1888 Michigan Wolverines football team The 1888 Michigan Wolverines football team represented the University of Michigan in the 1888 college football season . The team compiled a 2 – 1 record and outscored its opponents by a combined score of 94 to 36 . The team scored 76 points against Albion College , a single - game Michigan record that stood until Fielding H . Yost ' s 1901 " Point - a - Minute " team scored 128 points against Buffalo . The team closed its season with a Thanksgiving Day game against a " picked team " from the Chicago University Club that " The New York Times " called " undoubtedly the greatest football event that ever took place in the West . " The captain of the 1888 team was halfback James E . Duffy who had set the world ' s record for dropkick distance in 1886 . Season summary . Pre - season . In its first issue of the 1888 – 1889 academic year , " The Chronicle " ( a weekly newspaper at the University of Michigan ) expressed concern over the prospects for the school ' s football team . The newspaper noted that the team had lost some of its most valuable men and urged " everyone who has played foot - ball or who thinks that with practice he could play , " to try out for the team . In another article , the same newspaper opined that the 1888 team was " crippled by the general breakup of last year . " " The Chronicle " repeatedly complained that the professional departments , especially the law and medicine departments , had failed to demonstrate their college spirit by participating on the team . Students who were unable to play were urged to assist the team in its practice sessions or to donate money to a fund to be used in purchasing uniforms and equipment for the team . For those willing to assist the team in practice , " The Chronicle " wrote : " Don ' t be afraid of a rough tumble or a laugh for an awkward play . " On September 29 , 1888 , the seniors defeated the juniors in the annual " football rush . " The seniors won the competition " in two straight innings . " On October 17 , 1888 , Theodore Roosevelt , then a " scholar and writer of New York , " visited the Michigan campus and delivered a speech . " The Chronicle " reported on Roosevelt ' s comments directed at the football team : " Theo . Roosevelt has no fear of the murderous Sioux or of a cattle stampede , but he does claim that it is not healthy to get in the way of the U . of M . rugby team . " In late October , the team began practicing every evening at 4 p . m . All students who were " strong enough for the game " were again reminded to come out and practice with the team . The team ' s schedule was established based on challenges between teams . The 1888 Michigan team received challenges from Notre Dame , the Harvard School of Chicago , the Detroit Athletic Club , and Albion College . In the end , only three games were scheduled , the first on November 17 and the last on November 29 . The last game was set for Thanksgiving Day in hopes that the game would attract a large crowd and develop a tradition to rival the Thanksgiving Day games played before large crowds in New York . at Detroit Athletic Club . Michigan played its first game of the year on November 17 , 1888 in Detroit . The opponent was the football team from the Detroit Athletic Club , and the game was played at the Club ' s grounds . As one of the earliest exhibitions of football in Detroit , the game attracted considerable interest and curiosity . " The Detroit Free Press " emphasized the unfamiliarity of the game in its coverage : " The spectacle of twenty muscular young men in one colossal heap , struggling , pulling , hauling , pushing , with arms , legs and caps flying in every direction is an exciting and certainly novel one . . . . All the ground and lofty tumbling was for the possession of a leather - covered foot ball , which every one of those twenty - two athletes had evidently determined to possess or perish in the attempt . . . . While one unaccustomed to foot ball will naturally be startled by some of the acrobatic feats , still it is impossible to watch the game for any length of time without a tingling of the blood and holding of the breath . It is most intensely exciting , continuous in action and replete with fine points of play . " The teams took to the field at 3 p . m . , and the game began at 3 : 30 p . m . The " Free Press " described the athletic grounds as " a gay scene " with young men " scampering over the field " in picturesque suits consisting of " close - fitting knitted caps of gay colors , canvas jackets and knickerbockers , stockings of various colors and shoes of all kind . " On the opening play of the game , Michigan ' s team captain James E . Duffy ( who had set the world ' s record for dropkick distance in 1886 ) lined up for the kick off , but Michigan halfback Edgar McPherran grabbed the ball on a pre - arranged trick play and ran downfield . Duffy followed with a long run from scrimmage . Michigan scored eight points in the first half of 45 minutes . The points came on a touchdown and goal after touchdown ( both scored by Duffy ) and a safety . In the second half , Michigan end James Van Inwagen added a touchdown for Michigan . The game ended early due to darkness . Although Michigan records reflect the final score as a 14 – 6 victory , the account of the game in the " Detroit Free Press " indicated that the score was 14 – 0 when the game was " postponed " due to darkness . The team sent to Detroit consisted of Van Inwagen ( right end ) , Bradley ( right tackle ) , Hagle ( right guard ) , Malley ( center ) , Beach ( left guard ) , Northcroft ( left tackle ) , Smith ( left end ) , Farrand ( quarterback ) , McPherran ( halfback ) , Duffy ( halfback ) , and Ball ( goal ) . DePont and Payne were the substitutes . The umpire was Frederick William Mehlhop , and the referee was Michigan student George P . Codd . Albion . Michigan played its only home game against Albion College at the Ann Arbor Fairgrounds on November 24 , 1888 . Michigan won by a score of 76 – 4 . Michigan ' s 76 points established a Wolverines ' single - game scoring record that was not exceeded until Fielding H . Yost ' s 1901 " Point - a - Minute ” team scored 128 points against Buffalo . Albion ' s four points were awarded after the visitors disputed a call made by the officials and threatened to leave the grounds . The Albion players were persuaded to continue with the game " upon a concession of four points by the home team . " The " Detroit Free Press " called it " a splendid game " with " some excellent team work being done by the ' Varsity eleven . " " The Chronicle " wrote : " As usual U . of M . had a walk away . Albion scored her first point through an error . " Michigan ' s lineup against Albion was Van Inwagen ( right end ) , Bradley ( right tackle ) , Malley ( right guard ) , Hagle ( center ) , Beach ( left guard ) , Payne ( left tackle ) , MacMillan ( left end ) , F . L . Smith ( quarterback ) , McPherran ( halfback ) , J . E . Duffy ( halfback ) , and Ball ( goal ) . at Chicago University Club . Michigan concluded its season with a Thanksgiving Day game against the Chicago University Club . The game was played at the Chicago Baseball Park , the home field of Cap Anson ' s 1888 Chicago Whitestockings . It was attended by 3 , 000 persons , and the proceeds totaling approximately $ 1 , 200 were given to charities , including the Geneva Fresh Air Fund , the Lake Side Sanitarium , and the Training School for Nurses . A 15 - inch high silver cup valued at $ 300 was presented to the winning team . " The New York Times " and " Outing " magazine both called it " undoubtedly the greatest football event that ever took place in the West . " Football was new to Chicago , and the " Chicago Daily Tribune " therefore published a lengthy summary of the game ' s rules , jargon , and methods on the day before the game . The " Tribune " described prize - fighting as " a mild sport " in comparison to football : " In a football game a player who gets possession of the ball may be attacked by anywhere form one to eleven men . . . . Slugging is not allowed , but ' tackling ' is . A tackle , as described below , is a delightful and exciting point of play . . . . The man who is tackled , if game , will endeavor to hold the ball while the members of both teams will try to form a mountain on top of him . " The Michigan team arrived in Chicago at 7 p . m . on Friday evening and stayed at the Palmer House . After eating supper at the hotel , the team attended a performance of Francis Chassaigne ' s " Nadjy " at the Chicago Opera House . The Chicago University Club team was a " picked team " selected from the best athletes in the West , many of whom had played college football for Yale , Princeton , Harvard , or Columbia . Chicago ' s center ( Peters ) and left guard ( Burke ) were well - known former college players who were brought in from St . Paul and Nebraska . " The New York Times " wrote that " the preparatory schools and the universities had been drained for the best talent in sight . " The " Chicago Daily Tribune " wrote that the Chicago team " represented the best men that could be collected from university men resident west of the Alleghenies . " The game attracted many representatives of Chicago ' s high society . The " Chicago Daily Tribune " wrote : " The finest turnouts of the city with the leaders of Chicago beauty decked in … and favorite college colors swept into the grounds . Four - in - hand s , tally - ho s , . . . English carts , mail phaeton s , carriages and all sorts of fashionable vehicles . . . Their occupants did not know much about football and did not entirely approve of the rough and gory sport . " A bugle on a tally - ho belonging to Chicago quarterback Harry Hamlin announced the arrival of the Chicago team at the playing field . Early in the contest , Michigan ' s starting center Horace Greely Prettyman was ejected for " slugging " Chicago ' s center , Peters . " The New York Times " wrote : " Prettyman lost his temper and struck Peters in the mouth twice with his fist . " " The Chronicle " offered a defense of Prettyman : " The facts in the case are that Prettyman knocked loose the hands of Peters when Peters had grabbed him by the jacket . Peters declared that Prettyman had not hit him on the jaw , but the umpire , a Yale man , knew more than the man who was struck ! " " The New York Times " called Prettyman " the backbone of the Michigan rush line " and noted that the team was disheartened after his ejection . Peters , the player who Prettyman hit , was described as " the giant of the Chicago men . " " The Detroit Free Press " described the difficulties that the Michigan team had in handling Peters after Prettyman was ejected : " Two or three men went for him and were hurled from his shoulders like boys tossed by a long - horned Texas steer , and clearing the mob he knocked down the last remaining opponent and scored a touch - down . " The Chicago team took an 18 - 0 lead at halftime . According to the " Chicago Daily Tribune " , the halftime intermission allowed the players to " count bruises . " The " Tribune " emphasized the physical nature of the battle : " Not a man on either team had escaped blood . Noses were bleeding profusely , every man ' s lips were cut and swollen faces were plastered with mud , and lame joints and twitching backs were many . " In the second half , Michigan halfback and captain James E . Duffy scored Michigan ' s only touchdown " by good running and dodging . " Duffy was singled out for praise . " The New York Times " wrote that Duffy played with " wonderful skill " and noted that many observers thought that Duffy ' s play was " the chief feature of the game . " Duffy scored a second touchdown on a long run , but the umpire , Samuel Davis Capen , ruled that Duffy had been offside and disallowed the touchdown . The ruling was disputed , and even the " Chicago Daily Tribune " wrote that the score should have been allowed . After the game , one Michigan player complained about the officiating : " Those Yale men [ Capen was a Yale graduate ] are always ferocious , but we don ' t object to rough treatment . What we didn ' t like was that our men were ruled off for slugging , while they could slug as much as they pleased . " Michigan ' s captain , Duffy , added : " The only thing that I regret is that we feel that the umpire was unfair . Disqualifying Prettyman disheartened us . He was our mainstay . We have learned that football consists much more in little tricks incessantly played than in plain , fair play . " " The Chronicle " emphasized that the Chicago team treated the Michigan team " most royally and acted as perfect gentlemen , " but complained , " ' Tis lamentable that as much can not be said of the fairness of the umpire . " " The Chronicle " also opined that , despite the loss , the Michigan team " was well trained , and probably as thoroughly disciplined as any the University has had for some years . " Michigan ' s starting lineup on Thanksgiving Day was Van Inwagen ( right end ) , Bradley ( right tackle ) , Malley ( right guard ) , Prettyman ( center ) , Beach ( left guard ) , Hagle ( left tackle ) , MacMillan ( left end ) , F . L . Smith ( quarterback ) , McPherran ( halfback ) , J . E . Duffy ( halfback ) , and W . D . Ball ( goal ) . The game drew more extensive coverage in the press than any previous football game in the West . " The Chronicle " expressed the hope that the game would spark interest in football in the West and opined that " the fever may now be said to be upon us . " The " Chicago Times " covered the Thanksgiving Day game on the front page and relegated the Yale – Princeton game to page two .