Conference Independent Captain Frederick W. Henninger | 1895 record 8–1 Home stadium Regents Field | |
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Head coach William McCauley (2nd year) | ||
The 1895 Michigan Wolverines football team represented the University of Michigan in the 1895 college football season. The team, coached by medical student William McCauley, compiled an 8–1 record, won seven of their games by shutouts, and outscored their opponents by a combined score of 266 to 14. The 1895 Wolverines won their first five games by a combined score of 220 to 0. The sole loss of the season was a 4–0 setback against the Harvard Crimson, then one of the three great football powers. Michigan finished the season with a 12–0 win over Western rival, Amos Alonzo Stagg's Chicago Maroons. Undefeated against Western opponents, the 1895 Wolverines laid claim to the Western football championship.
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Starting lineup
The starting lineup of the 1895 Michigan football team included players from ten states, including New Mexico, Montana, and Washington.
Coaching and training staff
The coaching and training staff of the 1895 Michigan Wolverines consisted of four men. Former Princeton football star William McCauley was the coach. Keene Fitzpatrick, considered "one of the pioneers of intercollegiate sport," was the trainer (and also the school's track coach). Charles A. Baird, who was named the university's first athletic director three years later, was the team manager. Frederick Henninger was the team captain. A newspaper profile of Henninger in November 1895 said:
"The University of Michigan team, captained by F. W. Henninger, is one of the strongest football elevens in the west. Henninger is a veteran of last year's eleven, is 5 feet 10 inches tall aud weighs 180 pounds. He is an excellent field general, plays right guard and is said to be the strongest man on the team."
In his review of the 1895 season, Edwin Denby described the contributions made by the team's four leaders:
"If to any one man above another credit is due for this result, McCauley should receive it. Not only his splendid coaching, but his quiet, gentlemanly, kindly manner, his forbearance, and his abstention from the use of language too strong for the public prints, all had their good effect upon the team. And certainly he would have found it hard to get such excellent support from any three other men as he got from Fitzpatrick, Henninger and Baird. They have all won the high regard of the entire university and the sincere liking of those who have come in personal contact with them."