Middle West US
Exploring Midwest History and Culture
Eckie’s Greatest Game
November 19, 2025
By Chris Serb
On November 30, 1905, Walter Eckersall found himself, and his football team, in a tough spot. The University of Chicago quarterback was pinned on his own 7-yard-line, late in a scoreless tie against mighty Michigan. “Eckie” initially planned to play things safe, calling signals for a punt.
From the corner of his eye, Eckersall saw the Michigan defense cheat slightly to the right, hoping to block his kick. The ball was snapped; Eckie stepped forward, as if to punt; then at the last second, he sprang to his left, sneaking into the newly-vacated space and dashing 20 yards for some much-needed breathing room.
Eckie was used to big moments like this. At Hyde Park High School he had won league, state, and even national titles in football, baseball, and track, becoming Chicago’s first-ever schoolboy superstar. As a college sophomore, he made first-team All-American –a rare honor then for a non-Eastern player, although a close loss to Michigan spoiled the Maroons’ dreams of a “Big Nine” (predecessor to the Big Ten) title...Read More
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“Here on the prairies of Illinois and the Middle West we can see a long way in many directions…Here there are no barriers, no defenses, to ideas and aspirations. We want none; we want no shackles on the mind or the spirit, no rigid patterns of thought, no iron conformity.”
-Adlai Stevenson