1904 Western Conference football season
The 1904 Western Conference football season was the ninth 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 1904 college football season.
| 1904 Western Conference football season | |
|---|---|
| Sport | Football |
| Number of teams | 9 |
| Co-champions | Minnesota, Michigan |
| 1904 Western Conference football standings | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Minnesota + | 3 | – | 0 | – | 0 | 13 | – | 0 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Michigan + | 2 | – | 0 | – | 0 | 10 | – | 0 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chicago | 5 | – | 1 | – | 1 | 10 | – | 1 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Illinois | 3 | – | 1 | – | 1 | 9 | – | 2 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Northwestern | 1 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 8 | – | 2 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Purdue | 1 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 9 | – | 3 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Iowa | 0 | – | 3 | – | 0 | 7 | – | 4 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wisconsin | 0 | – | 3 | – | 0 | 5 | – | 3 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Indiana | 0 | – | 3 | – | 0 | 6 | – | 4 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Season overview
Results and team statistics
| Conf. Rank | Team | Head coach | Overall record | Conf. record | PPG | PAG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 (tie) | Minnesota | Henry L. Williams | 13-0 | 3-0 | 55.8 | 0.9 |
| 1 (tie) | Michigan | Fielding H. Yost | 10–0 | 2–0 | 56.7 | 2.2 |
| 3 | Chicago | Amos A. Stagg | 10–1–1 | 5–1–1 | 34.2 | 3.7 |
| 4 | Illinois | multiple | 9–2–1 | 3–1–1 | 19.3 | 3.5 |
| 5 (tie) | Northwestern | Walter McCornack | 8–2 | 1–2 | 31.2 | 5.5 |
| 5 (tie) | Purdue | Oliver Cutts | 9–3 | 1–2 | 14.7 | 5.5 |
| 7 (tie) | Iowa | John Chalmers | 7–4 | 0–3 | 22.8 | 9.9 |
| 7 (tie) | Wisconsin | Arthur Curtis | 5–3 | 0–3 | 33.1 | 9.3 |
| 7 (tie) | Indiana | James H. Horne | 6–4 | 0–3 | 8.4 | 11.6 |
Key
PPG = Average of points scored per game[1]
PAG = Average of points allowed per game[1]
Regular season
Bowl games
No Western Conference schools participated in any bowl games during the 1904 season.
Awards and honors
All-Western players
Eleven players were chosen as first-team players on at least four of the 1904 All-Western college football teams named by the following eight selectors: Collier's Weekly (COL),[2] Chicago Record-Herald (CRH),[3] Chicago Tribune (CT),[4] Detroit Free Press (DFP),[3] Detroit Tribune (DT),[3] The Minneapolis Journal (MJ),[5] The St. Louis Republic (SLR),[6] and Walter Camp (WC) in Collier's Weekly.[7] (Players unanimously chosen by all eight selectors are listed in bold.)
- Claude Rothgeb, end, Illinois (COL, CRH, CT, DFP, DT, SLR, WC)
- James Irving Bush, end, Wisconsin (COL, CRH, DFP, DT, MJ, WC)
- Joe Curtis, tackle, Michigan (COL, CRH, CT, DFP, DT, MJ, SLR, WC)
- Wilson Bertke, tackle, Wisconsin (COL, DFP, MJ, SLR, WC)
- Walton W. Thorpe, guard, Minnesota (COL, CRH, CT, DFP, DT, MJ, SLR, WC)
- Charles A. Fairweather, guard, Illinois (COL, CRH, CT, DFP, SLR, WC)
- John Hazelwood, center, Illinois (COL, CRH, CT, SLR)
- Walter Eckersall, Chicago (COL, CRH, CT, DFP, DT, SLR, WC)
- Willie Heston, halfback, Michigan (COL, CRH, CT, DFP, DT, MJ, SLR, WC)
- E. J. Vanderboom, halfback, Wisconsin (DFP, DT, SLR, WC)
- Frank Longman, fullback, Michigan (COL, CRH, DFP, DT)
All-Americans
The following three Western Conference players were consensus first-team players on the 1904 College Football All-America Team.
- Fred Speik, end, Chicago (Caspar Whitney [CW])
- Willie Heston, halfback, Michigan (Walter Camp [WC], New York Evening Telegram)
- Walter Eckersall, fullback, Chicago (CW, WC)
References
- "1904 Western Conference Year Summary". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 29, 2016.
- Collier's Self Indexing Annual. P. F. Collier & Son. 1905. p. 674.
- "News-Athletics". The Michigan Daily. December 1904. p. 133.
- "All-Western Football Eleven". Chicago Tribune. November 27, 1904.
- O'Loughlin (November 28, 1904). "The Journal's "All Western"". The Minneapolis Journal. p. 15.
- "All-Western Football Team". The St. Louis Republic. November 30, 1904. p. 9.
- Walter Camp, ed. (1905). Spalding's Official Foot Ball Guide 1905. American Sports Publishing Company. p. 35.