1903 Wabash football team

The 1903 Wabash football team was an American football team that represented Lake Forest College in the 1903 college football season.[1] In Ebin Wilson's 2nd year as head coach, Wabash compiled a 9–3 record, and outscored their opponents 274 to 74. Notable games were against Shortridge High School, Indiana, Purdue, and Notre Dame.[2] Games for the "Indiana football championship" were recognized as Notre Dame, Indiana, Purdue, DePauw, Earlham, and Franklin, in which Wabash compiled a 3–3 record against.

1903 Wabash football
Conference	Independent
1903 record	9–3
Head coach	Ebin Wilson (2nd season)
Captain	Marshall (halfback)

1903 Midwestern college football independents records
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
Nebraska			–					11	–	0	–	0
North Dakota			–					7	–	0	–	0
Notre Dame			–					8	–	0	–	1
Iowa State			–					8	–	1	–	0
Marquette			–					7	–	1	–	0
Lake Forest			–					6	–	1	–	0
North Dakota Agricultural			–					5	–	1	–	0
Haskell			–					7	–	2	–	0
Fairmount			–					6	–	2	–	0
Wabash			–					9	–	3	–	0
St. Xavier			–					7	–	3	–	0
Wittenberg			–					5	–	2	–	1
Doane			–					2	–	1	–	0
American Medical			–					6	–	3	–	0
Kansas			–					6	–	3	–	0
Drake			–					5	–	3	–	0
Iowa State Normal			–					4	–	3	–	1
Ohio Medical			–					5	–	4	–	0
Michigan State Normal			–					4	–	4	–	0
Washington University			–					4	–	4	–	2
Heidelberg			–					3	–	4	–	2
Kansas State			–					3	–	4	–	1
Detroit College			–					3	–	4	–	0
Shurtleff			–					2	–	4	–	1
Ohio			–					2	–	4	–	0
Mount Union			–					2	–	5	–	1
DePauw			–					2	–	6	–	1
Missouri			–					1	–	7	–	1
Cincinnati			–					1	–	8	–	0
Baldwin–Wallace			–					0	–	1	–	0
Buchtel			–					0	–	2	–	0
Butler			–					0	–	3	–	0
Chicago P&S			–					0	–	4	–	0

In the contest with Shortridge, Wabash was up 12–0, when the college decided to send in an African-American right guard named Gordon. Upon seeing this, Captain Clark, right halfback of the Shortridge team, refused to play any longer and left the field. According to The Indianapolis Journal, the rest of Shortridge's team acted as gentlemen, and agreed to continue playing. The crowd was also "bitterly disappointed at the actions of Clark and he was denounced on all sides."[3] On October 6, Rose Polytechnic made it known that they would not play Wabash if they permitted Gordon to play in the contest. In response to this, the game was cancelled, and head coach Ebin Wilson asserted that they would play Gordon in every game for the remainder of the season, citing his great importance to the Wabash team.[4][5] On October 20, Hanover also announced they would not play Wabash if Gordon was allowed to play. The Guard, hearing this latest news, decided to resign from the Varsity team, so as they would be to play the rest of their season. Wabash accepted the resignation but insisted they had the right to put any member of their football team into play, and would force this proclamation on every upcoming opponent.[6] Gordon would play in a few more varsity games throughout the remainder of the season, put in against Earlham in the last five minutes, and against Notre Dame.[7]

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	Result	Source
September 19		Indianapolis Shortridge High School	Crawfordsville, IN	W 12–0	[8]
September 26	3:00 p.m.	Indiana	Jordan Field Bloomington, IN	W 5–0	[9]
October 1		Purdue	Crawfordsville, IN	L 0–18	[10]
October 3	3:00 p.m.	Indianapolis Manual Training High School	Crawfordsville, IN	W 21–0	[11]
October 10		at Rose Polytechnic	Terre Haute, IN	Cancelled	[12][13]
October 10		Culver Military Academy	Culver, IN	W 11–6 or 11–12	[14][15][16]
October 17		Central Medical	Crawfordsville, IN	W 31–0	[17]
October 24		Hanover	Hanover, IN	W 51–0	[18]
October 31		Franklin	Crawfordsville, IN	W 87–5	[19]
November 7		Butler	Indianapolis, IN	W 46–0	[20]
November 14		Earlham	Crawfordsville, IN	L 0–11	[21]
November 21		DePauw	Greencastle, IN	W 10–0	[22]
November 26		Notre Dame	Crawfordsville, IN	L 0–34	[23]

References

1. "Wabash Game by Game Results". web.archive.org. 2015-09-06. Retrieved 2020-06-22.
2. "Standings of the Indiana Football Teams for 1903". The Indianapolis Star. 1903-11-29. p. 7. Retrieved 2020-06-22.
3. "Clark Drew Color Line". The Indianapolis Journal. 1903-09-20. p. 6. Retrieved 2020-06-22.
4. "Rose Polytechnic Has Drawn The Color Line". The Indianapolis News. 1903-10-06. p. 10. Retrieved 2020-06-22.
5. "President Kane Takes Stand On Color Line". The Indianapolis News. 1903-10-08. p. 4. Retrieved 2020-06-22.
6. "Colored Man Leaves Team". The Indianapolis News. 1903-10-20. p. 10. Retrieved 2020-06-22.
7. "Won By Notre Dame". The Indianapolis Journal. 1903-11-27. p. 6. Retrieved 2020-06-22.
8. "Clark Drew Color Line". The Indianapolis Journal. 1903-09-20. p. 6. Retrieved 2020-06-22.
9. "Indiana Team Shocked". The Indianapolis Journal. 1903-09-27. p. 6. Retrieved 2020-06-22.
10. "Wabash Held Down". The Indianapolis Journal. 1903-10-02. p. 6. Retrieved 2020-06-22.
11. "Made a Game Fight". The Indianapolis Journal. 1903-10-04. p. 7. Retrieved 2020-06-22.
12. "Rose Polytechnic Has Drawn The Color Line". The Indianapolis News. 1903-10-06. p. 10. Retrieved 2020-06-22.
13. "President Kane Takes Stand On Color Line". The Indianapolis News. 1903-10-08. p. 4. Retrieved 2020-06-22.
14. "Wabash Meets Defeat". The Indianapolis Journal. 1903-10-11. p. 6. Retrieved 2020-06-22.
15. "Which Team Won?". The Indianapolis Journal. 1903-10-13. p. 6. Retrieved 2020-06-22.
16. "Did Culver Win or Lose?". The Culver Citizen. 1903-10-15. p. 1. Retrieved 2020-06-22.
17. ""Medics" Were Shut Out". The Indianapolis Journal. 1903-10-18. p. 6. Retrieved 2020-06-22.
18. "Hanover Was Plucky". The Indianapolis Journal. 1903-10-25. p. 7. Retrieved 2020-06-22.
19. "Wabash Defeats Franklin In Coach Yost Style". The Indianapolis Star. 1903-11-01. p. 6. Retrieved 2020-06-22.
20. "Wabash's Easy Victory". The Indianapolis Journal. 1903-11-08. p. 6. Retrieved 2020-06-22.
21. "Wabash Annihilated". The Indianapolis Journal. 1903-11-15. p. 6. Retrieved 2020-06-22.
22. "Wabash Takes DePauw Easy". The Indianapolis Star. 1903-11-22. p. 6. Retrieved 2020-06-22.
23. "Won By Notre Dame". The Indianapolis Journal. 1903-11-27. p. 6. Retrieved 2020-06-22.