1903 Sewanee Tigers football team

Last updated

1903 Sewanee Tigers football
Sewanee Tigers football team (1903).png
Conference Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association
Record7–1 (5–1 SIAA)
Head coach
Captain Joseph Lee Kirby-Smith
Home stadium Hardee Field
Seasons
  1902
1904  
1903 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings
Conf.Overall
TeamW L TW L T
Clemson + 2 0 14 1 1
Cumberland (TN) + 4 1 16 1 1
Sewanee 5 1 07 1 0
Vanderbilt 5 1 16 1 1
Mississippi A&M 2 0 23 0 2
Georgia 3 2 03 4 0
Ole Miss 1 1 12 1 1
Texas 0 0 15 1 2
Kentucky State 0 0 06 1 0
Alabama 3 4 03 4 0
Auburn 2 3 04 3 0
Tennessee 2 4 04 5 0
Georgia Tech 1 4 03 5 0
Tulane 0 1 12 2 1
Mercer 0 1 00 1 0
Nashville 0 2 01 3 0
LSU 0 5 04 5 0
SW Presbyterian     
  • + Conference co-champions

The 1903 Sewanee Tigers football team represented the Sewanee Tigers of Sewanee: The University of the South in the 1903 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association football season.

Contents

Schedule

DateOpponentSiteResultAttendanceSource
October 3Mooney*W 23–0 [1]
October 20 Cumberland (TN)
  • Hardee Field
  • Sewanee, TN
W 6–0 [2]
October 24 Tennessee Docs *
  • Hardee Field
  • Sewanee, TN
W 52–0 [3]
October 31at Auburn
W 47–0 [4]
November 2at Alabama W 23–0 [5]
November 7at Nashville
W 6–0 [6]
November 14at Tennessee
W 17–0 [7]
November 26at Vanderbilt
L 5–104,000 [8]
  • *Non-conference game

[9]

Game summaries

Mooney

The season opened with a defeat of Mooney School by a 23–0 score.

Tennessee Medical

The Tennessee Medicos were beaten 6–0.

Cumberland

Cumberland at Sewanee
12Total
Cumberland000
Sewanee066

Sewanee gave the greatest team in Cumberland history its only loss.. Henry D. Phillips plowed through the line for the deciding score. [10]

The starting lineup was Wheless (left end), L. Kirby-Smith (left tackle), Blount (left guard), Watkins (center), Phillips (right guard), Brong (right tackle), Jones (right end), Scarbrough (quarterback), Colmore (left halfback), E. Kirby Smith (right halfback), Stewart (fullback). [10]

Auburn

Sewanee at Auburn
12Total
Sewanee232447
Auburn000

Sewanee easily beat Auburn 470. The first half was all Sewanee. Phillips made the first touchdown. After an Auburn fumble, Shaffer made the next touchdown. [11] Phillips soon made the next touchdown. Kirby-Smith the next. [11] In the second half, Auburn played better, but got nowhere near Sewanee's goal. [11] Phillips had three touchdowns in the second half, "by some of the finest line bucking ever seen here." [11]

The starting lineup was Wheless (left end), L. Kirby-Smith (left tackle), Harper (left guard), Watkins (center), Phillips (right guard), Brong (right tackle), Jones (right end), Scarbrough (quarterback), Colmore (left halfback), Shaffer (right halfback), Stewart (fullback). [11]

Alabama

Sewanee beat Alabama 23–0 in the first match between the two schools since 1896. [12] The game was originally scheduled to be played in Tuscaloosa, but was subsequently moved to West End Park in Birmingham in an effort to increase gate receipts. [13] Phillips made the first score. [13]

The starting lineup was Wheless (left end), Brong (left tackle), Harper (left guard), Watkins (center), Phillips (right guard), L. Kirby-Smith (right tackle), Jones (right end), Scarbrough (quarterback), Colmore (left halfback), E. Kirby Smith (right halfback), Stewart (fullback). [13]

Nashville

Sewanee defeated the Nashville Garnet and Blue 60. In 1903, Wreidt, the team's coach, resigned and Nashville football was threatened with its end, but it survived for a few more years. [14]

Tennessee

Tennessee was beaten 17–0.

Vanderbilt

Sewanee at Vanderbilt
12Total
Sewanee055
Vanderbilt5510

Sewanee was defeated by rival Vanderbilt, 105, the first team to even score on the Tigers. Sewanee was crippled in the first half by the loss of Stewart, who fractured his ankle in a scrimmage before the game. He tried to play through it, but had to be helped off the field. [15] John J. Tigert, later a prominent educator, got Vanderbilt's first touchdown. [15] Sewanee tied the score with a touchdown in the second half. Later, Vanderbilt had the ball at the 4-yard line third down. "As great a stand of a football elevve was that of Sewaee before Vanderbilt's winning touchdown was made." [15] On third down from the 1-yard line the center Perry fell on a fumble. Sewanee protested that the runner was down, but Vanderbilt was awarded the touchdown. [15] "Vanderbilt, in fact all Nashville, is wild with joy tonight. Sewanee is looking forward to next Thanksgiving." [15]

The starting lineup was Wheless (left end), Brong (left tackle), Harper (left guard), Watkins (center), Phillips (right guard), E. Kirby-Smith (right tackle), Jones (right end), Scarbrough (quarterback), Sawrie (left halfback), Colmore (right halfback), Stewart (fullback). [15]

Players

Varsity lettermen

Line

PlayerPositionGames
started
HometownPrep schoolHeightWeightAge
J. L. Brongtackle
Emile Harperguard
J. W. Jonesend
Joseph Lee Kirby-Smith tackle Sewanee, Tennessee 15621
Ephraim Kirby-Smith tackleSewanee, Tennessee15619
Henry D. Phillips guard6'2"18521
Miles Watkinscenter
Wesley E. Whelessend

Backfield

PlayerPositionGames
started
HometownPrep schoolHeightWeightAge
John Scarbrough quarterback Rockdale, Texas 13518
Rupert Colmore halfbackSewanee, Tennessee15520
Nate Sawrieback
W. Meacham Stewartback

Subs

PlayerPositionHometownPrep schoolHeightWeightAge
G. A. Blount
Robert Bostrom
Roland Crownover
William Poyner
J. W. Price
I. J. Rosebrough
John Schaffer
Henry Sneed
David Wettlin

References

  1. "Sewanee victorious; Mooney School eleven put forth game fight against collegians". The Commercial Appeal. October 4, 1903. Retrieved April 21, 2024 via Newspapers.com.
  2. "Sewanee wins, but it was the fight of her life". Nashville Banner. October 21, 1903. Retrieved April 21, 2024 via Newspapers.com.
  3. "Sewanee is the winner, University of the South runs up big score on Tennessee Medical". The Courier-Journal. October 25, 1903. Retrieved October 22, 2022 via Newspapers.com.
  4. "Sewanee 47, Auburn 0". Tuscaloosa Times-Gazette. November 1, 1903. Retrieved March 11, 2023 via Newspapers.com.
  5. "Sewanee beats Alabama by the score of 23 to 0". The Birmingham News. November 3, 1903. Retrieved February 16, 2021 via Newspapers.com.
  6. "Close call for Sewanee, University of Nashville held South's eleven 0 to 6". The Journal and Tribune. November 8, 1903. Retrieved October 22, 2022 via Newspapers.com.
  7. "Sewanee wins again". The Chattanooga Daily News. November 15, 1903. Retrieved August 1, 2021 via Newspapers.com.
  8. "Vanderbilt wins championship". The Courier-Journal. November 27, 1903. Retrieved April 21, 2024 via Newspapers.com.
  9. "1903 Sewanee Tigers Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 22, 2022.
  10. 1 2 "The Varsity Triumphs Over Cumberland". Sewanee Purple. Vol. 20, no. 8. October 27, 1903. hdl:11005/766.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 "Auburn Was Pie For The Purple". The Atlanta Constitution. November 13, 1905. p. 4. Retrieved May 16, 2016 via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  12. "Alabama vs Sewanee". College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on October 23, 2011. Retrieved November 19, 2011.
  13. 1 2 3 "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on May 8, 2016. Retrieved May 5, 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  14. "America's Lost Colleges".
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Commodores Win From Old Rivals". Atlanta Constitution. November 27, 1903. p. 1. Retrieved May 16, 2016 via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg