Friday, September 7, 2018

My vagrant fancy wanders

Maryville College recently posted a poem about their 1906 football team that went to and beat the University of Tennessee Volunteers.  Not much is known of poem's origin or author.  I thought I'd research and annotate it.  My notes are in italics, intertwined with the poem.

Images of the 1906 Maryville College football team, used with kind permission from Maryville College.






My vagrant fancy wanders

to a game of long ago
(MC went to Knoxville and played the University of Tennessee on Nov. 13, 1906 to an 11-0 victory at Waite Field)

with the white and orange legion,
(“the white and orange legion” was the University of Tennessee Volunteers)

a proud and haughty foe.
(UT’s last wining season was 1902, when they posted a 6-2 record, although in their five previous meetings with an 'official' UT team, the Volunteers led the series 5-0, with a combined score of 125-0. UT dropped football as an official sport for two years in 1894. The two teams met, with a 0-0 tie in 1894 and a 6-6 tie in 1895. Both games were played in Knoxville.)



We’d tied the Auburn players,
(MC went to Auburn and played to a 0-0 tie on Monday, Oct. 8, 1906)

we’d stunned the Engineers
(MC went to Atlanta to face Georgia Tech and played to a 6-6 tie on Saturday, Sept. 8, 1906)

and now were fit and ready
(The 1907 MC annual, the Chilhowean, states: "The fact that on this trip [Mississippi - Nov. 4, Alabama - Nov. 6, and Alabama Polytechnic Institute, Nov. 8] not a single man was hurt seriously enough to be forced to go out of a game argues well for the condition and grit of the men.")

to meet the Volunteers.



The many fans who filled the stands

-the well, the halt, the lame-

All felt aright we had the might

to win the glory game.



Cap. Foster, Barr and Henry
(Lloyd Elmore Foster - ‘07 was captain of the 1906 football team. Hyder Edward Barr played Left Half Back. John Frank Henry played Right End)

and Horny, called The Ram,
(Orrin Rankin “Hornybuck” Magill played Left End)

the Coach sent forth to battle
(The Coach was Reid Stuart Dickson)

‘longside the brothers Sam.
(R.C. and A.C. Samsel, both tackles for the 1906 team, R.C. at Right Tackle, A.C. at Left Tackle.)



The second time we had the ball,

the fans went all a-roar

when Horny circled ‘round the end

and raced ahead to score.




The games we played the runs we made

gave people no such thrill

as did this end maneuver

made by Hornybuck Magill.




And now to make it certain

Bill Campbell made the play

(William Harrison Campbell played Full Back and had a 30 yard touchdown run in the game.)

which iced the cake the deeper

and stowed the game away.




The flags the foe had flaunted

we trampled ‘neath our cleats

which set the people shouting

and dancing in the streets.


My vagrant fancy wanders

to the game I ponder most -

The game we won in Knoxville

from that proud and mighty host.


Of all the men who won that game

so many years ago,

just three of us are waiting now

to hear the whistle blow.



Other notes about the team:

Foster - RHB
Lloyd Elmore Foster is listed in the 1906-07 Maryville College Bulletin as a Senior from Johnson City studying Classical. He was also captain of the baseball team.  Lloyd was born on June 25, 1883 and died on May 2, 1956, per his FindAGrave memorial.

Barr - LHB
Hyder Edward Barr is listed in the 1906-07 Maryville College Bulletin as a member of the Middle Class of the Preparatory Department from Bristol studying English. In the 1907-08 Marville College Bulletin he is listed as part of the Special group, studying English.  Hyder "Scotty" Barr went on to a baseball career, playing for the Philadelphia Athletics in the 1908 and 1909 seasons.  He was born on October 6, 1885 and died on December 2, 1934, per his FindAGrave memorial.

Campbell - FB
William Harrison Campbell was a freshman in the 1906-07 school year, was from Johnson City and was studying Latin.

Taylor - QB
Frank Eckle Taylor was a senior in 1906-07 and was studying Political Science. Frank was from New Market, Tennessee.  He joined the Army and rose to the rank of Major.  He was born on August 16, 1886 and died on June 23, 1938, per his FindAGrave memorial.

Hunt - C
Charles Finley Hunt was a sophomore in 1906-07 and was studying Mathematical. Charles was from Madisonville, Tennessee. According to the 1907-08 Marville College Bulletin, Charles is still a Sophomore.  According to his WWI Draft Registration Card Charles was born on November 1, 1886.  At that time he was a bookkeeper in Canyon, Texas.

Bayless - RG
W.R. Bayless

Smith - LG
James Burnett Smith. James was in the Senior Class of the Preparatory Department in 1906-07 and was from Newport, Tennessee.

R.C. Samsel - RT
Richard Clarence Samsel was a senior in 1906-07 and was studying Political Science. R.C., and his younger brother, A.C, were from Tate Springs, which is near Bean Station, Grainger Co., Tenn.  R.C. was born on September 9, 1883 and died on June 25, 1966, per his FindAGrave memorial.

A.C. Samsel - LT
Albert Charles Samsel was a sophomore in 1906-07 and was studying Latin. For the 1907-08 school year he was a Freshman, studying Chemistry.  A.C. was born on August 4, 1890 and died on February 21, 1980, per his FindAGrave memorial.

Henry - RE
John Frank Henry, a member of the Middle Class in the Preparatory School, from Rockford, Tennessee and was studying English.

Magill - LE
Orrin Rankin “Hornybuck” Magill, is listed as being a member of the Sophomore class in the 1906-07 Maryville College Bulletin.  He was from Brookwood, Alabama, and is studying Chemistry. ex ‘09, has been in China working with the YMCA according to the April, 1947 Maryville College Alumni Magazine.  Orrin was born on November 27, 1887 and died on September 3, 1976, per his FindAGrave memorial.

Dickson - Coach
Reid Stuart Dickson taught Latin and was the Physical Director at Maryville College.  There is a Reid Stuart Dickson listed on FindAGrave who died on May 7, 1959.  Research at FamilySearch.org shows that this Reid Stuart Dickson was born on January 26, 1885 and was a minister in the United Presbyterian Church, USA.

Steinmetz - Manager
The Steinmetz listed in the 1906-07 Maryville College Bulletin is Edison Ario Steinmetz from Centralia, Pa., studying Political Science as a Junior. He is also listed as the manager of the football team.   The 1907 edition of The Chilhowean lists his name as Karl E. Steinmetz.  Karl was born on June 17, 1886 and died on November 17, 1959, according to his FindAGrave memorial.  A glowing story of his life appeared in the Knoxville News-Sentinel on the day of his passing.

Conclusion: based on the poet's claim that "three of us are waiting now" and the death info of the team that I currently know, the likely author candidates are:
  • R.C. Samsel - d. 1966
  • Orrin Magill - d. 1976
  • A.C. Samsel - d. 1980
and that the poem must have been written before R.C.'s death in June of 1966.

As always, further research needs to be conducted, perhaps in conjunction with the Maryville College Alumni Office.

Thursday, September 14, 2017

Jewish Football Players at UT

Jewish Post - December 28, 1945

Len Bellis
from the 1946 UT Volunteer

Milton Frank
from the 1933 UT Volunteer

Max Steiner
from the 1939 UT Volunteer

I can't find a photo of Billy Gold.

Thursday, December 1, 2016

UT - Vanderbilt series

The football game between UT and Vandy on Saturday, November 26, 2016, was the 110th meeting of these two storied teams.

Or was it the 111th meeting?  Depends which set of information you look at.

Here's UT's Media Guide produced before the 2016 season.

2016 Tennessee Football Media Guide

Here's Vandy's Game Day Notes.

Vanderbilt Football Game Day Notes - November 26, 2016

Here's UT's Game Day Notes.

UT Football Game Day Notes - November 26, 2016

Close, but note quite.  From official publications of the two schools there's a difference of one game.  Or not.  And the records for results in their respective cities are also off.  Even UT doesn't agree with itself. I'm not sure why there's a difference in the UT "at Knoxville" and "at Nashville" numbers between the 2016 Media Guide and the Game Day Notes.

So, can all of this be explained?  Probably.  I entered all the info into a spreadsheet to see where the differences were.

Let's look at the difference of the one game.  Vandy claims a win in the 1918 game.  And a trouncing it was.
2016 Vanderbilt Football Fact Book - page 128
How does UT address that game / season?
2016 UT Football Media Guide - page 271

UT had an unofficial team during the 1917-18 seasons.  The team, made up of Army recruits and students had their one away game of the 1918 season in Nashville, where they got whooped.  The best that I can tell is that the games those seasons don't count in the official UT records, but that one game does in Vandy football history.

From UT's 1919 yearbook we have a bit more detail about the 1918 season.

Volunteer - 1919

Here's Vandy's description of the game from the 1919 Commodore:

Commodore - 1919

There is no dispute that Vandy won the football game of 1918.  What was the real score?  The UT Annual says the score was 82-0.  Both Media Guides give the score as 76-0.

The papers say it was 74-0.

Dallas Morning News - November 11, 1918

Richmond Times Dispatch - November 11, 1918

And finally, thanks to my friend, Skip Nipper, I have the story from the Nashville Tennessean.

Nashville Tennessean - November 11, 1918
It looks like the newspapers are correct.  74-0.


Now to compare the other discrepancies I found while looking at the record books.  In 1902, Vandy claims it was played in Nashville and UT says the game was played in Knoxville.  The * means that it was a home game for Vandy.

2016 Vanderbilt Football Fact Book - page 127


2016 UT Football Media Guide - page 269

Heading to the newspapers we see that the game was indeed played in Knoxville.

The Idaho Daily Statesman - October 26, 1902
The Dallas Morning News - October 26, 1902

Just three years later I find the next discrepancy.  Vandy claims that the 1905 game was played in Nashville.

2016 Vanderbilt Football Fact Book - page 127

UT claims that it was played in Knoxville.

2016 UT Football Media Guide - page 269
And the papers say: Knoxville.

The Dallas Morning News - October 22, 1905


The next issue is the game held in 1914.

2016 Vanderbilt Football Fact Book - page 128


2016 UT Football Media Guide - page 270

And the papers say that the game was played in Nashville.

The Dallas Morning News - November 8, 1914
Arkansas Gazette - November 8, 1914


Things are good for the next half century.  Then in 1963 there was confusion in the media guides.  Vandy claims that the game was played in Nashville.


2016 Vanderbilt Football Fact Book - page 130

UT claims it was held in Knoxville.
2016 UT Football Media Guide - page 276
The papers say: Knoxville

The Lexington Herald - November 30, 1963

Just three years later there's another discrepancy.  Vandy claims the game was played in Knoxville.


2016 Vanderbilt Football Fact Book - page 131

UT claims it was played in Nashville.

2016 UT Football Media Guide - page 277

And the papers say: Nashville.

The Milwaukee Journal - November 25, 1966


With those corrections, I have a tally of Vandy at Nashville being 19-36-4 and Vandy at Knoxville being 11-39-1, which matches their Game Day Notes (above).   Also, on page 171 of the 2016 Vandy Football Media Guide, they have the locations correct.

2016 Vanderbilt Football Fact Book - page 171
(compiled)
I'll chalk these up to editing issues by the Vandy Media Guide Staff.

I did also find one scoring discrepancy.  In the second time these schools played in 1892, Vandy records the score as a 10-0 win by Vanderbilt.  UT shows the score as a 12-0 win by Vanderbilt.

2016 Vanderbilt Football Fact Book - page 127

2016 UT Football Media Guide - page 268

One of the local Knoxville papers says the score was 12-0 in favor of Vanderbilt.  Some things never change.  There's an "unjust decision by the referee" (from Vanderbilt) that caused UT to lose the ball near the goal line.

Knoxville Daily Journal - November 18, 1892

Vandy does have the correct score in the head-to-head section of their media guide.

2016 Vanderbilt Football Fact Book - page 171


The results of this exercise sound like I'm beating up on Vanderbilt's Athletic Media staff.  Not at all.  I found some errors that I feel should be corrected for future editions.  I will contact them and let them know of my findings.  I'll also be contacting UT's Athletic Media staff to discuss the 1918 final score.


With UT's loss to Vandy on Saturday I think that the record books should now stand as:

University of Tennessee vs Vanderbilt University overall: 75-30-5
UT vs Vandy in Knoxville: 38-11-1
UT vs Vandy in Nashville: 37-19-4

Vanderbilt University vs University of Tennessee overall: 31-75-5 (includes 1918 game)
Vandy vs UT in Nashville: 20-36-4
Vandy vs UT in Knoxville: 11-39-1




Most newspapers clippings were gathered from GenealogyBank.com
Nashville Tennessean clipping was accessed at newspaper.scom
1919 Commodore was accessed at ancestry.com
2016 Vanderbilt Football Media Guide was accessed at VUCommodores.com
1919 Volunteer was accessed at UT Libraries
2016 University of Tennessee Football Media Guide was accessed at UTSports.com




Thursday, June 16, 2016

Knoxville College - 1913

The Savannah Tribune - December 13, 1913

13 different schools are listed in this two column article, but Knoxville College is only mentioned as an opponent twice.

Fisk University and Livingston College blanked Knoxville College.  It appears that they blanked most everyone they played.



images from GenealogyBank.com

Tuesday, June 14, 2016

Knoxville College Blanks Livingston College - 1925

A few weeks before Thanksgiving, the Knoxville College football team triumphed over the Livingston College team.  Livingston College is a private historically black institution located in Salisbury, North Carolina.  This game was played on Saturday, November 7, 1925

The Knoxville News - November 9, 1925
The Broad Ax from Chicago has a more complete story of the game.

 
The Broad Ax - November 14, 1925



The Knoxville News image from the Papers to Pixels campaign of the Knox County Public Library
The Broad Ax image from GenealogyBank.com