1895 Oregon Webfoots football team

1895 Oregon Webfoots football
1895 U of O football team; coach Percy Benson in lower left
OIFA champions
Conference	Oregon Intercollegiate Football Association
Record	4–0 (4–0 OIFA)
Head coach	Percy Benson (1st season)
Captain	H. S. Templeton
Home stadium	Kincaid Field
Seasons ←  1894 1896  →

The 1895 Oregon Webfoots football team was an American football team that represented the University of Oregon in the 1895 college football season. ^[1] It was the Webfoots' second season. They were led by head coach Percy Benson, previously a star player for the University of California team.

Background

The Webfoots were part of a five-team conference called the Oregon Intercollegiate Football Association, which met in Salem on October 5, 1895, to elect officers, establish official rules, and set a schedule for the year. ^[2] Other members of the conference included Oregon Agricultural College in Corvallis, Portland University (a short-lived private school who were collegiate champions of Oregon for 1894), Pacific University in Forest Grove, and Willamette University in Salem. ^[2]

The team's coach for 1895 was Percy Benson, a star quarterback for the California Golden Bears. Benson's hiring was announced during the last week of September, with his arrival in Eugene from California anticipated towards the first of October. ^[3]

The first two games of the 1895 season – against OAC ^[4] and Willamette ^[5] – were regarded as exhibition practice games, the final two contests being official conference games that were part of the "league series." ^[6]

They finished the season with a record of four wins and zero losses (4–0), winning the OIFA's pennant.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
October 26	Oregon Agricultural	Kincaid Field Eugene, OR (rivalry)	W 46–0		[7]
November 2	at Willamette	Oregon State Fairgrounds Salem, OR	W 8–4		[8]
November 16	at Portland University	Portland, OR	W 6–4		[9]
November 28	Willamette University	Kincaid Field Eugene, OR	W 6–0	1,000	[10]
Source: [11] [12]

Roster

Starters

• Left end: J. Russell Coleman

• Left tackle: Fred M. Templeton

• Left guard: John M. Edmunson

• Center: A.L. Gilleland

• Right guard: Edward P. Shattuck

• Right tackle: Fred D. Herbold

• Right end: Lee M. Travis

• Quarterback: Roscoe S. Bryson

• Left halfback: Clarence M. Bishop

• Right halfback: Clarence W. Keene

• Fullback: Harry S. Templeton

Reserves: Lincoln Farrington, A. Kuykendall, Merriman, Miller, Ellis Prather, Stransley; ^[7] John L. Higgins, Storossli ^{[13] [14]}

References

1. • McCann, Michael C. (1995). Oregon Ducks Football: 100 Years of Glory. Eugene, OR: McCann Communications Corp. ISBN   0-9648244-7-7.
2. "Pigskin Punchers," Daily Oregon Statesman, vol. 45 (Oct. 6, 1895,), p. 5.
3. "Jottings About Town," Albany Herald-Disseminator, Sept. 26, 1895, p. 5.
4. "Reaching for the Championship: The OAC Football Team Has a New Coach and Work Has Begun," Corvallis Times, vol. 8, no. 36 (Oct. 23, 1895), p. 3.
5. Hurrah for Willamette! Capital Journal, vol. 8, no. 150 (Oct. 28, 1895), p. 4.
6. "To Salem," Daily Eugene Guard, vol. 9, no. 123 (Nov. 1, 1895), p. 4.
7. "U. of O.'s win!". Daily Eugene Guard. (Oregon). October 26, 1895. p. 1.
8. "U. of O.'s victorious again". Daily Eugene Guard. (Oregon). November 2, 1895. p. 1.
9. "The team at home". Daily Eugene Guard. (Oregon). November 18, 1895. p. 4.
10. "The pennant is ours". Daily Eugene Guard. (Oregon). November 29, 1895. p. 1.
11. "1895 Football Schedule". University of Oregon Athletics. Retrieved September 1, 2023.
12. "2023 Oregon Football Record Book" (PDF). University of Oregon Athletics. p. 56. Retrieved September 1, 2023.
13. "To Salem," Eugene Daily Guard, Nov. 1, 1895, p. 4.
14. First names from Twentieth Annual Catalogue of the University of Oregon, 1895–1896. Eugene: B.H. Miller, 1896, passim.