The 1917 Great Lakes Navy Bluejackets football team ("Jackies") represented the

Great Lakes Naval Station Naval Station Great Lakes (NAVSTA Great Lakes) is the home of the United States Navy's only boot camp, located near North Chicago, in Lake County, Illinois. Important tenant commands include the Recruit Training Command, Training Support Center ...

, the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

's boot camp located near

North Chicago, Illinois North Chicago is a city in Lake County, Illinois, United States, and a suburb of the Chicago metropolitan area. The population was 30,759 at the 2020 census making it the 2nd largest city by population in the county, after Waukegan. North Chica ...

, during the

1917 college football season The 1917 college football season had no clear-cut champion, with the ''Official NCAA Division I Football Records Book'' listing Georgia Tech as national champions, the South's first. Pittsburgh, Ohio State, Texas A&M, Williams, and Washington Sta ...

. Led by head coach, Lieutenant E. D. Angell, the team compiled a 4–3 record. Several former

Michigan Wolverines The Michigan Wolverines comprise 29 varsity sports teams at the University of Michigan. These teams compete in the NCAA's Division I and in the Big Ten Conference in all sports except women's water polo, which competes in the NCAA inter-divisio ...

played for the Great Lakes team, including fullback Cedric "Pat" Smith, guards

Albert Benbrook Albert "Benny" Benbrook (August 24, 1887 – August 16, 1943) was an American football guard who played for the University of Michigan Wolverines from 1908 to 1910. He was chosen by Walter Camp as a first-team All-American in 1909 and 1910 and ...

and Alvin Loucks, and halfback Philip Raymond. Minnesota native Hal Erickson also starred at halfback for Great Lakes. John Philip Sousa was commissioned as a lieutenant in the Navy in 1917 and assigned to the Great Lakes Naval Station where he led the Great Lakes Band. Prior to kickoff of the Thanksgiving Day game at

Stagg Field Amos Alonzo Stagg Field is the name of two successive football fields for the University of Chicago. Beyond sports, the first Stagg Field (1893–1957) is remembered for its role in a landmark scientific achievement of Enrico Fermi and the Metall ...

, Sousa led the band of 400 men in renditions of Sousa's "

El Capitan El Capitan ( es, El Capitán; "the Captain" or "the Chief") is a vertical Rock formations in the United States, rock formation in Yosemite National Park, on the north side of Yosemite Valley, near its western end. The El Capitan Granite, granit ...

" march and "

The Star-Spangled Banner "The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States. The lyrics come from the "Defence of Fort M'Henry", a poem written on September 14, 1814, by 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet Francis Scott Key after witnessing the b ...

". At halftime, the band followed with " America, Here's My Boy" and "Joan of Arc". When the crowd called out for "

Over There "Over There" is a 1917 song written by George M. Cohan that was popular with the United States military and public during both world wars. It is a patriotic song designed to galvanize American young men to enlist and fight the "Hun". The song i ...

", the band complied, and the Great Lakes sailors responded with a snake dance on the field. At the end of the game, a 27–0 victory for Great Lakes, the band played " Chopin's Funeral March" for the Fort Sheridan team.

Schedule

References

Great Lakes Navy Great Lakes Navy Bluejackets football seasons

Great Lakes Navy Bluejackets football The Great Lakes Navy Bluejackets football represented the Naval Station Great Lakes, the United States Navy's boot camp located near North Chicago, Illinois, in college football. The 1918 Great Lakes Navy Bluejackets football team compiled a 6–0 ...

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