1903 Michigan Wolverines football | |
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Co-national champion (NCF)
Western Conference co-champion |
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Conference | Western Conference |
1903 record | 11–0–1 (3–0–1 Western) |
Head coach | Fielding H. Yost (3rd year) |
Offensive scheme | Short-punt |
Captain | Curtis Redden |
Home stadium | Regents Field |
1903 Western Conference football standings | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Minnesota + | 3 | – | 0 | – | 1 | 14 | – | 0 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Michigan + | 3 | – | 0 | – | 1 | 11 | – | 0 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Northwestern + | 1 | – | 0 | – | 2 | 10 | – | 1 | – | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Chicago | 4 | – | 1 | – | 1 | 12 | – | 2 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Iowa | 1 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 9 | – | 2 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Indiana | 1 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 4 | – | 4 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Illinois | 1 | – | 5 | – | 0 | 8 | – | 6 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Wisconsin | 0 | – | 3 | – | 1 | 6 | – | 3 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Purdue | 0 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 4 | – | 2 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 1903 Michigan Wolverines football team represented the University of Michigan in the 1903 college football season. The team's head football coach was Fielding H. Yost. The Wolverines played their home games at Regents Field. The 1903 team compiled a record of 11–0–1 and outscored opponents 565 to 6. The only points allowed came on a touchdown in a 6–6 tie with Minnesota. All eleven wins were shutouts. The 1903 Michigan team was the third of Yost's "Point-a-Minute" teams and has been recognized retrospectively as a co-national champion by the National Championship Foundation.
The team captain was Curtis Redden, and the high scorer was fullback Tom Hammond who scored 163 points. Halfback Willie Heston was the only member of the team selected as a first-team All-American, receiving the honor from both Walter Camp in Collier's Weekly and Caspar Whitney in Outing magazine.
Before the start of the 1903 season, Michigan became involved in controversy over amateurism in college football. In April 1903, David Starr Jordan, the president of Stanford University, accused Michigan coach Fielding Yost of sinning against the spirit of amateur athletics. Jordan's accusations focused on two players, George W. Gregory and Willie Heston, both of whom had come to Michigan from California with Coach Yost in 1901. The Detroit Free Press reported in early September 1903 that the two might opt not to return to the University of Michigan when classes resumed.