1897–98 Michigan State Normal Normalites men's basketball team

1897–98 Michigan State Normal Normalites men's basketball
1897–98 Michigan State Normal Normalites men's basketball
Conference	Independent
Record	2–1
Head coach	Lemley P. Whitcomb (1st season);
Home arena	Gymnasium
	Seasons 1898–99 →

In 1897 men's basketball is introduced at Michigan State Normal School. The inaugural team went 2–1. 1897–98 was the first season of basketball at the school, which would become Eastern Michigan University Eagles men's basketball team. L.P. Whitcomb was elected the basketball manager at the same meeting that basketball became an official school sport.^[1]

1898 Michigan State Normal College Men's Basketball Team

Roster[edit]

Number	Name	Position	Class	Hometown	Games Played
	John W. Mitchell	Forward	Junior	Ida, MI	1
	Walter J. Rankin	Forward	Junior	Ray, MI	1
	Earl Reid	Guard	Sophomore	Alpine, MI	1
	Benjamin J. Watters	Guard	Senior	Marlette, MI	1
	Fred Q. Gorten	Center	Sophomore	Ypsilanti, MI	1

Schedule[edit]

Date time, TV	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Non-conference regular season
March 4, 1898*	at Detroit Y.M.C.A	L 0-2	0-1	Gymnasium Detroit, MI
March 15, 1898*	at Detroit Y.M.C.A	W 4-0	1–1	(2,000-2,500) Detroit, MI
March 1898*	Olivet	W 1-0 (Real score unknown)	2-1	Gymnasium Ypsilanti, MI
1898*	Albion			Gymnasium Ypsilanti, MI
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time.

^[2] ^[3] ^[4] ^[5]

Game Notes[edit]

March 4, 1898[edit]

The Eastern Michigan school newspaper wrote that the game was played in Detroit, MI. The Media Guide shows the game was a home game.

March 15, 1898[edit]

EMU led 2-0 at the half. Two minutes into the 2nd half EMU scored to make it 4-0. Then had to leave to "catch their train" and the game was ended.^[6]

References[edit]

^ "Detroit Free Press 06 Mar 1898, page Page 19". Detroit Free Press. March 6, 1898. p. 19. Retrieved June 17, 2023.
^ "Eastern Michigan Men's Basketball Media Guide" (PDF). Retrieved February 14, 2019.
^ The Aurora: Senior Class Annual (V ed.). Ypsilanti: Press of the Commercial. 1898.
^ "The Normal College News". Retrieved December 18, 2023.
^ "Michigan State Normal Year Book, 1897-1898". Retrieved December 23, 2023.
^ "Big Meet and Crowd". Detroit Free Press. March 16, 1898. Retrieved April 5, 2024.

[1] "Detroit Free Press 06 Mar 1898, page Page 19". Detroit Free Press. March 6, 1898. p. 19. Retrieved June 17, 2023.

[2] "Eastern Michigan Men's Basketball Media Guide" (PDF). Retrieved February 14, 2019.

[3] The Aurora: Senior Class Annual (V ed.). Ypsilanti: Press of the Commercial. 1898.

[4] "The Normal College News". Retrieved December 18, 2023.

[5] "Michigan State Normal Year Book, 1897-1898". Retrieved December 23, 2023.

[6] "Big Meet and Crowd". Detroit Free Press. March 16, 1898. Retrieved April 5, 2024.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

v t e Eastern Michigan Eagles men's basketball
Venues	Normal Gymnasium (1897–1955) Bowen Field House (1955–1998) George Gervin GameAbove Center (1998–present)
Rivalries	In-state MAC schools
Culture & lore	Swoop
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders
Seasons	1897–98 1898–99 1899–1900 1900–01 1901–02 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25