1916 Western Conference football season

1916 Western Conference football season
Sport	Football
Champion	Ohio State
Football seasons
←  1915 1917  →

1916 Western Conference football standings

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

The 1916 Western Conference football season was the twenty-first 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 1916 college football season.

Season overview

Ohio State won its first Western Conference championship since joining in 1913 by going undefeated in both league play (4–0) and overall 7–0.

After finishing last for three straight seasons, Northwestern came in second place at 6-1 (4-1 WC) with their only conference loss to Ohio State in the finale for both teams.

Minnesota came in third at 6-1 (3-1 WC), Chicago fourth at 3-4 (3-3), Illinois fifth at 3-3-1 (2–2–1), and Wisconsin sixth at 4-2-1 (1–2–1).

Iowa went 4–3 overall and 1–2 in the conference for seventh place. Indiana came in eighth at 2-4-1 (0–3–1), and Purdue was last at 2-4-1 (0–4–1).

Ohio State

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Source
October 7	Ohio Wesleyan	Ohio Field Columbus, OH	W 12–0
October 14	Oberlin	Ohio Field Columbus, OH	W 128–0	[1]
October 21	at Illinois	Illinois Field Champaign, IL (rivalry)	W 7–6
November 4	Wisconsin	Ohio Field Columbus, OH	W 14-13
November 11	Indiana	Ohio Field Columbus, OH	W 46–7
November 18	at Case	Van Horn Field [2] Cleveland, OH	W 28–0
November 25	Northwestern	Ohio Field Columbus, OH	W 23–3

Northwestern

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
October 7	Lake Forest *	Northwestern Field Evanston, IL	W 26–7
October 21	at Chicago	Stagg Field Chicago, IL	W 10–0
October 28	Drake *	Northwestern Field Evanston, IL	W 40–6
November 4	at Indiana	Jordan Field Bloomington, IN	W 7–0
November 10	Iowa	Northwestern Field Evanston, IL	W 20–13
November 18	Purdue	Northwestern Field Evanston, IL	W 38–6
November 25	at Ohio State	Ohio Field Columbus, OH	L 3–23
*Non-conference game

Minnesota

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
October 7	South Dakota State *	Northrop Field Minneapolis, MN	W 41–7
October 14	North Dakota *	Northrop Field Minneapolis, MN	W 47–7
October 21	South Dakota *	Northrop Field Minneapolis, MN	W 81–0
October 28	Iowa	Northrop Field Minneapolis, MN (rivalry)	W 67–0	5,000
November 4	Illinois	Northrop Field Minneapolis, MN	L 9–14	11,368	[3]
November 18	Wisconsin	Northrop Field Minneapolis, MN (rivalry)	W 54–0	24,000
November 25	at Chicago	Stagg Field Chicago, IL	W 49–0	22,000
*Non-conference game

Chicago

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
October 7	Carleton *	Stagg Field Chicago, IL	L 0–7
October 14	Indiana	Stagg Field Chicago, IL	W 22–0
October 21	Northwestern	Stagg Field Chicago, IL	L 0–10
October 28	at Wisconsin	Randall Field Madison, WI	L 7–30
November 4	Purdue	Stagg Field Chicago, IL (rivalry)	W 16–7
November 18	at Illinois	Illinois Field Champaign, IL	W 20–7	831	[4]
November 25	Minnesota	Stagg Field Chicago, IL	L 0–49	22,000
*Non-conference game

Illinois

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
October 7	Kansas *	Illinois Field Champaign, IL	W 30–0	3,788	[5]
October 14	Colgate *	Illinois Field Champaign, IL	L 3–15	5,263
October 21	Ohio State	Illinois Field Champaign, IL (rivalry)	L 6–7	4,388
October 28	at Purdue	Stuart Field Lafayette, IN (rivalry)	W 14–7		[6]
November 4	at Minnesota	Northrop Field Minneapolis, MN	W 14–9	11,368	[7]
November 18	Chicago	Illinois Field Champaign, IL	L 7–20	831	[8]
November 25	at Wisconsin	Randall Field Madison, WI	T 0–0	6,000	[9]
*Non-conference game

Wisconsin

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
October 7	Lawrence *	Randall Field Madison, WI	W 20–0
October 14	South Dakota State *	Randall Field Madison, WI	W 28–3
October 21	Haskell *	Randall Field Madison, WI	W 13–0		[10]
October 28	Chicago	Randall Field Madison, WI	W 30–7
November 4	at Ohio State	Ohio Field Columbus, OH	L 13–14
November 18	at Minnesota	Northrop Field Minneapolis, MN (rivalry)	L 0–54	24,000
November 25	Illinois	Randall Field Madison, WI	T 0–0	6,000	[11]
*Non-conference game Homecoming

Iowa

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance
October 7	Cornell (IA) *	Iowa Field Iowa City, IA	W 31–6
October 14	Grinnell *	Iowa Field Iowa City, IA	W 17–7
October 21	Purdue	Iowa Field Iowa City, IA	W 24–6
October 28	at Minnesota	Northrop Field Minneapolis, MN (rivalry)	L 0–67	5,000
November 11	at Northwestern	Northwestern Field Evanston, IL	L 13–20
November 18	at Iowa State *	State Field Ames, IA (rivalry)	W 19–16
November 25	Nebraska *	Iowa Field Iowa City, IA (rivalry)	L 17–34
*Non-conference game Homecoming

Indiana

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 30	DePauw *	Jordan Field Bloomington, IN	W 20–0
October 14	at Chicago	Stagg Field Chicago, IL	L 0–22
October 28	vs. Tufts *	Washington Park Indianapolis, IN	L 10–12		[12]
November 4	Northwestern	Jordan Field Bloomington, IN	L 0–7
November 11	at Ohio State	Ohio Field Columbus, OH	L 7–46
November 18	Florida *	Jordan Field Bloomington, IN	W 14–3	5,000	[13]
November 25	at Purdue	Stuart Field West Lafayette, IN (rivalry)	T 0–0
*Non-conference game

^{[14] [15] [16]}

Purdue

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Source
October 7	DePauw *	Stuart Field West Lafayette, IN	W 13–0
October 14	Wabash	Stuart Field West Lafayette, IN	W 28–7
October 21	at Iowa	Iowa Field Iowa City, IA	L 6–24
October 28	Illinois	Stuart Field West Lafayette, IN (rivalry)	L 7–14	[17]
November 4	at Chicago	Stagg Field Chicago, IL (rivalry)	L 7–16
November 19	at Northwestern	Northwestern Field Evanston, IL	L 6–38
November 25	Indiana	Stuart Field West Lafayette, IN (Old Oaken Bucket)	T 0–0
*Non-conference game

^[18]

Bowl games

No Western Conference schools participated in any bowl games during the 1916 season.

All-American honors

Main article: 1916 College Football All-America Team

Tackles

• George Hauser, Minnesota (INS-1)
• Fred Becker, Iowa (WE-1)
• Bob Karch, Ohio State (FM)
• Frank A. R. Mayer, Minnesota (WE-2)

Guards

• Sinclair, Minnesota (PP-2) ^[19]

Centers

• Fred Becker, Iowa (FY-2)

Quarterbacks

• Bart Macomber, Illinois (College Football Hall of Fame) (WE-2; PP-2; FY-1)

Halfbacks

• Chic Harley , Ohio State (College Football Hall of Fame) (WC-1; UP-1; INS-1; WE-1; PP-1; FY-1; BP-1)
• Claire Long, Minnesota (FM)
• Paddy Driscoll, Northwestern (College and Pro Football Hall of Fame) (WC-3; UP-2)

Fullbacks

• Pudge Wyman, Minnesota (UP-2; WE-1; FY-2)

Key

NCAA recognized selectors for 1916

• WC = Collier's Weekly as selected by Walter Camp ^[20]
• INS = International News Service ^[21]
• MS = Frank Menke Syndicate ^[22]

Other selectors

• UP = United Press ^[23]
• WE = Walter Eckersall, of the Chicago Daily Tribune ^[24]
• FM = Frank G. Menke, former sporting editor of the International News Service (INS)
• MON = Monty, noted New York sports writer ^[25]
• PP = Paul Purman, noted sports writer whose All-American team was syndicated in newspapers across the United States ^[26]
• LP = Lawrence Perry, sporting editor of the New York Evening Post ^[27]
• FY = Fielding H. Yost ^[28]
• BP = The Boston Post , selected by Charles E. Parker, football expert of The Boston Post ^[29]

Bold = Consensus All-American ^[30]

• 1 – First-team selection
• 2 – Second-team selection
• 3 – Third-team selection

All-Western selections

Main article: 1916 All-Western college football team

Ends

• Bert Baston, Minnesota (ECP-1; JV-1) (CFHOF)
• Chic Harley, Ohio State (ECP-1; JV-1) (CFHOF)
• Frederick I. Norman, Northwestern (ECP-2)
• Charles Bolen, Ohio State (ECP-2; JV-2)
• Flynn, Minnesota (JV-2)

Tackles

• George Hauser, Minnesota (ECP-1; JV-1)
• Fred Becker, Iowa (ECP-1)
• Howard Courtney, Ohio State (JV-1)
• Manley R. Petty, Illinois (ECP-2)
• Frank A. R. Mayer, Minnesota (ECP-2; JV-2)
• Runquist, Illinois (JV-2)

Guards

• Charles Higgins, Chicago (ECP-1)
• Gilbert S. Sinclair, Minnesota (ECP-1)
• Conrad L. Eklund, Minnesota (ECP-2; JV-1)
• Gorgas, Chicago (JV-2)

Centers

• John L. Townley Jr., Minnesota (ECP-1; JV-1)

Quarterbacks

• Bart Macomber, Illinois (ECP-1; JV-1) (CFHOF)
• Claire Long, Minnesota (ECP-2; JV-2)

Halfbacks

• Paddy Driscoll, Northwestern (ECP-1; JV-2) (CFHOF/PFHOF)
• Harold Hansen, Minnesota (ECP-2)

Fullbacks

• Pudge Wyman, Minnesota (ECP-1; JV-1)
• Bob Koehler, Northwestern (ECP-2; JV-2)

*Key*

Bold = consensus choice by a majority of the selectors

ECP = E. C. Patterson in Collier's Weekly ^[31]

JV = Jack Veiock ^[32]

CFHOF = College Football Hall of Fame

References

1. "World's Record Is Established by Ohio State". Springfield Sunday News. October 15, 1916 – via Newspapers.com.
2. "Case Football 1916/17".
3. "Illinois Eleven Springs Big Surprise by Defeating the Gophers". The Minneapolis Tribune. November 5, 1916. pp. Sporting 1, 3 – via Newspapers.com.
4. "Maroons Show Fight and Surprise Illinois, 20-7". Chicago Tribune. November 19, 1916. p. II-1 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "Jayhawks Lose To Zupmen, 30-0". The Daily Illini. October 8, 1916. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
6. "Illinois Faster; Does Purdue 14-7". The Muncie Sunday Star. October 29, 1916. p. 18 – via Newspapers.com.
7. "Illinois Eleven Springs Big Surprise by Defeating the Gophers". The Minneapolis Tribune. November 5, 1916. pp. Sporting 1, 3 – via Newspapers.com.
8. "Maroons Show Fight and Surprise Illinois, 20-7". Chicago Tribune. November 19, 1916. p. II-1 – via Newspapers.com.
9. "Badgers Hold Illinois to a 0 to 0 Score in Mud". The Wisconsin State Journal. November 26, 1916. p. 7 – via Newspapers.com.
10. "Wisconsin Defeats Haskell Indians In Hard Fight 13-0". The Sunday State Journal . Madison, Wisconsin. October 22, 1916. p. 8. Retrieved November 8, 2024– via Newspapers.com .
11. "Badgers Hold Illinois to a 0 to 0 Score in Mud". The Wisconsin State Journal. November 26, 1916. p. 7 – via Newspapers.com.
12. "Tufts Has Slight Margin of Victory". Hartford Courant . Hartford, Connecticut. October 29, 1916. p. 37. Retrieved November 17, 2019– via Newspapers.com .
13. D. C. Miller (November 19, 1916). "Florida Put Out 14-3, by Stiehm Men". The Indianapolis Star. p. 33. Retrieved August 23, 2015– via Newspapers.com.
14. "1916 Indiana Hoosiers Schedule and Results". College Football @ Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference . Retrieved December 29, 2023.
15. "1916 Football Schedule". Indiana University . Retrieved December 29, 2023.
16. "Indiana Football 2023 Record Book" (PDF). Indiana University. p. 12. Retrieved December 29, 2023.
17. "Illinois Faster; Does Purdue 14-7". The Muncie Sunday Star. October 29, 1916. p. 18 – via Newspapers.com.
18. "2022 Purdue Football Record Book" (PDF). Purdue University Athletics. p. 82. Retrieved January 29, 2023.
19. Photograph of Sinclair from Library of Congress
20. "Three Colgate Men Picked By Camp for All-American Team". The Syracuse Herald. December 26, 1916.
21. Jack Velock, ed. (December 4, 1916). "Have Hard Job Selecting All-American Team". Lima Times Democrat.
22. ESPN College Football Encyclopedia, p. 1152
23. H.C. Hamilton (December 3, 1916). "West Men on United Press All-American". Des Moines Daily News.
24. "Four Westerners On All-American: 1916 Selection Made by W. Eckersall". Daily Review. Decatur, IL. December 11, 1916.
25. Monty (November 25, 1916). "All American is Selected by Monty: Talent Stands Out". Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
26. Paul Purman (December 2, 1916). "The News' Own All-American 1916 Football Team". Des Moines Daily News.
27. "Lawrence Perry Picks All Stars". The Day. December 7, 1916.
28. "Yost's 1916 All American". Mansfield News. December 27, 1916.
29. "Here's All-American Eleven for 1916". The Times. Hammond, IN. December 5, 1916.
30. "Football Award Winners" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). 2016. p. 6. Retrieved October 21, 2017.
31. E.C. Patterson (December 23, 1916). "Collier's All-Western Eleven". Collier's Weekly. p. 22.
32. Jack Veiock (December 7, 1916). "Jack Veiock's Selections for An All-Western Eleven". Evening Tribune.