The 1902 Western Conference football season was the seventh 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 1902 college football season.
| 1902 Western Conference football season | |
|---|---|
| Sport | Football |
| Number of teams | 9 |
| Champion | Michigan |
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Michigan $ | 5 | – | 0 | – | 0 | 11 | – | 0 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chicago | 5 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 11 | – | 1 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Minnesota | 3 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 9 | – | 2 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Illinois | 4 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 10 | – | 2 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Purdue | 2 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 7 | – | 2 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wisconsin | 1 | – | 3 | – | 0 | 6 | – | 3 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Iowa | 0 | – | 3 | – | 0 | 5 | – | 4 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Northwestern | 0 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 6 | – | 6 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Indiana | 0 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 3 | – | 5 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The conference champion for 1902 was Michigan coached by Fielding H. Yost. The Wolverines compiled a perfect 11–0 record, outscored their opponents by a combined score of 644 to 12, and became known as the second of Yost's "Point-a-Minute" teams. The 1902 Michigan Wolverines have also been recognized as the national champions by the Billingsley Report, Helms Athletic Foundation, Houlgate System, and National Championship Foundation, and as co-national champions by Parke H. Davis.[1] Right halfback Albert E. Herrnstein was Michigan's leading scorer with 135 points on 27 touchdowns (valued at five points under 1902 rules).
Season overview
editResults and team statistics
edit| Conf. Rank | Team | Head coach | Overall record | Conf. record | PPG | PAG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michigan | Fielding H. Yost | 11–0 | 5–0 | 58.5 | 1.1 |
| 2 | Chicago | Amos A. Stagg | 14–1 | 5–1 | 19.7 | 2.1 |
| 3 | Minnesota | Henry L. Williams | 9-2-1 | 3-1 | 27.9 | 2.8 |
| 4 | Illinois | Edgar Holt | 10–2–1 | 4–2 | 29.2 | 3.4 |
| 5 | Purdue | Charles Best | 7–2–1 | 2–2 | 31.5 | 6.8 |
| 6 | Wisconsin | Philip King | 6–3 | 1–3 | 25.3 | 4.3 |
| 7 | Iowa | Alden Knipe | 5–4 | 0–3 | 13.4 | 26.4 |
| 8 (tie) | Northwestern | Charles Hollister | 6–6 | 0–4 | 6.9 | 9.8 |
| 8 (tie) | Indiana | James H. Horne | 3–5–1 | 0–4 | 10.4 | 23.0 |
Key
PPG = Average of points scored per game[2]
PAG = Average of points allowed per game[2]
Regular season
editBowl games
editNo Western Conference schools participated in any bowl games during the 1902 season.
Awards and honors
editAll-Western players
editTwelve players, six of them from Michigan, were chosen as first-team players on at least three of the 1902 All-Western college football teams named by the following six selectors: Chicago Tribune (CT),[3] Chicago Daily News (CDN) selected by Fred Hayner,[3] Chicago Record-Herald (CRH) selected by Carl M. Green,[3] Milwaukee Evening Wisconsin (MEW),[4] The Minneapolis Journal (MJ),[5] and Woodruff (W).[6] (Players unanimously chosen by all six selectors are listed in bold.)
- Allen Abbott, end, Wisconsin (CT, CDN, CRH, MEW, W)
- Joe Maddock, tackle, Michigan (CT, CDN, CRH, MEW, MJ, W)
- E. W. Farr, tackle, Chicago (CT, CDN, CRH)
- John G. Flynn, guard, Minnesota (CT, CDN, CRH, MEW, MJ, W)
- Dan McGugin, guard, Michigan (CRH, MEW, W)
- A. C. Ellsworth, center, Chicago (CT, CRH, MJ)
- Emil Skow, center, Wisconsin (CDN, MEW, W)
- Boss Weeks, Michigan (CT, CDN, CRH, MEW, MJ, W)
- Willie Heston, halfback, Michigan (CT, CDN, CRH, MEW, MJ, W)
- Paul J. Jones, halfback/fullback, Michigan (CT, W, MEW)
- Harry J. Van Valkenburg, halfback, Minnesota (CRH, MEW, MJ)
- Everett Sweeley, fullback, Michigan (CT, CDN, CRH)
All-Americans
editNo Western Conference players were selected as first-team players by Walter Camp or Caspar Whitney for the 1902 College Football All-America Team. Camp and Whitney during this period generally limited their first-team selections to players from the East and the Ivy League in particular. In 1902, all 14 consensus All-Americans came from Eastern universities, and 12 of 14 played in the Ivy League. Yale (Camp's alma mater) had seven players who were designated as consensus All-Americans. The only two consensus All-Americans from schools outside the Ivy League were tackle Paul Bunker and center Robert Boyers, both of whom played for Army.[7]
The dominance of Eastern players led to criticism over the years that the All-America selections were biased against players from the leading Western universities, including Chicago, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Notre Dame.[8][9]
However, an All-American team selected by The Newark Advocate broke from tradition and named three Michigan players as first-team All-Americans. The three players recognized by The Newark Advocate were: tackle Joseph Maddock, quarterback Boss Weeks, halfback Willie Heston.[10]
References
edit- ^ National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) (2015). "National Poll Rankings" (PDF). NCAA Division I Football Records. NCAA. p. 108. Retrieved January 4, 2016.
- ^ a b "1902 Western Conference Year Summary". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 29, 2016.
- ^ a b c "All-Western Teams". The Michigan Daily. December 1902. p. 127.
- ^ "First All Western". The Minneapolis Journal. November 27, 1902. p. 2.
- ^ "An All Star Eleven". The Minneapolis Journal. December 3, 1902. p. 16.
- ^ "All-Western Football Teams". The Stentor. December 3, 1902. p. 5.
- ^ "2014 NCAA Football Records: Consensus All-America Selections" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). 2014. p. 4. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 26, 2018. Retrieved August 16, 2014.
- ^ "All-American Teams of East Are Jokes: Critics Who Never Saw Western Teams Play to Name Best in Country -- Forget About Michigan, Minnesota and Illinois". The Mansfield News. December 8, 1910.
- ^ Ross Tenney (December 31, 1922). "Much Dissatisfaction Over Camp's All-American Team: Football Dean Is Accused of Favoring East; Walter Camp Soundly Scored For 'Poorest Teams Ever Foisted Upon Public'". The Des Moines Capital.
- ^ "Our All-American Selection". The Newark Advocate. December 2, 1902.