1887 Michigan Wolverines football team
Encyclopedia
The 1887 Michigan Wolverines football team represented the University of Michigan
in the 1887 college football season
. The team compiled a 5–0 record and outscored its opponents by a combined score of 102 to 10. The 1887 season capped three consecutive undefeated seasons in which Michigan won its games by a combined three-season total of 258 to 10. The captain of the 1887 team was John L. Duffy.
at the Ann Arbor Fairgrounds
. The Chronicle of Ann Arbor reported: "The weather was fine, and the contest was witnessed by a fair crowd of spectators, but one that might have been larger." The game was preceded by the continuation of a wrestling match between two heavyweights named Malley and Jackson. Three-hundred spectators watched the wrestling match, which lasted for between 30 and 45 minutes. The football game began between 3:00 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. Albion kicked off to start the game and Duffy immediately kicked the ball back to the middle of the field. In a scrimmage that followed, John Duffy "slipped through", scored Michigan's first touchdown, and kicked the goal from touchdown to give Michigan a 6-0 lead. Michigan scored two additional touchdowns and a safety in the first half (or "inning"), with the scores being made by Jim Duffy, Royal Farrand and Ernest Sprague. After a ten-minute break between halves, neither team scored in the first 18 minutes of the second half. John Duffy scored Michigan's fourth touchdown, and the kick for goal was successful. James Duffy scored Michigan's fifth touchdown, "the ball coming to him on the bound from the punt-out."
The Michigan Argonaut summarized Michigan's play as follows: "On the whole the boys played a good game. Their passing and running were excellent. Some of the new material is a great strengthening to the eleven. The inability to hold the rush line well was the greatest fault but they will take away with them a stronger one."
. In October 1887, DeHaven wrote to Brother Paul, who ran Notre Dame's intramural athletics program, telling him about the new game of football. Michigan had planned a game in Chicago on Thanksgiving Day, and the three men, DeHaven, Harless and Brother Paul, persuaded their respective schools to play a football match on the Notre Dame campus on the day before Thanksgiving.
On November 22, 1887, the Michigan football team departed from the Michigan Central Railroad Depot in Ann Arbor on the late train. After breakfast in Niles, Michigan
, the team changed trains and arrived in South Bend
between 7:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m. The team was greeted by Father Superior Walsh and spent two hours touring the university buildings and departments of Notre Dame.
The game was the first played by Notre Dame, and the Michigan team was credited with teaching the Notre Dame team the game before play began. The Notre Dame student newspaper, Scholastic
, reported:
Newspaper accounts differ as to whether the football game started at 10:00 a.m. or 11:00 a.m. The proceedings began with a tutorial session in which players from both teams were divided irrespective of college. For the first 30 minutes, the teams scrimmaged in a practice game with Michigan "exchanging six men for the same number from Notre Dame."
After the practice session, the Michigan and Notre Dame teams played a game that lasted only half an hour which was described by The Chronicle as follows:
Between 400 and 500 students watched the game. After the game, the team ate at the Notre Dame dining hall. The Notre Dame student newspaper reported on the gratitude of Notre Dame officials for Michigan's tutorial in the game of football: "After a hearty dinner, Rev. President Walsh thanked the Ann Arbor team for their visit, and assured them of the cordial reception that would always await them at Notre Dame." Brother Paul arranged for carriages to take the team to Niles in time to catch the 3:00 train to Chicago. The Notre Dame paper reported: "At 1 o'clock carriages were taken for Niles, and amidst rousing cheers the University of Michigan football team departed, leaving behind them a most favorable impression."
Michigan's lineup against Notre Dame was J.L. Duffy (fullback), J.E. Duffy and E. McPheran (halfbacks), R.T. Farrand (quarterback), W.W. Harless (center rush), F. Townsend, E.M. Sprague, F.H. Knapp, W. Fowler, G.W. DeHaven and M. Wade (rush line).
The team had planned on a Thanksgiving Day game against Northwestern, but the game could not be arranged. Instead, a match against the Harvard school team was played. The Chronicle noted that the team from the Harvard school was superior to Northwestern, "having defeated Northwestern 28 to 4 and having never before been beaten." The Michigan team lounged around the hotel before departing for the game, which was played on a wet and muddy field at the grounds of the Wanderer Cricket Club (referred to in some reports as Wanderers' park) at 37th Street and Indiana Avenue. The game had been scheduled to begin at 3:00 p.m., but was delayed until 4:00 p.m. John Duffy scored the first touchdown, and the goal was made for a 6-0 lead. Jim Duffy scored the second touchdown on a play described as follows: "Farrand sends it accurately back to Jim Duffy who makes the circle of the field, passing all opponents and secures the second touchdown." Harvard was held for a safety to make the score 14-0. The remainder of the game was played in darkness. William Harless scored Michigan's third touchdown "by good rushing" and breaking through all opponents. Jim Duffy scored Michigan's fourth touchdown. After five more minutes, the game was called with Michigan leading 26 to 0. The Michigan Argonaut wrote that Michigan's score "would have easily been doubled" were it not for the "treacherous nature of the field" and a ball so slippery that "it was almost impossible to hold."
The Chronicle described the return from the game as follows: "Tired out, wet, and covered with mud and glory we returned to the hotel. Some swallow a hasty supper and hurry to catch the train but most of us wait till the next day to start for home. All the boys thoroughly enjoyed themselves and voted it a big time."
Michigan's lineup against the Harvard club was Harless (center), Fowler, Sprague, Townsend, Knapp, Wade and DeHaven (rushers), Farrand (quarterback), John Duffy (fullback) and MacPherran and J. E. Duffy (halfbacks).
Due to injuries, several of Michigan's best players were unable to participate. Quarterback Royal Farrand was left home with his knee in a cast and was replaced by Ball. Sprague and Townsend from the rush line were injured during practice the week before the trip and were replaced by R. S. Babcock and Button. DeHaven recalled, "We were totally unprepared, but I got five starters to go, and with Harless and I (we wanted to see our South Bend friends) and four of our friends, who had never played, and a referee, we went." In his history of the Michigan-Notre Dame rivalry, John Kyrk contends that two of the players who DeHaven recruited for the trip, G. Briggs and E. Rhodes, were non-student "ringers."
Michigan won the first game on April 21 by a score of 26 to 6. The game was played at Green Stocking Ball Park before a crowd stated to be as low as 300 and as high as 800 spectators. Before the game was played, a 100-yard dash was run with players from both teams participating. Michigan's James E. Duffy
defeated Harry Jewett, the American sprint champion, in the race. The game bean at 3:20 p.m., and James Duffy scored the first touchdown after three-and-a-half minutes of play. The Chronicle summarized the game as follows: "The feature of the game on our side was the tackling of Duffy, Harless, Babcock and Briggs, long runs and good passes by Rhodes, DeHaven, Wood, Ball and Button. As usual J. L. Duffy got in some good kicks."
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 1887 college football season
1887 college football season
The 1887 college football season had no clear-cut champion, with the Official NCAA Division I Football Records Book listing Yale Bulldogs football as national champions. In the West, the 1887 Michigan Wolverines football team compiled a 5–0 record, including three wins over Notre Dame, and...
. The team compiled a 5–0 record and outscored its opponents by a combined score of 102 to 10. The 1887 season capped three consecutive undefeated seasons in which Michigan won its games by a combined three-season total of 258 to 10. The captain of the 1887 team was John L. Duffy.
Schedule
Michigan 32, Albion 0
On November 12, 1887, the team opened its season against Albion CollegeAlbion College
Albion College is a private liberal arts college located in Albion, Michigan. Related to the United Methodist Church, it was founded in 1835 and was the first private college in Michigan to have a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa. It has a student population of about 1500.The school's sports teams are...
at the Ann Arbor Fairgrounds
Ann Arbor Fairgrounds
Ann Arbor Fairgrounds was the first home field for the University of Michigan Wolverines football team. The Wolverines played their home games at the Fairgrounds from 1883 to 1892. The first intercollegiate football game played at the Fairgrounds was a May 12, 1883, game between Michigan and the...
. The Chronicle of Ann Arbor reported: "The weather was fine, and the contest was witnessed by a fair crowd of spectators, but one that might have been larger." The game was preceded by the continuation of a wrestling match between two heavyweights named Malley and Jackson. Three-hundred spectators watched the wrestling match, which lasted for between 30 and 45 minutes. The football game began between 3:00 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. Albion kicked off to start the game and Duffy immediately kicked the ball back to the middle of the field. In a scrimmage that followed, John Duffy "slipped through", scored Michigan's first touchdown, and kicked the goal from touchdown to give Michigan a 6-0 lead. Michigan scored two additional touchdowns and a safety in the first half (or "inning"), with the scores being made by Jim Duffy, Royal Farrand and Ernest Sprague. After a ten-minute break between halves, neither team scored in the first 18 minutes of the second half. John Duffy scored Michigan's fourth touchdown, and the kick for goal was successful. James Duffy scored Michigan's fifth touchdown, "the ball coming to him on the bound from the punt-out."
The Michigan Argonaut summarized Michigan's play as follows: "On the whole the boys played a good game. Their passing and running were excellent. Some of the new material is a great strengthening to the eleven. The inability to hold the rush line well was the greatest fault but they will take away with them a stronger one."
Michigan 8, Notre Dame 0
Two of the players on Michigan's 1887 team, George Winthrop DeHaven, Jr. and William Warren Harless, had previously attended the University of Notre DameUniversity of Notre Dame
The University of Notre Dame du Lac is a Catholic research university located in Notre Dame, an unincorporated community north of the city of South Bend, in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States...
. In October 1887, DeHaven wrote to Brother Paul, who ran Notre Dame's intramural athletics program, telling him about the new game of football. Michigan had planned a game in Chicago on Thanksgiving Day, and the three men, DeHaven, Harless and Brother Paul, persuaded their respective schools to play a football match on the Notre Dame campus on the day before Thanksgiving.
On November 22, 1887, the Michigan football team departed from the Michigan Central Railroad Depot in Ann Arbor on the late train. After breakfast in Niles, Michigan
Niles, Michigan
Niles is a city in Berrien and Cass counties in the U.S. state of Michigan, near South Bend, Indiana. The population was 11,600 at the 2010 census. It is the greater populated of two principal cities of and included in the Niles-Benton Harbor, Michigan Metropolitan Statistical Area, which has a...
, the team changed trains and arrived in South Bend
South Bend, Indiana
The city of South Bend is the county seat of St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States, on the St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. As of the 2010 Census, the city had a total of 101,168 residents; its Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 316,663...
between 7:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m. The team was greeted by Father Superior Walsh and spent two hours touring the university buildings and departments of Notre Dame.
The game was the first played by Notre Dame, and the Michigan team was credited with teaching the Notre Dame team the game before play began. The Notre Dame student newspaper, Scholastic
Scholastic (Notre Dame publication)
Scholastic is the official student publication of the University of Notre Dame. Founded in 1867, Scholastic is the United States' oldest continuous collegiate publication. In its history, Scholastic has served both as Notre Dame's weekly student newspaper and now as a monthly news magazine...
, reported:
"It was not considered a match contest, as the home team had been organized only a few weeks, and the Michigan boys, the champions of the West, came more to instruct them in the points of the Rugby game than to win fresh laurels."
Newspaper accounts differ as to whether the football game started at 10:00 a.m. or 11:00 a.m. The proceedings began with a tutorial session in which players from both teams were divided irrespective of college. For the first 30 minutes, the teams scrimmaged in a practice game with Michigan "exchanging six men for the same number from Notre Dame."
After the practice session, the Michigan and Notre Dame teams played a game that lasted only half an hour which was described by The Chronicle as follows:
"The grounds were in very poor condition for playing, being covered with snow in a melting condition, and the players could scarcely keep their feet. Some time had been spent in preliminary practice; the game began and after rolling and tumbling in the mud for half an hour time was finally called, the score standing 8 to 0 in favor of U. of M."
Between 400 and 500 students watched the game. After the game, the team ate at the Notre Dame dining hall. The Notre Dame student newspaper reported on the gratitude of Notre Dame officials for Michigan's tutorial in the game of football: "After a hearty dinner, Rev. President Walsh thanked the Ann Arbor team for their visit, and assured them of the cordial reception that would always await them at Notre Dame." Brother Paul arranged for carriages to take the team to Niles in time to catch the 3:00 train to Chicago. The Notre Dame paper reported: "At 1 o'clock carriages were taken for Niles, and amidst rousing cheers the University of Michigan football team departed, leaving behind them a most favorable impression."
Michigan's lineup against Notre Dame was J.L. Duffy (fullback), J.E. Duffy and E. McPheran (halfbacks), R.T. Farrand (quarterback), W.W. Harless (center rush), F. Townsend, E.M. Sprague, F.H. Knapp, W. Fowler, G.W. DeHaven and M. Wade (rush line).
Michigan 26, Chicago Harvard School 0
The team left Notre Dame on the afternoon of November 22, changed trains in Niles, and arrived by train in Chicago at 7:00 p.m. After a night enjoying the sites of Chicago, the team returned to the hotel at 11:00 p.m.The team had planned on a Thanksgiving Day game against Northwestern, but the game could not be arranged. Instead, a match against the Harvard school team was played. The Chronicle noted that the team from the Harvard school was superior to Northwestern, "having defeated Northwestern 28 to 4 and having never before been beaten." The Michigan team lounged around the hotel before departing for the game, which was played on a wet and muddy field at the grounds of the Wanderer Cricket Club (referred to in some reports as Wanderers' park) at 37th Street and Indiana Avenue. The game had been scheduled to begin at 3:00 p.m., but was delayed until 4:00 p.m. John Duffy scored the first touchdown, and the goal was made for a 6-0 lead. Jim Duffy scored the second touchdown on a play described as follows: "Farrand sends it accurately back to Jim Duffy who makes the circle of the field, passing all opponents and secures the second touchdown." Harvard was held for a safety to make the score 14-0. The remainder of the game was played in darkness. William Harless scored Michigan's third touchdown "by good rushing" and breaking through all opponents. Jim Duffy scored Michigan's fourth touchdown. After five more minutes, the game was called with Michigan leading 26 to 0. The Michigan Argonaut wrote that Michigan's score "would have easily been doubled" were it not for the "treacherous nature of the field" and a ball so slippery that "it was almost impossible to hold."
The Chronicle described the return from the game as follows: "Tired out, wet, and covered with mud and glory we returned to the hotel. Some swallow a hasty supper and hurry to catch the train but most of us wait till the next day to start for home. All the boys thoroughly enjoyed themselves and voted it a big time."
Michigan's lineup against the Harvard club was Harless (center), Fowler, Sprague, Townsend, Knapp, Wade and DeHaven (rushers), Farrand (quarterback), John Duffy (fullback) and MacPherran and J. E. Duffy (halfbacks).
Michigan 26, Notre Dame 6
After Michigan's visit to South Bend in November, football became a popular game on the Notre Dame campus. A football association was formed with Brother Paul as the president. In the spring of 1888, Brother Paul challenged Michigan to return to South Bend. On March 24, 1888, the Notre Dame student newspaper reported, "Mr. DeHaven writes from Ann Arbor that the boys of the University of Michigan have such pleasant remembrances of their Thanksgiving game here that they are anxious to play here again." The games were scheduled for a Friday and Saturday, April 20 and 21, 1888.Due to injuries, several of Michigan's best players were unable to participate. Quarterback Royal Farrand was left home with his knee in a cast and was replaced by Ball. Sprague and Townsend from the rush line were injured during practice the week before the trip and were replaced by R. S. Babcock and Button. DeHaven recalled, "We were totally unprepared, but I got five starters to go, and with Harless and I (we wanted to see our South Bend friends) and four of our friends, who had never played, and a referee, we went." In his history of the Michigan-Notre Dame rivalry, John Kyrk contends that two of the players who DeHaven recruited for the trip, G. Briggs and E. Rhodes, were non-student "ringers."
Michigan won the first game on April 21 by a score of 26 to 6. The game was played at Green Stocking Ball Park before a crowd stated to be as low as 300 and as high as 800 spectators. Before the game was played, a 100-yard dash was run with players from both teams participating. Michigan's James E. Duffy
James E. Duffy (American football)
James Eugene Duffy was an American football player and lawyer. He played halfback for the University of Michigan football team for seven years from 1885 to 1891 and was captain of the 1888 team. In 1886, he set the world record by drop kicking a football 168 feet, 7½ inches...
defeated Harry Jewett, the American sprint champion, in the race. The game bean at 3:20 p.m., and James Duffy scored the first touchdown after three-and-a-half minutes of play. The Chronicle summarized the game as follows: "The feature of the game on our side was the tackling of Duffy, Harless, Babcock and Briggs, long runs and good passes by Rhodes, DeHaven, Wood, Ball and Button. As usual J. L. Duffy got in some good kicks."
Michigan 10, Notre Dame 4
The second game of the spring trip was played on the Notre Dame campus, after the players were taken on a boat ride in St. Joseph's Lake. The game began at about 2:00 p.m. Michigan won by a closer-than-expected score of 10 to 4. The spring games were a disappointment in that the Michigan football team had not allowed its opponents to score a single point since November 1883—a span of more than four years. The Notre Dame team had scored 10 points in two games. DeHaven recalled that, when the Michigan players returned to Ann Arbor, they were booed on their arrival: "It was a badly battered team that landed in the crowded Ann Arbor depot, and we received a proper razzing for breaking a four-year record." No Michigan football team returned to play at Notre Dame until 1942.Varsity letter winners
- George W. DeHaven, Chicago, Illinois - left end
- James E. DuffyJames E. Duffy (American football)James Eugene Duffy was an American football player and lawyer. He played halfback for the University of Michigan football team for seven years from 1885 to 1891 and was captain of the 1888 team. In 1886, he set the world record by drop kicking a football 168 feet, 7½ inches...
, Ann Arbor, Michigan - left halfback - John H. Duffie, Port Huron, MichiganPort Huron, MichiganPort Huron is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of St. Clair County. The population was 30,184 at the 2010 census. The city is adjacent to Port Huron Township but is administratively autonomous. It is joined by the Blue Water Bridge over the St. Clair River to Sarnia,...
- right guard - John L. Duffy, Ann Arbor, Michigan - fullback
- Royal T. FarrandRoyal T. FarrandRoyal Twombly Farand was an American football player and medical doctor.Farrand was born in 1867 in Detroit, Michigan, the son of David Osburn Farrand, a surgeon, and Elizabeth Twombley. He graduated from high school in Detroit in 1886 and enrolled at the University of Michigan...
, Detroit, MichiganDetroit, MichiganDetroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
- quarterback - William W. Harless, Chicago, Illinois - center
- Lincoln C. MacMillan, Ann Arbor, MichiganAnn Arbor, MichiganAnn 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...
- right end - Edgar Withrow MacPherran, Marquette, MichiganMarquette, MichiganMarquette is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Marquette County. The population was 21,355 at the 2010 census, making it the most populated city of the Upper Peninsula. Marquette is a major port on Lake Superior, primarily for shipping iron ore and is the home of Northern...
- right halfback - Ernest SpragueErnest SpragueErnest Marshall Sprague was an American football player, public official, and engineer. He was born in 1865 on a farm at Farmington, Michigan. He was the son of Lorenzo Sprague and Laura G. Sprague...
, Farmington, MichiganFarmington, MichiganFarmington is a city in Oakland County of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is a northern suburb of Detroit and is part of the Metro Detroit area. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 10,372. It is fully surrounded by Farmington Hills, except for a small portion bordered by Livonia to the...
- left guard - Fred TownsendFred TownsendFrederick Townsend was an American football player, lawyer, and politician.Townsend was born in 1862 at Albia, Iowa. He was the son of John Selby Townsend, a district judge and legislator in Iowa. Townsend received his early education in the public school of Albia, Iowa...
, El Paso, TexasEl Paso, TexasEl Paso, is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States, and lies in far West Texas. In the 2010 census, the city had a population of 649,121. It is the sixth largest city in Texas and the 19th largest city in the United States...
- left tackle - George H. Wood, Dayton, OhioDayton, OhioDayton is the 6th largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County, the fifth most populous county in the state. The population was 141,527 at the 2010 census. The Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 841,502 in the 2010 census...
- right tackle
Others
- R.S. Babcock, substitute, Ann Arbor, Michigan
- Leverage Knapp, substitute, Ouleout, New York
- John T. Scott, substitute, Galveston, TexasGalveston, TexasGalveston is a coastal city located on Galveston Island in the U.S. state of Texas. , the city had a total population of 47,743 within an area of...
- Mulford Wade (died November 1926 in Akron, OhioAkron, OhioAkron , is the fifth largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Summit County. It is located in the Great Lakes region approximately south of Lake Erie along the Little Cuyahoga River. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 199,110. The Akron Metropolitan...
), substitute, Cleveland, OhioCleveland, OhioCleveland 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...