1918 Big Ten Conference football season


The 1918 Big Ten Conference football season was the 23rd season of college football played by the member schools of the Big Ten Conference and was a part of the 1918 college football season.
The 1918 season was played during World War I and the 1918 flu pandemic that killed 50 to 100 million persons worldwide. Due to travel and quarantine restrictions, many games were cancelled, and the Big Ten teams played irregular schedules, some as short as five games and one as long as 11 games.
The 1918 Michigan Wolverines football team, under head coach Fielding H. Yost, finished with a perfect record of 5–0, shut out four of five opponents, led the conference in scoring defense, and outscored all opponents by a combined total of 96 to 6. Fullback Frank Steketee was selected by Walter Camp as a first-team All-American, while tackle Angus Goetz and center Ernie Vick received first-team All-Big Ten honors. Michigan has been recognized as the 1918 national champion by the Billingsley Report and as a co-national champion with Pittsburgh by the National Championship Foundation.
The 1918 Illinois Fighting Illini football team, under head coach Robert Zuppke, tied for the Big Ten championship but lost two non-conference games. Center Jack Depler was a consensus first-team All-American. Tackle Burt Ingwersen received first-team All-Big Ten honors.

Season overview

Results and team statistics

Key
PPG = Average of points scored per game
PAG = Average of points allowed per game

Pre-season

Threat of cancellation

During the spring and summer of 1918, World War I moved into new phases with Germany's Spring Offensive followed by the Allies' Hundred Days Offensive. During the summer, the Big Ten universities considered calling off the fall football schedule. After the Department of War in mid-September encouraged the continuation of intercollegiate football, conference leadership decided to proceed with the football season. However, many of the conference's top players did not play due to military service. Players serving in the military included Chic Harley and Gaylord Stinchcomb of Ohio State and Archie Weston of Michigan.
The football season was also jeopardized by the 1918 flu pandemic which began in January 1918. The pandemic infected 500 million persons and resulted in the deaths of 50 to 100 million persons.

Quarantine and travel restrictions

In late September 1918, the Big Ten's faculty committee adopted a resolution that declared freshman eligible to play football, suspended the conference's activities as a controlling body during the period of emergency, and agreed to be governed by any rules of the War Department.
In late September, the War Department imposed quarantine and travel restrictions. The restrictions were clarified in early October, and included the following provisions: a prohibition on more than one-and-a-half hours per day of football practice; a prohibition on football games during the month of October that required absence from campus "for a longer period than from noon to taps on Saturday" ; and making allowance for only four November games per school, two at home and two on the road, "which shall in no case involve longer absences than from retreat Friday to taps Sunday."
The restrictions threatened to "kill" football in the west, where lengthy travel was required. Many games were cancelled, including the planned resumption of the rivalry between Michigan and Minnesota. Concerns over spread of the flu pandemic also led to limitations on public gatherings and resulted in some games being played in stadiums with closed gates and with no spectators.

Coaching changes

Two Big Ten teams changed head coaches between the 1917 and 1918 football seasons:

September 28

On September 28, 1918, Iowa was the only Big Ten team to play a game.
On October 5, 1918, the football season officially opened with six Big Ten football teams participating in non-conference games. The games resulted in five wins and one loss, giving the Big Ten a 5–2 non-conference record to that point in the season. Chicago, Northwestern, Wisconsin, and Purdue did not play games. Purdue had its game against Franklin College cancelled and tried unsuccessfully to schedule a game against a team from Fort Benjamin Harrison. Wisconsin was unable to arrange a game due to the pandemic and instead conducted a scrimmage between the first and second teams.
On October 12, 1918, four Big Ten teams played non-conference games, resulting in two wins and two losses and giving the conference a 7–4 record to that point in the season. The day's games gave the Big Ten a 7–4 non-conference record to that point in the season. Several planned games were cancelled due to the flu pandemic, including games between Michigan and Camp Custer, Wisconsin and Ripon, Indiana and Wabash, and Purdue and DePauw. Minnesota staged a game between its S.A.T.C. unit and an "all star" unit that was actually the team's second string; The Minneapolis Tribune described it as "not an honest-to-goodness football game, but just a scrub affair."
On Wednesday, October 16, 1918, Chicago played the first of four midweek practice games.
On October 19, 1918, only three of the Big Ten football teams saw action, playing and winning non-conference games. The day's games gave the Big Ten an 11–4 non-conference record to that point in the season, including Chicago's midweek practice game.
On October 26, 1918, five of the Big Ten football teams participated in non-conference games, resulting in two wins and three losses. The day's games gave the Big Ten a 13–7 non-conference record to that point in the season, including Chicago's midweek practice games.
On Tuesday, October 29, 1918, Chicago played the second of four midweek practice games.
On November 2, 1918, the Big Ten football teams played two conference games and four non-conference games. Michigan and Ohio State were idle. The day's games gave the Big Ten a 16–9 non-conference record to that point in the season, including Chicago's midweek practice games. A planned game between Michigan and Northwestern was cancelled by order of the Health Board.
On Wednesday, November 6, 1918, Chicago played the third of four midweek practice games.
On November 9, 1918, the Big Ten football teams played three conference games and four non-conference games. The non-conference games all resulted in victories. The day's games gave the Big Ten a 20–9–1 non-conference record to that point in the season, including Chicago's midweek practice games.
On November 16, 1918, the Big Ten teams played three conference games and four non-conference games. The non-conference games all resulted in victories. The day's games gave the Big Ten a 24–9–1 non-conference record to that point in the season, including Chicago's midweek practice games.
Five days earlier, the Armistice of 11 November 1918 was signed, marking the end of fighting in World War I. Over nine million combatants and seven million civilians died as a result of the war.
On Wednesday, November 19, 1918, Chicago played the fourth of four midweek practice games.
On November 23, 1918, the Big Ten teams played three conference games and three non-conference games. Indiana was idle, having concluded its season the previous week. The day's games gave the Big Ten a 26–11–1 non-conference record to that point in the season, including Chicago's midweek practice games.
On Thanksgiving Day, November 28, one Big Ten team played a non-conference game, resulting in a victory.
On November 30, 1918, the Big Ten teams played two conference games and two non-conference games. Illinois, Indiana, Northwestern, and Wisconsin were all idle, having already concluded their seasons. The day's games gave the Big Ten a 28–12–1 non-conference record for the season, including Chicago's midweek practice games.
On December 7, 1918, the Big Ten's faculty representatives met in Chicago and voted to disregard eligibility rules for the 1918 season, thus granting a total of four years of eligibility to those who played as freshman in 1918.
Two Big Ten team changed their head coaches between the 1919 and 1919 football seasons.

All-Big Ten honors

The following chart lists players who received first-team honors on the 1918 All-Big Ten Conference football team from Walter Eckersall in the Chicago Tribune. It also includes players listed as members of the 1918 "All-Conference Team" as published in the "ESPN Big Ten Football Encyclopedia".
PositionNameTeamSelectors
EndClarence A. MacDonaldOhio StateBTFE, WE
EndRobert ReedIowaBTFE, WE
TackleBurt IngwersenIllinoisBTFE, WE
TackleAngus GoetzMichiganBTFE, WE
GuardAlbert W. T. Mohr, Jr.IllinoisBTFE, WE
GuardHarry HunzelmanIowaBTFE, WE
CenterErnie VickMichiganBTFE, WE
QuarterbackMarshall UnderhillNorthwesternBTFE, WE
QuarterbackEber SimpsonWisconsinBTFE
HalfbackJesse B. KirkpatrickIllinoisBTFE, WE
HalfbackFrank SteketeeMichiganBTFE, WE
FullbackNorman KingsleyMinnesotaBTFE, WE

All-American honors

Only one Big Ten player, center Jack Depler of Illinois, was recognized as a consensus first-team player on the 1918 College Football All-America Team. Depler was selected as a first-team center by the Frank Menke Syndicate. Michigan fullback Frank Steketee also received first-team honors from Walter Camp.