1919–20 Michigan Wolverines men's basketball team

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1919–20 Michigan Wolverines men's basketball
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
1919–20 record10–13 (3–9 Big Ten)
Head coach
CaptainRalph O. Rychener
Home arenaWaterman Gymnasium
Seasons
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Chicago 10 2   .833 14 4   .778
Purdue 8 2   .800 16 4   .800
Illinois 8 4   .667 9 4   .692
Indiana 6 4   .600 13 8   .619
Wisconsin 7 5   .583 15 5   .750
Iowa 6 6   .500 9 10   .474
Ohio State 3 9   .250 17 10   .630
Minnesota 3 9   .250 7 9   .438
Michigan 3 9   .250 10 13   .435
Northwestern 2 6   .250 3 7   .300
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1919–20 Michigan Wolverines men's basketball team represented the University of Michigan in intercollegiate basketball during the 1919–20 season. The team compiled a record of 10–13,[1] and 3–9 against Big Ten Conference opponents. The University of Chicago won the Big Ten championship with a 10–2 record in conference play. Michigan finished in seventh place out of ten teams.[2] E. J. Mather was in his first year as the team's coach, and Ralph O. Rychener was the team captain.[3]

The 1920 Michiganensian wrote that Jack Williams was "the outstanding individual player of the 1920 season" and noted that he led a late season rally.[4] Arthur Karpus was the team's leading scorer with 75 points in eight conference games on 22 field goals and 31 free throws. R. Jerome Dunne was the second leading scorer with 54 points in 12 games on 27 field goals and zero free throws. Walter B. Rea scored 47 points in 12 conference games on 18 field goals and 11 free throws. Benjamin Weiss ranked fourth in scoring with 18 points on seven field goals and four free throws in seven conference games.[5]

In November 1919, The Michigan Alumnus announced the hiring of E. J. Mather as the new head basketball coach and assistant coach in football and baseball. Mather had been a three-sport athlete at Lake Forest College in Illinois and thereafter became the athletic director at Kalamazoo College. His basketball teams won the M.I.A.A. championship in all five seasons that Mather was there.[6] With the hiring of Mather, Elmer Mitchell became Michigan's director of intramural athletics and athletic editor of The Michigan Alumnus. Mitchell published an article titled, "The Game of Basketball" in the January 1920 issue of the Alumnus. Mitchell wrote that basketball was Michigan's newest varsity sport and ranked fourth in popularity behind football, baseball, and track. He noted that basketball at Michigan was "fighting an uphill game to strengthen its prestige" and had features that were "practically unknown to the Michigan following."[7] Mather began pre-season workouts in November with a squad of approximately 35 candidates.[8]

Schedule[]

Date Opponent Score Result Location
December 13, 1919 Kalamazoo College 22–12 Win Waterman Gymnasium,
Ann Arbor, MI
December 18, 1919 St. Mary's 34–22 Win Waterman Gymnasium,
Ann Arbor, MI[9]
December 19, 1919 Western State Normal 27–14 Loss Waterman Gymnasium,
Ann Arbor, MI[10]
December 31, 1919 Oakland Motor Co. 20–9 Win Pontiac, MI
January 1, 1920 Champion Ignition 34–15 Win Flint, MI
January 3, 1920 Detroit Rayls 19–14 Loss Detroit, MI[11]
January 4, 1920 Detroit Athletic Club 36–17 Win Detroit, MI
January 11, 1920 Hillsdale College 22–18 Win Waterman Gymnasium,
Ann Arbor, MI
January 16, 1920 Western Reserve 33–13 Win Waterman Gymnasium,
Ann Arbor, MI
January 17, 1920 Indiana 22–9 Loss Waterman Gymnasium,
Ann Arbor, MI
January 24, 1920 Chicago 40–33 Loss Bartlett Gymnasium,
Chicago, IL
January 26, 1920 Illinois 41–14 Loss Kenney Gym,
Urbana, IL
January 30, 1920 Michigan Agricultural College 23–13 Loss Waterman Gymnasium,
Ann Arbor, MI
January 31, 1920 Ohio State 30–18 Loss Waterman Gymnasium,
Ann Arbor, MI
February 14, 1920 Wisconsin 40–13 Loss University of Wisconsin Armory and Gymnasium,
Madison, WI
February 16, 1920 Minnesota 21–20 Win University of Minnesota Armory,
Minneapolis, MN
February 21, 1920 Chicago 31–19 Loss Waterman Gymnasium,
Ann Arbor, MI
February 28, 1920 Michigan Agricultural College 34–27 Loss Michigan State University Armory,
East Lansing, MI
March 1, 1920 Illinois 28–21 Loss Waterman Gymnasium,
Ann Arbor, MI[12]
March 6, 1920 Wisconsin 23–19 Win Waterman Gymnasium,
Ann Arbor, MI[13]
March 8, 1920 Minnesota 30–16 Win Waterman Gymnasium,
Ann Arbor, MI[14]
March 13, 1920 Ohio State 34–20 Loss Ohio Expo Center Coliseum,
Columbus, OH.[15]
March 16, 1920 Indiana 19–18 Loss Men's Gymnasium,
Bloomington, IN[16]

Players[]

1920 Michigan men's basketball team
Back row (left to right): Clayton Shoemaker (manager), Jack Williams, E. J. Mather (coach), R. Jerome Dunne, and Philip Barthelme (athletic director)
Middle row (left right): Benjamin Weiss, William Henderson, Ralph O. Rychener (captain), Wilford Wilson, Arthur Karpus
Front row (seated on floor): Robert Peare, Walter B. Rea
  • Borinstein - aMa letter winner[17]
  • Hugh Cook, Grand Rapids, Michigan - forward and aMa letter winner[17]
  • R. Jerome Dunne, Chicago, Illinois - center and varsity letter winner[17]
  • Milton B. Gevirtz (sometimes Gervirtz), Whiting, Indiana - forward and aMa letter winner[17]
  • William P. Henderson, Detroit, Michigan - forward and varsity letter winner[17]
  • Arthur Karpus, Grayling, Michigan - forward and varsity letter winner[17]
  • Mason
  • Charles C. Merkel, Ann Arbor, Michigan - guard
  • Robert S. Peare, Rockville, Indiana - guard and varsity letter winner[17]
  • Charles L. Pearman, Verona, New York - forward and aMa letter winner[17]
  • Walter B. Rea - forward and varsity letter winner[17]
  • Edward E. Ruzicka, Chicago, Illinois - scored two points on one field goal in a conference game.[5]
  • Ralph O. Rychener, Archbold, Ohio - guard and varsity letter winner[17]
  • Benjamin Weiss,[18] Newark, New Jersey - guard and varsity letter winner[17]
  • Jack G. Williams - guard and varsity letter winner[17]
  • Wilford C. Wilson - guard and varsity letter winner[17]

Scoring statistics[]

Player Games Field goals Free throws Points Points per game[19]
Walter B. Rea 16 40 13 93 5.8
R. Jerome Dunne 17 38 0 76 4.5
William Henderson 11 25 23 73 6.6
Arthur Karpus 5 14 23 51 10.2
Benjamin Weiss 13 8 4 20 1.5
Ralph O. Rychener 11 7 3 17 1.5
Milton Gevirtz 6 5 3 13 2.2
Peare, Robert 12 4 0 8 0.7
Wilford Wilson 15 2 0 4 0.3
Mason 4 1 0 2 0.5
Jack Williams 6 0 0 0 0.0
Hugh Cook 6 0 0 0 0.0
Charles Pearman 4 0 0 0 0.0
Total 17 144 69 357 21.0
  • The scoring statistics do not include games against Oakland Motor (12/31/1919), Champion Ignition (1/1/1920), Illinois (1/26/1920), Michigan Agricultural (2/28/1920), Ohio State (3/13/1920), and Indiana (3/16/1920).[19]

Coaching staff[]

References[]

  1. ^ "Michigan Wolverines". sports-reference.com.
  2. ^ "Basketball: Final Conference Basketball Records". The Michigan Alumnus. April 1920. p. 395.
  3. ^ 1920 Michiganensian, page 363.
  4. ^ 1920 Michiganensian, page 365.
  5. ^ a b "Basketball Statistics - 1920". The Michigan Alumnus. April 1920. p. 393.
  6. ^ "E.J. Mather Is New Basketball Coach". The Michigan Alumnus. November 1919. p. 98.
  7. ^ Elmer D. Mitchell (January 1920). "The Game of Basketball". The Michigan Alumnus. pp. 208–209.
  8. ^ "Court Practice Starts". The Michigan Alumnus. December 1919. p. 157.
  9. ^ Some source indicate that the opponent on this date was the "Polish Seminary" team.
  10. ^ "Basketball Schedule". The Michigan Alumnus. January 1920. pp. 206–207.
  11. ^ The Rayl's were "considered one of the country's strongest" and had defeated Chicago 33-21.
  12. ^ "Illinois, 28; Michigan, 21". The Michigan Alumnus. April 1920. p. 395.
  13. ^ "Michigan, 23; Wisconsin, 19". The Michigan Alumnus. April 1920. p. 395.
  14. ^ "Michigan, 30; Wisconsin, 16". The Michigan Alumnus. April 1920. p. 396.
  15. ^ "O.S.U., 34; Michigan, 20". The Michigan Alumnus. April 1920. p. 396.
  16. ^ "Indiana, 19; Michigan, 18". The Michigan Alumnus. April 1920. p. 396.
  17. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Basketball Captain Elected". The Michigan Alumnus. April 1920. p. 397.
  18. ^ Benjamin Weiss, born February 26, 1898, in New York City. Educated in the Newark, New Jersey public schools. Graduated from Michigan in 1921. Engaged in private practice as an orthodontist. Died February 12, 1963, at Tucson, Arizona.
  19. ^ a b "University of Michigan Basketball Record Book" (PDF). University of Michigan. p. 22.(Statistics do not include games against Oakland Motor (12/31/1919), Champion Ignition (1/1/1920), Illinois (1/26/1920), Michigan Agricultural (2/28/1920), Ohio State (3/13/1920), and Indiana (3/16/1920).)
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