1895 Rush-Lake Forest football team

The 1895 Rush-Lake Forest football team was an American football team that represented Rush Medical College and Lake Forest University during the 1895 college football season. The team compiled a 4–6 record, shut out three opponents (while being the recipient of a shutout five times), and was outscored by their opponents by a total of 182 to 67. They are noteworthy in college football for becoming one of, if not the only example of a mid-season consolidation of two distinct football programs into a single team.

1895 Rush-Lake Forest football
Conference	Independent
1895 record	4–6
Head coach	Herb Alward (1st season)
Captain	Marion Woolsey (left tackle)[1]

1895 Midwestern college football independents records
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
Washington University			–					2	–	0	–	0
Michigan			–					8	–	1	–	0
Chicago			–					10	–	3	–	0
Wittenberg			–					5	–	2	–	0
Minnesota			–					7	–	3	–	0
Wisconsin			–					5	–	2	–	1
Wabash			–					6	–	3	–	0
Illinois			–					4	–	2	–	1
Baldwin–Wallace			–					3	–	1	–	0
Notre Dame			–					3	–	1	–	0
Northwestern			–					6	–	5	–	0
Purdue			–					4	–	3	–	0
Indiana			–					4	–	3	–	1
Buchtel			–					3	–	2	–	0
Doane			–					3	–	2	–	0
Butler			–					2	–	2	–	0
Cincinnati			–					3	–	3	–	0
Haskell			–					1	–	1	–	0
Michigan State Normal			–					3	–	3	–	0
North Dakota Agricultural			–					1	–	1	–	0
Ohio State			–					4	–	4	–	2
Iowa Agricultural			–					3	–	4	–	0
Ohio			–					2	–	3	–	0
Rush-Lake Forest			–					4	–	6	–	0
Ohio Wesleyan			–					2	–	4	–	1
Iowa State Normal			–					1	–	2	–	0
Lake Forest			–					1	–	2	–	0
Northwestern Law			–					1	–	2	–	0
Drake			–					1	–	4	–	0

Before the merger of each school's football program, Rush Medical and Lake Forest both had plans for a regular season and schedule, which included many of the same opponents, such as Chicago, Beloit, Chicago Athletic Association, and the Armour Institute of Technology. The idea of a merger between the two teams was first proposed by G. W. King on or around October 10th, 1895, and was quickly adopted on October 12th with the help of J. D. Nary and J. H. Rice[2]. The consolidation of both programs was easier than would otherwise be expected, given that Rush Medical was already affiliated with Lake Forest, the former being an affiliate graduate college of the latter. The plan was for Rush Medical, which had attained several experienced football players from their successful 1894 season, to forgo their men to Lake Forest, in return for the University's superior schedule, which included regional powerhouses Wisconsin, Michigan, and Notre Dame. The law programs of Chicago University and Lake Forest were also combed for possible talent[3]. With the consolidation, the combined team hoped to stand a better chance against the more accomplished Midwestern football programs. Unfortunately, this strategy did not seem to play out for either team, and the Rush-Lake Forest experiment lost the majority of their remaining contests for the 1895 season.[4]

Pre-merger schedules

Rush Medical schedule

The original captain for Rush Medical was Mr. Sager, a longtime fullback for the Chicago Athletic Association, and the coach was Mr. Searie. Many of the men on the Rush Medical roster had previous experience on collegiate and semi-proffesional teams, which included the Chicago Athletic Association, Purdue, Grinnell, Lake Forest, Washington &Jefferson, Kalamazoo, Minnesota, and Illinois.[5] The team manager was H. C. Parks [6].

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	Result	Source
October 5	3:00 p.m.	at Chicago Athletic Association	CAA Field Corner of 39th Street and Wentworth Avenue, Chicago, IL	L 0–30	[7]
October 9		West Division High School		Unknown	[8]
October 12		at Chicago	Marshall Field Chicago, IL	Cancelled	[9][10]
November 6		at Armour	CAA Field Chicago, IL	Cancelled	[11]
		Northwestern		Cancelled	[12]
		Beloit		Cancelled	[13]
		Pittsburgh Athletic Club		Cancelled	[14]
		Boston Athletic Association		Cancelled	[15]

Lake Forest schedule

Lake Forest was originally coached by Vic Harding, and kept their captain Marion Woolsey after the merger.[16]. The Foresters compiled a 1–2 record, and were outscored 66 to 6 by their opponents. The reason for this confusion lies with the October 12 contest against Wisconsin, as the game was originally recognized as a Lake Forest game (as opposed to Rush-Lake Forest). By October 12th however, Rush Medical football players were already practicing with the Lake Forest eleven, and the team that played against the Badgers was composed of men from both teams, seven from Rush Medical and four from Lake Forest.[17] Lake Forest also does not recognize this contest in their official season records, and so it is safe to retract this contest from Lake Forest's individual schedule.

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	Result	Source
September 28	3:00 p.m.	George Williams	Lake Forest, IL	W 6–0	[18]
October 5		at Chicago	Marshall Field Chicago, IL	L 0–52	[19]
October 9		at Armour	CAA Field Chicago, IL	L 0–14	[20]
November 23		Grinnell		Cancelled	[21]

[22]

Rush-Lake Forest schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
October 12		at Wisconsin	Randall Stadium Madison, WI	L 5–26		[23][24]
October 19	3:30 p.m.	at Illinois Cycling Club	Douglas Park Chicago, IL	W 10–6		[25][26]
October 22	4:20 p.m.	at Chicago Athletic Association	CAA Field Chicago, IL	L 0–30		[27][28]
October 26		at Michigan	Regents Field Ann Arbor, MI	L 0–40	400	[29]
October 28		at Michigan Military Academy	Detroit, MI	W 16–0		[30]
October 31	3:30 p.m.	at Northwestern	Athletic Field Evanston, IL	L 0–24	2,000	[31][32][33][34]
November 2		at Illinois	Illinois Field Champign, IL	L 0–38		[35]
November 14		at Notre Dame	South Bend, IN	Cancelled		[36][37]
November 16		at Wabash	Crawfordsville, IN	W 26–0		[38]
November 22		Carroll (WI)	Chicago, IL	W 10–0		[39]
November 23		Monmouth (IL)		Cancelled		[40]
November 25		Knox (IL)		Cancelled		[41]
November 28		vs. Beloit	Elgin, IL	L 0–18	600	[42][43]

Rush-Lake Forest second team schedule

As part of the consolidation on October 12th, a second team was formed to practice against the Varsity team in between match days. The seconds were captained by Mr. Stoops, a left tackle, and compiled (at least) a 0–2 record against regional academy teams and other collegiate secondaries.

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Source
October 17	Armour seconds	Chicago, IL	L 14–16 or 12–16	[44][45]
October 23	Evanston Academy		Unknown	[46]
November 2	at Morgan Park Academy	Morgan Park, IL	L 0–34	[47]

References

1. "Getting Football Team Together". Chicago Tribune. 1895-09-11. p. 7. Retrieved 2020-07-13.
2. "These May Consolidate". Chicago Tribune. 1895-10-12. p. 6. Retrieved 2020-07-13.
3. "Sports at Rush, Lake Forest". Chicago Tribune. 1895-10-16. p. 7. Retrieved 2020-07-13.
4. https://publications.lakeforest.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1723&context=stentor
5. "2 Oct 1895, 7 - Chicago Tribune at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2020-07-13.
6. "Sports at Rush,1895". Chicago Tribune. 1895-10-02. p. 7. Retrieved 2020-07-13.
7. "Local". The Inter Ocean. 1895-10-07. p. 3. Retrieved 2020-07-13.
8. "West Division Will Play Outside". The Inter Ocean. 1895-09-26. p. 4. Retrieved 2020-07-13.
9. "Sports at Rush,1895". Chicago Tribune. 1895-10-02. p. 7. Retrieved 2020-07-13.
10. "Changed Their Minds". The Inter Ocean. 1895-10-13. p. 11. Retrieved 2020-07-13.
11. "Old Traditions Will Have To Go". Chicago Tribune. 1895-09-23. p. 4. Retrieved 2020-07-13.
12. "Sports at Rush,1895". Chicago Tribune. 1895-10-02. p. 7. Retrieved 2020-07-13.
13. "Sports at Rush,1895". Chicago Tribune. 1895-10-02. p. 7. Retrieved 2020-07-13.
14. "Sports at Rush,1895". Chicago Tribune. 1895-10-02. p. 7. Retrieved 2020-07-13.
15. "Sports at Rush,1895". Chicago Tribune. 1895-10-02. p. 7. Retrieved 2020-07-13.
16. "Lake Forest Eleven Hard At Work". Chicago Tribune. 1895-09-30. p. 5. Retrieved 2020-07-13.
17. https://publications.lakeforest.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1723&context=stentor
18. "Victory For Lake Forest". The Inter Ocean. 1895-09-29. p. 2. Retrieved 2020-07-13.
19. "Local". The Inter Ocean. 1895-10-07. p. 3. Retrieved 2020-07-13.
20. "Techs Win The Game". Chicago Tribune. 1895-10-10. p. 7. Retrieved 2020-07-13.
21. "Getting Football Team Together". Chicago Tribune. 1895-09-11. p. 7. Retrieved 2020-07-13.
22. "1895 Schedule/Results". Lake Forest College Athletics. Retrieved 2020-07-13.
23. "Getting Football Team Together". Chicago Tribune. 1895-09-11. p. 7. Retrieved 2020-07-13.
24. "These May Consolidate". Chicago Tribune. 1895-10-12. p. 6. Retrieved 2020-07-13.
25. "Lake Forest to Play the Bikes". Chicago Tribune. 1895-10-19. p. 6. Retrieved 2020-05-15.
26. "BICYCLISTS PLAY HARD FOOTBALL". Chicago Tribune. 1895-10-20. p. 6. Retrieved 2020-05-15.
27. "Will Try It Again". The Inter Ocean. 1895-10-22. p. 4. Retrieved 2020-07-12.
28. "VERY BAD FOOTBALL". The Inter Ocean. 1895-10-23. p. 4. Retrieved 2020-07-12.
29. "Michigan's Fourth Shut-Out". The Inter Ocean. 1895-10-27. p. 10. Retrieved 2020-07-13.
30. "Easily Won By The Chicago Men". The Inter Ocean. 1895-10-29. p. 4. Retrieved 2020-07-13.
31. "Team Hard at Work-Games Being Arranged". The Inter Ocean. 1895-10-28. p. 4. Retrieved 2020-07-13.
32. ""University Day" At Northwestern". Chicago Tribune. 1895-10-31. p. 5. Retrieved 2020-07-13.
33. "Evanstonians Again Victors". The Inter Ocean. 1895-11-01. p. 4. Retrieved 2020-07-13.
34. "Welcomed by the President". The Inter Ocean. 1895-11-01. p. 3. Retrieved 2020-07-13.
35. "Illinois, 38; Lake Forest, 0". The Inter Ocean. 1895-11-03. p. 9. Retrieved 2020-07-13.
36. "Coach Hadden Is Here". The South Bend Tribune. 1895-11-11. p. 4. Retrieved 2020-07-13.
37. "Disappointed Notre Dame". The South Bend Tribune. 1895-11-14. p. 4. Retrieved 2020-07-13.
38. "Lake Forest Wins from Wabash". Chicago Tribune. 1895-11-17. p. 4. Retrieved 2020-07-13.
39. "Lake Forest Wins from Carroll". Chicago Tribune. 1895-11-23. p. 7. Retrieved 2020-07-13.
40. "What Is Going On At Lake Forest". The Inter Ocean. 1895-11-13. p. 4. Retrieved 2020-07-13.
41. "What Is Going On At Lake Forest". The Inter Ocean. 1895-11-13. p. 4. Retrieved 2020-07-13.
42. "What Is Going On At Lake Forest". The Inter Ocean. 1895-11-13. p. 4. Retrieved 2020-07-13.
43. "Beloit, 18; Rush-Lake Forest, 0". The Inter Ocean. 1895-11-29. p. 4. Retrieved 2020-07-13.
44. https://publications.lakeforest.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1723&context=stentor
45. "Armour's Kicking Wins The Game". Chicago Tribune. 1895-10-18. p. 4. Retrieved 2020-07-13.
46. https://publications.lakeforest.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1723&context=stentor
47. "Morgan Park Academy A Winner". Chicago Tribune. 1895-11-03. p. 4. Retrieved 2020-07-13.