1903 Wabash football team

The 1903 Wabash football team was an American football team that represented Wabash College as an independent during the 1903 college football season.[1] In Ebin Wilson's second year as head coach, Wabash compiled a 9–3 record and outscored their opponents by a total of 274 to 74. Games for the "Indiana football championship" were recognized as against Notre Dame, Indiana, Purdue, DePauw, Earlham, and Franklin. Wabash compiled a 3–3 record against championship opponents.[2]

1903 Wabash football
ConferenceIndependent
Record9–3
Head coach
CaptainMarshall (halfback)
1903 Midwestern college football independents records
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
Nebraska   –  11 –0 –0
North Dakota   –  7 –0 –0
Central Michigan   –  6 –0 –0
Notre Dame   –  8 –0 –1
Iowa State   –  8 –1 –0
Marquette   –  7 –1 –0
Lake Forest   –  6 –1 –0
North Dakota Agricultural   –  5 –1 –0
Haskell   –  7 –2 –0
Fairmount   –  6 –2 –0
Wabash   –  9 –3 –0
St. Xavier   –  7 –3 –0
Wittenberg   –  5 –2 –1
Doane   –  2 –1 –0
Northern Illinois State   –  4 –2 –0
American Medical   –  6 –3 –0
Kansas   –  6 –3 –0
Drake   –  5 –3 –0
Kirksville Osteopaths   –  5 –3 –0
Iowa State Normal   –  4 –3 –1
Ohio Medical   –  5 –4 –0
Michigan State Normal   –  4 –4 –0
Washington University   –  4 –4 –2
Heidelberg   –  3 –4 –2
Kansas State   –  3 –4 –1
Detroit College   –  3 –4 –0
Shurtleff   –  2 –4 –1
Ohio   –  2 –4 –0
Mount Union   –  2 –5 –1
DePauw   –  2 –6 –1
Miami (OH)   –  1 –4 –0
Western Illinois   –  0 –2 –1
Missouri   –  1 –7 –1
Cincinnati   –  1 –8 –0
Baldwin–Wallace   –  0 –1 –0
Buchtel   –  0 –2 –0
Butler   –  0 –3 –0
Chicago P&S   –  0 –4 –0

Samuel S. Gordon, an African American student and varsity lineman for Wabash College, faced numerous instances of discrimination in his inaugural season with the Little Giants.[3] In the season opener against Shortridge High School of Indianapolis, Wabash led 12–0 when Gordon was sent in to replace an injured left tackle. Upon seeing this, Captain Clark, right halfback on the Shortridge team, refused to continue play and left the field. According to The Indianapolis Journal, the rest of Clark's team raised no objections, and agreed to continue playing. The crowd was also "bitterly disappointed at the actions of Clark and he was denounced on all sides."[4] On October 6, Rose Polytechnic sent a telegraph to Wabash that relayed their intention to boycott the game if Gordon was allowed to play. Wabash president William Kane responded by cancelling the game with Rose Poly and threatening to do so against any other team who "drew the color line".[5] Head coach Ebin Wilson asserted that they would play Gordon in every game for the remainder of the season, citing his great importance to the Wabash team.[6][7] On October 20, Hanover also announced that they would not play with the Wabash team with a black man on their roster. Hearing this latest news, Samuel Gordon resigned from the varsity lineup. Wabash accepted the resignation but insisted that they had the right to play any member of their football team , and would make each of their next opponents agree to this before the game could begin.[8] Gordon's resignation lasted three games. He returned as a reserve against Earlham in the last five minutes, and started the entire game against Notre Dame.[9] Samuel Gordon is officially recognized as a letterwinner for the 1903 season.[10]

Schedule
DateTimeOpponentSiteResultSource
September 19Indianapolis Shortridge High SchoolCrawfordsville, INW 12–0[11]
September 263:00 p.m.Indiana
W 5–0[12]
October 1PurdueCrawfordsville, INL 0–18[13]
October 33:00 p.m.Indianapolis Manual Training High SchoolCrawfordsville, INW 21–0[14]
October 10at Rose PolytechnicTerre Haute, INCancelled [15][16]
October 10Culver Military AcademyCulver, INW 11–6[17][18][19]
October 17Central MedicalCrawfordsville, INW 31–0[20]
October 24HanoverHanover, INW 51–0[21]
October 31FranklinCrawfordsville, INW 87–5[22]
November 7ButlerIndianapolis, INW 46–0[23]
November 14EarlhamCrawfordsville, INL 0–11[24]
November 21DePauwGreencastle, INW 10–0[25]
November 26Notre DameCrawfordsville, INL 0–34[26]

References
  1. "Wabash Game by Game Results". 2015-09-06. Archived from the original on 2015-09-06. Retrieved 2020-06-22.
  2. "Standings of the Indiana Football Teams for 1903". The Indianapolis Star. 1903-11-29. p. 7. Retrieved 2020-06-22.
  3. "Feature: The Team That Tackled Old Jim Crow". www.wabash.edu. Retrieved 2022-08-18.
  4. "Clark Drew Color Line". The Indianapolis Journal. 1903-09-20. p. 6. Retrieved 2020-06-22.
  5. "Stand by the Colored Student". The Evansville Journal. 1903-10-09. p. 1. Retrieved 2022-08-18.
  6. "Rose Polytechnic Has Drawn The Color Line". The Indianapolis News. 1903-10-06. p. 10. Retrieved 2020-06-22.
  7. "President Kane Takes Stand On Color Line". The Indianapolis News. 1903-10-08. p. 4. Retrieved 2020-06-22.
  8. "Colored Man Leaves Team". The Indianapolis News. 1903-10-20. p. 10. Retrieved 2020-06-22.
  9. "Won By Notre Dame". The Indianapolis Journal. 1903-11-27. p. 6. Retrieved 2020-06-22.
  10. "All-Time Football Lettermen". Wabash College Athletics. Retrieved 2022-08-18.
  11. "Clark Drew Color Line". The Indianapolis Journal. 1903-09-20. p. 6. Retrieved 2020-06-22.
  12. "Indiana Team Shocked". The Indianapolis Journal. 1903-09-27. p. 6. Retrieved 2020-06-22.
  13. "Wabash Held Down". The Indianapolis Journal. 1903-10-02. p. 6. Retrieved 2020-06-22.
  14. "Made a Game Fight". The Indianapolis Journal. 1903-10-04. p. 7. Retrieved 2020-06-22.
  15. "Rose Polytechnic Has Drawn The Color Line". The Indianapolis News. 1903-10-06. p. 10. Retrieved 2020-06-22.
  16. "President Kane Takes Stand On Color Line". The Indianapolis News. 1903-10-08. p. 4. Retrieved 2020-06-22.
  17. "Wabash Meets Defeat". The Indianapolis Journal. 1903-10-11. p. 6. Retrieved 2020-06-22.
  18. "Which Team Won?". The Indianapolis Journal. 1903-10-13. p. 6. Retrieved 2020-06-22.
  19. "Did Culver Win or Lose?". The Culver Citizen. 1903-10-15. p. 1. Retrieved 2020-06-22.
  20. ""Medics" Were Shut Out". The Indianapolis Journal. 1903-10-18. p. 6. Retrieved 2020-06-22.
  21. "Hanover Was Plucky". The Indianapolis Journal. 1903-10-25. p. 7. Retrieved 2020-06-22.
  22. "Wabash Defeats Franklin In Coach Yost Style". The Indianapolis Star. 1903-11-01. p. 6. Retrieved 2020-06-22.
  23. "Wabash's Easy Victory". The Indianapolis Journal. 1903-11-08. p. 6. Retrieved 2020-06-22.
  24. "Wabash Annihilated". The Indianapolis Journal. 1903-11-15. p. 6. Retrieved 2020-06-22.
  25. "Wabash Takes DePauw Easy". The Indianapolis Star. 1903-11-22. p. 6. Retrieved 2020-06-22.
  26. "Won By Notre Dame". The Indianapolis Journal. 1903-11-27. p. 6. Retrieved 2020-06-22.
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