1897 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association football season

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1897 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association football season
LeagueNCAA
SportCollege football
DurationOctober 2, 1897
through January 8, 1898
Number of teams16
Regular Season
Season championsVanderbilt
Football seasons
← 1896
1898 →
1897 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings
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 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association football season was the college football games played by the members schools of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association as part of the 1897 college football season

The season began on October 2. Conference play began on October 9 with Georgia shutting out Clemson 24–0 in Athens.

After the Sewanee game, Coach R. G. Acton's Vanderbilt Commodores claimed the program's first ever conference title.[1] This was followed by a challenge met by the other southern team to claim a championship, South Atlantic school Virginia; which claims seven prior championships of the South. The game ended a 0–0 tie. Said Coach Acton, "It was the best game ever played in the South." Vanderbilt held all opponents scoreless.[2]

The Texas Longhorns averaged the most points per game in the conference.[3]

The 1897 season was one in which a member school, Tulane University, was barred from intercollegiate football participation by SIAA President, Dr. Dudley. This was part of a sanction handed down in response to the LSU game the previous season in which Tulane was forced to forfeit for having fielded an ineligible player.[4][5]

The season was also notable for the game Virginia played against Georgia, featuring the death of Richard Von Albade Gammon.[6]

Season overview[edit]

Results and team statistics[edit]

Conf. Rank Team Head coach Overall record Conf. record PPG PAG
1 Vanderbilt R. G. Acton 6–0–1 3–0 19.9 0.0
2 Georgia Charles McCarthy 2–1 2–0 18.7 5.7
3 Auburn John Heisman 2–0–1 2–0–1 13.3 1.3
4 Tennessee 4–1 1–0 12.8 3.2
5 (tie) Central H. McC. Anderson 1–1 1–1
5 (tie) Nashville 1–1 1–1
5 (tie) Alabama Allen McCants 1–0 0–0 6.0 0.0
5 (tie) Texas Walter F. Kelly 6–2 0–0 20.5 4.5
5 (tie) LSU Allen Jeardeau 1–1 0–0 14.0 16.0
10 Sewanee J. G. Jayne 1–3–1 1–2–1 3.0 5.6
11 (tie) Clemson William M. Williams 2–2 0–1 7.0 14.5
11 (tie) Cumberland 0–1 0–1
11 (tie) Georgia Tech J. B. Wood 0–1 0–1 0.0 28.0
11 (tie) Mercer Gordon Saussy 0–1–1 0–1 0.0 13.0
15 Kentucky State Lyman B. Eaton 2–4 0–2 4.7 19.7
? Southwestern Presbyterian

Key

PPG = Average of points scored per game
PAG = Average of points allowed per game

Regular season[edit]

Index to colors and formatting
Non-conference matchup; SIAA member won
Non-conference matchup; SIAA member lost
Non-conference matchup; tie
Conference matchup

SIAA teams in bold.

Week One[edit]

Date Visiting team Home team Site Result Attendance Reference
October 2 Kentucky University Kentucky State Lexington, KY W 8–6 [7]

Week Two[edit]

Date Visiting team Home team Site Result Attendance Reference
October 9 Kentucky University Vanderbilt Dudley Field • Nashville, TN W 22–0 [8]
October 9 Clemson Georgia Herty Field • Athens, GA UGA 24–0 [9]
October 11 Kentucky State Kentucky Wesleyan Winchester, KY L 0–4 [10]
October 15 King (TN) Tennessee Baldwin Park • Knoxville, TN W 28–0 [11]

Week Three[edit]

Date Visiting team Home team Site Result Attendance Reference
October 16 Mercer Gordon Institute Barnesville, GA T 0–0 [12]
October 16 Sewanee Nashville Nashville, TN NASH 6–5 [13]
October 18 Central (KY) Sewanee Hardee Field • Sewanee, TN SEW 4–0 [14]

Week Four[edit]

Date Visiting team Home team Site Result Attendance Reference
October 23 San Antonio Texas Varsity Athletic Field • Austin, TX W 10–0 [15]
October 23 Georgia Tech Georgia Herty Field • Athens, GA W 24–0 600 [16]
October 23 Auburn Mercer Central City Park • Macon, GA AUB 26–0 [17]
October 23 Williamsburg (KY) Tennessee Baldwin Park • Knoxville, TN W 6–0 [18]
October 23 Georgetown (KY) Kentucky State Lexington, KY W 20–4 [19]
October 23 Clemson Charlotte YMCA Latta Park • Charlotte, NC W 10–0
October 23 VMI Vanderbilt Dudley Field • Nashville, TN W 12–0 [20]
October 25 Clemson North Carolina Chapel Hill, NC L 28–0 [21]
October 29 Auburn Nashville Nashville, TN AUB 14–4 [22]

Week Five[edit]

Date Visiting team Home team Site Result Attendance Reference
October 30 Auburn Sewanee Hardee Field • Sewanee, TN T 0–0 [23]
October 30 Washington and Lee Central Lexington, KY L 0–22 [24]
October 30 Virginia Georgia Brisbine Park • Atlanta, GA L 4–17 5,000 [25]
October 30 Kentucky State Vanderbilt Dudley Field • Nashville, TN VAN 50–0 400 [26]
October 30 Texas Dallas Cycle Park • Dallas, TX L 4–18 [27]
November 1 Texas Fort Worth Fort Worth, TX L 0–6 [28]
November 3 Texas Add-Ran Christian Waco, TX W 18–10 [29]

Week Six[edit]

Date Visiting team Home team Site Result Attendance Reference
November 5 North Carolina Sewanee Hardee Field • Sewanee, TN L 6–12 [30]
November 6 North Carolina Vanderbilt Dudley Field • Nashville, TN W 31–0 [31]
November 6 Central Kentucky State Lexington, KY CENT 18–0 [32]
November 8 North Carolina Tennessee Baldwin Park • Knoxville, TN L 0–16 [33]
November 10 Clemson South Carolina Columbia, SC W 18–6 [34]

Week Seven[edit]

Date Visiting team Home team Site Result Attendance Reference
November 13 Tuscaloosa Athletic Club Alabama The Quad • Tuscaloosa, AL W 6–0 [35]
November 13 Houston Town Team Texas Varsity Athletic Field • Austin, TX W 42–6 [36]

Week Eight[edit]

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site Result Attendance Reference
November 20 Texas San Antonio San Antonio, TX W 12–0 [37]
November 25 Fort Worth Texas Varsity Athletic Field • Austin, TX W 38–0 [38]
November 25 Centre Kentucky State Lexington, KY L 0–36 [39]
November 25 Sewanee Vanderbilt Dudley Field • Nashville, TN VAN 10–0 [40]
November 25 Tennessee VPI Roanoke, VA W 18–0 [41]

Week Nine[edit]

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site Result Attendance Reference
November 26 Tennessee Bristol Athletic Club Bristol, TN W 12–0 [42]

Week Ten[edit]

Date Visiting team Home team Site Result Attendance Reference
December 7 Virginia Vanderbilt Dudley Field • Nashville, TN T 0–0 2,400 [43]

Week Eleven[edit]

Date Visiting team Home team Site Result Attendance Reference
December 11 Dallas Texas Varsity Athletic Field • Austin, TX W 20–16 [44]

Week Twelve[edit]

Week Thirteen[edit]

Date Visiting team Home team Site Result Attendance Reference
December 20 Montgomery Athletic Club LSU State Field • Baton Rouge, LA W 28–6 [45]

Week Fourteen[edit]

Week Fifteen[edit]

Week Sixteen[edit]

Date Visiting team Home team Site Result Attendance Reference
January 8 Cincinnati LSU State Field • Baton Rouge, LA L 0–28 [46]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Vanderbilt Official Athletic Site - Vanderbilt University". Archived from the original on November 11, 2016. Retrieved January 10, 2017.
  2. ^ "Vanderbilt Official Athletic Site - Vanderbilt University". Archived from the original on June 17, 2016. Retrieved January 10, 2017.
  3. ^ "Texas Season Schedule - databaseFootball.com/NCAA". Archived from the original on March 4, 2016.
  4. ^ Hardesty, Dan. "LSU:The Louisiana Tigers". The Strode Publishers.Huntsville, Alabama. 1975. pg 24-25.
  5. ^ "Baton Rouge Wins Without Winning". The Daily Picayune. October 25, 1896. pg. 8.
  6. ^ William Hanford Edwards (1916). Football Days: Memories of the Game and of the Men Behind the Ball. p. 244.
  7. ^ "State College wins a game". The Courier-Journal. October 3, 1897. Retrieved April 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Kentucky University loses at other game at Nashville". The Sunday Leader. October 10, 1897. Retrieved April 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "University of Georgia defeats Clemson College". The Morning News. October 10, 1897. Retrieved April 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Winchester 4, State College 0". The Courier-Journal. October 12, 1897. Retrieved April 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "U of T wins first game of the year". The Journal and Tribune. October 16, 1897. Retrieved April 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Neither could score, the football game at Barnesville resulted in a draw". The Macon Telegraph. October 17, 1897. Retrieved April 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "U. of N. downs Sewanee in a brilliant game". The Nashville American. October 17, 1897. Retrieved April 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "Sewanee defeats Central". The Nashville American. October 19, 1897. Retrieved April 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ "The boys on the gridiron; The Varsity eleven capture their first scalp yesterday". Austin Daily Statesman. October 24, 1897. Retrieved April 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ "Georgians showed some strong plays". The Atlanta Constitution. October 25, 1897. Retrieved April 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ^ "Auburn wins the first game". The Atlanta Constitution. October 24, 1897. Retrieved April 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ^ "Game at Knoxville". Chattanooga Daily Times. October 24, 1897. Retrieved April 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ^ "Kentucky State College wins from Georgetown". The Lexington Herald. October 24, 1897. Retrieved April 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. ^ "Vanderbilt's game, local collegians defeat the V.M.I. boys by a score of 12 to 0". The Nashville American. October 20, 1897. Retrieved April 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  21. ^ "The University won, Clemson College defeated by a score of twenty-eight to nothing". The News and Observer. October 26, 1897. Retrieved April 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  22. ^ "Alabama boys are winners". The Nashville American. October 30, 1897. Retrieved April 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  23. ^ "Sewanee 0, Auburn 0". The Times-Democrat. October 31, 1897. Retrieved April 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  24. ^ "Defeat". The Sunday Leader. October 31, 1897. Retrieved April 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  25. ^ "Virginia wins, University practically walks over Georgia". The Richmond Dispatch. October 31, 1897. Retrieved April 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  26. ^ "Fifty to noting, the score by which S.C. loses to Vanderbilt". The Lexington Herald. October 31, 1897. Retrieved April 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  27. ^ "The Dallas team beat the "Varsity aggregation yesterday". Fort Worth Register. October 31, 1897. Retrieved April 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  28. ^ "'Varsity again downed, Was outclassed by the local eleven of Fort Worth". The Houston Post. November 2, 1897. Retrieved April 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  29. ^ "'Varsity Won". Austin Daily Statesman. November 4, 1897. Retrieved April 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  30. ^ "Purple of Sewanee is trailed in the dust before North Carolina's stalwarts". The Nashville American. November 6, 1897. Retrieved April 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  31. ^ "Goal from the field, Phil Connell's good foot ably assists in piling up a victorious score". The Nashville American. November 7, 1897. Retrieved April 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  32. ^ "K.S.C. meets defeat at Richmond yesterday". The Lexington Herald. November 7, 1897. Retrieved April 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  33. ^ "Two victories for Carolina". The Tar Heel. November 16, 1897. Retrieved April 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  34. ^ "Clemson wins; The Carolina boys are wondering how it happened". The Watchman and Southron. November 17, 1897. Retrieved April 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  35. ^ "Football game: The University defeated the Tuscaloosa Athletics yesterday on the college campus". The Age-Herald. Birmingham, Alabama: NewsBank: America's Historical Newspapers. November 19, 1897. p. 3.
  36. ^ "By a score of 42 to 6, Houston was very easily defeated by 'Varsity". The Houston Post. November 14, 1897. Retrieved April 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  37. ^ "The 'Varsity team defeated the San Antonio eleven by a score of 12 to 0". Austin Daily Statesman. November 21, 1897. Retrieved April 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  38. ^ "'Varsity won yesterday". Austin Daily Statesman. November 26, 1897. Retrieved April 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  39. ^ "Game between Centre and State College yesterday; Results in a sad defeat for the local team". The Lexington Herald. November 26, 1897. Retrieved April 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  40. ^ "Vanderbilt wins; Sewanee defeated by a score of 10 to 0 in Nashville yesterday". Birmingham Age-Herald. November 26, 1897. Retrieved April 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  41. ^ "Tennessee Shuts Out Blacksburg". The Times. Library of Virginia. November 26, 1897. p. 1. Retrieved October 16, 2017.
  42. ^ "U of T wins again". The Knoxville Tribune. November 27, 1897. Retrieved April 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  43. ^ "Vanderbilt, 0; Virginia, 0". Chicago Daily Tribune. December 7, 1897. p. 7. Retrieved January 7, 2017 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  44. ^ "Varsity was victorious, Dallas by a score of twenty to sixteen". The Houston Post. December 12, 1897. Retrieved April 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  45. ^ "Baton Rouge easily defeats Montgomery". The Daily Picayune. December 21, 1897. Retrieved April 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  46. ^ "Baton Rouge was outclassed". The Daily Picayune. January 4, 1898. Retrieved April 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
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