1918 Great Lakes Navy Bluejackets football team

The 1918 Great Lakes Navy Bluejackets football team represented the Naval Station Great Lakes, the United States Navy's boot camp located near North Chicago, Illinois, in college football during the 1918 college football season.[1]

1918 Great Lakes Navy Bluejackets football
Rose Bowl champion
ConferenceIndependent
1918 record7–0–2
Head coachHerman Olcott
Clarence J. McReavy
CaptainEmmett Keefe
1918 military service football records
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
Camp Greenleaf   –    9 –0 –0
Chicago Naval Reserve   –    7 –0 –0
League Island Navy   –    6 –0 –0
League Island Marines   –    1 –0 –0
Mare Island Marines   –    10 –1 –0
Great Lakes Navy   –    7 –0 –2
Cleveland Naval Reserve   –    5 –1 –0
Camp Hancock   –    4 –1 –2
Camp Upton   –    4 –1 –2
Camp Taylor   –    3 –1 –1
Camp Lewis   –    7 –2 –0
Camp Devens   –    4 –2 –0
Mather Field   –    2 –1 –0
Camp Dodge   –    2 –1 –1
Camp Grant   –    3 –3 –0
Camp Gordon   –    2 –4 –0
Camp Dix   –    1 –2 –2
Georgia Eleventh Cavalry   –    0 –1 –0
Mineola Aviation Station   –    0 –3 –0

The team compiled a 7–0–2 record, won the 1919 Rose Bowl, and featured three players (George Halas, Jimmy Conzelman, and Paddy Driscoll) who were later inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Charlie Bachman, who was later inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach, also played for the 1918 Great Lakes team. Bachman at center, and the two guards, captain Emmett Keefe and Jerry Jones, were all former players for Notre Dame. Both ends came from Illinois, Halas and Dick Reichle.[2] Hugh Blacklock and Conrad L. Eklund were at tackle.[3]

The team's backfield was Driscoll, Hal Erickson, Lawrence Eileson, and Blondy Reeves.

Schedule
DateOpponentSiteResultAttendanceSource
?Radio SchoolW 26–0
September 28at Iowa
W 10–04,000[4][5]
October 12at Illinois
W 7–0[6][7]
October 26Northwestern
T 0–015,000[8]
November 9at Notre Dame
T 7–7[9]
November 16at Rutgers
W 54–1410,000[10]
November 23at Navy
W 7–6> 15,000[11]
November 30Purdue
W 27–0[12][13]
January 1, 1919vs. Mare Island
W 17–026,000[14]

Season summary

Radio School

The team beat the Radio School 26–0.

Iowa

On September 28, 1918, Iowa was beaten 10–0, before a crowd of 4,000 in Iowa City. Walter Eckersall in the Chicago Tribune called it "one of the best early games seen in the west in the last decade."[5]

Illinois

Great Lakes beat Illinois 7–0. Great Lakes scored a touchdown in the first quarter, and both teams were held scoreless thereafter. Paddy Driscoll returned the kickoff at the start of the second half for 65 yards.[7]

Northwestern

On October 26, 1918, Northwestern was fought to a scoreless tie before a crowd of 15,000. The game was played in mud that was ankle deep.[8]

Notre Dame

First-year head coach Knute Rockne and Notre Dame also fought to a tie, in front of the largest crowd ever assembled at Cartier Field.[9]

Rutgers

On November 16, 1918, Driscoll scored six touchdowns, including an 80-yard run, and kicked five extra points in the Naval Station's 54–14 victory over a Rutgers team starring Paul Robeson.[10][15][16] Rutgers had a strong season up to that point. Walter Camp called it "the most startling reversal of form that has been seen on any foot ball field."[17]

Navy was leading 6–0 late in the game. Bill Ingram fumbled at the 10-yard line, and Great Lakes Harry Eielson picked up the ball and ran for the goal. He crossed midfield, and Gil Dobie muttered "Tackle him" to nobody in particular. A substitute lineman came off the sidelines and tackled Eielson, who was awarded with a touchdown.[18]

Purdue

Against Purdue, Great Lakes led, 6–0, at halftime, but scored 21 points in the third quarter to extend its lead.[13] Purdue made just two first downs.[19]

Postseason

Rose Bowl

Great Lakes Navy won the Rose Bowl over Mare Island. George Halas was the game's MVP.

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References
  1. "1918 Great Lakes Navy Bluejackets Schedule and Results - College Football at Sports-Reference.com". College Football at Sports-Reference.com.
  2. Buzzell, Francis. "The Great Lakes naval training station; a history". Boston : Small, Maynard & Company. pp. 166–167 – via Internet Archive.
  3. http://library.la84.org/SportsLibrary/CFHSN/CFHSNv05/CFHSNv05n4h.pdf
  4. "Iowa Holds Navy to 10 to 0 Score". The Des Moines Register. September 29, 1918. p. 11 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. Walter Eckersall (September 29, 1918). "Great Lakes Team Downs Iowa In Football Opening, 10–0: Touchdown and Field Goal Give Victory to Navy". Chicago Tribune. p. 5 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. "Illini Fall Before Attack of Great Lakes Bluejackets, 7-0". Chicago Tribune. October 13, 1918. p. Part 2, page 5 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. "Great Lakes Is Victor Over Illinois Team in Hard-Fought Game, 7–0". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. October 13, 1918. p. 11 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. Walter Eckersall (October 27, 1918). "Purple and Great Lakes Elevens Battle to Scoreless Tie: Crowd of 15,000 Sees Struggle on Muddy Field". Chicago Tribune. p. II-5 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. "Notre Dame Battles Gobs to 7-7 Contest". The Indianapolis Star. November 10, 1918. p. 34 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. "Rutgers Falls To Great Lakes". The Decatur Herald. November 17, 1918. p. 9 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. "Great Lakes Scores Fluke Win Over Navy". The Baltimore Sun. November 24, 1918. p. 9 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. "Great Lakes Football Guns Reduce Purdue; Score 27-0". Chicago Tribune. December 1, 1918. p. Part 2, page 5 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. "Gobs Run Over Boiler Makers in the Third Period: Purdue Whipped By Great Lakes in Final Scrap". The Indianapolis Star. December 1, 1918. p. 47 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. "Mighty Tars Crush the Marines: Service Championship of U.S. Goes to Great Lakes by 17-0 Score at Pasadena Classic". Los Angeles Times. January 2, 1919. p. 11 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. "Great Lakes Eleven Humbles Sanford's Great Machine". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. November 17, 1918. p. 32 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. "Fall of Rutgers Biggest Surprise in Many Years". Evening Public Ledger. November 18, 1918. p. 14 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. National Collegiate Athletic Association. [from old catalog]; American Intercollegiate Association. [from old catalog] (31 July 2018). "The Official National Collegiate Athletic Association football guide. The official rules book and record book of college football". New York [etc.] National Collegiate Athletic Bureau [etc.] – via Internet Archive.
  18. "'19 Rose Bowl winners cut from different jib".
  19. "Our Navy, the Standard Publication of the U.S. Navy". 1918. p. 43 – via Google Books.
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