11/12/1900 - vs Davidson

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Davidson's football team picked up where they left off in 1899 and continued to build on their program's momentum. One of just two major teams in the state of North Carolina who did not join the North Carolina Athletic Association, Davidson's football team was in just their third year of playing. After going 0-2 in 1898, the program went 1-3-1 in 1899, tying A&M. However, those records were both furnished without the benefit of a head coach over many teams who had been playing football for several years longer than the Presbyterians. In 1900, Davidson had for the first time ever a coach in the form of John A. Brewin, a former Boston College football player. While at Davidson, he led the Red and Black to a 12-12-1 record.


A photo of Davidson's team from Davidson College Magazine, Vol. XVII No. 3 (December 1900), p. 92. A lower-quality version of this image is also available in Quips and Cranks, 1901, p. 145

Davidson opened their season without the benefit of Brewin. Their first game, against Guilford at home, they won 16-0 over Guilford despite their lack of a coach. In their second game of the season, Davidson lost to Clemson 0-64. At that point, Brewin stepped in to become Davidson's head coach. A&M was the first team played under Mr. Brewin's tutelage, the team having not played since their October 10th loss to Clemson (Quips and Cranks, 1901, p. 143).

Reportedly the only game of the season played in Charlotte, the "cranks" of Charlotte were excited for the game. And since Davidson students got every Monday off, "Practically all the students of Davidson College" were expected to come to Charlotte to watch the game. The game was expected to be "very close" and a "large crowd" was "assured." Heading in to the game, A&M's team was reported to be heavier than Davidson's team. Despite that, papers reported that Davidson was "reasonably hopeful of success." Papers also prediced the success of the Davidson team despite the absence of Ahabeg "David" Yonan, a student from Persia who had formerly trained with the football team. Yonan had played left tackle for Davidson when the Presbyterians faced the Farmers in 1899, and was a very successful track and field athlete, holding several of the school's field day records; tragically, Yonan drowned before the start of the 1900 football season while attempting to save a friend who was drowning in the Catawba River (Charlotte News, November 10th, 1900, p. 1; Charlotte Daily Observer, November 11th, 1900, p. 5; Charlotte News, November 12th, 1900, p. 1; Quips and Cranks, 1901, pp. 67, 152; Quips and Cranks, 1900, p. 107).


Roster

A&M Davidson
McKinnon RE Caldwell, M.
Wright RT Armstrong
Gardner RG Fetzer, B.
Grimsley C Johnston
Bowden LG Fetzer, M.
Turner LT Rowe
McCanless* LE Wharton
Worth QB McClintock
Welch RHB Huie
Lougee (Capt.) LHB Wyman
Dalton FB Caldwell, A. S.
Davis SUB Fitzpatrick (Capt.)
Thompson SUB Taylor
Wooten SUB Reid
Liles SUB Tuttle

Source 1, Source 2, Source 3

*Charlotte papers reported A&M's LE to be either McCorkle or McArden; I suspect they meant McCanless


Period Time Description NCSU DAV
1st unk DAV - Wyman - 10 yd Run (Wyman kick) 11 plays, 80.5 yards, TOP 1:10 0 6
1st 10 DAV - Huie - unk yd Run (Wyman kick failed) 2 plays, unk yards, TOP unk 0 11
2nd unk DAV - Huie - 60-65 yd Run (Wyman kick) 6 plays, 75.5-80.5 yards, TOP unk 0 17

NCSU Opponent
Rushing TDs none Huie (2), Wyman (1)
Passing TDs N/A prior to 1906 N/A prior to 1906
Receiving TDs N/A prior to 1906 N/A prior to 1906
Defensive TDs none none
PATs none Wyman (2/3)
2PT: N/A/ prior to 1958 N/A/ prior to 1958
FGs none Wyman (0/2), UNKNOWN (0/2)
Safety: none none
Game Notes:
Kick Off Time: 3:30 PM - 11/12/1900 - vs Davidson
Length: 50 (25 / 25) - Duration: unk
Attendance: unknown
Location: Latta Park - Charlotte, NC (N)
Temperature: ???
Weather: ???
Wind: ???

The game began at 3:30 PM with former A&M coach and Charlotte resident George Stephens refereeing the game, while prominent Charlotte businessman L. A. Dodsworth acted as the umpire. A&M started the game with the ball, Dalton kicking off to Davidson, who advanced the kick but then fumbled, giving the ball back to the Farmers near the Davidson goal line. Lougee ran the ball on the next play, but unfortunately fumbled the ball himself after not gaining any ground. Back in control of the ball, Davidson began a series of "steady gains" to drive the ball up the field. Wyman started things off with a 4-1/2 yard gain, which Huie eclipsed on an 18-yard dash. After a run for no gain by Wyman, A. S. Caldwell made 3. On their third and final down, Wyman sprinted 22 yards for another big gain. A. S. Caldwell's 2-yard run was followed by a 10-yard dash by Huie. Runs by Wyman, A. S. Caldwell, and Huie for 3, 5, and 3 yards set up Wyman for a 10-yard touchdown run. The ball was placed between the goal posts, giving himself an easy kick for goal, which he made. The score stood 0-6 in favor of the Presbyterians. The Charlotte Observer reported an improbably-short one minute and ten seconds had passed; the paper did not specify if that's the time of the drive, or since kickoff, but I have to imagine that's only the time of possession of Davidson's drive.

Dalton's second kick off went just 25 yards, to the Davidson 30 yard line. A. S. Caldwell caught the kick and advanced the ball 15 yards. A pair of 5 yard runs by Huie and Wyman brought the ball to midfield. After a run for no gain by the former, a run for a single yard by Huie put Davidson on third down with 4 yards to go; fortunately for the Red and Black, Wyman gained 5 to refresh the count. After another Wyman run for 2-1/2 yards, A. S. Caldwell carried the ball for 5 yards. Rowe's 5-yard gain was followed by a Davidson fumble, giving the ball to the Farmers. Unfortunately for the Red and White, they proved unable to gain any momentum: a 1-yard run by Lougee was negated with a 2-1/2 yard loss on a fumble. Dalton punted an unspecified distance, where it was caught by M. Caldwell, who returned the kick 15 yards; Davidson got another 10 on an A&M offsides penalty. Here, Davidson really got down to things, with a 15-yard dash by Huie followed by a 25-yard run by Wyman. After a 1/2-yard loss by Huie, A. S. Caldwell toted the pigskin 10-yards through A&M's line. After runs for 5 and 4 yards by Huie and Wyman, the former lost 3 yards. At this point, the ball went over to A&M, though the reasons why differ; the report in Davidson College Magazine does not say, implying a turnover on downs, while The Charlotte Observer noted Wyman attempted an unsuccessful field goal, the ball being on the right line up just short.

This gave the Farmers the ball at their own 25-yard line. Back in possession of the ball, Welch made a 15-yard dash; his success was sadly short lived, as Dalton lost 3 yards on the following run. Lougee proved unable to balance the loss with a 1-1/2 yard run. Dalton punted the ball away, but it fell out-of-bounds, Davidson claiming control. A 3-yard loss on a triple pass to McClintock was followed by a 1-yard loss by Huie, so A. S. Caldwell punted 30 yards on third down. Worth caught the ball but was unable to advance the kick; on second down, Welch fumbled the ball, so on third down, Dalton punted the ball to Wharton. After a 2-1/2 yard run by A. S. Caldwell, Huie punched the ball across the goal line. Wyman's kick failed, putting Davidson up 11-to-nothing after 15 total minutes of play in the first half.

Dalton again kicked the ball off, kicking the ball to Davidson's 35 yard line. Huie caught the kick and advanced it 8 yards, and ran 4 yards on the next set of downs. After two runs for good gains (Rowe for 12 and Wyman for 10 yards), Davidson fumbled the ball for a 2-yard loss which they recovered. A. S. Caldwell and Rowe recovered the distance with runs for 4 and 3 yards, respectively. After a 1/2-yard loss by Huie, Wyman picked up 13 yards, putting the Red and Black at about the Farmers' 23-yard line. On the next play, a triple pass by M. Caldwell gained 4 yards; this was followed by a 3-yard run by Huie, a 4-yard run by Wyman, and a 2-yard rush by A. S. Caldwell. Here, Wyman and A. S. Caldwell made two runs for no gain; this was followed by a 1/2-yard gain by Huie and a 3-yard gain by Wyman -- it's not clear how Davidson kept the ball, since this should have been a turnover on downs; likely, a play or penalty went unreported. A 4-yard run by Rowe put the ball near the goal line; tabulating the numbers from the Davidson College Monthly puts the ball at about the 2 yard line, while Charlotte Observer reported the Red and Black got to within 15-yards of the A&M goal line. On the following play, Rowe advanced the ball, but fumbled the ball.

Here, reports differ somewhat, with the Charlotte Observer reported the Aggies made one first down (possibly their first of the game), but not the second; neither was described in Davidson's magazine, which noted only that Dalton punted, again putting the ball out of bounds, giving Davidson the ball at the 50-yard line. M. Caldwell started the gaining back for Davidson, picking up 4-1/2 yards, Huie and Wyman following suit with a pair of 3-yard dashes. After a 2-yard run by A. S. Caldwell and a run for no gain by Huie, Wyman attempted another goal kick from either 15 yards (Charlotte Observer) or 33 yards (Davidson College Monthly); his kick reportedly missed wide left. The Farmers got the ball back at their own 25-yard line, where Dalton punted, apparently out of bounds once again. M. Caldwell carried the ball but fumbled; his gaffe was picked up by Huie, who carried the ball 11-15 yards. Just before the game's first 25-minute half ended, Davidson was assessed a 10-yard offsides penalty.

The second half began Davidson's A. S. Caldwell kicking off an unspecified distance to A&M to Lougee, who advanced the kick 12 yards. Again the Red and White failed to gain the requisite 5 yards for a new set of downs: Turner gained 2 yards to start the drive, but an unspecified player lost 3 on second down. Dalton punted 30 yards to M. Caldwell, who carried the kick back 3 yards. After a pair of 8-yard runs by Huie and A. S. Caldwell, Wyman had a pair of runs for 3 yards. After a 1-yard by Caldwell, Davidson again fumbled, this time "in the effort to make a triple pass." As the paper wrote, "once in the hands of the Raleigh boys it became an inspiration for a new effort to save the day by a steady ground-gaining, line-bucking by the A. and M. backs."

Getting the ball around midfield, Dalton and Turner started things off, gaining 3 and 2 yards, respectively, for the Aggies' first or second first down of the game. After a triple pass to Turner for no gain, McKinnon pounded the line for 5 yards. After a couple of runs by Dalton for 2-1/2 yards, Lougee lost half a yard around right end -- how this did not result in a turnover on downs is unclear. A 3-1/2 yard gain by Welch was followed by a 1/2-yard run by Dalton; fortunately, Dalton redoubled his efforts and got 14 yards on the next play. After a free 10-yards from a Davidson offsides penalty, Dalton gained 9-1/2 yards on consecutive plays, bringing the ball to within 8-yards of Davidson's goal; here, the Farmers' success faltered. An unspecified A&M player lost 3 yards on first down, and on second down, Dalton lost 1-1/2 yards. On third down, Dalton attempted to kick, but a fumble lost 13 yards, giving Davidson the ball around their own 30-yard line.

Huie got things started for the Presbyterians with a 2-yard run, which A. S. Caldwell followed with a 3-yard run. Wyman carried the ball 8 yards on his first carry, and then for 2 yards on his second. A 1/2-yard gain by one of the Caldwells set up Huie to run the "cleverest feature of the game," a 60-65-yard touchdown across the goal line. Wyman made the kick, and with that the Presbyerians were up 17-0. No time was given.

The Red and Black still reportedly controlled the remainder of the game, but the Aggies managed to keep them from scoring a fourth time. Dalton kicked off for the final time; Wharton caught the boot and toted the ball 12 yards. A 3-yard run by Huie was followed by a 20-yard dash by Wyman; not to be outdone, Huie ran the ball 27 yards. Wyman made 4-1/2 yards, and the first down was earned on a 1/2-yard scamper by one of the Caldwell brothers. A 10-yard pick up by Rowe preceeded a pair of 2-1/2 yard runs by A. S. Caldwell and Huie. On the next set of downs, a 1-yard run by A. S. Caldwell, a run for no gain by Huie, and an unspecified third play resulted in a turnover on downs, returning the ball to A&M possession. After a run for no gain by Welch, Dalton punted 20 yards. After a run for no gain by Huie, Rowe and Huie made a pair of 2-1/2 yard runs. Wyman then carried the pigskin 8 yards, and Huie 4 around right end. Davidson attempted another field goal, but failed, giving the Farmers the ball back. Dalton kicked off to Taylor, and Huie and Wyman made runs for 18 and 9 yards, respectively. After a run for no gain by Wyman, Davidson attempted another field goal, but once again failed. The game's second 25-minute half ended with the score remaining 17-to-nothing in favor of the Red and Black (Davidson College Magazine, Vol. XVII No. 3 (December 1900), pp. 135-137; Charlotte Daily Observer, November 13th, 1900, p. 6; The (Raleigh) Morning Post, November 13th, 1900, p. 2).

Charlotteans reportedly showed "a good deal of enthusiasm" about the game, despite the lopsided score. It was reported that "nearly all the Davidson College students, instructors, and alumni" of Charlotte were at the game, in addition to "several hundred other people" and "a good many" supporters of A&M. That year, the number of students and teachers at Davidson totaled just under 200; conservatively estimating the other numbers gives an estimated attendance of 500, though no paper ever gave a formal estimate. Stars of the game for A&M were reportedly Turner, Dalton, "her big full back," and "the plucky quarter back, Worth." As for Davidson, the whole team showed "fine team work" and helped showcase the individual performances of A. S. Caldwell, Huie, and Wyman (Davidson College Catalogue, 1900-1901, p. 18; Asheville Citizen, November 14th, 1900, p. 2).

The A&M football players arrived back from their "disastrous campaign on the gridiron" probably late in the night of the 12th, having left Charlotte for Raleigh at 6:20 on the night of the game. According to reports, when they arrived back in Raleigh "Many of them were are lame and bruised." The Charlotte Daily Observer reported the Davidson game to be "clean from start to finish," with each team trying to "out-vie the other in gentlemanly behavior." If that report is to believed, then it is possible that the A&M players were badly injured from the game against South Carolina, which would have in turn limited their effectiveness against Davidson (News and Observer, November 15th, 1900, p. 2).

On November 22nd, Davidson went on to defeat South Carolina 5-0 in Charlotte, and a week after that the Presbyerians journeyed to Augusta, Georgia, where they faced Georgia Tech who they defeated 38-6. Davidson ended their season with a 4-1 record. In addition to their main team, Davidson's Medical College team won two games, defeating Oak Ridge 6-0 and Wofford College 11-17. Finally, Davidson's "scrub" team defeated the "Deaf Mutes of Morganton," the same team who Chapel Hill opened their 1900 season against, 7-11 (Quips and Cranks, 1901, pp. 142-143).

Last updated: 6/4/2024