1918 Wisconsin Badgers football team

The 1918 Wisconsin Badgers football team was an American football team that represented the University of Wisconsin in the 1918 Big Ten Conference football season. In its first and only season under head coach Guy Lowman, the team compiled a 3–3 record (1–2 against conference opponents), finished in seventh place in the Big Ten Conference, and was outscored by its opponents by a combined total of 44 to 42.[1][2]

1918 Wisconsin Badgers football
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
1918 record3–3 (1–2 Big Ten)
Head coach
Home stadiumCamp Randall Stadium
1918 Big Ten Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
Michigan + 2 –0 –0  5 –0 –0
Illinois + 4 –0 –0  5 –2 –0
Purdue + 1 –0 –0  3 –3 –0
Iowa 2 –1 –0  6 –2 –1
Minnesota 2 –1 –0  5 –2 –1
Northwestern 1 –1 –0  2 –2 –1
Wisconsin 1 –2 –0  3 –3 –0
Indiana 0 –0 –0  2 –2 –0
Ohio State 0 –3 –0  3 –3 –0
Chicago 0 –5 –0  4 –6 –1
  • $ – Conference champion

Quarterback Eber Simpson was recognized as a first-team player on the 1918 All-Big Ten Conference football team.[3]

Schedule
DateOpponentSiteResult
October 26Camp Grant*
L 0–7
November 2Beloit*
  • Camp Randall Stadium
  • Madison, WI
W 21–0
November 9Illinois
  • Camp Randall Stadium
  • Madison, WI
L 0–22
November 16at Minnesota
L 0–6
November 23at Ohio State
W 14–3
November 28Michigan Agricultural*
  • Camp Randall Stadium
  • Madison, WI
W 7–6
  • *Non-conference game
  • Homecoming

[1][2]

Pre-season

John R. Richards was taken away from his duties as Wisconsin's head football coach in mid-October 1918, after being appointed to a commission in charge of the welfare of war workers.[4] Guy Lowman took over as head coach for the 1918 season; Lowman had come to Wisconsin in September 1917 to take charge of Wisconsin's physical education department and to serve as head coach of the basketball team and coach of the freshman football and baseball teams.[5] Richards returned as head football coach in 1919.

Game summaries

On October 26, 1918, Wisconsin lost to Camp Grant, 7–0, in Madison, Wisconsin. Camp Grant's touchdown was scored by former Wisconsin star, Stark, who intercepted a pass and returned it for a touchdown. The game followed the lifting of a quarantine at Camp Grant where the influenza epidemic took a death toll of 1,040 men.[6]

On November 2, 1918, in a game played behind closed gates in Madison, Wisconsin defeated Beloit College, 21–0. Guy Sundt scored two touchdowns for Wisconsin.[7]

On November 9, 1918, Illinois defeated Wisconsin, 22–0, before a crowd of 7,000 at Camp Randall Field in Madison, Wisconsin. According to the Chicago Daily Tribune, the Badgers were "outclassed and outweighed" while the Illini "fought like wildcats" and had the Badgers on the defensive through most of the game.[8]

On November 16, 1918, Minnesota defeated Wisconsin, 6–0, before a crowd of 8,000 at Northrop Field in Minneapolis. At the end of the first quarter, 30 soldiers from the Fort Snelling hospital, all of whom had been injured in the war in France, some with missing limbs, came "limping and stumping" into the stands as the crowd stood, cheered, and applauded. Gus Ekberg scored the game's only touchdown.[9]

On November 23, 1918, Wisconsin defeated Ohio State, 14-3, in Columbus, Ohio.[10]

On Thanksgiving Day, November 28, Wisconsin defeated Michigan Agricultural, 7–6, at Camp Randall Field. Michigan Agricultural took a 6–0 lead in the second quarter when Archer blocked a punt and returned it to the one-yard line; Ferris ran the final yard for touchdown. Wisconsin scored a touchdown with a minute remaining in the game, and Barr converted the extra point to give the game to the Badgers.[11][12]

References
  1. "1918 Wisconsin Badgers Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. March 17, 2017.
  2. "Wisconsin Football 2016 Fact Book" (PDF). University of Wisconsin. 2016. pp. 212, 217. Retrieved March 18, 2017.
  3. ESPN Big Ten Football Encyclopedia. ESPN Books. 2007. p. 191. ISBN 978-1-933060-49-1.
  4. "Coach Richards Leaves Badgers for War Work". The Indianapolis News. October 15, 1918. p. 16 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. "Lowman to Wisconsin". Lawrence Daily Journal. September 26, 1917. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. "Epidemic Over at Camp Grant". The Indianapolis Star. October 27, 1918. p. 7 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. "Badgers Gallop Over Beloit in 21 to 0 Victory". Chicago Tribune. November 3, 1918. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. "Hard Playing Illini Put Out Badgers In Big Ten Race, 22–0". Chicago Daily Tribune. November 10, 1918. pp. 2–5 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. Fred R. Coburn (November 17, 1918). "Gopher Fighting Forces Mop Up Wisconsin Rivals, 6 to 0, on Wet Gridiron: Wounded Veterans of the War Stir Crowd". The Minneapolis Tribune. p. 10 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. "Badgers Victors Over Ohio State Eleven, 14 to 7: Smith Scores Both of Wisconsin Touchdowns After Sprints of 80 Yards". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. November 24, 1918. p. 12 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. "Aggies Lose by 6 to 7 Score: Farmers Fight Badgers in Field of Slush". Lansing State Journal. November 29, 1918. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. "Wisconsin 7; Aggies 6; Varsity in Victory in Sea of Mud". The Capital Times. November 29, 1918. p. 12 – via Newspapers.com.
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