The Oberlin Yeomen football program represents Oberlin College in college football at the NCAA Division III level. The program is known for having begun the coaching career of player and coach John Heisman, being the last in-state team to defeat Ohio State, and for having one of the worst records in college football history from 1990 to 2001.
After initially helping form the Ohio Athletic Conference in 1902, Oberlin is now part of the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC), of which it is a founding member. The college plays its home games in the Austin E. Knowlton Athletics Complex, built in 2014.
The name Yeomen arose in the early 1900s as a result of blending the former team moniker with the schools official motto. Early on in the program, football players and other athletes were known simply as Oberlin Men or "O" Men. Eventually, as the athletic department became more cohesive, the Yeomen mascot was adopted, drawing on the phonetic sound of "O" Men and the schools official motto of "Learning and Labor".
History
John Heisman
Oberlin was the first school coached by the legendary John Heisman. He coached the teams in 1892 and 1894, the second and fourth seasons that football was a varsity sport at the college. The faculty had not approved football as a sport prior to 1891, but it agreed to hire Heisman as head coach for the 1892 season because he was recommended by Walter Camp. Heisman was a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania where he starred as an end in football. In those days football was quite popular in the East and was just beginning to take root in the Midwest. The hiring of Heisman enabled Oberlin to become one of the leading team's in the Midwest. In 1892 the "O" Men, as they were called at the time, were led by Heisman to their first undefeated season with a perfect 7–0 record, beating their opponents by an average score of 37-4 which included two wins over Ohio State and one over Michigan. To this day, the Wolverines still claim they won the contest but all agree that both sides played the game as it should have been played (without any slugging.) Because Heisman enrolled in post graduate courses in art, he was permitted to play football for Oberlin as he participated in the late stages of some games near the end of the season. Heisman became known as the leading pioneer in developing the game of football into what it is today with formation shifts, centering the ball, and forward passing. His contribution to Oberlin was in proving that an intelligent coach was an integral part of the sport. The Heisman name is more famous today than back in 1892, being synonymous with the award for most outstanding player in college football. As a result, Oberlin named their athletics booster club after Heisman, in an attempt encourage support for all of Oberlin's athletic programs.
Controversial game vs. Michigan
On a cold Saturday afternoon in November 1892, Oberlin's team took the field in Ann Arbor against a heavily favored Michigan squad which had trounced them handily the year before. Notable among the Oberlin visitors was their new player-coach John Heisman, who had been hired away from the University of Pennsylvania by the Oberlin Athletic Association (a student-run enterprise in those days) and who brought an undefeated team with him to Ann Arbor. The team's fastest running back was Charles Savage, who a few years later would become Oberlin's director of athletics and, like Heisman, a nationally prominent figure. Oberlin's best lineman was theology student John Henry Wise, half-German, half-Hawaiian, who after graduation returned to his island home and joined the 1895 Counter-Revolution aimed at toppling the Republic of Hawaii and restoring Queen Liliuokalani and the monarchy. Oberlin's team trainer, "nurse to the wounded," was pre-med student Clarence Hemingway, who would go on to practice medicine in Oak Park, Illinois, and pass on his love of hunting in Michigan to his son, future novelist Ernest Hemingway.
The game in Ann Arbor was close all the way. At halftime Michigan led 22–18. The team captains agreed on a shortened second half, to end at 4:50 p.m. so Oberlin could catch the last train home. With less than two minutes remaining, Michigan drove to the 5-yard line before Oberlin stopped them and took over on downs. Then halfback Savage entered the mists of Oberlin athletic legend by dodging through the line and sprinting 90 yards to the Michigan 5, where Michigan's star player, George Jewett, caught him from behind.
Two plays later Oberlin made its final touchdown. Score: Oberlin 24, Michigan 22, with less than a minute to go. As Michigan launched its last drive, the referee (an Oberlin sub) announced that 4:50 p.m. had arrived, time had expired, and the Oberlin squad trotted off the field to catch the train. Next the umpire (a Michigan man) ruled that four minutes remained on the game clock, owing to timeouts that Oberlin's timekeeper had not recorded. Michigan then walked the ball over the goal line for an uncontested touchdown and was declared the winner, 26 to 24. By that time the Oberlinians were headed home clutching their own victory, 24 to 22. Officially, each school recognizes a win for themselves in the respective archives.
1895–1929 During the early part of the 20th century, Oberlin enjoyed a wide range of success. They regularly competed with, and beat, teams like Michigan and Ohio State and rarely experienced a season with a losing record. Oberlin is a charter member of the NCAA and was one of the founding members of the Ohio Athletic Conference in 1902, along with Western Reserve University, Kenyon College, Ohio State University, Ohio Wesleyan University and Case School of Applied Science. The league commonly was known as the "Big Six." Ohio State left the league to join the Big Ten in 1913, signifying the widening athletic distance between liberal arts schools like Oberlin and major universities. Ohio State's all-time highest margin of victory was a 128–0 thrashing of Oberlin in 1916, however Oberlin is also the last in-state school to defeat Ohio State. The Yeomen upset the Buckeyes 7–6 at Ohio Field in Columbus in 1921.
1930–1989 Since 1929, Oberlin has been unable to duplicate the success of its early years in college football. As a result of The Great Depression and World War II many young men were enlisting in the armed forces instead of attending college and playing football. The college, as a private institution, began focusing on the liberal arts aspect of Oberlin's education, forgoing aggressive expansion like former rivals Michigan and Ohio State. During these years Oberlin experienced up and down seasons, though they would lose more often than win. In 1945 Oberlin was undefeated.
In 1985 Oberlin helped found the North Coast Athletic Conference, based on the principle of gender equality in athletics. The conference currently recognizes 22 varsity sports, 11 men's and 11 women's, and is well respected for the academic strength of its member institutions.
1990–2001 From 1990 through 2001 the Oberlin College football team lost more games than any other team in college football, winning only 4 games and nursing two separate streaks of 40 or more losses. The teams of 1994 to 2000 have been rated the fifth worst college football team of all time by ESPN.com's Page 2. After losing 56–0 to Allegheny in one 1992 game, the Yeoman had so few players they had to forfeit their next game against Wittenberg- and the forfeit turned out to be one of their finest outings. "Nobody got hurt," one school official told Sports Illustrated. "And a forfeit shows up as a 6-0 loss in the books, which was better than most of our scores." In 1994, Oberlin lost all nine games of its season scoring only ten points and giving up 358 points. In 1995, the Yeomen were outscored 469 to 72. In August 1996, Sports Illustrated featured Oberlin in its annual College Football Preview as the worst team in Division III. After four winless seasons from 1993 to 1996, Oberlin opened its 1997 season with an 18–17 victory over Thiel College. Quarterback James Parker threw a touchdown pass to freshman wide receiver John Singleton Jr. in the middle of the endzone. The next play, Parker then threw the game winning pass to John Singleton Jr. to complete the two point conversion to put Oberlin up 18-17 for the win. This win sparked a post-game jubilation with fans rushing the field. The victory garnered national attention as ESPN featured it on SportsCenter. Oberlin would not win another game for almost four years. Swarthmore College and Oberlin scheduled a 1999 matchup, with both schools nursing long losing streaks, just so one of them could end their streak. Oberlin lost 42–6 and continued a 44-game losing streak, ending it with a 53–22 victory over Kenyon College at home in October 2001.Page2 Staff. "Worst college football teams of all time". ESPN.com's Page2. (web link: go.com)2008 Oberlin College Football Media Guide (web link: Goyeo.com, pages 39–40)
2002–2013 Since the 2002 season, Oberlin has recovered from its years of college football futility. Aided in part by consistent coaching, and improvements to the athletic facilities under the guidance of the administration. Though the program has yet to post consistent winning seasons, they have remained competitive in the NCAC, going 5–5 (with better than .500 records in conference) in 2003, 2006, and 2007.
2007 may have been the most successful season in the early 2000s. The team went 5–5 overall and finished third in the North Coast Athletic Conference, breaking multiple offensive team records along the way. The group was also successful as individuals. Of the players on the 2007 roster, 6 hold multiple school records, 16 made the All-NCAC team, and 2 were named All-Americans. The 2007 squad boasts the school's all-time passer, receiver, kick-returner, rusher, and all-time leading scorer. Chris Schubert and Chris Pisani, seniors on the 2007 squad, each sustained professional football careers in the AFL.
On November 16, 2013, Oberlin broke ground on the new Austin E. Knowlton Athletics Complex while playing its final game at Savage Stadium. Less than a month later, on December 6, 2013, it was announced that head coach Jeff Ramsey would be leaving the program. Ramsey had just completed his 15th season at Oberlin in which the Yeomen, whose roster consisted of just 35 players, finished 3-7 overall and 2–7 in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC). During his time with the program, Ramsey mentored 5 All-Americans, 96 All-NCAC athletes, 2 conference players of the year, and 2 conference newcomers of the year.
2014–present In February 2014 it was announced that interim head coach Jay Anderson would take over for Ramsey. A 2003 University of Toledo Graduate and member of the 2001 Rockets team that won the MAC championship, Anderson had previously served as the team's defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach.
The beginning of the 2014 season also saw the dedication of the Austin E. Knowlton Athletics Complex and Dick Bailey Field, which replaced the outdated Savage Football Stadium and features an all-weather, multipurpose field with artificial turf and lights, suitable for multi-sport use. It serves as the home for the Yeomen football team, field hockey team, and men's and women's lacrosse teams. The complex includes a state-of-the-art press box, grandstands for home and visiting spectators, a support facility with home and visitor locker rooms, and innovative meeting and social spaces for the campus community. The complex is the result of an $8 million gift from the Austin E. Knowlton Foundation that supports college and universities in the Midwest.