Other players were Mr. Railsback, Mr. Johnson, and the quarterback William Hall, whose only prior experience was on the local high school team.
By the time the team played Indiana, new players included Mr. Christian, Smithy, and Owings,[4] and by the Noblesville game, additions of Mr. Clemens, and J. Thompson were made.
[11] The 1894 Indianapolis Light Artillery football team was born out of a $15,000 debt on the regiment's armory, which the organization decided to gather through entertainment.
After securing their first win over Butler, 10–0, on September 28, the Indianapolis Light Artillery traveled to West Lafayette to play the Purdue Boilermakers on Stuart Field.
[17] However, another match-up between DePauw and Purdue had also been scheduled in the city for the same day and time, which angered all four parties, considering the attendance and profit for both games would essentially be split in half.
The ILA's game against Butler would be played at 2:30 in the afternoon at the baseball park, with reserved room coming at 50 cents a seat.
In early 1896, after a more heated argument in the IIAA's president's meeting over whether or not to allow Athletic Clubs on the schedule any longer, Purdue backed out of the league, which led to its subsequent dissolution before the 1896 season.
[29] Coming into the game, Indiana was 2–0, having won easy contests against the Louisville and Noblesville Athletic clubs, by scores of 36–0 and 30–0, respectively (two teams the Light Artillery would beat later in the season).
Indiana would finish with a casual 4–3–1, although they did manage to secure their first intercollegiate win since the program was established in 1887 by beating Rose Polytechnic 8–4.
[30] This unofficial match-up was played between a handful of players from Butler and Indianapolis Light Artillery against the Knightstown Club on the first day of November.
Surrounded by an apparently riotous crowd, the Indianapolis Light Artillery met the Athletic Club on the afternoon of November 2.
By halftime, the score was a tight 6–4 in favor of the Artillerymen, but the military team blew away the athletic club in the 2nd half, securing their 3rd official victory, 22–4.
The military team came out of the 2nd half with 10 unanswered points by left halfback Thompson and kicker Don Scott to win 20–12.
[8] In a minor upset, The Indianapolis Light Artillery beat Notre Dame 18–0, on their own Cartier Field in South Bend.