Preseason , Michigan's first African-American football player In April 1892, representatives of several Western colleges met at the Grand Pacific Hotel in
Chicago where they formed the Western College Athletic League to compete in football, baseball and track. The members of the new league were the University of Wisconsin, University of Michigan, Northwestern University, and the University of Minnesota. The Western College Athletic League laid the foundation for what later became the
Big Ten Conference. With the new alliance in place, Michigan played several teams that would become its long-time rivals. The 1892 season included Michigan's first-ever games against
Wisconsin,
Minnesota,
Northwestern, and
Chicago. Before the season began, Michigan hired
Frank Barbour of Yale as its new head football coach. Twenty men showed up for practice in mid-September. Barbour spent weeks teaching his players the fundamentals of the game.
George Jewett, the first African-American to play football at Michigan, was described as the "phenomenon" of the pre-season practice. After the 1892 season, it took 40 years before another African American (
Willis Ward) played for the Michigan football team.
Game 1: Michigan Athletic Association On October 8, 1892, Michigan opened its season with a 74–0 victory over the Michigan Athletic Association team from
Detroit. The game was played in 25-minute halves at
Regents Field in
Ann Arbor.
George Jewett, credited with playing his "usual brilliant running game," scored Michigan's first touchdown and kicked the goal. Michigan's second touchdown was scored by
George Dygert with Jewett kicking the goal. On Michigan's next possession, Jewett ran 75 yards for a touchdown and kicked goal. Later in the first half, Jewett returned a kick for another touchdown and again kicked goal. Michigan led, 30–0, at halftime. In the second half, Michigan scored 44 points. Jewett scored four more touchdowns and kicked four more goals. While contemporary accounts do not record who scored each touchdown and goal, the account in
The U. of M. Daily attributes at least 44 points to Jewett on seven touchdowns (four points each) and eight kicks for goal (two points each).
Game 2: at Michigan Athletic Association Four days after the season opener, Michigan traveled to Detroit for a Wednesday night game against the Michigan Athletic Association. Michigan won the rematch, 68–0. Michigan scored seven touchdowns (four points each) and five goals (two points each) in the first half to take a 38–0 lead. The Wolverines added to their lead with five touchdowns, four goals, and a safety in the second half. The
Detroit Free Press wrote afterward that the Michigan team "seems pretty well equipped this year" and added: "From the looks of some of them in the dressing room they have been tackling locomotives and other tough obstacles around the college town, but, like the veterans in the army, they only seem to relish it all the more when once bruised and broken up." The Michigan Athletic Association team was trained by
Keene Fitzpatrick, who later gained fame as the trainer and track coach at Michigan and
Princeton. Michigan ran in a "V" formation in the game. The game account published in the
Wisconsin State Journal repeatedly referred to Jewett as "the negro". The newspaper described the crowd's reaction to a tackle of Jewett: "Diving in between two of the Michigan men, he grasped the negro by the legs and brought him down. The crowd went wild, and even several of the oldest and most staid professors were seen to cheer and wave their hats." Michigan's starting lineup against Wisconsin was Paul Woodworth (right end), W. W. Griffin (right tackle),
Charles Thomas (right guard), Frank Harding (center),
Virgil Tupper (left guard), Frank Henry Decke (left tackle), Ralph Waldo Emerson Hayes (left end), Edmond Sanderson (quarterback), McAllister (left halfback), Jewett (right halfback), and
George Dygert (fullback). Ten of Michigan's eleven starters played the entire game. Starting center Harding was "knocked insensible" near the end of the first half and was replaced by
Frederick W. Henninger. Michigan's starting center Frank Harding was unable to play due to the injury he sustained against Wisconsin. The
Detroit Free Press's account of the game reported that Michigan was "badly outclassed at center and could not withstand Minnesota's rush." At the end of a 45-minute first half, Minnesota led 10-0. Michigan's only touchdown came on a long run by
George Jewett in the second half. Jewett and Ralph Hayes were also praised for making "great tackles." Michigan's starting lineup against Wisconsin was Woodworth (right end), Griffin (right tackle), Thomas (right guard), Henninger (center), Tupper (left guard), Decke (left tackle), Hayes (left end), McAllister (quarterback), Grosh (left halfback), Jewett (right halfback), and Dygert (fullback). The only substitutions for Michigan were McAllister (replacing Grosh at left halfback in the first half), Sanderson (replacing McAllister at quarterback), and Southworth (replacing Woodworth at right end in the second half). According to the
Detroit Free Press, the Wolverines "did sharp work" for the first 15 minutes of the game, scoring all 18 points in that time. The Wolverines reportedly lost their vigor in the remainder of the game. Michigan's lineup against DePauw was Paul Woodworth (left end), Frank Decke (left tackle),
Virgil Tupper (left guard), Frank Harding (center),
Charles Thomas (right guard), W. W. Griffin (right tackle), Charles Southworth (right end), Ed Sanderson (quarterback), Jewett (right halfback), McAllister (left halfback), and
George Dygert (fullback).
Game 6: at Purdue On Monday, October 24, 1892, Michigan lost to
Purdue, 24–0, before a crowd of 2,500 spectators at
Stuart Field in
Lafayette, Indiana. The game was the second meeting between the two schools, Michigan having won the first game in
1890. The game began at 3:00 p.m. Purdue scored two touchdowns and kicked both goals to take a 12-0 lead at halftime. Purdue scored another two touchdowns and two goal from touchdown in the second half. Michigan sustained multiple injuries, and team captain
George Dygert was injured on Purdue's fourth touchdown run. Michigan had no more replacements left to substitute into the game, so Purdue was allowed to kick its goal from touchdown, and the game was then called. The strain of playing five games in 13 days showed in the play of the Michigan team. The
Detroit Free Press described a spate of injuries that eventually led to the game's early termination: "Michigan's team was crippled at several points as it went on the field. Jewett's right ankle was very weak, and McAllister's back and neck still used up from the De Pauw game. Harding was hurt almost at the beginning, and was forced to retire before the middle of the half. . . . Jewett was in no condition to play the game, and Freund had to take his place soon after Harding retired. . . . At the opening of the second half McAllister had his leg so strained that he gave his place to Woodworth, Southworth playing end. Soon after Dygert's ankle gave way and the game was called, since Michigan had no sixteenth man to enter the game." After the game, Purdue fans celebrated with "ringing of bells, parades and fireworks." The
Detroit Free Press reported that "Bray, Jewett and Decke carried off the honors for the U. of M."
Game 8: Albion On November 5, 1892, Michigan played its second home game of the year. The Wolverines defeated by a decisive score of 60–8. The game was played in halves of 45 minutes in front of 600 spectators at
Regents Field. Michigan scored 10 touchdowns and converted on all 10 kicks for goal from touchdown. Contemporaneous newspaper accounts do not detail which players scored Michigan's 10 touchdowns, though Jewett, Dygert, and Leonard were credited with long runs.
Game 9: at Cornell On November 8, 1892, three days after playing Albion, Michigan played a Tuesday afternoon game against
Cornell before a crowd of 1,200 spectators at Percy Field in
Ithaca, New York. The Wolverines lost the game, 44–0. Michigan reportedly made good gains through center, "used the wedge effectively" and "tackled hard, but guarded poorly and fumbled continually." Michigan's lineup against Cornell was Powers (left end), Dickie (left tackle), Hall (left guard), C. T. Griffin (center), Henninger (right guard), W. W. Griffin (right tackle), Hayes (right end), Sanderson (quarterback), Freund (left halfback), Jewett (right halfback), and Dygert (fullback).
Game 10: vs. Chicago On November 13, 1892, Michigan played its first game against the
Chicago Maroons. Michigan had originally been scheduled to play Lehigh in
Toledo, but the opponent was changed to Chicago. A group of 300 traveled by train from Ann Arbor, escorted the team to Boody House, and "showed Toledo how college boys take a city by storm." The game was played at Toledo's Olympic Park on a wet and muddy field.
Game 11: Oberlin On November 19, 1892, Michigan played a close game against an undefeated
Oberlin team led by player-coach
John Heisman. The outcome of the game was, and remains, disputed. Michigan records the game as a 26–24 victory, while Oberlin does not count the final Michigan touchdown and records the game as a 24–22 victory for Oberlin. The second half consisted of only three short drives before the game ended in controversy. Michigan began the half with possession and fumbled. On Oberlin's first possession of the second half, Savage took the ball at Oberlin's two-yard line and ran 103 yards to Michigan's five-yard line where Jewett caught up and tackled him. Two plays later, Hart scored a touchdown and Oberlin kicked goal to take a 24–22 lead. On the next possession after Hart's touchdown, Michigan ran two plays when the referee Ensworth, a substitute player for Oberlin, called time and the entire Oberlin team "ran off the field so quickly it almost seemed prearranged." In another account, the
Daily detailed the clock controversy as follows: "Referee Ensworth, an Oberlin substitute, lost all tab of time, and called the game at fourteen minutes to five, while the captain of each team had agreed to play until ten minutes before the hour. Time-keeper Spangler also verifies this. Captain Williams immediately got his team into the bus and were driven to their hotel. All expostulations with the Oberlin captain and manager were of no avail. Umpire Prettyman had the time and says that Mr. Ensworth did not take out a four minutes wait during the latter part of the half when one of the players was recovering from an injury." The Detroit newspapers reported that Michigan had won the game, while Oberlin newspapers reported that Oberlin had won. More than a century later, the controversy continued as the
Oberlin Alumni Magazine published an article titled "The Day Oberlin Beat Michigan, Or Did We?" Michigan's lineup against Oberlin was Woodworth (left end), Pearson and Bird (left tackle), Thomas (left guard), C. T. Griffin (center), Henninger (right guard), W. w. Griffin (right tackle), Hayes (right end), Sanderson (quarterback), Leonard and Freund (left halfback), Jewett (right halfback), and Dygert (fullback). Charles Rittenger, substituting for Jewett, scored Michigan's final touchdown. Michigan's starting lineup against Cornell was Ralph Waldo Emerson Hayes (right end), W. W. Griffin (right tackle),
Frederick W. Henninger (right guard), C. T Griffin (center),
Charles Thomas (left guard), Frank Decke (left tackle), Paul Woodworth (left end), Edmond Sanderson (quarterback), Lawrence Grosh and Raynor Freund (left halfback), Jewett and Charles Rittenger (right halfback), and
George Dygert (fullback). Freund and Rittenger appeared as substitutes. He wrote:"The apparent lack of patriotism among our alumni is largely due to the fact that while in college there was little or no incentive to college spirit, so-called, growing out of contests with other colleges. Michigan has always been without a near-at-hand rival. Therefore, her alumni were born, brought up, and graduated into the world without much of an opportunity to yell, fight and bet upon her college base-ball team, foot-ball team, or crew. Perhaps the University of Chicago, under the leadership of Stagg, may alter matters in this respect in the near future. . . . The athletic competition which is now awakening will rouse a more active display of their latent enthusiasm, and it will do it without sacrificing the real and more serious purpose of the University. While we deplore the excessive attention now paid at times to athletics, we cannot deny that athletic prestige does much to help a university in more substantial ways." ==Personnel==