Why Michigan football, Northwestern play for the coveted George Jewett rivalry trophy

The two teams began playing for the trophy in 2021 and here's how it all got started.

Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images

Michigan will head to historic Wrigley Field this Saturday to take on Northwestern. The two schools will be playing for a trophy that was established in 2021.

The George Jewett Trophy will be on the line and the Wolverines have won it in the first two meetings since its inception. The Wolverines won in 2021, 33-7, and then won last season, 50-6.

Who is George Jewett and why the trophy?

Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images

George Jewett was the first African American to play football at each institution and was the first Black player in the history of the Big Ten Conference.

Jewett played for Michigan during the 1890 and 1892 seasons, enrolling at the university after being named valedictorian at Ann Arbor High (now Ann Arbor Pioneer), where he was a standout in track, football and baseball. Jewett starred on the gridiron for the Wolverines as a fullback and halfback and was the team's main kicker, all while studying medicine.

But in 1893, he left for Northwestern to finish his medical degree. He would go and star for the Wildcats for two more seasons.

The Wolverines will be looking to make it three in a row while playing for the George Jewett Trophy on Saturday.

Other game notes for Saturday

• It will be the first time these two schools played one another at historic Wrigley Field

• The last time that Michigan played in a baseball stadium was 2008, a 29-6 victory over Minnesota at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome during its final season as the home of the Gophers.

•  U-M posted a 12-0 record at the venue during the 27 seasons that the HHH Metrodome served as the home of Minnesota football (1982-2008).

• This will be the 78th meeting in the all-time series with Northwestern.

• The Wolverines lead the all-time series, 60-15-2, and have won 35 of the last 39 games played between the two schools dating back to 1966.

• Michigan has won 13 of the last 14 games in the series; the only setback came in a 21-14 affair played at Michigan Stadium in 2008.

• Four of the last seven games have been decided by less than a score, including a pair of overtime games, with Michigan coming out victorious in each instance.

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