1919 Michigan Wolverines football team

The 1919 Michigan Wolverines football team was an American football team that represented the University of Michigan in the Big Ten Conference during the 1919 college football season. In its 19th season under head coach Fielding H. Yost, the Wolverines compiled a 3–4 record – the only losing season in Yost's 30-year career as a head football coach. The team was outscored by a total of 102 to 93 and finished in a tie for seventh place in the Big Ten. After winning three of four games to start the season, the team lost its final three games against Chicago, Illinois, and Minnesota.[1]

1919 Michigan Wolverines football
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Record3–4 (1–4 Big Ten)
Head coach
CaptainAngus Goetz
Home stadiumFerry Field
Uniform
Seasons
← 1918
1920 →
1919 Big Ten Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Illinois $ 6 1 0 6 1 0
Ohio State 3 1 0 6 1 0
Chicago 4 2 0 5 2 0
Wisconsin 3 2 0 5 2 0
Minnesota 3 2 0 4 2 1
Iowa 2 2 0 5 2 0
Michigan 1 4 0 3 4 0
Northwestern 1 4 0 2 5 0
Indiana 0 2 0 3 4 0
Purdue 0 3 0 2 4 1
  • $ – Conference champion

Left tackle Angus Goetz was the team captain. Other notable players included quarterback Cliff Sparks, center/fullback Ernie Vick, halfback Archie Weston, left end Robert J. Dunne. Murray Van Wagoner, who later served as Governor of Michigan in the early 1940s, also started one game at left guard.[1]

Schedule

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DateOpponentSiteResultAttendanceSource
October 4Case*W 34–08,138[2]
October 18Michigan Agricultural*
W 26–021,000[3]
October 25Ohio State
L 3–1330,000[4]
November 1Northwestern
W 16–1312,000[5]
November 8at ChicagoL 0–1324,000[6]
November 15at IllinoisL 7–299,622–14,000[7]
November 22Minnesota 
L 7–3430,000[8]
  • *Non-conference game
  •  Homecoming

Players

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Letter winners

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  • John C. Cary - end (Grand Rapids, Michigan)
  • Elmer W. Cress[9] - end (Grand Rapids, Michigan)
  • William R. Cruse[10] - started 2 games at left halfback, 2 games at right halfback, 2 games at fullback (Detroit, Michigan)
  • Frank Culver - started 3 games at center, 1 game at left guard (Detroit, Michigan)
  • Frank T. Czysz[11] - started 1 game at right tackle (Dunkirk, New York)
  • Roland Glenn Dunn[12] - started 3 games at right tackle, 1 game at right guard (Muskegon Heights, Michigan)
  • Robert J. Dunne - started 6 games at left end (Chicago, Illinois)
  • Donald A. Finkbeiner[13] - tackle (Perrysburg, Ohio)
  • William Fortune - started 3 games at left guard (Springfield, Illinois)
  • Gerald W. Froemke[14] - started 1 game at right halfback (Sheldon, North Dakota)
  • Angus Goetz - started 7 games at left tackle (Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan)
  • J. Vinton Hammels[15] - tackle (Glendale, Arizona)
  • William P. Henderson - started 1 game at right end (Detroit, Michigan)
  • Roy W. Johnson - started 2 games at center, 1 game at left guard (Grand Rapids, Michigan)
  • Kenneth T. Knode - started 1 game at quarterback, 1 game at right halfback (Martinsburg, West Virginia)
  • Alvin Loucks - guard (Grand Rapids, Michigan)
  • Willard L. Peach[16] - started 2 games at right end, 1 game at left end, 1 game at right tackle (Fremont, Ohio)
  • Harold Rye - started 3 games at right end (Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan)
  • Cliff Sparks - started 6 games at quarterback, 1 game at right halfback (Jackson, Michigan)
  • Ernie Vick - started 4 games at fullback, 2 games at center (Toledo, Ohio)
  • Archie Weston - started 2 games at right halfback (Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan)
  • Hugh Wilson - started 4 games at right guard, 2 games at right tackle, 1 game at left guard (Grand Rapids, Michigan)

Non-letter winners

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  • John M. Barnes - halfback (Washington, D.C.)
  • James V. Campbell - tackle (Ann Arbor, Michigan)
  • Charles Eades - started 1 game at fullback (Conneaut, Ohio)
  • Robert E. Hamilton - center (Erie, Pennsylvania)
  • Earle Magrath[17] - started 1 game at right end (Oak Park, Illinois)
  • Barry Stuart - fullback (Grand Rapids, Michigan)
  • Theodore Timchac[18] - tackle (Saginaw, Michigan)
  • Murray Van Wagoner - started 1 game at left guard (Pontiac, Michigan)
  • Arthur A. Weadock[19] - quarterback (Saginaw, Michigan)
  • Charles O. Wilson - fullback (Muskegon, Michigan)

Awards and honors

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1919 players from 1920 Michiganensian with captions, "Lookout Ahead!"

Coaching staff

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References

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  1. ^ a b "1919 Football Team". University of Michigan, Bentley Historical Library. Retrieved August 28, 2019.
  2. ^ "Yostmen Whip Case, 34-0, In Opening Game". Detroit Free Press. October 5, 1919. p. 21 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ Harry Bullion (October 19, 1919). "Aggies Beaten By Yostmen In Game That Shows Little". Detroit Free Press. p. 21 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ Harry Bullion (October 26, 1919). "Ohio State Beats Michigan and Now Is Favorite for the Conference Title". Detroit Free Press. p. 21 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ Harry Bullion (November 2, 1919). "Michigan Turns Tide in Final Quarter, Beating Northwestern, 16-13". Detroit Free Press. p. 23 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ Harvey T. Woodruff (November 9, 1919). "Maroons Defeat Michigan, 13 to 0". Chicago Tribune. p. 17 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Illini Shows Strength In Winning Game". Decatur Herald. November 16, 1919. p. 9 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Michigan Team Takes the Count From Minnesota in Final Conference Battle". Detroit Free Press. November 23, 1919. p. 19 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ Elmer Weirich Cress, born February 10, 1898, Michigan; died November 1969, Benton Harbor, Michigan.
  10. ^ William Roy Cruse, born May 23, 1895. At the time of the 1930 Census, he was a civil engineer for the city of Jackson, Michigan.
  11. ^ Francis Thomas "Frank" Czysz, born January 19, 1899, Dunkirk, New York. Graduated U.M. Dental School, 1920. He lived and worked as a dentist at North Tonawanda, New York. Died September 1971, North Tonawanda.
  12. ^ Roland Glen Dunn, born August 22, 1892, St. Johns, Michigan. He became a lawyer in Muskegon Heights, Michigan. He ran as a Republican candidate for Congress in 1928. He also served as legal aid to Michigan Governor Frank Fitzgerald, assistant state attorney general, and chairman of the Michigan State Liquor Control Commission. His papers are kept at the Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan. He died in April 1972 at Mason, Michigan.
  13. ^ Donald Arthur Finkbeiner, born May 26, 1894, Perrysburg, Ohio. After graduating from Michigan, he returned to Perrysburg and began a law practice. Died April 30, 1973, Toledo, Ohio.
  14. ^ Gerald William Froemke, born July 6, 1897, Sheldon, North Dakota. He lived in Ladue, Missouri. He died July 22, 1970, while on vacation at Wequetonsing, Michigan.
  15. ^ James Vinton Hammels, born July 21, 1894, Phoenix, Arizona. Died January 1984, Phoenix, Arizona.
  16. ^ Willard L. Peach (middle name listed as Levi in early records, later as Lawrence), born June 23, 1895, Fremont, Ohio. At the time of the 1930 Census, he was living in Detroit and working as an automobile salesman. He died March 30, 1975, Birmingham, Michigan.
  17. ^ Earle Knight Magrath, born June 26, 1898, Illinois. Died February 4, 1972, Fort Pierce, Florida.
  18. ^ Theodore Andrew Timchac, born November 11, 1897.
  19. ^ Arthur A. Weadock, born February 23, 1897. After graduating from Michigan, he returned to Saginaw, Michigan as an attorney. Died January 1981, Saginaw, Michigan.
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