1907–08 Chicago Maroons men's basketball team

The 1907–08 Chicago Maroons men's basketball team represented the University of Chicago in intercollegiate basketball during the 1907–08 season. The team finished the season with a 23–2 record[1] and were named national champions by the Helms Athletic Foundation.[2] This was the second straight year that Chicago claimed the Helms national championship.[2] The team played their home games on campus at Frank Dickinson Bartlett Gymnasium.

1907–08 Chicago Maroons men's basketball
Western Conference Champions
Helms Foundation National Champions
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Record23–2 (7–1 Western)
Head coach
CaptainJohn Schommer
Home arenaBartlett Gymnasium
Seasons
1907–08 Western Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Chicago 7 1   .875 23 2   .920
Wisconsin 7 1   .875 10 2   .833
Illinois 6 5   .545 20 6   .769
Minnesota 2 6   .250 12 7   .632
Purdue 0 8   .000 5 9   .357
Iowa - -   10 6   .625
Indiana - -   9 6   .600
Northwestern - -   2 7   .222

Both Pat Page and John Schommer were named All-Americans.[3] For Schommer, it was his third consecutive All-American honor; for Page, it was his second.

Championship

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For the first time in college basketball's short history, a true national championship was awarded based on a "best-of-three" playoff series played by the presumptuous best two teams in the nation. In order to get to this series, however, the Maroons had to win the Western Conference. Based on the fact the Maroons and the Wisconsin Badgers had split the two games during the regular season, Coach Raycroft and Wisconsin physical education director Charles P. Hutchins agreed that a title game needed to be played.[4] The game was played in Madison, however, the Maroons came out victorious and were not only awarded the conference title, this also determined who would meet the Quakers of Pennsylvania.

It would only take two games for the Maroons to win the series. The first game was played at Bartlett Gymnasium with a final score of 21 to 18. The second game was played in Philadelphia with a final score of 18 to 16. Besides the fact that a series of games were played to determine a national champion, the Maroons proved that they were worthy of the title by defeating 23 of the 25 opponents they faced during the season. Meanwhile, with a season that included over 20 games, Pennsylvania met and defeated all of the teams they faced in the east.

Roster

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Player Position Class Hometown
Frederick H. Falls Forward Sophomore Chicago, Illinois
William M. Georgen Forward Junior Belvidere, Illinois
Harlan "Pat" Page Guard Sophomore Chicago, Illinois
Arthur Hoffman Guard Sophomore Chicago, Illinois
Robert Harris Guard Senior Chicago, Illinois
John Schommer, captain Center Junior Chicago, Illinois
Edwin Hubble Forward Sophomore Marshfield, Missouri
Paul Buhlig Forward Senior Chicago, Illinois
Mansfield Cleary Guard Sophomore Oak Park, Illinois
Alfred Kelly Guard Freshman Ewing, Illinois

Schedule

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Source[5]

Date
time, TV
Opponent Result Record Site
city, state
12/20/1907
no, no
@ Iowa W 35–26  1-0 (0-0)
Iowa Armory 
Iowa City, IA
12/21/1907*
no, no
@ Washington University W 30-10  2-0 (0-0)
Francis Gymnasium 
St. Louis, MO
12/23/1907*
no, no
@ Kansas City A.A. W 49-19  3-0 (0-0)
Kansas City A.A. 
Kansas City, MO
12/25/1907*
no, no
@ Des Moines YMCA W 31–23  4-0 (0-0)
Des Moines Coliseum 
Des Moines, IA
12/26/1907*
no, no
@ Muscatine YMCA W 60–26  5-0 (0-0)
Muscatine YMCA 
Muscatine, IA
1/4/1908*
no, no
vs. Columbia W 28-13  6-0 (0-0)
Bartlett Gymnasium 
Chicago, IL
1/10/1908
no, no
vs. Indiana W 49–18  7-0 (0-0)
Bartlett Gymnasium 
Chicago, IL
1/18/1908
no, no
vs. Iowa W 29–10  8-0 (0-0)
Bartlett Gymnasium 
Chicago, IL
1/21/1908*
no, no
@ Central YMCA L 17–27  8-1 (0-0)
Central YMCA 
Chicago, IL
1/25/1908
no, no
vs. Purdue W 53–11  9-1 (1-0)
Bartlett Gymnasium 
Chicago, IL
1/31/1908
no, no
@ Wisconsin L 17–29  9-2 (1-1)
University of Wisconsin Armory and Gymnasium 
Madison, WI
2/6/1908*
no, no
vs. Central YMCA W 30–14  10-2 (1-1)
Bartlett Gymnasium 
Chicago, IL
2/8/1908
no, no
@ Illinois W 35–21  11-2 (2-1)
Kenney Gym 
Urbana, IL
2/13/1908
no, no
vs. Northwestern W 41-6  12-2 (2-1)
Bartlett Gymnasium 
Chicago, IL
2/15/1908
no, no
@ Purdue W 31–19  13-2 (3-1)
Lafayette Colliseum 
West Lafayette, IN
2/22/1908
no, no
@ Minnesota W 26–23  14-2 (4-1)
University of Minnesota Armory 
Minneapolis, MN
2/28/1908
no, no
vs. Wisconsin W 24–19  15-2 (5-1)
Bartlett Gymnasium 
Chicago, IL
2/29/1908
no, no
@ Northwestern W 18–10  16-2 (6-1)
Patten Gymnasium 
Evanston, IL
3/6/1908
no, no
vs. Illinois W 42–17  17-2 (6-1)
Bartlett Gymnasium 
Chicago, IL
3/12/1908*
no, no
@ Wisconsin
Conference Title Game
W 18–16  18-2 (6-1)
University of Wisconsin Armory and Gymnasium 
Madison, WI
3/14/1908
no, no
vs. Minnesota W 22–12  19-2 (7-1)
Bartlett Gymnasium 
Chicago, IL
3/21/1908*
no, no
vs. Pennsylvania W 21–18  20-2 (7-1)
Bartlett Gymnasium 
Chicago, IL
3/25/1908*
no, no
@ Pennsylvania W 16–15  21-2 (7-1)
University of Pennsylvania 
Philadelphia, PA
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Central Time.

[6]

Player stats

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Player Games Played Field Goals Free Throws Made Points
John Schommer[7] 22 84 82 250
Frederick Falls[7] 22 72 44 188
William Georgen[7] 20 40 0 80
Robert Harris[7] 20 28 11 67
Pat Page[7] 20 14 1 29
Arthur Hoffman[7] 13 12 0 24

References

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  1. ^ "Chicago Maroons season-by-season results". sports-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. 2014. Retrieved May 13, 2014.
  2. ^ a b "NCAA Division I Mens Basketball – NCAA Division I Champions". Rauzulu's Street. 2004. Retrieved May 13, 2014.
  3. ^ "2013–14 Chicago Maroons Men's Basketball Media Guide" (PDF). History. University of Chicago. 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 8, 2013. Retrieved May 13, 2014.
  4. ^ The Cap and Gown, 1908, The University of Chicago, page 252
  5. ^ [1], The Cap and Gown
  6. ^ Cap and Gown 1907
  7. ^ a b c d e f "The cap and gown". 1908.
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