The 1905 Western Conference football season was the tenth season of
college football
College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States.
Unlike most ...
played by the member schools of the
Western Conference (later known as the Big Ten Conference) and was a part of the
1905 college football season.
The
1905 Chicago Maroons football team won the conference championship, compiled an 11–0 record, and outscored opponents 271 to 5. The Maroons were retroactively named
national champions
National champions are corporations which are technically private businesses but due to governmental policy are ceded a dominant position in a national economy. In this system, these large organizations are expected not only to seek profit but als ...
by the
Billingsley Report The Billingsley Report is a college football rating system developed in the late 1960s to determine a national champion. Billingsley has actively rated college football teams on a current basis since 1970. Beginning in 1999, Billingsley's ratings ...
, the
Helms Athletic Foundation
The Helms Athletic Foundation, founded in 1936, was a Los Angeles-based organization dedicated to the promotion of athletics and sportsmanship. Paul H. Helms was the organization's founder and benefactor, funding the foundation via his ownership ...
, the
National Championship Foundation The National Championship Foundation (NCF) was established by Mike Riter of Hudson, New York. The NCF retroactively selected college football national champions for each year from 1869 to 1979, and its selections are among the historic national ch ...
, and the
Houlgate System The Houlgate System, also known as the Deke Houlgate collegiate football rating system, was a mathematical rating system for determining annual college football national championships. The ratings, which rated teams according to the strength of th ...
.
Michigan
Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...
won the first 12 games of the season by a combined score of 495 to 0, but lost the final game of the season by a score of 2–0 against Chicago.
Minnesota
Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...
compiled a 10-1 record, shut out 10 of 12 opponents, and outscored all opponents 542 to 22.
Season overview
Results and team statistics
Key
PPG = Average of points scored per game
PAG = Average of points allowed per game
Regular season
Bowl games
No Western Conference schools participated in any bowl games during the 1905 season.
Awards and honors
All-Americans
The following Western Conference players were selected as first-team players on the 1905 College Football All-America Team
The 1905 College Football All-America team is composed of college football players who were selected as All-Americans by various organizations and writers that chose College Football All-America Teams for the 1905 college football season. The organ ...
. ''(Consensus All-Americans displayed in bold).''
* Mark Catlin, end, Chicago (Caspar Whitney
Caspar William Whitney (September 2, 1864 – January 18, 1929) was an American author, editor, explorer, outdoorsman and war correspondent. He originated the concept of the All-American team in college football in 1889 when he worked for '' Harp ...
W
* Walter Eckersall
Walter Herbert "Eckie" Eckersall (June 17, 1883 – March 24, 1930) was an American college football player, official, and sportswriter for the ''Chicago Tribune''.
He played for the Maroons of the University of Chicago, and was elected to the ...
, quarterback, Chicago (Walter Camp
Walter Chauncey Camp (April 7, 1859 – March 14, 1925) was an American football player, coach, and sports writer known as the "Father of American Football". Among a long list of inventions, he created the sport's line of scrimmage and the system ...
C CW, ''New York Evening Post'' YEP
* Thomas S. Hammond, Michigan (NYEP)
All-Western players
Eleven players were chosen as first-team players on at least five of the 1905 All-Western college football teams named by the following 10 selectors: ''Chicago American'' (CA),[ ''Chicago Chronicle'' (CC), ''Chicago Daily News'' (CDN),][ ''Chicago Evening Post'' (CP),][ ''Chicago Record-Herald'' (CRH),][ ''Chicago Tribune'' (CT),][ E. C. Patterson for '']Collier's Weekly
''Collier's'' was an American general interest magazine founded in 1888 by Peter Fenelon Collier. It was launched as ''Collier's Once a Week'', then renamed in 1895 as ''Collier's Weekly: An Illustrated Journal'', shortened in 1905 to ''Colli ...
'' (ECP), J. H. Ritchie in ''Illustrated Outdoor News'' (JHR),[ and ''The Minneapolis Journal'' (MJ).]
References
{{Big Ten Conference football navbox