Michigan Football History

The first ever intercollegiate game in Michigan football history occurred on May 30, 1879, as the University's football club somehow defeated Racine by the most unusual score of 1-0. Only 500 fans were in attendance at the contest, which was held at White Stockings Park in Chicago, Illinois. The Michigan team, which did not have a coach, was captained by David N. DeTarr and also featured John Chase, Irving Pond, Jack Green, William Hannan, Frank Reid, Richard DePuy, Tom Edwards, Charles Campbell, Edmund Barmore and Charles Mitchell. The squad went on to play a scoreless tie against Toronto on November 1, 1879, and thus finished their first official season with a 1-0-1 record. The team continued to play throughout the next several years, but ironically, it wasn't until a local newspaper reporter coined the term in November of 1899 that the football club became known as the Wolverines.

Michigan Football History: The First Bowl Game

It wasn't until 1902 that the Wolverines played in the first bowl game in Michigan football history. In fact, that contest was the inaugural Rose Bowl, which was established by the committee in charge of the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena. The Parade has, up until that point, always featured a polo match. However, the committee wanted to spice things up a bit, and a football game seemed ideal. So they invited Michigan to play Pacific Coast Universities champion Stanford. The two clubs locked horns in what started off as a close game, with neither team scoring for the first 23 minutes of the first half. However, Michigan halfback Willie Heston soon broke free on a 21-yard run, which was followed by a six-yard score by fullback Neil Snow. That opened the floodgates, and by halftime the Wolverines led 17-0. They went on to win 49-0, finishing 11-0 on the season. In fact, the vaunted Michigan defense did not allow any of their opponents to score a single point during the entire season. In fact, the Wolverines performance was so dominant and the game was so one-sided that the parade committee decided not to host a football game the following season, and in fact it wasn't until 1918 that the Rose Bowl would be played again.