1918 Northwestern Purple football team

1918 Northwestern Purple football
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Record2–2–1 (1–1 Big Ten)
Head coach
CaptainGene McLaughlin
Home stadiumNorthwestern Field
Seasons
← 1917
1919 →
1918 Big Ten Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Michigan + 2 0 0 5 0 0
Illinois + 4 0 0 5 2 0
Purdue + 1 0 0 3 3 0
Iowa 2 1 0 6 2 1
Minnesota 2 1 0 5 2 1
Northwestern 1 1 0 2 2 1
Wisconsin 1 2 0 3 3 0
Indiana 0 0 0 2 2 0
Ohio State 0 3 0 3 3 0
Chicago 0 5 0 4 6 1
  • $ – Conference champion

The 1918 Northwestern Purple team was an American football team that represented Northwestern University during the 1918 Big Ten Conference football season. In their fifth and final year under head coach Fred J. Murphy, the Purple compiled a 2–2–1 record (1–1 against Big Ten Conference opponents) and finished in sixth place in the Big Ten Conference.[1][2]

Northwestern's quarterback Marshall Underhill was selected as a first-team player on the 1918 Big Ten Conference football season.[3][4]

In response to the Spanish flu pandemic, the football schedule was modified. The game against Ohio State for October 19 was canceled.[5]

  1. ^ "1918 Northwestern Wildcats Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
  2. ^ "2017 Northwestern Football Media Guide" (PDF). Northwestern University. p. 106. Retrieved June 16, 2018.
  3. ^ Walter Eckersall (December 8, 1918). "Eckersall Picks "All Star" Eleven of the Big Ten". Chicago Tribune. pp. 2–4 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  4. ^ ESPN Big Ten Football Encyclopedia. ESPN Books. 2007. p. 191. ISBN 978-1-933060-49-1.
  5. ^ Kaufman, Joey (March 29, 2020). "Influenza outbreak put 1918 Ohio State football season in the shadows". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved March 29, 2020.