1897 Texas Longhorns football team

1897 Texas Longhorns football
Conference	Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association
Record	6–2 (0–0 SIAA)
Head coach	Walter F. Kelly (1st season)
Captain	R. Daniel Parker Jr.
Home stadium	Varsity Athletic Field
Seasons ←  1896 1898  →

1897 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
Vanderbilt $	3	–	0	–	0			6	–	0	–	1
Georgia	2	–	0	–	0			2	–	1	–	0
Auburn	2	–	0	–	1			2	–	0	–	1
Tennessee	1	–	0	–	0			4	–	1	–	0
Central (KY)	1	–	1	–	0			1	–	2	–	0
Nashville	1	–	1	–	0			1	–	1	–	0
Alabama	0	–	0	–	0			1	–	0	–	0
Texas	0	–	0	–	0			6	–	2	–	0
LSU	0	–	0	–	0			1	–	1	–	0
Sewanee	1	–	2	–	1			1	–	3	–	1
Clemson	0	–	1	–	0			2	–	2	–	0
Mercer	0	–	1	–	0			0	–	2	–	1
Cumberland (TN)	0	–	1	–	0			0	–	1	–	0
Kentucky State College	0	–	2	–	0			2	–	4	–	0
SW Presbyterian	0	–	0	–	0			0	–	0	–	0
$ – Conference champion

The 1897 Texas Longhorns football team represented the University of Texas at Austin in the 1897 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association football season.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Source
October 23	San Antonio Town Team*	Varsity Athletic Field Austin, TX	W 10–0	[1]
October 30	at Dallas University*	Cycle Park Dallas, TX	L 4–20	[2]
November 1	Fort Worth University *	Fort Worth, TX	L 0–6	[3]
November 3	at Add-Ran Christian *	Waco, TX (rivalry)	W 16–10	[4]
November 13	Houston Town Team*	Varsity Athletic Field Austin, TX	W 42–6	[5]
November 20	at San Antonio Town Team*	San Pedro Park San Antonio, TX	W 12–0	[6] [7]
November 25	Fort Worth University*	Varsity Athletic Field Austin, TX	W 38–0	[8]
December 11	Dallas*	Varsity Athletic Field Austin, TX	W 20–16	[9]
*Non-conference game

Personnel

Lineup

Player	Position	Year
Walter Schreiner	Right End	2nd
Lamar Bethea	Right Tackle	2nd
Thomas Kelly	Right Guard	2nd
Jack Jenkins	Center	1st
R.W. Wortham	Left Guard	3rd
R.D. Parker Jr. [C]	Left Tackle	4th
James Hart	Left End	1st
A.G. Blacklock	Quarterback	1st
Cade Bethea	Right Halfback	1st
Birch Wooldridge	Left Halfback	1st
Otto Pfeiffer	Fullback	2nd

Subs

Player	Position	Year
Sam Hogsett	Quarterback	1st
C.H. Leavell	Halfback	2nd
Andrew Denmark	Guard	3rd
Carl Groos	Fullback	1st
Cloyd Read		1st

^[10]

References

1. "The boys on the gridiron; The Varsity eleven capture their first scalp yesterday". Austin Daily Statesman. October 24, 1897. Retrieved December 16, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
2. "The Dallas team beat the "Varsity aggregation yesterday". Fort Worth Register. October 31, 1897. Retrieved December 16, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
3. "'Varsity again downed, Was outclassed by the local eleven of Fort Worth". The Houston Post. November 2, 1897. Retrieved December 16, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
4. "'Varsity Won". Austin Daily Statesman . Austin, Texas. November 4, 1897. p. 1. Retrieved August 18, 2021– via Newspapers.com .
5. "By a score of 42 to 6, Houston was very easily defeated by 'Varsity". The Houston Post. November 14, 1897. Retrieved December 16, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
6. "The 'Varsity team defeated the San Antonio eleven by a score of 12 to 0". Austin Daily Statesman. November 21, 1897. Retrieved December 16, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
7. "Football". San Antonio Sunday Light. November 21, 1897. Retrieved October 6, 2025– via texashistory.unt.edu.
8. "'Varsity won yesterday". Austin Daily Statesman. November 26, 1897. Retrieved December 16, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
9. "Varsity was victorious, Dallas by a score of twenty to sixteen". The Houston Post. December 12, 1897. Retrieved December 16, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
10. "Cactus Yearbook 1898". utexas.edu. 1898. Retrieved February 19, 2025.