The 1918 team played in a season shortened by World War I travel restrictions and the 1918 flu pandemic. Games scheduled for the month of October were cancelled due to travel and other restrictions imposed by the United States Department of War.[2][3] Teams were permitted to play two games in November, though restrictions remained on games that required travel of long distances.[2]
James F. Duffy, head coach of the 1917 team, missed the 1918 season due to wartime military service. In the spring of 1918, Duffy enlisted in the United States Navy.[4] As a result, the University of Detroit football team played the 1918 season without a coach. Duffy returned for the 1919 season.
On November 16, 1918, the University of Detroit football team lost by a 13–2 score to Albion at Alumni field in Albion, Michigan. The game was played in the rain and on a muddy field. Two Detroit players sustained broken bones in the game and were taken to the hospital.[5] The University of Detroit played only two games against Albion. Albion won the 1918 game, and Detroit won the other game, played in 1930, by a 51–0 score.[8]
At Detroit Junior College
On Thanksgiving Day (November 28), the University of Detroit team lost by a 6–0 score to Detroit Junior College (DJC) at Goldberg field in Detroit. DJC's captain and fullback, Wayne Brenkert, scored the game's only points on a 30-yard touchdown run in the first quarter.[7] DJC became Wayne University. The schools did not meet again until 1940. Thereafter, they met another 10 times, but the 1918 game remained the only victory by a DJC/Wayne squad.[9]
References
^"Detroit Yearly Results (1915-1919)". College Football Data Warehouse. David DeLassus. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved December 8, 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
^"Detroit vs Wayne St. (MI)". College Football Data Warehouse. David DeLassus. Archived from the original on September 15, 2015. Retrieved December 21, 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)