1905 Washburn vs. Fairmount football game

Last updated

The Three Down Experiment
Fairmount vs. Washburn
Washburn Ichabods Fairmount Wheatshockers
00
Head coach: 
John H. Outland 		Head coach: 
Willis Bates
1234Total
Washburn00000
Fairmount00000
DateDecember 25, 1905
Season 1905
Location Wichita, Kansas

The 1905 Washburn vs. Fairmount football game was a college football game between Fairmount College (now called Wichita State University) and the Washburn Ichabods played on December 25, 1905, in Wichita, Kansas. It marked the first experiment with the forward pass and with the ten-yard requirement for first downs. Despite the game's Christmas Day playing date, It is unclear if the game was considered "regular season", "post season", or "exhibition" in classification.

Contents

Game play

Fairmount College was coached by Willis Bates. The head coach for Washburn that season was John H. Outland, but because he was officiating, it is likely that the coaching duties fell to assistant coach (and next year's head coach) Garfield Weede. The game ended in a 0–0 tie. [1]

The conditions for the game were excellent, but neither side was able to approach the other team's goal except by a punt. Only seven first downs were made the entire game—four by Washburn and three by Fairmount. Most of the game was played in the middle of the field, to the disappointment of the fans. [2]

New rule test

Safer but not "conducive"

Both teams had played a previous game that same season. What made this second game unique was that it was a test of a proposed rule of play. During the game, each team's offense was required to gain ten yards instead of five yards in three downs to earn a new first down.

The experiment was considered a failure. Football legend John H. Outland officiated the game and commented, "It seems to me that the distance required in three downs would almost eliminate touchdowns, except through fakes or flukes." [3] The Los Angeles Times reported that there was much kicking and that the game was considered much safer than regular play, but that the new rule was not "conducive to the sport." [4]

Impact

Three days later, 62 schools met in New York City to discuss rule changes to make the game safer. As a result of that meeting, the Intercollegiate Athletic Association of the United States, later named the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), was formed and several other rule changes were made to improve safety for players, including the addition of the forward pass. [5]

First forward pass

In his history of the sport of football, David M. Nelson concluded that "the first forward passes were thrown at the end of the 1905 season in a game between Fairmount and Washburn colleges in Kansas." [6] According to Nelson, Washburn completed three passes, and Fairmount completed two. Credit for the first pass goes to Fairmount's Bill Davis, who completed a pass to Art Solter. [7]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">College football</span> Collegiate rules version of American/Canadian football, played by colleges and universities

College football refers to gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football first gained popularity in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Forward pass</span> Gridiron football play

In several forms of football, a forward pass is the throwing of the ball in the direction in which the offensive team is trying to move, towards the defensive team's goal line. The legal and widespread use of the forward pass distinguishes gridiron football from rugby football from which the gridiron code evolved, in which the play is illegal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wichita State University</span> Public university in Wichita, Kansas, US

Wichita State University (WSU) is a public research university in Wichita, Kansas, United States. It is governed by the Kansas Board of Regents. The university offers more than 60 undergraduate degree programs in more than 200 areas of study in nine colleges. The university's graduate school offers more than 50 master's degrees in more than 100 areas and a specialist in education degree and 13 doctoral degrees. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference</span> NAIA conference

The Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). The KCAC is the oldest conference in the NAIA and the second-oldest in the United States, tracing its history to 1890.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John H. Outland</span> American football player and coach (1871–1947)

John Henry Outland was an American football player and coach. He played football at Penn College in Oskaloosa, Iowa, the University of Kansas, and the University of Pennsylvania. He was twice named an All-American while playing for the Penn Quakers, in 1897 as a tackle and in 1898 as a halfback. After playing, Outland coached at Franklin & Marshall College in 1900, the University of Kansas in 1901, Haskell Institute in 1902 and 1906, and Washburn University from 1904 to 1905, compiling a career college football record of 21–15–2. He is the namesake of the Outland Trophy, an annual award established in 1946 and given to the best interior lineman in college football. Outland was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a player in 2001.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Homer Woodson Hargiss</span> American athlete and coach (1887–1978)

Homer Woodson "Bill" Hargiss was an American athlete and coach. He played American football and basketball and also competed in track and field events. Additionally, Hargis coached athletics in Kansas and Oregon. As an American football coach during the sport's early years, Hargis was an innovator. He was among few coaches in using the forward pass and the huddle, now staple features of the game.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eddie Cochems</span> American football player and coach (1877–1953)

Edward Bulwer Cochems was an American football player and coach. He played football for the University of Wisconsin from 1898 to 1901 and was the head football coach at North Dakota Agricultural College—now known as North Dakota State University (1902–1903), Clemson University (1905), Saint Louis University (1906–1908), and the University of Maine (1914). During his three years at Saint Louis, he was the first football coach to build an offense around the forward pass, which became a legal play in the 1906 college football season. Using the forward pass, Cochems' 1906 team compiled an undefeated 11–0 record, led the nation in scoring, and outscored opponents by a combined score of 407 to 11. He is considered by some to be the "father of the forward pass" in American football.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wichita State Shockers</span> Intercollegiate sports teams of Wichita State University

The Wichita State Shockers are the athletic teams that represent Wichita State University, located in Wichita, Kansas, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the NCAA Division I ranks, primarily competing in the American Athletic Conference since the 2017–18 academic year. The Shockers previously competed in the D-I Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) from 1945–46 to 2016–17; as an Independent from 1940–41 to 1944–45; in the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (CIC) from 1923–24 to 1939–40; and in the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KIAC) of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) from 1902–03 to 1922–23. As of the 2023 conference realignment, it is one of two schools in The American to have never been a member of Conference USA, although it will become a single-sport member of that conference for bowling in 2024. They are also currently the only non-football-sponsoring institution that is a member of an FBS conference.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Garfield Weede</span> American sports coach and athletic director (1880–1971)

Garfield Wilson Weede was an American football, basketball, and track and field coach and athletic director. He was one of the first college coaches to "break the color line" and allow racial integration among his players.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Willis Bates</span> American football and basketball coach

Willis Sherman "Bill" Bates was an American football and basketball coach. He served as the head football coach at Fairmount College—now known as Wichita State University—from 1905 to 1908 and at Southwestern College in Winfield, Kansas from 1914 to 1925, compiling a career college football record of 81–49–12. He also coached basketball at Fairmount (1905–1908) and Southwestern (1914–1926), tallying a career college basketball mark of 179–79.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1906 college football season</span> American college football season

The 1906 college football season was the first in which the forward pass was permitted. Although there was no clear cut national championship, there were two teams that had won all nine of their games as the 1906 season drew to a close, the Princeton Tigers and the Yale Bulldogs, and on November 17, 1906, they played to a 0–0 tie. St. Louis University finished at 11–0–0. The Helms Athletic Foundation, founded in 1936, declared retroactively that Princeton had been the best college football team of 1906. Other selectors recognized Yale as the national champions for 1906.

The Wichita State Shockers men's basketball team is the NCAA Division I college basketball program representing Wichita State University in Wichita, Kansas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1915 Oklahoma Sooners football team</span> American college football season

The 1915 Oklahoma Sooners football team was an American football team that represented the University of Oklahoma in the Southwest Conference during the 1915 college football season. In their 11th year under head coach Bennie Owen, the Sooners compiled a 10–0 record, won the Southwest Conference championship, and outscored their opponents by a combined total of 370 to 54. This was the first season that the Sooners participated in the Southwest Conference.

The Wichita State Shockers football team was the college football program of Wichita State University in Wichita, Kansas. The Shockers fielded a team from 1897 to 1986. They played their home games at Cessna Stadium and were members of the Missouri Valley Conference until the program was discontinued. The team was known as Fairmount from its first season in 1897 to 1925 and Wichita from 1926 through 1963.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wichita State Shockers baseball</span> Wichita State University baseball team

The Wichita State Shockers baseball team represents Wichita State University in the sport of baseball. The Wichita State Shockers compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) and in the American Athletic Conference after 72 seasons in the Missouri Valley Conference.

The 1905 college football season had the Chicago Maroons retroactively named as national champion by the Billingsley Report, the Helms Athletic Foundation, the National Championship Foundation, and the Houlgate System, while Yale was named champion by Parke H. Davis and Caspar Whitney. Chicago finished the season 11–0, while Yale finished 10–0. The Official NCAA Division I Football Records Book listed both Chicago and Yale as having been selected national champions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sterling Warriors</span>

The Sterling Warriors are the athletic teams that represent Sterling College, located in Sterling, Kansas, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), primarily competing in the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) since the 1958–59 academic year; which they were a member on a previous stint from 1902–03 to December 1928.

This timeline of college football in Kansas sets forth notable college football-related events that occurred in the state of Kansas.

The 1906 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association football season was the college football games played by the member schools of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association as part of the 1906 college football season. The season began on September 29.

The Wichita Aero Commandos were an American football team that played in 1942. Located in Wichita, Kansas, the team's players consisted of employees from the Aero Parts Manufacturing Company. Many of the team's opponents were from military installations that were established during World War II, though they also played two games against National Football League franchises.

References

  1. ↑ College Football Data Warehouse Archived 2012-10-19 at the Wayback Machine Willis Bates 1905 results
  2. ↑ "Football Reform Rules are No Good". St. John Daily Sun. December 28, 1905. Retrieved November 24, 2012.
  3. ↑ "Ten Yard Rule a Failure" (PDF). The New York Times . December 26, 1905.
  4. ↑ "New Football Rules Tested". Los Angeles Times . December 26, 1905. Archived from the original on March 16, 2013. Retrieved July 5, 2017.
  5. ↑ "The History of the NCAA". NCAA.org. National Collegiate Athletic Association. Archived from the original on April 30, 2007. Retrieved May 19, 2007.
  6. ↑ Nelson, David M. (1994). The Anatomy of a Game: Football, the Rules, and the Men Who Made the Game . University of Delaware Press. ISBN   0-87413-455-2., p. 128
  7. ↑ "ADDENDA TO "COLLEGE FOOTBALL IN KANSAS"". Kansas State Historical Society . Retrieved November 11, 2012.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.