Return to the 1899 season page

The earliest print date I could find for the announcement of the A&M-Guilford football game was on November 7th, just 3 days before the game took place. Local papers wrote that "a corking game may be expected" after writing of the hard practicing of the A&M team. And why wouldn't a good game be expected? Coming off a tie against the local powerhouse, UNC, who had earlier in the year decimated A&M 0-34 and Guilford 0-45, if the Farmers had now improved to the point of tying the Tar Heels, then they should have no problem handling the Quakers of Guilford (News and Observer, November 7th, 1899, p. 8; The (Raleigh) Post, November 7th, 1899, p. 5).

The Guilford team had seen a solid season themselves, aside from the blowout at the hands of the Tar Heels. On October 6th, the Quakers opened their season with a 6-0 win over Bingham School of Mebane--the same team which A&M had defeated 18-0. As of the playing of their game against the Farmers, the only other game the Crimson and Gray had played was their loss to UNC on October 14th. Though Guilford's football team was reportedly largely composed of the same players as the previous year's team, which A&M had defeated 21-0, they had a new helping hand in the form of coach H. C. Petty. Born in Archdale, NC, in 1877, Herbert Clinton Petty studied at Guilford for 4 years before getting his B. A. at Haverford College, in Pennsylvania. While a student at Haverford, Petty played right tackle on Haverford's 1898 team in addition to playing on Guilford's team during his time there. Haverford College went 4-3-1 in 1898 in a season described as "a satisfactory one" despite scoring less points than its previous teams, if that gives any indication of the skill of the Haverford team as compared to those of Guilford or A&M, who were often grateful for a 2-to-3-win season (Haverford College Athletic Annual, 1898-9, p. 15; Thomas, p. 251).

At the start of the 1898 school year, Guilford wrote "Guilford has never opened with better prospects for a strong foot-ball team," adding that in addition to having many players return from the previous years team, giving continuity they had lacked in the past, in addition to having a coach (a position they lacked the previous year. As an added bonus to the 30-plus students who tried out for their football team, the Quakers had also gained the services of several new experienced players: Reynolds, who played half-back on the Greensboro Athletic Club's team the previous year, and Plummer, who had center played the previous year on UNC's scrub team (Guilford Collegian, Vol. XII, No. 1 (October, 1899), pp. 20, 28). These students came with more experience than success; as best as I can find, the Greensboro Athletic Club went 1-4 in 1898, losing to Oak Ridge twice (5-6 the first time and 15-5 the second), and to Chapel Hill just 11-0, while beating the William Bingham School 23-0. The 1898 UNC Scrub Team appears to have played no formal games (though it is not unlikely, nor unprobable, that they did play games that simply went unrecorded), the team was described as "one of the strongest [scrub teams] we have ever had" (The University Record, Vol. III, No. 1 (October, 1898), p. 6).

A&M's team also had their share of high expectations regarding the coming Guilford game. The Times-Visitor wrote "The local rooters are out in full force and a brilliant victory is predicted by them for the home team," and even the Red and White, the literary magazine of NC A&M at the time, wrote, "our team is confident of victory." After mentioning offhandedly that last year the Farmers had bested Guilford 21-0, the paper wrote "we see no reason why we should not beat them at least 30 to 0, for never before in the history of our College have we had such a strong team" (The Times-Visitor, November 10th, 1898, p. 1; Guilford Collegian, Vol. XII, No. 3 (December, 1899), p. 90). While the previous year's blowout likely was a factor in the Red and White's prediction of a blowout game, probably the bigger factor was their recent tie against UNC, with at least the News and Observer mentioning the tie with UNC in their advertisement for the game (News and Observer, November 10th, 1899, p. 6).

Just looking at the Farmers' side of the roster, the explanation of the loss is almost immediately obvious: almost none of their star players were in. Notable players missing were left tackle Turner, left guard Bowden, and left end Ramsey. Though those linemen did not often have their name penned in game reports their blocking must have been notable: they had started every previous game that season in the same position, a feat few other Farmers had accomplished that season. Additionally, team captain Person sat the entirity of the game. The men who started in their place had little experience on a starting team. Bunn had previously played as a halfback and a sub against UNC and Bingham, never taking the role of a lineman, who would normally be at least a few dozen pounds heavier than a back in those days. Fields had previously only worked as a sub in the blowout against Bingham. If he played at all that game, it was not notable; the same description could be made of Welsh. Lougee, who was attempting to replace Person, had acted as a halfback in previous games and as a sub in another, but could not hope to replace the consistancy Person normally brought to the team. According to at the Morning Post, the reason Bowden and Ramsey sat was because they were "crippled," and Person because of a lame knee (Charlotte Daily Observer, November 17th, 1899, p. 6).

The Quakers, on the other hand, the exact same lineup as they had played weeks earlier against the Tar Heels to a man, save one change: the sub Milliken had replaced a sub named Regan. Guilford clearly brought a team meant to compete, while the Farmers clearly planned to let their best players rest a bit before their big Southern trip, while Guilford, whose only remaining game of the season was the next day against a Bingham team they had already defeated once before, came to win.

As in the 1898 game, the previous-year's game was fresh on the mind of both teams, with the Guilford Collegian writing "the way in which the A. & M. team took Guilford into camp on last Thanksgiving day made our men doubly determined to make them work for what they got."

Reports of the game went about as one would expect when you rest half of your offensive line and your best runner and replace them with second-team players who have potentially played in just one other game all year. A&M started the game by kicking off with Caserley kicking off 25 yards to Guilford; the Quakers returned the ball 8 yards. There is a brief summary of the game that exists, but it can be summarized as follows: once Guilford got the ball, they drove down the field a short while before kicking to A&M. Once the Farmers got the ball, but Caserley fumbled it back to the Quakers. Recovering the ball, the Crimson and Gray carried the ball for a while before losing the ball on downs to the Red and White, who themselves turned it over on downs a short time later. From there, Guilford lost the ball on downs again, but Caserley of A&M instantly kicked the ball away, 20 yards downfield, where it was recovered by Guilford. The ball stayed in A&M's half of the field for much of the first half. According to the News and Observer, "The Quakers were a distinct surprise both in offensive and defensive playing, and it was manifest from the first that the easy victory the Farmers had been promising themselves would not come their way." As the Telegram wrote, "The hitherto impregnable line of the Raleigh boys was time and again smashed by the Quakers' 'guards back' formation." The Farmers were on defense for the entire first half, with the ball coming as close as the Farmers' 4-yard line before being turned over on downs, with Guilford several times in scoring position but failing each time. The half ended with the ball in Guilford's possession on the 25-yard line.

Between the halves, Bowden and Ramsey came into the game in their usual spots, replacing Fields and Welsh. Shockingly, "In the second half the A. & M. played better ball and almost reversed the first half," with the ball staying in Quaker territory the entirity of the half. Cowles kicked off for Guilford, kicking to Whitley, who carried the ball back 25 yards. The Farmers started the half with steady gains, but eventually kicked the ball away to Guilford. Upon getting the ball, the Quakers made some solid runs of their own until Daniels fumbled the ball; Ramsey recovered the fumble. Caserley then made a "beautiful run for thirty yards, the only long run of the game." The ball changed hands a few more times before the game was called. Reportedly, The Red and White painfully failed with just 1 yard to gain "Twice in succession," but failed to convert. The half ended with the ball in Quaker territory on either their 12- or 25-yard line, depending on which report you believe.

To the credit of the Crimson and Gray, their players did have an excellent game. Their backs "seldom failed to gain," with the work of Reynolds and Dalton gaining special praise. Additionally, their left end, Wilson, played a "great game," reportedly missing only one tackle throughout the game, the Quaker boy "generally throwing the runner for a loss." The Guilford Collegian also congratulated the work of Guilford quarterback Cowles, and linemen Farlow and Daniels. Reportedly, the only two times Guilford made gains around A&M's end players were on double passes, otherwise gaining by center rushes or through other means. For the Farmers, the best work was done by their halfbacks, Caserley and Whitley, though reportedly "Morson was cool at quarter" and "Paschal [sic] stopped dangerous rushes." Reportedly, the Farmers had difficulty making gains through the line. Additionally, former sub player Welsh reportedly "tackled well."

Given the fact that Welsh was replaced at the half, it likely means that he was injured in the game; despite "A. & M." showing "a rather unbecoming tendency to kick," the game was a "clean and good-humored" matchup, though "greatly delayed" by slight injuries to both elevens. The game's length was emphasized in the local papers, with the two 20-minute halves taking nearly an hour and fifteen minutes, though the Morning Post wrote that the halves were only 15 minutes (The Greensboro Evening Telegram, November 11th, 1899, p. 2; Guilford Collegian, Vol. XII, No. 3 (December, 1899), pp. 98-100, The (Raleigh) Morning Post, November 11th, 1899, p. 5)

The students of Guilford were ecstatic by the close of their football season. After the team's October 11th victory over Mebane, "the entire male population of the student body" met the Quaker team at the train station and escorted the team to the college "with a magnificent torchlight procession." The scene was described as a "bedlam of college songs, yells and music." Upon arriving at campus, each member of the team gave a speech from the veranda of Founder's Hall, followed by President of the college, Hobbs, who commented on the "manly amateur athletics" of the school and their prowess. A "monstrous" bonfire was lit, and around it the Quaker football team was carried in a wagon pulled by the college's female members. "Aided by some twenty gallons of kerosene," the fire was grandiosely described as lighting up the sky "for miles around."

To close out this game summary, two things should be noted. First and foremost, despite the report of the Telegram of A&M's kicking, the Guilfordians reported that the Farmers treated their team "most courteously," a good indication upon the quality of men on the A&M team. Secondly, both papers noted a fact that could perhaps easily be surmised from the summaries of the last three years' games: a friendly rivalry had developed. This game helped spark what could be considered perhaps the first true rivalry of the Farmers, due to the near-unbeatable nature of the Tar Heels in those early years. A student in correspondence with the Charlotte Daily Observer called the Red and White "our old athletic rival," while coach Petty called them "our rivals," but then specified that they were "friendly rivals." The two teams would will go on to play each year through 1904, then ceasing the series only after Guilford decided not to field a team in 1905, following an abysmal 1-3-1 1903 season and an even worse 0-5 1904. It should also be noted that H. C. Petty is one of just 6 Guilford football coaches with a winning record (2-1). Four of those coaches worked with the team before 1928, and three of them before the 20th Century (Charlotte Daily Observer, November 15th, 1899, p. 2; Guilford Collegian, Vol. XII, No. 4 (January, 1900), p. 121; Coaching Records [as of 2019]).