page_title: 1898 Michigan Wolverines football team
section_title: at Chicago
hierarchical_section_title: 1898 Michigan Wolverines football team / Season summary / at Chicago
caption_attribution_description: English: Charles Widman's touchdown run against the University of Chicago, November 24, 1898
context_page_description: The 1898 Michigan Wolverines football team represented the University of Michigan in the 1898 Western Conference football season. With Gustave Ferbert in his second year as head coach, the team compiled an undefeated 10–0 record, outscored its opponents 205–26, and won the Western Conference championship for the first time in the school's history.
  The 1898 season included the first meeting in the Michigan - Michigan State football rivalry with Michigan winning the inaugural game by a score of 39–0. The 1898 Wolverines shut out a total of six opponents, including Notre Dame. The team concluded its season by playing Amos Alonzo Stagg's University of Chicago team for the Western Conference championship. The Wolverines beat the favored Chicago Maroons by a 12–11 score in a game that inspired Louis Elbel to write Michigan's fight song "The Victors."
  Several Michigan players received post-season honors. Halfback Charles Widman was the team's scoring leader with 12 touchdowns, including a 65-yard touchdown run against Chicago.
context_section_description: Michigan concluded its undefeated season on Thanksgiving Day with a 12–11 victory over the Chicago Maroons at Marshall Field. The game was played for the championship of the Western Conference.  In order to accommodate the crowd of Michigan fans traveling to Chicago for the game, the Michigan Central Railroad arranged for two special trains to run from Ann Arbor to Chicago at a round trip price of five dollars.  The special excursion tickets allowed fans to spend the weekend in Chicago and return on Monday.
  A crowd of 12,000 spectators attended the game.  The New York Times wrote: "The day and the grounds were ideal for football. The thermometer was lingering around the freezing mark, but the sky was cloudless, and the northwest wind was too light to interfere with the placing of punts."  The Chicago team was favored and was reported to be "the heaviest that ever represented a college, the average weight of the men being over 190 pounds."
  Michigan's first score came after 25 minutes of play on a run by Charles Widman from the five-yard line.  Widman was shoved over the goal line for a touchdown, and Neil Snow kicked the extra point to give Michigan a 6 to 0 lead.  Later in the half, Chicago drove the ball to Michigan's 30-yard-line, and the Maroons' All-American Clarence Herschberger kicked a field goal from placement to cut Michigan's lead to 6 to 5. (Field goals were counted as five points.)
  
  Early in the second half, Michigan scored its second touchdown and converted the extra point to take a 12–5 lead.  Widman ran 65 yards for the touchdown on a "delayed pass" on the most exciting play of the game.  The Chicago Daily Tribune described Widman's run:
  "Widman scurried out of the back of the mass of players with the ball under his arm and down the field with nothing in sight ahead of him except the goal posts.  All the fast men of the Chicago team went in fast pursuit.  It was a beautiful race down the field.  Three Chicago men were close behind.  But the blue-legged runner gained almost imperceptibly at times, and then barely held his own.  He could run as fast as his pursuers, and with his start was safe.  If one or two of those Chicago players had made a dive for him perhaps he might have been stopped. One of them did try up near the goal, but missed him, tripping him slightly, but he rolled over the line.  Michigan had another touchdown and the game, and the Western championship in its pocket."
  
  Widman described the run after the game as follows:
  "The play was a revolving wedge on Chicago's left tackle.  Their end and tackle had been drawn in by our men, and when the ball was given to me on a delayed pass I had a clear field, except for Chicago's backs.  I ran as fast as I could diagonally across the field, realizing that I was hotly pursued.  At last I was tackled on what I afterwards learned was about the six-yard line.  I was slightly dazed by the fall, but saw a goal post ahead of me and managed to crawl over the line.  I did not know I had made a touchdown, however, until Captain Bennett told me."
  Snow added his second extra point kick to give Michigan a 12–5 lead.  Chicago responded with a touchdown run by its left guard, Burnett, and the extra point reduced Michigan's lead to a single point. Michigan forced Chicago to punt on its final possession, and the Wolverines became champions of the Western Conference for the first time in the school's history.
  One newspaper noted: "Michigan, with the exception of one or two double passes, relied almost altogether on straight football, line bucking and runs around the end. Chicago, on the contrary, used trick plays throughout but the team work was of a high order, as shown by both teams."  After the game, Michigan's team captain, J.W.F. Bennett, told reporters: "Widman's sensational run was the feature of the game, but every player deserves the victory.  We must thank Keene Fitzpatrick for our splendid condition."  Chicago coach Amos Alonzo Stagg said: "It was perhaps the finest game of football ever played in the West.  It certainly was spectacular and full of features
caption: "Widman of Michigan, Pursued by Chicago Players, Runs for Glory and a Touchdown"
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