On Thanksgiving Day 1898, Coach Stagg watched helplessly as Michigan’s Charles Widman broke through Chicago’s line with minutes left in the game to outrace several Maroon players for a game-winning 65-yard touchdown. Widman and others in the illustration wear quilted pants; several have head harnesses and nose guards. Most bear exterior shoulder pads, two wear external sternum pads, while the subs wrap themselves in blankets on the bench.

The win made Michigan the champions of the west, but the day would get worse. On the train returning to Ann Arbor, Louis Elbel scribbled out a dreadful tune and lyrics that became The Victors, Michigan’s fight song. The rest of the football world has mourned this day ever since.

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