George Dygert
Encyclopedia
George Burlingame "Dygie" Dygert (November 25, 1870 – April 4, 1957) was an American football
player and lawyer. Dygert played college football
for the University of Michigan
for five years from 1890 to 1894 and was captain of the 1892
and 1893 team
s. He played professional football for the Butte, Montana
football team in 1896 and 1897 and practiced law in Butte and Chicago from 1896 to 1953.
. He attended Ann Arbor High School where he played two years on the high school's football team, including one year as the team's captain.
and played five years at the fullback
and halfback
positions for the Michigan Wolverines football
team from 1890 to 1894. As a freshman in 1890, Dygert played on the first racially integrated Michigan football team
, a team that featured Dygert and George Jewett
, both of whom grew up in Ann Arbor, playing in the same backfield. (After Jewett, another African-American did not play football at Michigan until Willis Ward
did so in the 1930s.) The 1890 Michigan team photograph shows Dygert and Jewett seated next to each other. (Cropped image at right.)
In November 1891, after Dygert's second year playing for the Wolverines, the Chicago Daily Tribune
wrote:
Dygert was elected as the team captain of the 1892
and 1893 Michigan football team
s that compiled records of 7–5 and 7–3, respectively. He was also one of the leaders of the 1894 team
that compiled a record of 9–1–1, outscoring opponents 244 to 84. Dygert authored an article on the 1894 season for The Michigan Alumnus in which he credited the team's manager Charles A. Baird
, head coach William McCauley
and trainer Keene Fitzpatrick
for the team's success:
Dygert received his bachelor's degree in 1893 and thereafter remained at the university for two more years as a law student. When he received his undergraduate degree in June 1893, the Detroit Free Press
wrote:
. In March 1896, The Michigan Alumnus reported that he had been admitted to the bar at Butte, and had begun practice there. His law practice in Butte specialized in mining law.
In addition to his law practice, Dygert also played professional football for a team in Butte that was sponsored by mine owners. He played halfback for the Butte team in 1896 and 1897. The Los Angeles Times
called the "Buttes" the best football team in the West in 1896, as they defeated the Denver Athletic Club 20–0 and the San Francisco Olympics 18–0. The Times called Butte's Christmas Day victory in San Francisco "perhaps the best football game ever put up in the West." On Thanksgiving Day in 1897, the Butte football team defeated the highly regarded Oakland Reliance team 6–4 in front of 2,000 spectators in Butte. The Associated Press
account of the game credited Dygert with "tearing great holes through the Reliance line." The Butte team defeated the Reliance in a second game played three days later by a score of 4–0, and Dygert scored the game's only points on a touchdown run (scored as four points under the rules of the time). According to the Associated Press account of the game, Dygert took the ball six or eight yards from the Reliance goal and "went through the line" for the touchdown.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
player and lawyer. Dygert played college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
for the University of Michigan
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...
for five years from 1890 to 1894 and was captain of the 1892
1892 Michigan Wolverines football team
The 1892 Michigan Wolverines football team represented the University of Michigan in the 1892 college football season. The team, with Frank Barbour as head coach, compiled a 7–5 record and outscored its opponents by a combined score of 298 to 170...
and 1893 team
1893 Michigan Wolverines football team
The 1893 Michigan Wolverines football team represented the University of Michigan in the 1893 college football season. The team, with Frank Barbour as head coach, compiled a 7–3 record and outscored its opponents by a combined score of 278 to 102...
s. He played professional football for the Butte, Montana
Butte, Montana
Butte is a city in Montana and the county seat of Silver Bow County, United States. In 1977, the city and county governments consolidated to form the sole entity of Butte-Silver Bow. As of the 2010 census, Butte's population was 34,200...
football team in 1896 and 1897 and practiced law in Butte and Chicago from 1896 to 1953.
Early years
Dygert was born on November 25, 1870 and raised in Ann Arbor, MichiganAnn 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...
. He attended Ann Arbor High School where he played two years on the high school's football team, including one year as the team's captain.
Michigan
Dygert enrolled at the University of MichiganUniversity 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...
and played five years at the 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...
and 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...
positions for the Michigan Wolverines football
Michigan Wolverines football
The Michigan Wolverines football program represents the University of Michigan in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level. Michigan has the most all-time wins and the highest winning percentage in college football history...
team from 1890 to 1894. As a freshman in 1890, Dygert played on the first racially integrated Michigan football team
1890 Michigan Wolverines football team
The 1890 Michigan Wolverines football team represented the University of Michigan in the 1890 college football season. The team compiled a 4–1 record and outscored its opponents by a combined score of 129 to 36. The team captain was William C. Malley. George P. Codd, who later served as the Mayor...
, a team that featured Dygert and George Jewett
George Jewett
George Henry Jewett II was an American athlete who became the first African American football player at both the University of Michigan and Northwestern University, and in the Big Ten Conference...
, both of whom grew up in Ann Arbor, playing in the same backfield. (After Jewett, another African-American did not play football at Michigan until Willis Ward
Willis Ward
Willis F. Ward was a track and field athlete and American football player who was inducted into the University of Michigan Athletic Hall of Honor in 1981....
did so in the 1930s.) The 1890 Michigan team photograph shows Dygert and Jewett seated next to each other. (Cropped image at right.)
In November 1891, after Dygert's second year playing for the Wolverines, the Chicago Daily Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
wrote:
"Dygert, full-back, has received his football as well as his intellectual education in Ann Arbor. He is short and thickset, having 158 pounds of muscle attached to five feet seven and one-half inches of length. He tackles low and hard and can be found at the bottom of almost every heap."
Dygert was elected as the team captain of the 1892
1892 Michigan Wolverines football team
The 1892 Michigan Wolverines football team represented the University of Michigan in the 1892 college football season. The team, with Frank Barbour as head coach, compiled a 7–5 record and outscored its opponents by a combined score of 298 to 170...
and 1893 Michigan football team
1893 Michigan Wolverines football team
The 1893 Michigan Wolverines football team represented the University of Michigan in the 1893 college football season. The team, with Frank Barbour as head coach, compiled a 7–3 record and outscored its opponents by a combined score of 278 to 102...
s that compiled records of 7–5 and 7–3, respectively. He was also one of the leaders of the 1894 team
1894 Michigan Wolverines football team
The 1894 Michigan Wolverines football team represented the University of Michigan in the 1894 college football season. The team, with William McCauley as head coach, compiled an 9–1–1 record and outscored its opponents by a combined score of 244 to 84. The Wolverines played a home-and-away series...
that compiled a record of 9–1–1, outscoring opponents 244 to 84. Dygert authored an article on the 1894 season for The Michigan Alumnus in which he credited the team's manager 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...
, head coach 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...
and trainer 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...
for the team's success:
"The fall semester opened under the most favorable conditions for as fine an eleven as Michigan has ever had. Manager Charles Baird was particularly fortunate in securing the services of Mr. Macauley, tackle on PrincetonPrinceton Tigers footballThe Princeton Tigers football program represents Princeton University college football at the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision...
's championship eleven of last year, as coach, and Mr. Keene Fitzpatrick, of Detroit's M.A.A., as trainer. The work of both these enthusiasts can be seen in the practice of the team from day to day. At a mass meeting held last month great enthusiasm was shown by the students, and several hundred dollars was raised for the team. Thus, for the first time in the history of Michigan football, the manager was enabled to secure the necessary equipment for a first-class eleven. Lack of money has been the cry hitherto."
Dygert received his bachelor's degree in 1893 and thereafter remained at the university for two more years as a law student. When he received his undergraduate degree in June 1893, the Detroit Free Press
Detroit Free Press
The Detroit Free Press is the largest daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, USA. The Sunday edition is entitled the Sunday Free Press. It is sometimes informally referred to as the "Freep"...
wrote:
"Another of the men who have proved themselves to be the strongest in the public affairs of the graduating class is Mr. George B. Dygert. Everybody knows of Mr. Dygert, otherwise known as 'Dygie,' captain of the U. of M. eleven. Mr. Dygert is one of the strongest athletes in his class, and as a football player he stands at the head of the college list. In outdoor life he has been one of the most prominent members of the senior class from the beginning to the end of its course."
Montana
As early as June 1893, Dygert has stated his intention of "migrating to the 'wooly west,' as he terms it." After completing his legal studies at Ann Arbor, Dygert moved to Butte, MontanaButte, Montana
Butte is a city in Montana and the county seat of Silver Bow County, United States. In 1977, the city and county governments consolidated to form the sole entity of Butte-Silver Bow. As of the 2010 census, Butte's population was 34,200...
. In March 1896, The Michigan Alumnus reported that he had been admitted to the bar at Butte, and had begun practice there. His law practice in Butte specialized in mining law.
In addition to his law practice, Dygert also played professional football for a team in Butte that was sponsored by mine owners. He played halfback for the Butte team in 1896 and 1897. The Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
called the "Buttes" the best football team in the West in 1896, as they defeated the Denver Athletic Club 20–0 and the San Francisco Olympics 18–0. The Times called Butte's Christmas Day victory in San Francisco "perhaps the best football game ever put up in the West." On Thanksgiving Day in 1897, the Butte football team defeated the highly regarded Oakland Reliance team 6–4 in front of 2,000 spectators in Butte. The Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
account of the game credited Dygert with "tearing great holes through the Reliance line." The Butte team defeated the Reliance in a second game played three days later by a score of 4–0, and Dygert scored the game's only points on a touchdown run (scored as four points under the rules of the time). According to the Associated Press account of the game, Dygert took the ball six or eight yards from the Reliance goal and "went through the line" for the touchdown.