The 1895 Chicago Athletic Association football team represented the Chicago Athletic Association (CAA) during the 1895 college football season. Under the management of Harry Cornish, the AAs athletic manager since the 1893 season, the CAA compiled a 10–3–1 record, including an exhibition game with the Swift & Co Stock Yarders. The CAA outscored its opponents by a total of 214 to 52 and achieved an undefeated record at home. The athletic association played its home games at CAA Field (formerly South Side Park), located on the corner of 35th Street and Wentworth Avenue in Chicago.
Schedule
Preseason August August 1: Captain E. B. "Jake" Camp began preparations for the 1895 Chicago AA football team. He asserted that the majority of last year's players would join.
September September 7: An interest meeting was held in the club gymnasium. Returners from the 1894 team included John Slater, Oberne, Lucas, Brown, Jake Camp, and Ben Thomas. New players were R. E. Grout, R. T. Hoagland, E. M. Smith, C. B. Coffeen, Herbert A. Parkyn, D. A. Stone, R. Bartl, H. G. Hadden, L. McKinley, Harvey, Barr, and Gage. The experience of the men ranged from the high school team at Hyde Park, the local YMCA, minor teams like Oak park, athletic clubs like Chicago AA and Johnstown AC, and major colleges like Illinois, Michigan, Virginia Military Institute, Iowa, Minnesota, and Cornell. A schedule was announced for the season as well. September 14: vs. "Swift Eleven" at CAA field September 21: Englewood YMCA at CAA field October 5: Rush Medical College at West Side October 12: Illinois at CAA field October 19: Lake Forest in Chicago October 26 to November 9: a trip to play football teams in the East November 23: Rush Medical at CAA field November 28: (Thanksgiving Day): Boston Athletic Association
Games would also be arranged with Northwestern and Chicago universities, and a trip to California may be taken around Christmas time. Practices would begin on September 10, and be held every Tuesday and Thursday.
September 14: Swift & Co.
Chicago AA defeated the Swift & Co. Stock Yarders 28 to 0 at their own CAA field. The game was an exhibition for the coming season, and so the Stock Yarders were given a chance to continue playing many times after fumbles and turnovers. CAA played well, scoring six touchdowns, although there was an instance where Thompson, playing left tackle, accidentally tackled Captain Camp, confusing him for a Stock-Yard player, and consequentially stopped a sure touchdown for the AA.
September 16: A game is arranged with Chicago University for the twenty-eighth of September at Marshall Field. It was dubbed as the first real contest for each team.
September 18: The Armour Institute of Technology released their schedule for 1895, and they were set to play the CAA on October 16.
September 21: Englewood YMCA didn't show up for their match with Chicago AA. The team instead played against itself, with some additional players from Swift & Co. The "regulars" won 4–0 in a 30-minute contest.
Regular season September 28: Chicago
Chicago AA lost to the Chicago University Maroons, 0–8, in their first recognized game of the 1895 season. It was an overcast day with a light drizzle. Chicago AA's quarterback was injured in the game, although it was slight. Chicago AA was favored 3–2 over Chicago. Chicago would hold CAA scoreless, which would only happen again in the athletic associations blowout loss to Orange AC. Stone was credited with the best CAA performance of the day, along with right halfback Slater. The attendance figure is unknown, but there was reportedly a large crowd around Marshall field spectating the affair.
October
October 2: There was a report that star center Archibald Stevenson would play for Rush Medical for the remainder of their 1895 season, but this claim would never materialize.
October 5: Rush Medical College
Chicago AA defeated Rush Medical 30 to 0. It was reported that a great deal of fumbles killed any chance for Rush Medical to win the contest. Another report speculates that Chicago AA would have scored yet another touchdown, but were only given 3 downs instead of 4 by mistake. Slater had the best performance, and scored the most touchdowns in the game. Haddon, Hoagland, and Thompson also scored. The most points of the day were the result of fullback Brown and his five PATs (at the time called goals after touchdowns, and worth 2 points) for 10 points.
October 8: Mr. Cornish sent a letter to Chicago's athletic department, requesting a 2nd game between them and Chicago AA. He cited the 1894 season, where Chicago AA successfully defeated the university team in late September, but agreed to a 2nd contest so Chicago could get a 2nd chance (which they would capitalize on with a 20 to 0 win over the athletic association in mid October). He asserts that this would be nothing but practice for the Maroons, and he is not challenging, but merely suggesting another game should be played if convenient.
October 10: Chicago AA practiced with Rush Medical in preparation of their October 12 matchup with the Illinois Fighting Illini football team. During this practice, the AA players decide to practice several "feint" (trick) plays, most notably the "criss-cross" play, which isn't explained, but appears numerous times throughout the remainder of the season and greatly benefited CAA's offense.
October 12: Illinois
Chicago AA defeated Illinois8 to 0 at CAA field. Illinois came into the game 1–0 after a 48 to 0 clobbering of , while the CAA was fresh off their blowout of Rush Medical. Camp and Parkyn scored the two AA touchdowns, Camp in particular was a surprise in the CAA line-up, as he had just recently come from a sick bed and was reportedly in no condition to play. Slater was mentioned as playing the best game, with many gains down the left side of the field, as that was Illinois' weak spot. Duquesne Country and Athletic Club (DC&AC) would also release their schedule for the 1895 football season, which included a game with Chicago AA on November 9.
October 16: The match against Lake Forest was postponed to October 22. In the meantime, the CAA arranged a game with the Indianapolis Light Artillery, who were seeking a match to start off their 1895 season. The contest would be held October 19 in Indianapolis, and a congregation of CAA supporters would decide to make the trip to Indiana for this game.
October 19: Indianapolis Light Artillery (first match)
In Chicago AA's first game outside of Chicago, the athletics managed to stack up 16 unanswered points in the 1st half to win uncontested, 16 to 0 against the Artillery. This was one of the first games played in Indianapolis in 1895, as the city had "opened" the football season on the same day. The Indianapolis Journal described the CAA team as a machine, and gave credit to Brown, Slater, Camp, Hadden and Coffeen for good runs. Thompson made the first touchdown, followed by Brown, and then Camp, with Brown going 2 for 3 on PATs. The ILA team had some minor disagreements with the referring, but overall claimed the CAA had great teamwork, and was well trained in interference (blocking and tackling).
October 22: Mr. Mulliken, a man with past experience at Columbia and on the Crescent Athletic Club of Brooklyn, decides to join the Chicago AA eleven. CAA also began preparation for their journey to the east, and sent out the first roster of those going. The initial list was, Stone and Thompson as left ends, Thomas left tackle, Ryan left guard, Stevenson center, Bartl and Mulliken right guards, McCormick right tackle, Hadden right end, Aldrich quarterback, Coffeen, Blaney and Hoagland right halfbacks, Slater left halfback, and Brown fullback. Camp would not attend the trip east due to ill health. Another important event to note is the football teams of Rush Medical College and Lake Forest combining for the remainder of the 1895 season. Rush would bolster the Lake Forest ranks, while also attempting Lake Forest's reportedly impossible schedule of Northwestern, Michigan, and Illinois, who at the time had a combined record of 9–3, with Michigan undefeated. Lake Forest had also just come from contests between the likes of Wisconsin and Chicago, who had beaten them 52 to 0 and 26 to 5 respectively. They had even lost to the minor team Armour, 6 to 0, and so when a merger was proposed between them and Rush, the agreement was made. The two teams hoped to stand a better chance against the CAA as well when they play them this afternoon.
October 22: Rush-Lake Forest
The contest was yet another blowout for the semi-professionals, as Rush-Lake Forest suffered from injury, and CAA's FB Brown had a perfect 5 for 5 PAT streak, culminating in a 30 to 0 shellacking of the makeshift college team. Thomas scored the first touchdown, followed by Blaney twice to end the first half. Blaney attained another touchdown at the beginning of the next half, with Thomas also scoring the last touchdown, and Brown rounding out the score to 30 with his impeccable kicking. Although the score is large, one writer for The Inter Ocean newspaper claimed that CAA played horribly. He asserted that "if yesterday's showing is a test of the ability at the game, it [The Chicago AA team] would have to work hard to defeat the Yohokas Pigskin Pelters or any like organization." In other news, the CAA would hold a practice with the Illinois Cycling Club this afternoon, the last practice before their trip east on October 24 at 10:30 A. M.
Eastern trip
October 24: The football team left this morning. Because of E. B. Camp's continued absence from ill health, Center Archibald Stevenson was appointed as new captain for the Chicago Athletics. The final lineup for those leaving with the team were Stone, Thompson, Stevenson, McCormick, Hadden, Huddelson, Aldrich, Slater, Brown, Blaney, Coffeen, Brown, and Mulliken. The first game scheduled in the East was against the Newton Athletic Club of Boston on October 26.
October 25: The schedule for Chicago AA's trip was highlighted by the Chicago Inter Ocean.
October 25: CAA arrives in Boston, and will be staying at the Copley Square Hotel October 26: A game against Newton AC in Boston, MA October 29: A game against MIT in Cambridge, MA, November 1: A game against Penn in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania November 2: The team goes to watch the Harvard–Princeton football game November 5: A game against Orange AC in East Orange, NJ November 7: CAA leaves for Wilmington, Delaware, to play the local YMCA team, then travels to Pittsburgh, and will stay at Hotel Schlosser November 9: A game against Duquesne Country and Athletic Club in Pittsburgh, PA November 10: The team arrives back in Chicago
Penn and Orange AC were outlined as the most difficult games of the trip, with the Penn Quakers in particular on a ten-game win streak, along with having outscored their opponents 298 to 0. A Thanksgiving Day game against the Boston Athletic Association was also scheduled.
October 26: Newton AC
In the first contest of C.A.A's trip east, the Athletics edged the men of Newton AC in the closing seconds of the first half. Under the watchful eyes of 2800 spectators, CAA had the ball on Newton's 5 yard line, with 35 seconds to go. First, second, and third down went by with no gain for the Chicago AA eleven. With 10 seconds remaining, it was still Chicago's possession, and with one last shove at the Newton defensive line, fullback Brown rolled into the endzone over a mass of players, achieving a walk-off touchdown and subsequent PAT. The game could have been won in the first half, had Chicago AA not fumbled on the Newton AC 4 yard line, but besides that the game was close and both sides held up well. Stevenson was the center of attention for the Athletics, holding the line firm and knocking back Newton's star player, Fred Draper, numerous times throughout the contest. Brown also had a good game, and Bartl got injured.
October 29: MIT