In this edition of TWIMFbH, we explore the history of Chicago’s legendary head coach Amos Alonzo Stagg, the Chicago-Michigan rivalry, and Fielding H. Yost’s place in Big Ten History. We end with a question – why isn’t Yost’s name on the B1G Championship trophy? [lead photo: U-M Bentley Historical Library]
This segment appears on the WTKA 1050AM Ann Arbor ‘Countdown To Kickoff’ before the 2021 Big Ten Championship game on December 4, 2021. Check out all the This Week in Michigan Football History clips here.
full script:
Good afternoon to the Michigan faithful out there! Tonight your beloved Wolverines plan to take down the Hawkeyes and bring home the Amos Alonzo Stagg Championship Trophy.
While today, there’s no question that the THOROUGHLY VANQUISHED Buckeyes are our #1 football rival, in the early days of the conference public enemy #1 was UNQUESTIONABLY Stagg and his Chicago Maroons.
Like most football coaches back in the day, Stagg was an Ivy League man from Yale where he was a star pitcher in baseball. He declined off offers to play pro and turned to coaching football in the Windy City where he quickly built a pigskin powerhouse. Stagg controlled the talent-rich Chicago area high schools, and also had the powerful Chicago press in his back pocket. The writers portrayed Amos Alonzo as a saint who embodied everything that was right about college sports. In reality, Stagg was just as shifty and devious behind-the-scenes as most coaches in the day, willing to severely bend and even break the rules to win.
In the beginning, Stagg had the upper hand on Michigan. In 1898 the Wolverines shocked the Maroons on Thanksgiving Day and those conquering heroes inspired Louis Elbel to write ‘The Victors‘! But it wasn’t until Fielding H. Yost arrived in 1901 that MEECHIGAN turned the tables. THOROUGHLY. Yost promptly VANQUISHED the Maroons four straight years and left Stagg reeling.
The two coaches also battled off the field in recruiting. They went to every extreme to land Walter Eckersall, a 24/7 certified FIVE-STAR athlete-slash-quarterback. Both teams tried to offer Eckie rich deals WINK WINK that he couldn’t refuse. Stagg ended the recruiting battle when he literally dragged Eckersall off a train platform to prevent him from joining the Wolverines.
On the gridiron, Yost and Stagg faced off EIGHT times with Yost winning SIX. And Hurry Up STILL holds the all-time highest Big Ten coaching winning percentage. Oh, and Chicago hasn’t been a member of the Big Ten for over EIGHT decades. So I ask you – why isn’t Yost’s name on the Big Ten Championship Trophy? My suggestion: How about we handle business tonight, take the Stagg trophy back to Schembechler Hall and ponder this question together for the next glorious 12 months!!!
GO BLUE! BEAT THE HAWKS! For more read John Kryk’s AWESOME book Stagg vs. Yost! Or go to MVictors.com or WTKA.com – for the Keybank Countdown to Kickoff, this is Greg Dooley!
