1897 Western Conference football season

1897 Western Conference football season
Sport	Football
Number of teams	7
Champion	Wisconsin
Football seasons
←  1896 1898  →

1897 Western Conference football standings
v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
Wisconsin $	3	–	0	–	0			9	–	1	–	0
Chicago	3	–	1	–	0			11	–	1	–	0
Michigan	2	–	1	–	0			6	–	1	–	1
Illinois	1	–	1	–	0			6	–	2	–	0
Purdue	1	–	2	–	0			5	–	3	–	1
Northwestern	0	–	2	–	0			5	–	3	–	0
Minnesota	0	–	3	–	0			4	–	4	–	0
$ – Conference champion

The 1897 Western Conference football season was the second season of college football played by the member schools of the Western Conference (later known as the Big Ten Conference) and was a part of the 1897 college football season.

Pat O'Dea of Wisconsin

Wisconsin, coached by Philip King, won its second consecutive conference championship with a record of 9–1 (3–0 against conference opponents). The Badgers' sole loss was against a team of Wisconsin alumni. The Badgers shut out eight opponents and outscored all opponents, 210 to 14. On defense, the team led the conference, allowing an average of 1.4 points per game. Pat O'Dea, an Australian who played fullback and excelled as a kicker, starred for the Badgers.

Chicago, coached by Amos Alonzo Stagg, finished in second place with an 11–1 record. On offense, Chicago led the conference with an average of 26.9 points per game. The most important game of the Western Conference season was played between Chicago and Wisconsin on November 13, 1897, at Marshall Field in Chicago. Wisconsin won the game, 23-8. ^[1]

Three Western Conference players from the 1897 season were later inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame: O'Dea of Wisconsin; fullback Clarence Herschberger of Chicago; and end Neil Snow of Michigan.

Season overview

Results and team statistics

Conf. Rank	Team	Head coach	Overall record	Conf. record	PPG	PAG
1	Wisconsin	Philip King	9–1	3–0	21.0	1.4
2	Chicago	Amos A. Stagg	11–1	3–1	26.9	5.7
3	Michigan	Gustave Ferbert	6–1–1	2–1	21.0	3.9
4	Illinois	George Huff	6–2	1–1	23.8	5.6
5	Purdue	William W. Church	5–3–1	1–2	11.8	12.0
6	Northwestern	Jesse Van Doozer	5–3	0–2	8.6	6.9
7	Minnesota	Alexander Jerrems	4–4	0-3	14.0	9.6

Key

PPG = Average of points scored per game ^[2]
PAG = Average of points allowed per game ^[2]

Regular season

Only 10 conference games were played during the 1897 season as follows:

• October 23, 1897: Chicago defeated Northwestern, 21-6, at Chicago
• October 23, 1897: Illinois defeated Purdue, 34-4, at Champaign, Illinois
• October 30, 1897: Chicago defeated Illinois, 18-12, at Champaign, Illinois
• October 30, 1897: Wisconsin defeated Minnesota, 39-0, at Minneapolis.
• November 6, 1897: Michigan defeated Purdue, 34-4, at Ann Arbor, Michigan
• November 13, 1897: Michigan defeated Minnesota, 14-0, at Detroit
• November 13, 1897: Wisconsin defeated Chicago, 23-8, at the Chicago Coliseum ^[3]
• November 25, 1897: Purdue defeated Minnesota, 6-0, at West Lafayette, Indiana
• November 25, 1897: Chicago defeated Michigan, 21-12, at Chicago ^[4]
• November 25, 1897: Wisconsin defeated Northwestern, 22-0, at Evanston, Illinois.

Notable non-conference games during the 1897 season included the following:

• October 16, 1897: Michigan defeated Ohio State, 34–0, at Ann Arbor (the first Michigan–Ohio State football rivalry game)
• October 16, 1897: Northwestern lost to Iowa, 12–6, at Evanston, Illinois
• October 23, 1897: Minnesota lost to Iowa Agricultural, 12–10, at Ames, Iowa
• October 30, 1897, Purdue defeated Indiana, 20–6, at West Lafayette, Indiana
• November 6, 1897: Chicago defeated Notre Dame, 34–5, at Chicago
• November 13, 1897: Purdue defeated Missouri, 30–12, at West Lafayette
• November 20, 1897: Illinois lost to Carlisle, 23–6, at Chicago

Bowl games

No bowl games were played during the 1897 season.

Awards and honors

All-Western players

An All-Western team was selected by The Northwestern, consisting of the following players: ^[5]

• Neil Snow, end, Michigan
• James M. Sheldon, end, Chicago
• Arthur Hale Curtis, tackle, Wisconsin
• Jonathan E. Webb, tackle, Chicago
• Richard France, guard, Michigan
• C. Rogers, guard, Wisconsin
• Roy Chamberlain, center, Wisconsin
• Walter S. Kennedy, quarterback, Chicago
• Ralph C. Hamill, halfback, Chicago
• John McLean, halfback, Michigan
• Pat O'Dea, fullback, Wisconsin (NW)

All-Americans

For the complete All-America selections, see 1897 College Football All-America Team.

No Western Conference players were selected for the 1897 College Football All-America Team.

References

1. "Wisconsin Wins Easily: The Chicago 'Varsity Eleven Goes Down in Defeat Before the Badgers". Chicago Inter Ocean . November 14, 1897. p. 10.
2. "1897 Western Conference Year Summary". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 28, 2016.
3. "Chicago Is Beaten". Chicago Tribune. November 14, 1897. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.
4. "Chicago's: 21 to 12; Michigan Men Are Defeated in a Spectacular Game". Chicago Tribune. November 26, 1897. pp. 1–2 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "All-Western, All-Eastern, All-American". The Northwestern. December 14, 1899. p. 11.