Time has a way of evaporating history. I have been told that much of history would never have been recorded in the Middle Ages had it not been for the hard work of Catholic monks who recorded what others failed to record.
Fortunately, Michigan State University has done a remarkable job of recording its football history dating back to 1896, over 110 seasons with some stellar performances among its many coaches and players.
Here are the Spartan trainers that are among the best:
Chester Brewer 1903 to 1910 – The defensive genius
A 4-sport star at Wisconsin, Brewer knew a thing or two about playing defense. In 8 years he went 54-10-6, discarded ties and his 54-10 winning record was a staggering 84%. That’s impressive enough, even more impressive was the fact that among his 54 wins there were 43 shutouts, making 79% of his wins shutouts.
In 1904 he had 6 consecutive shutout victories with an 8-1 mark. Among their 6 draws there were 4 goalless draws (0-0). Two other facts about Brewer shine very brightly, 1) NEVER lost a home game in 8 years, and 2) Only lost 10 games in 8 years. In 1904 they thrashed Hillsdale 104-0, but his highlights were a 0-0 draw against Fielding Yost’s 1908 Michigan team and a 17-0 shutout of Notre Dame in 1910.
John Macklin 1911 to 1915 – The pacemaker with a number of firsts
Macklin, a standout athlete in Pennsylvania, succeeded Chester Brewer. He went 29-5 in 5 seasons for an 85% winning percentage and led the table in 1913 with a 7-0 mark that included Michigan State’s first win over Michigan, a 12-7 win at Michigan. .
Among Macklin’s other great moments were a 6-3 loss against Penn State in 1914; another 24-0 road win over Michigan in 1915; and a 35-20 victory over Ohio State in 1912, the first by a MAC team against a Big Ten team.
Jim Crowley 1929 to 1932: one of the immortal Four Horsemen of Notre Dame
After several years of mediocrity, Crowley returned Michigan State to national prominence going 22-8-3 (73% win-loss percentage) with 4 winning seasons and one win less than a record-breaking perfect season. 7-1 in his senior year. . Crowley’s teams had a pair of 0–0 ties against Michigan in 1930 and 1931 that snapped Michigan State’s 14-game losing streak to Michigan.
Crowley was one of the Four Horsemen of Knute Rockne during the Notre Dame glory years made famous by legendary sportswriter Grantland Rice. Crowley would become head coach at Fordham in 1933 and create the “Seven Blocks of Granite” which included legendary Green Bay Packer coach Vince Lombardi.
From the Four Horsemen of Notre Dame to Michigan State to Fordham’s Seven Blocks of Granite and Green Bay Packer’s Vince Lombardi, there’s a pretty good legacy created by the man known as “Sleepy Jim” Crowley.
Charlie Bachman 1933 to 1946 – Introduced Notre Dame’s winning system
Bachman followed Jim Crowley and brought the Notre Dame system with him and managed to post 10 winning seasons in 13 years with a record of 70-34-10 (a 67% win-loss percentage). There was no football in 1943 due to World War II.
Bachman was a teammate of Knute Rockne and a Notre Dame alumnus like Crowley. He led the Spartans to an 8-1 mark in his second season, including a 16-0 win over Michigan, the school’s first outright victory in 19 years; it would be the first of 4 straight wins against Michigan that Bachman’s teams would achieve. After posting another 8-1 season in 1937, Michigan State received its first bid for a postseason game, the 1938 Orange Bowl.
(Editor’s Note: This is Part 1 of a 2-part series.)
Copyright © 2007 Ed Bagley
