1912 Western Conference football season

1912 Western Conference football season
Sport	Football
Champion	Wisconsin
Football seasons
←  1911 1913  →

1912 Western Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
Wisconsin $	5	–	0	–	0			7	–	0	–	0
Chicago	6	–	1	–	0			6	–	1	–	0
Purdue	2	–	2	–	1			4	–	2	–	1
Minnesota	2	–	2	–	0			4	–	3	–	0
Northwestern	2	–	3	–	0			2	–	3	–	1
Illinois	1	–	3	–	1			3	–	3	–	1
Iowa	1	–	3	–	0			4	–	3	–	0
Indiana	0	–	5	–	0			2	–	5	–	0
$ – Conference champion

The 1912 Western Conference football season was the seventeenth 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 1912 college football season.

Season overview

At 7-0 (5-0 in the Western Conference), Wisconsin took home the league championship and the 1912 national championship. The Badgers were led by first-year head coach William Juneau and team captain Joseph Hoeffel. ^[1] Tackle Bob Butler, a junior, was named by Walter Camp to the 1912 College Football All-America Team. ^[2]

Chicago finished as league runner-up again, falling only to the eventual National Champions for a second year in a row.

Purdue went 4-2-1 (2-2-1), Minnesota checked in at 4-3 (2-2), and Northwestern followed at 2-3-1 (2-3).

Illinois finished at 3-3-1 (1-3-1), with Iowa at 4-3 (1-3) and Indiana at 2-5 (0-5) rounding up the table.

Wisconsin

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
October 5		Lawrence *	Randall Field Madison, WI	W 13–0
October 12		Northwestern	Randall Field Madison, WI	W 56–0
October 19		Purdue	Randall Field Madison, WI	W 41–0
November 2		Chicago	Randall Field Madison, WI	W 30–12
November 9	2:30 p.m.	Arkansas *	Randall Field Madison, WI	W 64–7	2,000	[3]
November 16		at Minnesota	Northrop Field Minneapolis, MN (rivalry)	W 14–0	20,000
November 23		at Iowa	Iowa Field Iowa City, IA (rivalry)	W 28–10		[4]
*Non-conference game Homecoming

Chicago

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
October 5	Indiana	Marshall Field Chicago, IL	W 13–0		[5]
October 19	Iowa	Marshall Field Chicago, IL	W 34–14		[6]
October 26	Purdue	Marshall Field Chicago, IL (rivalry)	W 7–0
November 2	at Wisconsin	Randall Field Madison, WI	L 12–30
November 9	Northwestern	Marshall Field Chicago, IL	W 3–0
November 16	at Illinois	Illinois Field Champaign, IL	W 10–0	10,000	[7]
November 23	Minnesota	Marshall Field Chicago, IL	W 7–0	15,000

Purdue

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Source
October 5	DePauw *	Stuart Field West Lafayette, IN	W 21–0
October 19	at Wisconsin	Randall Field Madison, WI	L 0–41
October 26	at Chicago	Stagg Field Chicago, IL (rivalry)	L 0–7
November 3	at Northwestern	Northwestern Field Evanston, IL	W 21–6
November 9	Illinois	Stuart Field West Lafayette, IN (rivalry)	T 9–9	[8]
November 17	Rose Polytechnic *	Stuart Field West Lafayette, IN	W 91–0
November 24	Indiana	Stuart Field West Lafayette, IN (rivalry)	W 34–7
*Non-conference game

^[9]

Minnesota

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 28	South Dakota *	Minneapolis, MN	L 0–10	3,500	[10]
October 5	Iowa State *	Northrop Field Minneapolis, MN	W 5–0	4,000
October 19	Nebraska *	Northrop Field Minneapolis, MN (rivalry)	W 13–0	10,000
October 26	Iowa	Northrop Field Minneapolis, MN (rivalry)	W 56–7	6,000	[11]
November 2	Illinois	Northrop Field Minneapolis, MN	W 13–0	9,000	[12]
November 16	Wisconsin	Northrop Field Minneapolis, MN (rivalry)	L 0–14	20,000
November 23	at Chicago	Marshall Field Chicago, IL	L 0–7	15,000
*Non-conference game

Northwestern

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Source
October 5	Lake Forest *	Northwestern Field Evanston, IL	T 0–0
October 12	at Wisconsin	Randall Field Madison, WI	L 0–56
October 26	at Indiana	Jordan Field Bloomington, IN	W 20–7
November 2	Purdue	Northwestern Field Evanston, IL	L 6–21
November 9	at Chicago	Marshall Field Chicago, IL	L 0–3
November 23	Illinois	Northwestern Field Evanston, IL (rivalry)	W 6–0	[13]
*Non-conference game

Illinois

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
October 5		Illinois Wesleyan *	Illinois Field Champaign, IL	W 87–3
October 12	3:00 p.m	Washington University *	Illinois Field Champaign, IL	W 13–0		[14] [15]
October 19		Indiana	Illinois Field Champaign, IL (rivalry)	W 13–7
November 2		at Minnesota	Northrop Field Minneapolis, MN	L 0–13	9,000	[16]
November 9		at Purdue	Lafayette, IN (rivalry)	T 9–9		[17]
November 16		Chicago	Illinois Field Champaign, IL	L 0–10	10,000	[18]
November 23		at Northwestern	Sheppard Field Evanston, IL (rivalry)	L 0–6		[19]
*Non-conference game All times are in Central time

Iowa

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
October 5		Iowa State Teachers *	Iowa Field Iowa City, IA	W 35–7		[20]
October 12		Cornell (IA) *	Iowa Field Iowa City, IA	W 31–0		[21]
October 19		at Chicago	Marshall Field Chicago, IL	L 14–34		[22]
October 26		at Minnesota	Northrop Field Minneapolis, MN (rivalry)	L 7–56	6,000	[23]
November 9	2:30 p.m.	vs. Indiana	Washington Park Indianapolis, IN	W 13–6	6,000	[24] [25]
November 16		at Iowa State *	State Field Ames, IA (rivalry)	W 20–7		[26]
November 22		Wisconsin	Iowa Field Iowa City, IA (rivalry)	L 10–28		[27]
*Non-conference game Homecoming

Indiana

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 28		DePauw *	Jordan Field Bloomington, IN	W 20–0
October 5		at Chicago	Marshall Field Chicago, IL	L 0–13		[28]
October 19		at Illinois	Illinois Field Champaign, IL (rivalry)	L 7–13
October 26		Northwestern	Jordan Field Bloomington, IN	L 7–20
November 2		Earlham *	Jordan Field Bloomington, IN	W 33–7		[29] [30]
November 9	2:30 p.m.	vs. Iowa	Washington Park Indianapolis, IN	L 6–13	6,000	[31] [32]
November 24		at Purdue	Stuart Field West Lafayette, IN (rivalry)	L 7–34
*Non-conference game All times are in Eastern time

^{[33] [34] [35]}

Bowl games

No Western Conference schools participated in any bowl games during the 1912 season.

All-American honors

Main article: 1912 College Football All-America Team

All-Western selections

Main article: 1912 All-Western college football team

References

1. "Wisconsin Football Fact Book" (PDF). Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System. p. 143. Retrieved December 24, 2021.
2. "Glen Ridge Player on Camp's Team". The Daily Home News . New Brunswick, New Jersey. December 11, 1912. p. 11. Retrieved July 18, 2023– via newspapers.com.
3. Sheasby, Fred C. (November 10, 1912). "Badgers Easy Winners Over Bezdek's Men". Wisconsin State Journal . Madison, Wisconsin. p. 3. Retrieved February 13, 2024– via Newspapers.com .
4. "Badgers Beat Hawkeyes in Last Game at Iowa: Gillette Factor in Wisconsin Victory". The Davenport Democrat and Leader. November 24, 1912. p. 22 – via Newspapers.com.
5. Walter Eckersall (October 6, 1912). "Stagg's Maroons Win First Clash Over Indiana, 13-0". Chicago Tribune. pp. Sporting 1, 4 – via Newspapers.com.
6. Martin D. Steversw (October 20, 1912). "Maroons' Final Rally Defeats Speedy Iowa Men by Score of 34-14". The Inter Ocean. p. 1 (sports) – via Newspapers.com.
7. "Maroon Warriors Scalp Illini, 10-0; Win State Title". Chicago Tribune. November 17, 1912. p. III-1 – via Newspapers.com.
8. "Purdue Battles Illini to Tie, 9-9". Chicago Tribune. November 10, 1912. p. III-1 – via Newspapers.com.
9. "2022 Purdue Football Record Book" (PDF). Purdue University Athletics. p. 81. Retrieved January 29, 2023.
10. McDermott, Joe (September 29, 1912). "Minnesota Sustains a 10 to 0 Defeat at the Hands of South Dakota in First Game of the Year on Northrop Field---Result Not Surprising to Those Familiar With Gopher Conditions". The Sunday Journal . Minneapolis, Minnesota. p. 1, part 3. Retrieved January 16, 2024– via Newspapers.com .
11. "Minnesota Puts Up Dazzling Exhibition of Football and Smothers Iowa by 56-7 Score". The Sunday Journal (Minneapolis). October 27, 1912. p. 1 (sports) – via Newspapers.com.
12. "Gophers Blank Illinois, 13 to 0". Detroit Free Press. November 3, 1912. p. III-1 – via Newspapers.com.
13. "Purple Conquers Illinois Eleven". Chicago Tribune. November 24, 1912. p. III-1 – via Newspapers.com.
14. "Washington Comes For Football Game With Illinois Today". The Daily Illini . Champaign, Illinois. October 6, 1912. p. 2B. Retrieved July 16, 2023– via Newspapers.com .
15. "Pikers Fail Four Times With a Score in Sight". St. Louis Post-Dispatch . St. Louis, Missouri. October 13, 1912. p. 2S. Retrieved July 16, 2023– via Newspapers.com .
16. "Gophers Blank Illinois, 13 to 0". Detroit Free Press. November 3, 1912. p. III-1 – via Newspapers.com.
17. "Purdue Battles Illini to Tie, 9-9". Chicago Tribune. November 10, 1912. p. III-1 – via Newspapers.com.
18. "Maroon Warriors Scalp Illini, 10-0; Win State Title". Chicago Tribune. November 17, 1912. p. III-1 – via Newspapers.com.
19. "Purple Conquers Illinois Eleven". Chicago Tribune. November 24, 1912. p. III-1 – via Newspapers.com.
20. "Hawkeyes Defeat State Teachers: Iowa Wins From Pedagogues by Score of 35 to 7; Uninteresting Game". The Register and Leader (Des Moines). October 6, 1912. p. 2 (sports) – via Newspapers.com.
21. "Iowa Smothers Cornell Eleven". The Register and Leader (Des Moines). October 13, 1912. pp. 1, 4 (sports) – via Newspapers.com.
22. Martin D. Steversw (October 20, 1912). "Maroons' Final Rally Defeats Speedy Iowa Men by Score of 34-14". The Inter Ocean. p. 1 (sports) – via Newspapers.com.
23. "Minnesota Puts Up Dazzling Exhibition of Football and Smothers Iowa by 56-7 Score". The Sunday Journal (Minneapolis). October 27, 1912. p. 1 (sports) – via Newspapers.com.
24. "Big Parade Predeces Indiana-Iowa Contest". Indianapolis News . Indianapolis, Indiana. November 9, 1912. p. 10. Retrieved November 23, 2024– via Newspapers.com .
25. Blakely, A. S. (November 10, 1912). "Crimson's Loss Is Featured By Erehart's Play". The Indianapolis Star . Indianapolis, Indiana. pp. 1, 3, sport section. Retrieved November 23, 2024– via Newspapers.com .
27. "Badgers Beat Hawkeyes in Last Game at Iowa: Gillette Factor in Wisconsin Victory". The Davenport Democrat and Leader. November 24, 1912. p. 22 – via Newspapers.com.
28. Walter Eckersall (October 6, 1912). "Stagg's Maroons Win First Clash Over Indiana, 13-0". Chicago Tribune. pp. Sporting 1, 4 – via Newspapers.com.
29. "Many Changes Made In Crimson Lineup". The Indianapolis Star . Indianapolis, Indiana. November 2, 1912. p. 10. Retrieved November 23, 2024– via Newspapers.com .
30. "Earlham Scores On Crimson Team". The Indianapolis Star . Indianapolis, Indiana. November 3, 1912. pp. 1–2, sport section. Retrieved November 23, 2024– via Newspapers.com .
31. "Big Parade Predeces Indiana-Iowa Contest". Indianapolis News . Indianapolis, Indiana. November 9, 1912. p. 10. Retrieved November 23, 2024– via Newspapers.com .
32. Blakely, A. S. (November 10, 1912). "Crimson's Loss Is Featured By Erehart's Play". The Indianapolis Star . Indianapolis, Indiana. pp. 1, 3, sport section. Retrieved November 23, 2024– via Newspapers.com .
33. "1912 Indiana Hoosiers Schedule and Results". College Football @ Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference . Retrieved December 29, 2023.
34. "1912 Football Schedule". Indiana University . Retrieved December 29, 2023.
35. "Indiana Football 2023 Record Book" (PDF). Indiana University. p. 12. Retrieved December 29, 2023.