The 1918 Purdue Boilermakers football team was an

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

team that represented

Purdue University Purdue University is a Public university#United States, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded ...

during the

1918 Big Ten Conference football season The 1918 Big Ten Conference football season was the 23rd season of college football played by the member schools of the Big Ten Conference (officially known as the Western Intercollegiate Conference Athletic Association and sometimes referred to ...

. 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 The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Fa ...

with a 1–0 record against conference opponents, and outscored opponents by a total of 87 to 78.

Schedule

Preseason

On September 10, 1918, Purdue's athletic director O. F. Cutts announced that

Cleo A. O'Donnell Cleo Albert O'Donnell (December 10, 1883 – February 15, 1953) was an American football player and coach. He played college football at Holy Cross football, Holy Cross from 1904 to 1907. He was a football coach at Everett High School (Massachuse ...

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.

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." 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." 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. On November 16, 1918, Purdue defeated Wabash, 53–6, at Washington Park in Indianapolis. On November 23, 1918, Notre Dame defeated Purdue, 26-6, before a crowd of 7,000 at

Stuart Field Stuart Field was a stadium at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States. It was the home field of the Purdue Boilermakers football team from 1892 until 1924 when Ross–Ade Stadium opened. Purdue's baseball team continued to ...

in Lafayette, Indiana. 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. The 1918 Great Lakes Navy Bluejackets compiled a 3–0–1 record against Big Ten opponents, went on to win the

1919 Rose Bowl The 1919 Rose Bowl, known at the time as the Tournament East-West Football Game, was a bowl game played on January 1, 1919, at Tournament Park in Pasadena, California. It was the 5th Rose Bowl Game. With the war just over and college rosters depl ...

, and featured three players (

George Halas George Stanley Halas Sr. (February 2, 1895 – October 31, 1983), nicknamed "Papa Bear", was an American professional football end, coach, and executive. He was the founder and owner of the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL), ...

Jimmy Conzelman James Gleason Dunn Conzelman (March 6, 1898 – July 31, 1970) was an American professional American football, football player and coach, baseball executive, and advertising executive. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1964 a ...

, and

Paddy Driscoll John Leo "Paddy" Driscoll (January 11, 1895 – June 29, 1968) was an American professional football and baseball player and football coach. A triple-threat man in football, he was regarded as the best drop kicker and one of the best overall ...

) who were later inducted into the

Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional football (gridiron), professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, 1963, the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of profes ...

Roster

* C. A. Bartlett, G * H. H. Bendixon, E * Ferdinand Birk, T * Paul Church, HB * J. Daly * R. R. Foresman, HB * C. E. Hargrove, G * Bob Markley, RH * S. C. McIntosh, HB * John Meeker, RH * Russ Mitchell, C * Edgar Murphy, FB * R. Phillips, G * J. H. Quast, E * Fred Roth, HB * M. M. Smith, E * C. C. Stanwood, C * Ed Strubbe, G * Earl Wagner * J. R. Waters, HB * Bob Whipkius, T

References

{{Big Ten Conference football champions

Purdue Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donat ...

Purdue Boilermakers football seasons Big Ten Conference football champion seasons

Purdue Boilermakers football The Purdue Boilermakers football team represents Purdue University in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of college football. Purdue plays its home games at Ross–Ade Stadium on the campus of Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. ...