While rarely discussed these days, the Chicago game in 1898 is without a doubt one of the most memorable match-ups in Wolverine lore. It also had the most far-reaching impact as it was this win that inspired ‘The Victors’. Today our undisputed rival is clearly the Buckeyes. But back in 1898, the coach and the team that really got maize and blue blood boiling was Stagg and his Chicago teams.
Here’s this week’s clip:
For the final game of 2018, you can hear this live at the Ascend Sports Bar at Soaring Eagle Casino, or on 1050AM WTKA or WTKA.com. You can catch an archive of the nine seasons of This Week in Michigan Football history clips here. Go Blue!
Here’s the script:
This week we go back to Thanksgiving Day – TWELVE DECADES AGO in 1898. Michigan head coach Gustave Ferbert and his unbeaten Wolverines traveled to Chicago to face Amos Alonzo Stagg and his powerful Chicago Maroons.
While rarely discussed these days, the game is without a doubt one of the most memorable match-ups in Wolverine lore. Today our undisputed rival is clearly our opponent today, The Buckeyes. But back in 1898, the coach and the team that really got maize and blue blood boiling was Stagg and his Chicago teams.
For several years Michigan faced the Maroons in the season finale, often on Thanksgiving Day.The defining moment of this contest happened early in the second half. Michigan’s Charles Widman broke free on a 65-yard dash. His touchdown helped seal the 12 to 11 victory and gave Michigan their first of FORTY TWO conference championships and the title of ‘Champions of the West.’
But in the postgame celebration one student knew something was missing. Louis Elbel listened to the wolverine fans singing popular tunes of the day. Those songs were fun but had nothing to do with sports or with his beloved school. So Elbel decided to fix that. He put pen to paper and composed a song that he named ‘THE VICTORS’. And he dedicated it to that Michigan championship team of 1898.
Most college fight songs are written to inspire their team on to victory – to fight – in a game yet to be played. The unique aspect of The Victors? It celebrates, with its series of HAILS, a game ALREADY WON – Is that Arrogant? Yes. But as we sit here 120 years later, clearly nobody in college football does winning better.
Fielding Yost later said it best. The Grand Old man said “it’s good thing Louis Elbel was a Meechigan student when he wrote THE VICTORS- because if it was any other school they wouldn’t have had much chance to you use it!”Go blue!
Finish the REVENGE TOUR. BEAT OHIO!
