The Day Stanford Routed the University of Washington
A historic football rout at West Seattle saw Stanford defeat the local University of Washington eleven, 40 to 0.
Stanford University's football eleven defeated the University of Washington at West Seattle yesterday afternoon by a score of 40 to 0. The score does not give a fair idea of the game, for what promised to be a one-sided affair was, in fact, one of the most interesting events of the season. If brutality has been the principal feature of football matches during the present season, as some suggest, it was lacking to a marked degree yesterday. Never has the gridiron in this city been the scene of a cleaner or more vigorous struggle between athletic men than was given yesterday. Stanford’s team work, acquired only by patient practice and skillful coaching, was evident. When it was evident that attacking the center was a poor play, they turned to running the ends. Half-backs Burleson and Walton in the first half had been so well drilled in the criss-cross play that their work showed up in the light of sleight-of-hand trick, with the painful result to the Seattle boys of many yards' gain.
“Never has the gridiron in this city been the scene of a cleaner or more vigorous struggle.”
Long before the modern Pac-12 (and its eventual dissolution), these early football matches were neighborhood spectacles held in West Seattle. The game captures a moment when the sport was transitioning from a chaotic 'mass play' style to the strategic, coached game we recognize today.
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