The 1920 Michigan Wolverines 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 the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

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 ...

during the

1920 college football season The 1920 college football season had no clear-cut champion, with the ''Official NCAA Division I Football Records Book'' listing 1920 California Golden Bears football team, California, 1920 Georgia Bulldogs football team, Georgia, 1920 Harvard Cr ...

. In its 20th season under head coach Fielding H. Yost, the team compiled a 5–2 record (2–2 against conference opponents), finished sixth in the Big Ten, and outscored opponents by a total of 121 to 21. Left tackle Angus Goetz was the team captain. Other notable players included halfbacks Frank Steketee and Eddie Usher, right tackle Tad Wieman, left end Franklin Cappon, right end Paul G. Goebel, left guard Robert J. Dunne, and center

Ernie Vick Henry Arthur "Ernie" Vick (July 2, 1900 – July 16, 1980) was an American football and baseball player. He was selected as an All-American center in 1921, played on the 1926 World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals, and was elected to the Co ...

Schedule

Players

Varsity letter winners

Crowd awaits return of Little Brown Jug at Ann Arbor train station 1920

The following 16 players received their "M" letter for their play on the 1920 football team. * Ted Bank, Flint, Michigan - started 3 games at quarterback * Franklin Cappon, Holland, Michigan - started 7 games at left end * Abe Cohn, Spokane, Washington - started 1 game at left halfback *John Dunn, Ann Arbor, Michigan - started 4 games at quarterback * Robert J. Dunne, Chicago, Illinois - started 7 games at left guard * Paul G. Goebel, Grand Rapids, Michigan - started 7 games at right end * Angus Goetz, Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan - started 7 games at left tackle *James Edwards Johns, Lansing, Michigan - started 2 games at right tackle *Viggo O. Nelson, Ann Arbor, Michigan - started 7 games at fullback * John Perrin, Escanaba, Michigan - started 2 games at right halfback * Frank Steketee, Grand Rapids, Michigan - started 3 games at right halfback, 1 game at left halfback * Eddie Usher, Toledo, Ohio - started 6 games at left halfback, 1 game at right halfback *William J. Van Orden, Ann Arbor, Michigan - guard (not listed as starter in any games) *

, Toledo, Ohio - started 7 games at center * Tad Wieman, Los Angeles, California - started 5 games at right tackle *Hugh E. Wilson, Grand Rapids, Michigan - started 6 games at right guard

aMa letter winners

The following 13 players were awarded "aMa" letters for their work as backups on the 1920 team: *Grenville Andrews, St. Louis, Missouri - halfback *Allen R. Bailey, Cedar Falls, Iowa - halfback * William Fortune, Springfield, Illinois - guard *George M. Gilmore, Ann Arbor, Michigan - tackle *Louis C. Lehman, Newark, New Jersey - end *Charles C. Kreis, Detroit, Michigan *Meyer Paper, St. Paul, Minnesota - halfback *Charles C. Petro, Elyria, Ohio - guard *George E. Planck, Lansing, Michigan - guard *Richard H. Rowland, Buffalo, New York - end *John G. Searle, Evanston, Illinois - quarterback *Charles E. Trout, Toledo, Ohio *Horace Wachter, Toledo, Ohio - guard

Awards and honors

*Captain: Angus Goetz *

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

s: Angus Goetz (Walter Camp, 2nd team); Tad Wieman (Lawrence Perry, 2nd team) *All-Western:

, Frank Steketee (Eckersall, 1st team), Angus Goetz (Eckersall, 2nd team), Franklin Cappon (Eckersall, 2nd team)

Coaching staff

*Head coach: Fielding H. Yost *Assistant coaches:

Prentiss Douglass Prentiss Porter Douglass (June 23, 1887 – November 9, 1949) was an American college football player and coach. A native of Martinsville, Illinois, Douglass graduated from the Culver Military Academy and the University of Michigan. He played ...

, A. J. Sturzenegger, Robert Watson, Edwin Mather, Derril Pratt *Trainer: Archie Hahn, William Fallon *Manager: Robert E. McKean

References

External links

1920 Football Team -- Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan Athletics History

1920-1921 Michigan Alumnus - includes accounts of each game

1921 Michiganensian
{{Michigan Wolverines football navbox

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

Michigan Wolverines football seasons

Michigan Wolverines football The Michigan Wolverines football team represents the University of Michigan in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level. Michigan has the List of NCAA football teams by wins, most all-time wins in college football ...