1918 Wisconsin Badgers football team

Schedule

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Pre-season

John R. Richards was taken away from his duties as Wisconsin's head football coach in mid-October 1918, after being appointed to a commission in charge of the welfare of war workers. Guy Lowman took over as head coach for the 1918 season; Lowman had come to Wisconsin in September 1917 to take charge of Wisconsin's physical education department and to serve as head coach of the basketball team and coach of the freshman football and baseball teams. Richards returned as head football coach in 1919.

Game summaries

On October 26, 1918, Wisconsin lost to Camp Grant, 7–0, in Madison, Wisconsin. Camp Grant's touchdown was scored by former Wisconsin star, Stark, who intercepted a pass and returned it for a touchdown. The game followed the lifting of a quarantine at Camp Grant where the influenza epidemic took a death toll of 1,040 men.

On November 2, 1918, in a game played behind closed gates in Madison, Wisconsin defeated Beloit College, 21–0. Guy Sundt scored two touchdowns for Wisconsin.

On November 9, 1918, Illinois defeated Wisconsin, 22–0, before a crowd of 7,000 at Camp Randall Field in Madison, Wisconsin. According to the Chicago Daily Tribune, the Badgers were "outclassed and outweighed" while the Illini "fought like wildcats" and had the Badgers on the defensive through most of the game.

On November 16, 1918, Minnesota defeated Wisconsin, 6–0, before a crowd of 8,000 at Northrop Field in Minneapolis. At the end of the first quarter, 30 soldiers from the Fort Snelling hospital, all of whom had been injured in the war in France, some with missing limbs, came "limping and stumping" into the stands as the crowd stood, cheered, and applauded. Gus Ekberg scored the game's only touchdown.

On November 23, 1918, Wisconsin defeated Ohio State, 14-3, in Columbus, Ohio.

On Thanksgiving Day, November 28, Wisconsin defeated Michigan Agricultural, 7–6, at Camp Randall Field. Michigan Agricultural took a 6–0 lead in the second quarter when Archer blocked a punt and returned it to the one-yard line; Ferris ran the final yard for touchdown. Wisconsin scored a touchdown with a minute remaining in the game, and Barr converted the extra point to give the game to the Badgers.

References

References

1. (March 17, 2017). "1918 Wisconsin Badgers Schedule and Results". Sports Reference LLC.
2. (2016). "Wisconsin Football 2016 Fact Book". University of Wisconsin.
3. . ["Wisconsin Football Fact Book"](https://uwbadgers.com/documents/2021/9/4/2021_FB_FactBook.pdf). *Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System*.
4. (2007). "ESPN Big Ten Football Encyclopedia". ESPN Books.
5. (October 15, 1918). "Coach Richards Leaves Badgers for War Work". The Indianapolis News.
6. (September 26, 1917). "Lowman to Wisconsin". Lawrence Daily Journal.
7. (October 27, 1918). "Epidemic Over at Camp Grant". The Indianapolis Star.
8. (November 3, 1918). "Badgers Gallop Over Beloit in 21 to 0 Victory". Chicago Tribune.
9. (November 10, 1918). "Hard Playing Illini Put Out Badgers In Big Ten Race, 22–0". Chicago Daily Tribune.
10. Fred R. Coburn. (November 17, 1918). "Gopher Fighting Forces Mop Up Wisconsin Rivals, 6 to 0, on Wet Gridiron: Wounded Veterans of the War Stir Crowd". The Minneapolis Tribune.
11. (November 24, 1918). "Badgers Victors Over Ohio State Eleven, 14 to 7: Smith Scores Both of Wisconsin Touchdowns After Sprints of 80 Yards". St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
12. (November 29, 1918). "Aggies Lose by 6 to 7 Score: Farmers Fight Badgers in Field of Slush". Lansing State Journal.
13. (November 29, 1918). "Wisconsin 7; Aggies 6; Varsity in Victory in Sea of Mud". The Capital Times.