and 1887, football was ultimately established at the university in 1890. On the site of the first OSU game, on the campus of Ohio Wesleyan University in Delaware, Ohio, on May 3, 1890, the Delaware County Historical Society has set an historical marker. Some histories of Ohio State football credit George Cole, an undergraduate, and Alexander S. Lilley with introducing the sport to the campus. More recent research has challenged that claim, stating that George Cole persuaded Lilley to coach the football team during its first full season that fall. OSU's first home game took place at 2:30 p.m. on November 1, 1890. They played the University of Wooster on the site that was then called Recreation Park. Just east of historic German Village, the park occupied the north side of Schiller (now Whittier), between Ebner and Jaeger, in what is now Schumacher Place. OSU lost the game, 64–0. Over the next eight years, under a number of coaches, the team played to a cumulative record of 31 wins, 39 losses, and 2 ties. The first game against the University of Michigan, in Ann Arbor, was a 34–0 loss in 1897, a year that saw the low point in Buckeye football history with a 1–7–1 record. Jack Ryder was Ohio State's first paid coach, earning $150 per season, and lost his first game, against Oberlin College and John Heisman, on October 15, 1892. In 1899 the university hired John Eckstorm to bring professional coaching skills to the program and immediately went undefeated. In 1901, however, center John Sigrist was fatally injured in a game against Western Reserve University and the continuation of football at Ohio State was in serious question. Although the school's athletic board let the team decide its future, Eckstorm resigned. In 1912, football underwent a number of developments that included joining the Western Conference, making football as part of a new Department of Athletics, and hiring Lynn W. St. John to be athletic director. Chic Harley attended East High in Columbus and was regarded as one of the greatest players to attend an Ohio high school. A well-rounded player, Harley came to Ohio State in 1916 and instantly became a fan favorite. Harley and the Buckeyes won the first Big Ten championship in school history in 1916, finishing 7–0. The team would repeat in 1917 finishing 8–0–1. In 1918, Harley left to be a pilot in the