Return to the 1893 season page

For a brief time after their win against UNC's second team, it looked like that would be how the Farmers finished their season. It certainly wouldn't have been a bad way to go out, but the boys at A&M felt they could do one better. By November 20th, a game between Oak Ridge and A&M in Greensboro on Thanksgiving was announced to be "in contemplation" (The Daily Evening Visitor, November 20th, 1893, p. 1). At some point between that Monday and Thanksgiving, A&M's first ever Thanksgiving game materialized, with the Greensboro Patriot advertising "a real live game of foot ball to morrow." They went on to say that "The Agricultural College has a fine team," citing their wins against UNC's second team and Tennessee. The article also encouraged the locals to show up for the game, saying "our people can confidently look for a good game of ball" and that those who went to see the game "would never regret it" (Greensboro Patriot, November 29th, 1893, p. 3). The A&M team continued to build with their momentum from the last two wins, with an article published the night before the game saying that "The A & M College football team is in fine condition and constantly improving" (The Daily Evening Visitor, November 29th, 1893, p. 1). A game was also announced to be played between the same two teams in Winston on the following Saturday, December 2nd.

The Oak Ridge Institute was founded in 1853, and by 1893, the school had grown to reach nearly 200 pupils (The Weekly Review, November 3rd, 1893, p. 1). It has been open ever since, except for a brief period during the Civil War in which it closed after "the entire Oak Ridge Institute student body volunteered... for service in the Confederate Army." The school nearly closed after the Civil War after the main building burned down the day before the first class of 1865 took place, however, classes were held in a log cabin nearby while new buildings were constructed (Alexander R. Stoeson).

1893 was the first year Oak Ridge played intercollegiate football, though the school had started playing intercollegiate baseball the previous academic year, losing to UNC on April 23rd 4-7 (The Hellenian, 1892, p. 106; News-Observer-Chronicle, November 30th, 1893, p. 1). Not much is recorded of Oak Ridge's 1893 football season. Besides their two games with A&M, their only other known games of the season were scheduled with Guilford. The first game was played at Oak Ridge on Saturday, November 18th, with a second game to be played at Guilford the following Saturday at Guilford, and a third game to be played at a neutral site in Greensboro on Thanksgiving (The Western Sentinel, November 9th, 1893, p. 1). As for the results of the games, we know very little. The game on November 18th was just the second off-campus game ever played by Guilford, and "most of the boys [of Guilford] accompanied our foot-ball team to Oak Ridge." The brief writeup in the Guilford Collegian writes "It was evident that Guilford's men were the winners, but the game was never finished," with no explanation as to why, though Guilford's official records have a 12-4 win over Oak Ridge (Guilford Collegian, 1893-1894, p. 146). The second and third games were probably canceled after whatever dispute that ended the first game could not be resolved.

The Farmers left Raleigh by train and arrived at the McAdoo House, a hotel located in downtown Greensboro built in the late 1800s and destroyed by a fire in 1915 (The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, University Libraries). The A&M team was described as arriving in Greensboro loudly; "each boy gave their yell" as they disembarked from the train. The Oak Ridge team, on the other hand, "came quietly into town" at 11 AM that morning, meeting the A&M team at the McAdoo House. The two teams left the hotel around 2 PM, and as they did "the whole of Greensboro seemed to be turned in one direction, namely, towards the park of Greensboro Athletic Association." The park was soon filled with a variety of colors and colleges: The Oak Ridge fans (nearly all boys) wore red and blue; "the pink and blue of the 'A. & M.' mingled beautifully with the white and gold of the 'N. & I.' [the State Normal and Industrial School, an all-female school located in Greensboro] and seemed to cover everything." Also in attendance were the girls of the Greensboro Female College; all the girls on hand "cheered the boys lustily" (The Greensboro Patriot, December 13th, 1893, p. 2). The support of the girls of the N&I and GFC girls was given as a major credit for the success of the "Aggies" over the course of the game, with credence for this claim being given by their performance in the following game.

The first game between A&M and Oak Ridge was a success, with the two teams playing before "The largest crowd that ever assembled in the base ball park in this city," with the crowd estimated to be nearly 1,000 people. Though the boys of Oak Ridge were reported to be an average of fifteen pounds larger than the A&M boys, the game was, for the most part, all A&M's. After just two minutes of playing, A&M had scored a touchdown and kicked a goal, making the score 6-0. Oak Ridge then used their superior weight to drive the ball all the way down the field, however, "the little 'A. & M.' boys peeped out from under their big opponents and saw the pink and blue and white and gold streaming in all directions that crowned them, and heard the cheers of the beautiful girls... [and] buckled down to work." Unfortunately, the author of the paper deemed it "useless to say anything more about the game" because of the importance to the A&M boys of the event following the game: their invitation to the all-female Normal and Industrial College by President McIver (The Greensboro Patriot, December 13th, 1893, p. 2). "According to the boys, this was the most pleasant feature of the trip not excepting even the game" (News-Observer-Chronicle, December 6th, 1893, p. 1).

It was reported that the people of Greensboro made the boys "feel thoroughly at home," but much of this description is likely due to the girls of the local colleges. The local papers spent more time discussing the romance of the two colleges than the game. The News-Observer-Chronicle wrote "The two institutions have always been fast friends but this trip binds them closer together," and that "more tender feelings are hoped to be engendered between some of the students of each." An editorial in The Greensboro Patriot written anonymously by an "A. and M. Student" went further: "each 'A. & M.' boy left [the reception], completely stripped of his College colors and wearing in place of them the white and gold of the 'N. & I.' which he promised to wear and love and always cherish."

The game was refereed by Saunders, an A&M player, while George Stevens acted as the umpire. The game was reported as "clear and free from slugging" and "had none of those unsightly performances such as slugging, kicking, &c, which has been attributed of late to all football" (The Greensboro Patriot, December 6th, 1893, p. 3; News-Observer-Chronicle, December 6th, 1893, p. 1). The game was described as having been played for an hour and a half, meaning the game was played in two 45-minute halves. The only other play of enough note to be reported was a 79-yard touchdown made by Captain Whitaker of the A&M team.

After their long and amorous night, the A&M boys woke up at 6 AM in order to catch the train to Winston for their game against Oak Ridge the following day.