1918 Purdue Boilermakers football team
The 1918 Purdue Boilermakers football team was an American football team that represented Purdue University during the 1918 Big Ten Conference football season. In their first season under head coach A. G. Scanlon, the Boilermakers compiled a 3–3 record, finished in a tie for first place in the Big Ten Conference with a 1–0 record against conference opponents, and outscored all opponents by a combined total of 87 to 78.[1][2]
| 1918 Purdue Boilermakers football | |
|---|---|
Big Ten co-champion | |
| Conference | Big Ten Conference |
| 1918 record | 3–3 (1–0 Big Ten) |
| Head coach | A. G. Scanlon (1st season) |
| Home stadium | Stuart Field |
| 1918 Big Ten Conference football standings | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team | W | 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 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Pre-season
On September 10, 1918, Purdue's athletic director O. F. Cutts announced that Cleo A. O'Donnell was at his home in Boston and would probably not return as the school's head football coach. Cutts stated that assistant coach Butch Scanlon would take change of the team when students reported.[3][4]
Schedule
| Date | Opponent | Site | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| October 26 | DePauw* | L 7–9 | |
| November 2 | Chicago |
| W 7–3 |
| November 9 | at Michigan Agricultural* | W 14–6 | |
| November 16 | vs. Wabash* | W 53–6 | |
| November 23 | Notre Dame* |
| L 6–26 |
| November 30 | at Great Lakes Navy* | L 0–27 | |
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Game summaries
On October 26, 1918, Purdue was upset by DePauw, 9–7, in Lafayette, Indiana. The DePauw team was delayed by a freight wreck that blocked the railroad near Roachdale, with the players traveling the remaining 45 miles in automobiles. The game began at 5 p.m. and was played in shortened quarters. DePauw threw a touchdown pass for the victory with minutes to play in the "gathering darkness."[5]
On November 2, 1918, Purdue defeated Chicago, 7–3, at Lafayette, Indiana. The Purdue victory broke a 20-game losing streak against Chicago dating back to 1898. According to a newspaper account, Chicago's coach Stagg "used everything at his command to put a winning score across, but the plucky Purdue men foiled him."[6]
On November 9, 1918, Purdue defeated Michigan Agricultural, 14–6, in Lansing, Michigan. Purdue scored twice in the second quarter, both times on interceptions returned for touchdowns.[7]
On November 16, 1918, Purdue defeated Wabash, 53–6, at Washington Park in Indianapolis.[8]
On November 23, 1918, Notre Dame defeated Purdue, 26-6, before a crowd of 7,000 at Stuart Field in Lafayette, Indiana.[9]
On November 30, 1918, the Great Lakes Navy defeated Purdue, 27–0, at Northwestern Field in Evanston, Illinois. Great Lakes led, 6–0, at halftime, but scored 21 points in the third quarter to extend its lead.[10] The 1918 Great Lakes Navy Bluejackets compiled a 3–0–1 record against Big Ten opponents, went on to win 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.
References
- "Purdue Yearly Results (1915-1919)". College Football Data Warehouse. David DeLassus. Retrieved December 8, 2015.
- "1918 Purdue Boilermakers Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 6, 2015.
- "O'Donnell May Not Be at Purdue This Fall". The Muncie (IN) Morning Star. September 11, 1918. p. 7 – via Newspapers.com.
- "Coach O'Donnell Will Not Return to Purdue". The Indianapolis Star. September 10, 1918. p. 14 – via Newspapers.com.
- Steve Hannagan (October 27, 1918). "DePauw Springs Surprise; Whips Boiler Makers in Last Period; Aerial Attack Pushes Purdue Men to Defeat". The Indianapolis Star. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
- "Purdue's Long Losing Streak Finally Ended". Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette. November 3, 1918. p. 20 – via Newspapers.com.
- "Luck Against M.A.C. Lads in Purdue Game". Detroit Free Press. November 10, 1918. p. 19 – via Newspapers.com.
- "Purdue Swamps Wabash Eleven by Huge Count". The Indianapolis Star. November 17, 1918 – via Newspapers.com.
- "Gipp Proves Too Much for Scanlon's Purdue Team: Irish Have Easy Time Beating Boiler Makers". The Indianapolis Star. November 24, 1918. p. 34 – via Newspapers.com.
- "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.