1920 Michigan Wolverines football team

1920 Michigan Wolverines football
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Record5–2 (2–2 Big Ten)
Head coach
CaptainAngus Goetz
Home stadiumFerry Field
Uniform
Seasons
← 1919
1921 →
1920 Big Ten Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Ohio State $ 5 – 0 – 0 7 – 1 – 0
Wisconsin 4 – 1 – 0 6 – 1 – 0
Indiana 3 – 1 – 0 5 – 2 – 0
Illinois 4 – 2 – 0 5 – 2 – 0
Iowa 3 – 2 – 0 5 – 2 – 0
Michigan 2 – 2 – 0 5 – 2 – 0
Northwestern 2 – 3 – 0 3 – 4 – 0
Chicago 2 – 4 – 0 3 – 4 – 0
Purdue 0 – 4 – 0 2 – 5 – 0
Minnesota 0 – 6 – 0 1 – 6 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion

The 1920 Michigan Wolverines football team was an American football team that represented the University of Michigan in the Big Ten Conference during the 1920 college football season. In its 20th season under head coach Fielding H. Yost, the team compiled a 5–2 record (2–2 against conference opponents), finished sixth in the Big Ten, and outscored opponents by a total of 121 to 21.[1]

Left tackle Angus Goetz was the team captain. Other notable players included halfbacks Frank Steketee and Eddie Usher, right tackle Tad Wieman, left end Franklin Cappon, right end Paul G. Goebel, left guard Robert J. Dunne, and center Ernie Vick.[1]

Schedule

DateOpponentSiteResultAttendanceSource
October 9Case*
W 35–010,000[2]
October 16Michigan Agricultural*
W 35–020,000[3]
October 23Illinois
L 6–727,655–30,000[4]
October 30Tulane*
  • Ferry Field
  • Ann Arbor, MI
W 21–013,000[5]
November 6at Ohio State
L 7–1420,000[6][7]
November 13Chicagodagger
W 14–025,000[8]
November 20at Minnesota
W 3–025,000[9]
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming

Players

Varsity letter winners

Crowd at Ann Arbor train station awaits return of the Little Brown Jug, November 1920

The following 16 players received their "M" letter for their play on the 1920 football team.

  • Ted Bank, Flint, Michigan - started 3 games at quarterback
  • Franklin Cappon, Holland, Michigan - started 7 games at left end
  • Abe Cohn, Spokane, Washington - started 1 game at left halfback
  • John Dunn, Ann Arbor, Michigan - started 4 games at quarterback
  • Robert J. Dunne, Chicago, Illinois - started 7 games at left guard
  • Paul G. Goebel, Grand Rapids, Michigan - started 7 games at right end
  • Angus Goetz, Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan - started 7 games at left tackle
  • James Edwards Johns, Lansing, Michigan - started 2 games at right tackle
  • Viggo O. Nelson, Ann Arbor, Michigan[10] - started 7 games at fullback
  • John Perrin, Escanaba, Michigan[11] - started 2 games at right halfback
  • Frank Steketee, Grand Rapids, Michigan - started 3 games at right halfback, 1 game at left halfback
  • Eddie Usher, Toledo, Ohio - started 6 games at left halfback, 1 game at right halfback
  • William J. Van Orden, Ann Arbor, Michigan - guard (not listed as starter in any games)
  • Ernie Vick, Toledo, Ohio - started 7 games at center
  • Tad Wieman, Los Angeles, California - started 5 games at right tackle
  • Hugh E. Wilson, Grand Rapids, Michigan[12] - started 6 games at right guard

aMa letter winners

Team captain Angus Goetz leaps in effort to block punt by Hellstrom of Illinois

The following 13 players were awarded "aMa" letters for their work as backups on the 1920 team:

  • Grenville Andrews,[13] St. Louis, Missouri - halfback
  • Allen R. Bailey, Cedar Falls, Iowa - halfback
  • William Fortune, Springfield, Illinois - guard
  • George M. Gilmore, Ann Arbor, Michigan - tackle
  • Louis C. Lehman, Newark, New Jersey - end
  • Charles C. Kreis, Detroit, Michigan
  • Meyer Paper,[14] St. Paul, Minnesota - halfback
  • Charles C. Petro, Elyria, Ohio[15] - guard
  • George E. Planck, Lansing, Michigan - guard
  • Richard H. Rowland, Buffalo, New York - end
  • John G. Searle, Evanston, Illinois - quarterback
  • Charles E. Trout, Toledo, Ohio
  • Horace Wachter,[16] Toledo, Ohio - guard

Awards and honors

Coaching staff

Derrill Pratt was a Major League Baseball player.

References

  1. ^ a b "1920 Football Team". University of Michigan, Bentley Historical Library. Retrieved August 28, 2019.
  2. ^ "Michigan Rolls Up Heavy Score". Detroit Free Press. October 10, 1920. p. 23 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ K.W. Hall (October 17, 1920). "Wolverines Rout Aggies In Hard Fought Battle In Presence of Throng: Michigan Outplays Farmers at All Stages of Annual Gridiron Conflict on Historic Ferry Field". Detroit Free Press. pp. 21–22 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ Harry Bullion (October 24, 1920). "Illinois Beats Wolverines By Small Margin". Detroit Free Press. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Michigan Beats Tulane, 21 to 0". Detroit Free Press. October 31, 1920. p. Sports 1.
  6. ^ "Brilliance Of Her Play Enables Ohio State To Thrust Back The Wolverines". Detroit Free Press. November 7, 1920. pp. 25, 27 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "State Beats Michigan By 14-7 Score". Akron Sunday Times. November 7, 1920. pp. 17–18 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ Harry Bullion (November 14, 1920). "Maize And Blue Waves Over Maroon On Crust Covered Turf Of Ferry Field". Detroit Free Press. pp. 25, 28 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ Earl Arnold (November 21, 1920). "Steketee's Kick From Placement Defeats Gophers, 3 to 0". The Minneapolis Sunday Tribune. pp. Sports 1, 3 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ Viggo O. Nelson, born January 16, 1895, Racine, Wisconsin. He was the son of Danish parents. In 1930, he was the secretary at the YMCA in Ann Arbor. Died February 1971, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
  11. ^ John Stephenson Perrin, born February 4, 1898, Escanaba, Michigan. Died June 1969, Detroit, Michigan.
  12. ^ Hugh Edward Wilson, born June 14, 1899. In 1930, he was a lawyer living in Ionia, Michigan.
  13. ^ Grenville Andrews, born April 24, 1899, died October 1973, SSN issued Illinois, last address Des Moines, Iowa
  14. ^ Meyer Paper, born April 28, 1899, died June 1980, SSN issued Minnesota, last address, St. Paul, MN
  15. ^ Charles C. Petro, born September 25, 1900, Ohio. Died August 10, 1986, Westlake, Ohio.
  16. ^ Horace Wachter, born November 26, 1900, died January 1982, SSN issued Ohio, last address Toledo, Ohio
  17. ^ "Camp Names Gridiron Stars". Post-Standard (Syracuse). December 15, 1920.
  18. ^ "Perry Selects the Best Foot Ball Players". Lebanon Daily News. December 2, 1920.