The 1908 Western Conference football season was the thirteenth season of college football played by the member schools of the Western Conference (later known as the Big Ten Conference) and was a part of the 1908 college football season.
After a two-year hiatus, Northwestern returned to the football field. Iowa would also make this their last year co-competing in the Western Conference and the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association, which they helped form in 1907.
Season overview Chicago would repeat as Western Conference champions, going 5–0 in league play and 5-0-1 overall.
Illinois (4–1) and Wisconsin (2–1) would finish at 5-1-1 and 5–1, respectively.
Indiana and Purdue would end up with league records of 1-3 and overall records of 2-4 and 4–3, respectively.
Iowa, Minnesota, and Northwestern would go winless in conference play at 0–1, 0–2, and 0–2. Northwestern's first football game in three years was played against a team made up of NU alumni, in which the varsity came out on top by a score of 10–6.
Chicago
Illinois
Wisconsin
Indiana
Purdue
Iowa
Minnesota
Northwestern
Bowl games No Western Conference schools participated in any bowl games during the 1908 season.
All-American honors
Ends Harlan Page, Chicago (WC-3)
Guards John Messmer, Wisconsin (WC-2) Forest Van Hook, Illinois (WC-3)
Quarterbacks
Walter Steffen, Chicago (College Football Hall of Fame) (WC-1; FY; NYET; PD; NHR; KCJ)
Key NCAA recognized selectors for 1908 WC = Collier's Weekly as selected by Walter Camp
Other selectors CON = Consensus based on All-American teams selected by 25 football experts; number indicates how many of the 25 experts selected the individual as a first-team All-American; any player with at least 5 of 25 selections is listed hear as a second-team selection: CON-2 ERB = Composite All-America team selected by E. R. Bushnell based on aggregating the opinions of 30 football critics; number indicates how many of the 30 critics selected the individual as a first-team All-American NYW = New York World, selected by former Yale quarterback Tad Jones PI = The Philadelphia Inquirer, selected by Franklin FY = Fielding H. Yost, football coach of the University of Michigan TT = Tom Thorp, former star tackle and captain of Columbia NYG = New York Globe CSM = The Christian Science Monitor NYT = The New York TimesSpalding, p. 23 NYET = New York Evening Telegram BSU = Brooklyn Standard Union BP = Boston Post PD = Pittsburgh DispatchSpalding, p. 27 NHR = New Haven Register TJ = Tad Jones KCJ = Kansas City Journal PP = Philadelphia PressSpalding, p. 25 PT = Philadelphia Times PES = Philadelphia Evening Star WH = Washington Herald, selected by William Peet CIO = Chicago Inter-Ocean FC = Fred Crolius
Bold = Consensus All-American 1 – First-team selection 2 – Second-team selection 3 – Third-team selection
All-Western selections
James Dean, End, Wisconsin (ALF, CDN, WE) Walter Henry Rademacher, End, Minnesota (CDN, CRH) Harlan Page, End, Chicago (ALF, WE) Anderson, End, Wisconsin (CRH)
Tackles James Walker, Tackle, Minnesota (ALF, CDN, CRH, WE) Oscar Osthoff, Tackle, Wisconsin (ALF, CDN) Glenn D. Butzer, Guard, Illinois (ALF, CDN, CRH) William Mackmiller, Guard, Wisconsin (ALF) Henry E. Farnum, Center, Minnesota (CDN, CRH) Benjamin Harrison Badenoch, Center, Chicago (ALF) John McGovern, Quarterback, Minnesota (ALF, CRH, WE) (CFHOF) Harlan Page, Quarterback, Chicago (CDN) William Lucas Crawley, Halfback, Chicago (ALF, CRH) Reuben Martin Rosenwald, Halfback, Minnesota (ALF, CDN) Earle T. Pickering, Fullback, Minnesota (ALF, CRH) Oscar William Worthwine, Fullback, Chicago (CDN)
References