. Norton Shaw of Harvard blocked the punt, and the ball was driven behind the goal line where a Harvard player fell on the ball for a touchdown. Harvard failed to convert its goal after touchdown resulting in the score of 4 to 0.
A press account of the game praised Michigan's efforts, noting that "they played a strong, fast game but weakened in the second half." The report continued: "The Michigan team deserves great credit for their work and the dash and spirit of their play. Both sides played straight foot ball, resorting very little to trick plays of any kind." Another newspaper praised the performance of the Michigan team as follows:
"[T]he wearers of the Crimson have not had such a battle before in years. The boys from Michigan simply covered themselves in glory by their splendid work. The play throughout was clean football, devoid of all roughness, and they early on earned the good will and applause of the crowd by their fairness and ever-apparent desire to keep from making it a slugging game."
The game was played in 25-minute halves, and Michigan's lineup was Senter (left end), Villa (left tackle), Hooper (left guard), Carr (center), Hall (right guard), Heninger (right tackle), Greenleaf (right end), Ferbert (left halfback), Hollister (right halfback), and Bloomingston (fullback).
After the season had ended, Edwin Denby, a Michigan player who later became U.S. Secretary of the Navy
United States Secretary of the Navy
The Secretary of the Navy of the United States of America is the head of the Department of the Navy, a component organization of the Department of Defense...
, wrote an account of the season in the university yearbook, The Palladium. With respect to the Harvard game, Denby noted that the Michigan football team had traveled to "the distant and holy places of the East" and proved to the Eastern press "that we were farmers, miners, cutthroats, thugs and garroters, and to the reasonable people of the country that the men who came out of the West knew one or two games besides mumblepeg and marbles." Denby continued that the loss to Harvard was "a virtual victory" and asserted that those best qualified to judge were of the opinion that, "given equal conditions," Michigan would have won:
"We had traveled twenty-four hours by rail and rested less than two days before going on the field, we had changed drinking water and diet, we played before some thousands of Harvard sympathizers (though they displayed an impartial appreciation of the good plays of either side, and acted throughout in a thoroughly gentlemanly manner) and finally we played in the rain and on wet and slippery ground, conditions entirely new to us. And so they won, and, even as to that, there were not wanting whispers that without a fortuitous accident — however, post-mortems are always distasteful. Let us accept the fact that we were beaten, and record our intention of turning the tables next year. It is poor policy to belittle a successful antagonist. Better exalt him for the supreme skill he displayed in winning from such a foe, and so honor yourself."
Michigan 12, Purdue 10
After the loss to Harvard, Michigan faced Purdue at home in Ann Arbor. Michigan won a close game by a score of 12 to 10. Michigan scored two touchdowns (one each by Ferbert and Henninger), and Bloomingston converted on both goals after touchdown. Purdue was the only team other than Harvard to score on the 1895 Michigan team. Both teams scored two touchdowns, and the margin of victory came on a missed goal after touchdown by Purdue. In light of Michigan's dominance in its earlier games against Western teams, a larger margin of victory had been expected, leading one newspaper to suggest a two-point win was a cause for "mourning" in Ann Arbor:"There is mourning in the Michigan camp tonight over the downfall of the football team, for such it seems, when they managed to win from Purdue today, 12 to 10. It had been expected that the game would be fairly close, as the Purdue eleven is strong, and Michigan has shown a great falling off this week in consequence of her trip to Boston and hard game with Harvard. Then, too, three men were missed from the team – Carr at center, Baird at quarter, and Villa at tackle. The defense was thought to be strong enough to shut out Purdue, however, but it was not in evidence, and the offensive work was ragged and dispirited."
The game was played in halves of 30 and 25 minutes, and Michigan's lineup was Greenleaf (right end), Henninger (right tackle), Hall (right guard), Denby (center), Hooper (left guard), Yont (left tackle), Senter (left end), Holmes (quarterback), Hollister (right halfback), Ferbert (left halfback), and Bloomingston (fullback).
In his review of the season in The Palladium, Edwin Denby wrote that the closeness of the Purdue game could be explained by the fact that many of the regulars had been battered in the Harvard game and were replaced by substitutes in the Purdue game." However, Denby gave credit to Purdue as "the best we met in the West." Denby also opined that the last five minutes of the Purdue game "were worth most of the other games of the season put together." He described the line-plunging of Giovanni Villa against Purdue as follows: "It was exhilerating [sic] to note how when Villa took the ball and plunged through the Purdue line as the beautiful lady in the circus jumps through paper hoops, the rest of the Michigan men slouched down the field, crushing and driving everything before them by sheer muscle and determination."
Michigan 20, Minnesota 0
Michigan faced the University of Minnesota on November 23, in a game played at the Baseball Park in Detroit. Michigan easily won the game by a score of 20 to 0. The playing field was soft and slippery from snow and rain, and "the wet ball caused a good deal of fumbling, especially on the part of the Minnesota team." One account described the playing surface as "a field of mud several inches deep. Minnesota was "practically on the defense throughout the game," and "only twice were her runners able to get through Michigan's line for substantial gains." The report of the game published in the Daily Inter Ocean from Chicago described a dominating performance by the Wolverines:"The men from the far Northwest were clearly outclassed at every point, but played a plucky game. At times their defense was strong and then partly weak, Senter and Ferbert getting through several times for long fifty-yard runs. ... The Michigan men played savagely during the first half ... For Michigan the particulars were Senter, Ferbert, Bloomingston and Henninger, though the entire team played excellently and was very strong in interference."
Halfback Ferbert scored two touchdowns for Michigan, and Hall and Farnum added one each. Michigan's lineup in the game was Farnham (right end), Henninger (right tackle), Hall (right guard), Denby (center), Hooper (left guard), Villa (left tackle), Senter and Greenleaf (left end), Richards and Morley (quarterback), Ferbert (left halfback), Hollister and Holmes (right halfback), and Bloomingston (fullback).
Michigan 12, Chicago 0
The final game of the season matched Michigan against Amos Alonzo StaggAmos Alonzo Stagg
Amos Alonzo Stagg was an American athlete and pioneering college coach in multiple sports, primarily American football...
's Chicago Maroons
Chicago Maroons
The Maroons are the intercollegiate sports teams of the University of Chicago. They are named after the color maroon, one of the school's colors. They compete in the NCAA's Division III. They are primarily members of the University Athletic Association and were co-founders of the Big Ten...
. The game was played on Thanksgiving Day in front of more than 6,000 spectators at Marshall Field in Chicago. Due to the inclement weather, the field had to be "carefully scraped and sawdust scattered over the thin layer of ice" before the game began. Michigan's first scoring drive came in the first half when the right halfback, John Hollister, took the ball on Chicago's 45-yard line and ran around the right end for a 35-yard gain, a play the press called "a prettily-executed criss cross." Later in the drive, Henninger fumbled the ball which rolled beyond the goal line where it was recovered by Richards for the game's first touchdown. The running of Michigan's fullback John Bloomingston, a Chicago native, was reportedly the high point of the game. A Chicago newspaper described one run by Bloomingston as follows:
"Chicago could not gain, and Neel was forced to punt again. Bloomingston received the ball, and, dodging the tacklers, who sought to bring him to the ground, ran back the entire length of the kick. It was a splendid performance, and no small part of the applause the hero received came from Chicago throats."
The final score was 12–0. Michigan's dominance over Stagg's team led one Chicago newspaper to write the following:
"The Michigan team is the finest set of football players Ann Arbor has ever sent out and completely out-classes any team in the West. ... The Michigan play both individually and in team work was magnificent. Even the worried Chicago substitutes and coaches on the side line could not refrain from an occasional word of admiration at the perfect defense of the visitors. The very appearance of the team was enough to bring applause from the most prejudiced Chicago supporter. ... [T]he local team appeared like school-boys before them. It seemed almost wonderful that these giants could be kept from sweeping down the field and scoring as they willed."
Following the game The World of New York wrote that the Michigan players had "clinched their claim to the Western championship."
All-Western selections
Gustave Ferbert
-Gold prospecting in Alaska:After his coaching career at Michigan, Ferbert went to Alaska to search for gold. In May 1900, amid the Klondike Gold Rush, newspapers reported that Ferbert had left Ann Arbor for Seattle, where he planned to join "High" Allen and "Count" Villa, described as "two other...
(first-team halfback), John Bloomington (first-team fullback), James Hooper (first-team guard), Giovanni Villa (first-team tackle), Henry Senter (first-team end), and James Baird (substitute quarterback). In announcing its All-Western selections, the Daily Inter Ocean made the following comments about the Michigan players selected:
- "Villa is the best tackle of this season, as he was of last. His immense strength and weight, added to his cleverness and agility, make him a powerful man."
- "Senter is one of the best ends in the country, East or West. He is the one Western player who approaches Yale form and a man of whom Michigan is deservedly proud. Possessed of unbounded daring, he plays like a demon and runs and tackles in a manner astonishing in a player of so short experience."
- "Ferbert is a cool, hard-working player, strong and sure on the defensive ... Ferbert is the most valuable man because of his defensive ability."
- "Every one in the West, with the possible exception of the Wisconsin men, unites in the selection of Bloomington as full back. Those who saw the sensational runs made in the game with Chicago last Thanksgiving day can possibly have no other opinion. Sure at goals, a strong punter, and a wonderful runner, he has but few rivals."
Starting lineup
The starting lineup of the 1895 Michigan football team included players from ten states, including New Mexico, Montana, and Washington.- Ends
- Henry M. SenterHenry M. SenterHenry Mortimer "Mort" Senter was an American football player and businessman. He played college football for the University of Michigan from 1893 to 1896. He was selected as a first-team All-Western end in 1895 and as captain of the 1896 team. After receiving his degree, he moved to Colombia...
, Houghton, Michigan (age 23) - George GreenleafGeorge GreenleafGeorge Franklin Greenleaf, Jr. was an American football player and medical doctor. A native of Brazil, Indiana, Greenleaf was the son of George F. Greenleaf, Sr. and Agnes Dalgleish Staines...
, Brazil, Indiana (age 21) - Thaddeus Loomis Farnham, Rosford, Ohio (age 21)
- Tackles
- Giovanni R. Villa, Walla Walla, Washington (age 22)
- Frederick W. HenningerFrederick W. HenningerFrederick William "Pa" Henninger was an American businessman and football player and coach. He played football for the University of Michigan from 1893 to 1896 and was the captain of the 1895 team that outscored their opponents by a combined score of 266 to 14...
, Barberton, Ohio (age 22) - Jesse Grant Yont, Brock, Nebraska (reserve, also played at guard)
- Guards
- James H. Hooper, Butte, Montana (age 23)
- Forrest M. Hall, Jackson Centre, Ohio (age 23)
- John McLain Johnson, Hopkinton, Iowa (reserve)
- Centers
- Edwin Denby, Detroit, Michigan (age 24)
- Bert Carr, Cedar Spring, Michigan (age 24)
- Quarterbacks
- James BairdJames Baird (civil engineer)James Baird was an American civil engineer, football player and coach. He played football for the University of Michigan from 1892 to 1895 and was captain of the 1894 team. He was also an assistant football coach at Michigan from 1897 to 1898. He worked for the George A. Fuller Co. for 23 years...
, Chicago, Illinois (age 21) - J. De Forest RichardsJ. De Forest RichardsJ. De Forest Richards was an American football player and banker. He was the son of the fifth Governor of Wyoming and played college football at the University of Michigan from 1894 to 1897...
, Douglas, WyomingDouglas, WyomingDouglas is a city in Converse County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 5,288 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Converse County...
(age 21) - William MorleyBill MorleyWilliam Raymond "Bill" Morley, Jr. was an American football player and coach and cattle and sheep rancher. Born in New Mexico, he played college football for the University of Michigan and Columbia University and was selected as an All-American in 1900 and 1901. Morley served as the head coach...
, Socorro Datil, New Mexico (age 20)
- Fullback
- John A. BloomingstonJohn A. BloomingstonJohn Albert Bloomingston was an American attorney and football and baseball player and coach. He played at the fullback position for the University of Michigan football teams in 1894 and 1895...
, Chicago, Illinois (age 22)
- Halfbacks
- Gustave Herman FerbertGustave Ferbert-Gold prospecting in Alaska:After his coaching career at Michigan, Ferbert went to Alaska to search for gold. In May 1900, amid the Klondike Gold Rush, newspapers reported that Ferbert had left Ann Arbor for Seattle, where he planned to join "High" Allen and "Count" Villa, described as "two other...
, Cleveland, Ohio (age 21) - William Franklin Holmes, Somerville, Massachusetts (age 22)
- John Willis HollisterJohn W. HollisterJohn Willis Hollister was an American football player and coach in the United States.Hollister was born in North Pawlet, Vermont in 1869, the son of F. S. Hollister, "a traveling agent," and Julia L. Hollister. Hollister attended Middlebury College from 1889 to 1890 and received a bachelor of...
, Beloit, Wisconsin (age 23)
Coaching and training staff
William McCauley
William Lloyd "Jerry" McCauley was the third head coach of the University of Michigan football team. McCauley was born in approximately 1871 and listed his home town as Stanley, New York. He attended preparatory school at Geneva Prep...
was the coach. Keene Fitzpatrick
Keene Fitzpatrick
Keene Fitzpatrick was a track coach, athletic trainer, professor of physical training and gymnasium director for 42 years at Yale University , the University of Michigan , and Princeton University...
, considered "one of the pioneers of intercollegiate sport," was the trainer (and also the school's track coach). Charles A. Baird
Charles A. Baird
Charles A. Baird was an American football manager, university athletic director, and banker.He was the manager of the University of Michigan football team from 1893 to 1895 and the school's first athletic director from 1898 to 1909. During his time as Michigan's athletic director, he was...
, who was named the university's first athletic director three years later, was the team manager. Frederick Henninger was the team captain. A newspaper profile of Henninger in November 1895 said:
"The University of Michigan team, captained by F. W. Henninger, is one of the strongest football elevens in the west. Henninger is a veteran of last year's eleven, is 5 feet 10 inches tall aud weighs 180 pounds. He is an excellent field general, plays right guard and is said to be the strongest man on the team."
In his review of the 1895 season, Edwin Denby described the contributions made by the team's four leaders:
"If to any one man above another credit is due for this result, McCauley should receive it. Not only his splendid coaching, but his quiet, gentlemanly, kindly manner, his forbearance, and his abstention from the use of language too strong for the public prints, all had their good effect upon the team. And certainly he would have found it hard to get such excellent support from any three other men as he got from Fitzpatrick, Henninger and Baird. They have all won the high regard of the entire university and the sincere liking of those who have come in personal contact with them."
External links
- 1895 Football Team – Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan Athletics History
- Michigan Alumnus, 1895-1896 - includes summary of each game
- The Palladium (1896) - University of Michigan yearbook for the 1895-1896 academic year
- The Inlander, Vol. VI, 1895-1896