Saturday, October 24, 2015

UT vs. Alabama in 1901

On November 28, 1901, the Volunteers were in Birmingham, Alabama.  It was the first time the two teams met.  It was a last contest for UT that season, who were 3-3-1 going into that game.

The teams tied, 6-6.  Not unheard of, but the game was called on count of darkness.

Worcester Daily Spy - November 29, 1901
GenealogyBank.com

1902 Volunteer
University of Tennessee Archives
Spalding Foot Ball Guide for 1902
Google Books

Thursday, October 15, 2015

UT's first game of 1892 (and their first-ever win)

Earlier today the Tennessee Football facebook page posted this little gem.


They included a link to This Day in #Vols History (October 15) and this great photo of the 1892 UT football team.


Now, the post can be parsed a few different ways.  The Vols won their first-ever football game on this date in 1892!  On Oct. 15, 1892 Tennessee beat Maryville College, 25-0.

The Vols won their first-ever football game?  No.  They played against Sewanee on Nov. 21, 1891, losing the game in Chattanooga.

The Vols won their first-ever football game on this date?  Yes, that's true, but vague.

Maybe a better way to say it would be: In their second-ever football game the Vols got their first win...  A little clunky.

Bottom line, this is the program's first-ever win.  It was played on Saturday, October 15, 1892.  The team played at Maryville College, giving them a beat down.

Let's see what the Knoxville paper has to say.





Now here's the story from the Maryville paper.




Reading the accounts we see that a TD was worth 4 points.  A kick after the TD (a kick goal) was worth 2.  And a drop kick was worth 5 points.  Okay, I'll go with that.



Knoxville Journal from GenealogyBank.com
The Maryville Times from Chronicling America