1908
HOCKEY
The league was much more balanced now than in it's infancy and the Montreal Canadiens proved that anyone could win by going from last place a year ago to first and then winning their first Stanley Cup. Ottawa, Toronto and Hamilton both returned to the playoffs which left defending champion Quebec, as well as the Montreal Maroons, on the outside looking in. However, the margin was ever so slight as Quebec missed fourth place by a single point and the Maroons were just 2 points behind the Bulldogs.
Sailor Hilborn of the Canadiens was named league MVP after scoring a league high 23 goals to mark his third straight season leading in that category. Although, had he not missed 6 games with an injury Quebec's Derek Edur might have surpassed Hilborn's total.
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NHA STANDINGS 1908-09
TEAM GP W L T PTS
Montreal Canadiens 50 29 13 8 66
Ottawa Senators 50 23 21 6 52
Toronto St Pats 50 22 21 7 51
Hamilton Tigers 50 19 24 7 45
Quebec Bulldogs 50 19 25 6 44
Montreal Maroons 50 18 26 6 42
SCORING LEADERS TM GP G A PTS
Bennett Hillman Tor 50 18 35 53
Sailor Hilborn MonC 49 23 25 48
Derek Edur Que 44 21 25 46
Kyle Reed MonC 50 14 31 45
Joseph Matheson MonM 50 17 25 42
The first place Canadiens dispatched fourth place Hamilton in 4 games in their series before needing the full five to beat the Toronto St. Pats in the finals. The St. Pats played the maximum 10 games as their semi-final with Ottawa also went the distance.
Veteran defenseman Philippe Lelievre was named the playoff MVP after scoring 4 goals and adding 3 assists in the post-season. While it was the Habs first taste of champagne from Lord Stanley's Mug, it was the second Cup win for the much travelled Lelievre, who won one in his time with the Montreal Maroons. He had also previously played for the Toronto St Pats as well.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Another unbeaten season for Denver but no bowl invite. They did get a little more respect in the polls, finishing 3rd in the AP and 5th in the coaches poll. Texas Tech finished number one for the second straight year and third time in the sim after beating Duke (11-2) 30-28 in the Sugar Bowl. The loss dropped Duke out of the top twenty.
West Virginia also finished 12-1 after the Mountaineers beat 11-2 North Carolina 31-27 in the Cotton Bowl. Cal finally got a bowl win, their first since going 0-4 since their 1903 Rose Bowl win over Minnesota, as the Bears finished 11-2 thanks to a 30-23 win over Army in the Citrus Bowl. Wisconsin won in it's first trip to Pasadena, beat UCLA 27-20 in the Rose Bowl. Notre Dame easily handled Penn State 45-20 in the Gator Bowl. Colorado beat Texas Mines 23-13 in the Orange Bowl, and Dartmouth topped Northwestern 20-9 in the Tangerine Bowl.
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AP COLLEGE FOOTBALL TOP TWENTY RANKINGS
SCHOOL RECORD COACHES POLL
1 Texas Tech 12-1 1
2 West Virginia 12-1 2
3 Denver 12-0 5
4 California 11-2 4
5 Alabama Polytech 9-3 7
6 Texas Mines 10-3 17
7 Minnesota 9-3 8
8 Fordham 10-2 14
9 Ole Miss 9-3 3
10 Northwestern 10-3 15
11 Notre Dame 10-3 9
12 TCU 9-3 27
13 Colorado 10-3 11
14 Furman 9-3 19
15 Wisconsin 10-3 6
16 North Carolina 11-2 12
17 Army 10-3 10
18 Oklahoma 9-3 16
19 Georgia 8-4 18
20 Purdue 8-4 22
HISTORY OF NATIONAL CHAMPIONS
1901 Notre Dame
1902 Duke
1903 Duke
1904 Texas Tech
1905 Grinnell
1906 Michigan
1907 Texas Tech
1908 Texas Tech
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Like everyone else, Ohio State had been overshadowed in the Western Conference by Indiana but in 1908-09 the Buckeyes would break out of that shadow in a big way. Not in the regular season, where Ohio State finished at 7-5 in conference play, good for third place behind Indiana and Northwestern, but rather in the tournament.
At 21-9 on the season the Buckeyes claimed the 5th seed in the Midwest Region and faced Utah (21-9) in their regional opener. Senior forward Jack Groce had 18 points to help carry Ohio State to an 82-74 victory in the opening round and that was followed up by a 4-point win over upset-minded Colorado A&M, which had knocked off the region's top seed Oregon State in their opener. Groce had 14 while fellow senior Frank Tedder added 16 in a 57-43 win over New York University that earned the Buckeyes a trip to the Final Four.
It was a year for upsets as none of the number one seeds advanced. California fell to 4th seeded Iowa in the West Regional Sem-Final, number one seed Indiana lost to #2 Kentucky in the South Final with the 2 seed Holy Cross also prevailing in the East Region. Another senior on the veteran heavy Buckeyes, PG LeGrant Currier, led the way in an 83-73 win over Holy Cross. Currier had 18 points and 9 assists while junior center Ed Piccolo, the only non-senior starter, had a 20 point night.
That set up a showdown with 35-2 Kentucky, the reigning National Champion led by player of the year Pug Marvin, in the title game. Marvin led all scorers with 22 points but the Buckeyes held Kentucky to 35% shooting while hitting on %55 of their shots and won the game 69-59 to claim their first National Title. Center Vincent Parsons scored 14 points while Tedder had 12 and Groce added 10 on a team that would see 7 of it's top 8 minute producers graduating the program.
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1906-07 CONFERENCE STANDINGS
(T-in 32 team Tournament)
WESTERN CW CL W L
Indiana -T 11 1 28 4
N'thwestern-T 8 4 18 12
Ohio State-T 7 5 26 9
Illinois -T 6 6 22 9
Purdue 6 6 16 14
Iowa -T 6 6 25 9
Wisconsin 5 7 13 16
Minnesota 4 8 8 21
Michigan 4 8 12 17
Chicago 3 9 5 24
IVY GROUP CW CL W L
Pennsylvania-T 9 1 19 11
Dartmouth 6 4 16 13
Cornell 6 4 15 14
Yale 4 6 15 14
Princeton 3 7 13 16
Columbia 2 8 6 23
MISSOURI VALLEY CW CL W L
Kansas -T 8 4 19 11
Oklahoma 8 4 15 14
Missouri 7 5 16 14
Kansas State 6 6 14 15
Iowa State 5 7 13 16
Drake 4 8 8 21
Nebraska 4 8 8 21
MOUNTAIN STATES CW CL W L
Colorado A&M -T 6 2 18 13
Denver 3 5 13 17
Colorado 3 5 14 15
PACIFIC COAST CW CL W L
Cal -T 6 1 28 4
Washington -T 5 2 24 7
Oregon State -T 4 3 25 5
Oregon 4 3 17 12
Idaho 3 4 11 18
Stanford 3 4 16 14
USC 2 5 15 15
Washington State 1 6 7 22
SOUTHERN CW CL W L
Kentucky -T 10 1 35 3
Clemson -T 8 3 22 11
Mississippi State 7 4 13 17
Georgia Tech 7 4 17 13
Tennessee 6 5 13 18
Georgia 6 5 12 19
Alabama Poly 5 6 14 17
Alabama 5 6 15 15
Virginia 4 7 11 18
N. Carolina State 4 7 12 18
North Carolina 3 8 10 20
Virginia Tech 1 10 2 28
SOUTHWEST CW CL W L
Oklahoma A&M -T 6 4 22 9
Baylor 6 4 12 17
Texas A&M 5 5 14 16
SMU 5 5 15 15
Texas 5 5 16 13
Rice 3 7 7 23
TOP INDEPENDENTS W L
Bradley -T 30 3
Holy Cross -T 30 3
West Virginia -T 27 5
Wake Forest -T 26 5
Cincinnati -T 26 5
Dayton -T 25 8
Saint Louis -T 24 8
New York University -T 22 10
Duquesne -T 21 9
Notre Dame -T 21 10
Utah -T 21 10
TCU -T 20 11
Maryland -T 20 10
Saint Joseph's 19 10
Colgate 19 10
Louisville -T 19 11
LSU -T 19 12
Wyoming -T 19 12
Connecticut 18 11
UCLA 18 11
Xavier 18 11
Brigham Young 18 12
St John's -T 18 12
Michigan State -T 18 12
Arizona State 18 12
New Mexico A&M 17 12
St Mary's 17 12
Duke 17 12
Army 17 12
Canisius 17 12
Vanderbilt 17 12
Tulane 17 12
Bowling Green 16 13
Santa Clara 16 13
St Bonaventure 16 13
Temple 16 13
Bucknell 15 14
CCNY 15 14
Kent State 15 14
Muhlenburg 15 14
Utah State 15 14
Northern Arizona 15 15
Seton Hall 15 15
Pug Marvin capped off a tremendous college career at Kentucky by being named the National Player of the Year. Marvin helped Kentucky to 3 straight appearances in the National Title Game including a championship in 1907-08. The 6'4" guard was National Freshman of the Year in 1905-06, a second team All-American a year ago and a First Team member this season. The former High School All-American from Buffalo would also be the first pick of the 1909 Eastern Basketball League draft.
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NCAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY
YR WINNER OPPONENT SCORE OTHER FINAL FOUR TEAMS
1901-02 BRADLEY Indiana 79-64 Holy Cross, Duquesne
1902-03 KENTUCKY Iowa 68-59 Indiana, Duquesne
1903-04 WEST VIRGINIA Indiana 75-71 Bradley, California
1904-05 INDIANA West Virginia 65-49 Holy Cross, Iowa
1905-06 CALIFORNIA Cincinnati 68-61 Bradley, West Virginia
1906-07 BRADLEY Kentucky 54-50 Indiana, Illinois
1907-08 KENTUCKY Bradley 80-71 Indiana, Cincinnati
1908-09 OHIO STATE Kentucky 69-59 Holy Cross, Iowa
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NCAA PLAYERS OF THE YEAR
1901-02 Dick Hauge Bradley
1902-03 Willard McNew West Virginia
1903-04 Al Humphry West Virginia
1904-05 John Benda Kentucky
1905-06 Wally Schmidt Holy Cross
1906-07 Wally Schmidt Holy Cross
1907-08 Billy Egan Dayton
1908-09 Pug Marvin Kentucky
PRO BASKETBALL
Heading into the season the two big stories revolved around a pair of all-stars switching teams. Ciriaco Ferrer, a second team all-star a year ago, left New York to sign with Wilmington while first team all-star Al Humphry went from Paterson to Reading. With last seasons rookie of the year John Lesley already entrenched at small forward, Humphry switched to SG for the Bears. The addition of Humphry, along with power forward Roy Victor from McKeesport, allowed Reading to earn a playoff spot for the first time since reaching the finals 3 years ago.
McKeesport survived the loss of Victor quite easily, as the defending league champs were once again the class of the West Division. John Benda and Red Saba were their team leaders with center Rufus Kingsburgy coming over from Trenton to hep fill the void created when Victor left.
The Ferrer move to Wilmington did not pay off as the Peaches finished tied with Trenton for the worst record in the league despite the fact their new acquisition led the league in points per game as Ferrer averaged 34.5.
The loss of Ferrer was hardly felt in New York as the Wanderers finished first in the East for the fourth time in the past five years. Former North Carolina State star Duane Taylor had a dominant year at center for New York. Taylor led the league in blocked shots while averaging 20.4 ppg and was named both MVP and Defensive Player of the Year for the first time in his career. He also became the first MVP not to make the league first-team all-star squad as Dick Hague continued his stranglehold on the all-star center position. Bennie Lent, who was signed away from Camden, also played a key role for the Wanderers and finished fourth in league scoring. The Troy Trojans, with a balanced attack led by Willard McNew and Stewart Alberts, finished second in the East and made the playoffs in just their second season in the league.
The rookie of the year was Odalis Hernandez of Trenton. The first overall draft pick out of Notre Dame averaged 14.8 ppg and 9.5 rpg.
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1907-08 EASTERN BASKETBALL LEAGUE STANDINGS
EAST DIVISION W L GB
New York Wanderers 45 19 -
Troy Trojans 44 20 1.0
Bristol Pile Drivers 31 33 14.0
Paterson Crescents 27 37 18.0
Camden Electrics 27 37 18.0
Trenton Potters 22 42 23.0
WEST DIVISION W L GB
McKeesport Keys 41 23 -
Reading Bears 37 27 4.0
Pittsburgh Homesteaders 35 29 6.0
Johnstown Johnnies 27 27 14.0
Philadelphia Wheelers 26 38 15.0
Wilmington Peaches 22 42 19.0
SCORING LEADERS TM PPG
Ciriaco Ferrer WIL 34.5
Dick Hauge BRI 27.3
Jimmy Hurlburt PAT 24.4
Bennie Lent NY 23.1
Corky Gipson PIT 22.2
Al Humphry REA 22.2
Red Seba McK 21.7
Cy Breese TRE 20.9
Duane Taylor NY 20.4
Orlin Burdick CAM 20.3
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1907-08 ALL LEAGUE FIRST TEAM PPG RPG APG SPG BKPG
C Dick Hauge Bristol 27.3 12.2 1.9 0.4 4.1
F Corky Gipson Pittsburgh 22.2 7.3 3.8 1.9 0.8
F Roy Victor Reading 19.1 7.4 2.5 2.0 0.8
G Al Humphry Reading 22.2 6.8 9.4 2.1 1.0
G Jimmy Hurlbert Paterson 24.4 6.4 11.6 1.9 0.2
MVP Duane Taylor New York 20.4 10.9 4.6 1.6 4.4
The McKeesport Keys won their second straight EBL title but it took them the maximum 14 games to accomplish the feat, as both their semi-final win over Reading and their title win over New York went the full seven games. The Keys had to come back from a 3 games to one deficit in the semi-finals and trailed New York 3 games to two before rallying to win the title. McKeesport center John Benda, who averaged 17.1 ppg and a playoff leading 11.0 rpg was named the playoff MVP for the second straight year.
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EASTERN BASKETBALL LEAGUE CHAMPIONS
01-02 Paterson Crescents defeat Millville Glass Blowers
02-03 Wilmington Peaches defeat Millville Glass Blowers
03-04 Wilmington Peaches defeat Trenton Potters
04-05 Trenton Potters defeat Wilmington Peaches
05-06 New York Wanderers defeat Reading Bears
06-07 Bristol Pile Drivers defeat Philadelphia Wheelers
07-08 McKeesport Keys defeat Paterson Crescents
08-09 McKeesport Keys defeat New York Wanderers
GOLF
1908 was the season German born Albert Lichtman finally won his first major. The 33 year old had been in contention a number of times and dominated play on the European Tour the past few seasons but until this year's British Open he had never won a major championship. The question going forward is does this first win open the floodgates for more?
THE MASTERS
The Masters winner hailed from of all places Switzerland. Gael Andress had been a regular on the European Tour for a few years but his first golf trip to North America proved very successful as he won The Masters by 3 strokes over 5-time major winner Calvin Baumgarter. Derek Perkins, last years winner, finished in a tie for 5th while Albert Lichtman was tied for 7th with Canadian Hayden Gallant, another former Masters Champion.
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1908 MASTERS LEADERBOARD
NAME NAT SC MONEY
Gael Andress SWI +1 $1,619
Cal Baumgartner US +4 $990
Benedict Gleason ENG +6 $720
Mackenzie Smith SCO +6 $720
Elliot Burton ENG +8 $360
Derek Perkins US +8 $360
US OPEN
A final round 69 propelled Jackie Adams to his first major title as he won the US Open at Brae Burn. Adams finished with a 1 stroke lead on Vince Cummins and Gordon Dendy, as the 31 year old Dendy had another near miss in his quest for his first major. Just outside the list posted below we had Lord Lovett, James Fox, Derek Perkins and Michael Killoran, an Irishman who has come close several times but never won a major.
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1908 US OPEN LEADERBOARD
NAME NAT SC MONEY
Jackie Adams US -6 $1,799
Gordon Dendy US -5 $1,100
Vince Cummins US -5 $1,100
Clem Jordan US -4 $500
Luther Swartz US -4 $500
Albert Lichtman GER -3 $379
BRITISH OPEN
Royal Edinburgh was the host of the 13th British Open and also the location Albert Lichtman finally won his first major. The German ran away with the event, finishing with a 5 stroke lead on England's Benedict Gleason. Derek Perkins continued his strong play as he finished tied for 8th with a pair of Spaniards in Roberto Estrada and Luis Campos.
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1908 BRITISH OPEN LEADERBOARD
NAME NAT SC MONEY
Albert Lichtman GER -7 $1,754
Benedict GleasonENG -2 $1,072
Carlton Andrusiak AUS +1 $780
Thomas Milne SCO +1 $780
Henry Rosenbaum ENG +3 $390
Gus Johnson US +3 $390
Walt Berry US +3 $390
PGA CHAMPIONSHIP
Oakmont in Pennsylvania hosted the 1908 PGA Championship which was won by Winston Hammonds. The English golfer finished two strokes up on Liam Hogan, Freeman Belanger and Gordon Dendy. For Hogan and Dendy the near misses without a major continue. Lord Lovett and James Fox were also in contention as was Calvin Baumgarter, who finished tied for 11th.
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1907 PGA CHAMPIONSHIP LEADERBOARD
NAME NAT SC MONEY
Winston Hammonds ENG +15 $1,709
Liam Hogan SCO +17 $1,045
Freeman Belanger US +17 $1,045
Gordon Dendy US +17 $1,045
Lord Lovett ENG +18 $380
James Fox US +19 $360
Carlton Andrusiak AUS +19 $360
Harris Murphy SCO +19 $360
Clem Jordan US +19 $360
Here are the golfers who have won at least two majors. No changes to the list as all four winners this year claimed their first major titles.
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MAJOR TOURNAMENT WINNERS
Calvin Baumgartner 5
Thomas Milne 3
Lord Lovett 3
Fritz Hobbs 2
Frenchy Savard 2
James Foxx 2
Milo Lawrence 2
Walter Mathis 2