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Since opening their season with a 34-0 win over A&M on October 7th, the Tar Heels had been busy. They had gone on to play 4 other schools since the season opened, winning all of them and never once being scored upon. Those wins included a 16-0 win over Oak Ridge Military Institute on University Day, a 45-0 win over Guilford, a 10-0 win over Davidson in Charlotte, and a 46-0 win over Horner Military School. To say that the 'Varsity had been blowing out the competition was almost an understatement.

The Farmers had also won all of their games since they played in Chapel Hill, but with less prestigious accolades, as they played only their game at the State Fair on October 21st, a week before. In that game, they showed improvement but still played sluggishly, according to local news reports. This game was first announced in print on October 26th, just two days before the game was played. The weekend of the 28th had long been a hole in the Tar Heels' schedule. Originally, the team had planned to play Maryland on the 27th, but by late September the date was gone (The (Raleigh) Morning Post, October 26th, 1899, p. 5; The Tar Heel, May 11th, 1899, p. 1; The (Raleigh) Morning Post, September 24th, 1899, p. 2).

This game turned out to be an extremely important game for the Farmers. For starters, there was a great deal of interest from the Raleigh football crowd, who called it "the football event of the season, so far as Raleigh is concerned," as this game was the first time UNC had played in Raleigh in 5 years. The last time the Tar Heels played in Raleigh, they won the game, on October 20th, 1894, the Varsity won just 16-0. Having destroyed the Farmers 44-0 at home just over a week prior, Chapel Hill rested several of their best players for the game. Having beat the Red and White 34-0 earlier this season, the Tar Heels were not afforded the same luxury in their second meeting of 1899. Though the 'Varsity started only 5 of same players as they started in their first matchup with the Farmers, three of those not on the field were not optionally rested, with their "peerless centre" Cunningham having left college, and Bennett and former team captain Shull were both injured and unable to play (The (Raleigh) Morning Post, October 27th, 1899, p. 8). Despite the massive loss just a few weeks back, the Red and White were undeterred, reportedly feeling as if they were "in much better trim than when they last played" (News and Observer, October 27th, 1899, p. 5; Charlotte Daily Observer, October 31st, 1899, p. 2).

As for the field and weather, it was not exactly ideal for football. The late fall had been unseasonably hot and dry in Raleigh. The News and Observer recorded the high on the 28th as a balmy 78 degrees Fahrenheit. A farmer writing to Wilmington wrote "day after day of September heat" were the norm that October, in addition to "skies without a cloud." As for the playing field, it was reported by the Chapel Hill boys after the game to be a "hard, rocky ground," though they made sure to note "we make no excuse" for the tie game because of that (News and Observer, October 29th, 1899, October 29th, 1899, p. 16; New Bern Daily Journal, October 29th, 1899, p. 1; The Tar Heel, November 1st, 1899, p. 1). Though numerous sources report that the game had a large crowd, the only source which gave an estimated number was oddly enough from Asheville; there, the number was reported to be aroud 500 person (Asheville Daily Citizen, October 30th, 1899, p. 4).

Though no account of the game names who won the coin toss at the start of the game, the first of the game's two 20 minute halves started at 2 PM with Person kicking off 35 yards to Graves, of UNC; Graves fumbled the ball, but Koehler fell on the ball to protect UNC's first possession. Koehler ran the ball twice for essentially no gain. Then, Chapel Hills' center, Elliott, who had reportedly never played as center before, made a bad snap to Graves, the UNC kicker. Due to the bad snap, Graves fumbled the ball and was unable to get off the kick; A&M was given the ball on downs on UNC's 2 yard line. From there, UNC stopped two Farmer runs for no gains, but on the third play, "[A&M quarterback] Morson calls out 'Tackles back,' and the ball is given to Turner, who plunges through Carolina's line for the first touchdown ever scored against the University by A. and M." From there, Person kicked the goal, and A&M was up 6-0 after between 2-1/4 and 2-1/2 minutes of play.

Graves kicked off again for the Tar Heels, delivering a booming punt which was received by Person on his own 2 yard line; Person advanced the kick 3 yards. From there, Caserley made a big run for 20-25 yards around Carolina's right end, and Lougee and Caserley both ran the ball for no gain. After that, Osborne, of UNC, was called offsides, giving A&M 10 (or 15, according to one report) yards. On the next play, the reports differ slightly: both agree Lougee ran for nearly no gain (either 0 or 1 yard), but then differ, with the Morning Post writing that Person ran for 1 yard, 2 yards, and then 1 yard again, and The Tar Heel writing that Person ran for 6 yards and then lost 1-1/2 yards, and that Caserley ran for a l-yard loss to close the possession for A&M. Once the Tar Heels regained possession of the ball, Bellamy, Koehler, and Graves ran for around 20 yards. After those gains, Bellamy fumbled the ball, but Reynolds secured it before it could change hands. From there, Koehler and Bellamy advanced the ball 14 yards and Graves ran the ball across the line for a touchdown. Graves missed the goal kick, and after another 10 minutes of play, A&M stayed up, 6-5.

Person kicked off for A&M, kicking it it 25 yards, where Martin advanced the ball for UNC 5-8 yards. After a Bellamy carry for no gain, UNC turned the ball over on an offside play for the second time that day. Once the Farmers had the ball back, Caserley, Person, Turner, and Lougee combined to bring the ball about 9 yards. After that, Person made "the most brilliant play of the game" with a 22-25 yard touchdown run where he "darted through Carolina's drive." Person missed the goal, making the score 11-5, Red and White.

As the half was drawing to an end, Graves kicked the ball 45 yards, Person receiving the kick and returning the ball 20 yards. Caserley and Person were unable to move the ball against the Tar Heels, so Person kicked the ball away, kicking 14 yards. Martin caught the ball for UNC and ran the ball back 4 yards. The two papers then disagree on the exact nature of the remainder of the drive, one writing that Carolina was offsiders and forced to turn the ball over, and the other writing A&M committed the offside, which gave UNC 10 yards. Either way, UNC was unable to score before the half expired, leaving the score 11-5 in favor of the Red and White.

To begin the second half, Graves kicked off 20 yards to Person, who returned the ball 10-15 yards. Caserley, Person, and Loughee all carried the ball on the next 5 plays, but lost the ball on downs. From there, the two articles have very different descriptions of the drive. The Morning Post wrote that Koehler carried the ball for 5 yards, followed by a 7 yard gain by Bellamy, a 4 yard gain by Bellamy, a 5 yard gain by Koehler, a 2 yard run by Graves. The Tar Heel wrote that Koehler carried the ball for 1 yard, followed by a 10 yard run by Bellamy, a 7 and then a 4 yard gain by Koehler, a loss of 1 yard by Bellamy, a 3 yard run by Koehler, and then a long 14 yard run by Bellamy. After another 3 yard run by Bellamy, Koehler ran for 5, and then a 2 yard gain by Graves. The yardage as reported in Tar Heel would have extended across the goal line two plays before the following play, which leads me to believe that there is an error; probably, Bellamy's run was 4 yards rather than 14, but it's impossible to say for certain. Both sources do, however, agree that Bellamy capped the drive off with a touchdown run, and that Graves successfully made his second goal kick of the day, tying things up to 11-11 after 6 minutes of play.

Person kicked the ball off for A&M, kicking 40 yards; Graves returned the ball 7-9 yards. From there, the Tar Heels ran about 13 yards on carries by Bellamy and Koehler. After that, A&M got offsides for their second time, giving UNC a free 10 (or, again, 15, depending on the account) yards. After that, Carolina stalled, fumbling twice, the second fumble resulting in a turnover. Upon getting the ball, Caserley broke free for a phenomenal run of either 23 or 35 yards. Despite the long initial gain, the Farmers were unable to convert. The articles do disagree slightly about whether A&M got a new set of downs before turning the ball over after not making the line of gain, but it doesn't make much of a difference. From there, the Tar Heels began what must have been the longest sustained drive of the game, marching about 70 yards down the field (the exact number differing slightly depending on which account of the game you read). From there, the Farmers made a huge standing stopping the Tar Heels as time expired.

Well, sort of; timekeeper C. M. Pritchett, a professor in mechanical engineering for A&M, claimed that the time had expired. The other timekeeper, John Carr, UNC graduate student and manager of the 1899 UNC baseball team, said that the there were still 17 seconds of the game left. Reportedly, an argument ensued, leading to the crowd rushing the field to discuss the matter. At that point, UNC ran another play despite the Farmers refusing to lign up against them. With no one to block the play, the Tar Heels easily ran the ball across the goal line. Regardless of which timekeeper was right or wrong, UNC decided not to claim the last down or contest the issue further, and ceded that the game had ended in a tie. According to one UNC historian, both timekeepers agreed later that there had been time left on the clock, but that decision was purportedly reached after the game had ended. I haven't found any source material to verify this fairly dubious claim The (Raleigh) Morning Post, October 29th, 1899, p. 5; The Tar Heel, November 1st, 1899, p. 1; Barrier, p. 26).

The fact that the Red and White could even tie UNC was a massive improvement for the team, with one paper writing "The A. and M. boys win laurels in every contest," going on to add that the "crack team of the South" was "no little surprised at the virility of the boys of the anvil and hoe." Another paper summarized the result by saying simply "This was equivalent to a victory for the A. & M." Students from UNC felt similarly, chalking the game up as essentially a loss; "There is disappointment here over the football score in Raleigh Saturday." And the Farmers certainly celebrated it like they had won. "The A. and M. boys owned the city last night.... The greater part of the students marched into the city, beating drums, blowing horns and making every every conceivable kind of noise. They were gaily bedecked in college colors." C. D. Harris wrote that this victory celebration was A&M's first ever parade through the streets of Raleigh (The Times-Visitor, October 28th, 1899, p. 1; The (Raleigh) Morning post, October 29th, 1899, p. 4; Charlotte Daily Observer, October 31st, 1899, p. 2; C. D. Harris, p. 176).

One perhaps apocryphal bit of NC State lore was said to have taken place after this game (apocryphal because an identical event was described in the aftermath of the 1902 NC State-UNC game. Though the game had ended in a tie, UNC's captain, Graves, attempted to bestow the game ball upon a Carolina player whose performance was particularly spectacular. A&M's manager, Floyd De Ross, couldn't let this stand -- not on principle, but because the ball was the only one the team had. In so doing, Ross set down the satchel containing the day's gate receipts. "Ross returned to his money bag finding the cash scattered all over the ground -- but that didn't matter," explained the editor, "he had saved the ball" (N.C. State Alumni News, Vol. IV No. 4 (January 1932), p. 61.