Return to the 1903 season page

Though an early version of Clemson's football schedule in The Clemson College Chronicle and an early schedule published in Raleigh papers and Red and White had the game taking place on November 7th at Clemson and not a game in Columbia, the second game was added with the intention of playing once in Columbia and once at Clemson. Before the game, Clemson's Coach Heisman said that he expected the games against A&M to be one of their harder games of the year, commenting that "A. & M. has the strongest team in her history" and that he expected "hard battles" (The Clemson College Chronicle, Vol. VII, No. 1 (October 1903), p. 36; Red and White, Vol. V, No. 1 (September 1903), p. 14; The (Raleigh) Morning Post, October 20th, 1903, p. 7).

The Tigers got off to a strong start to football in 1903, opening with a 29-0 win against Georgia in Athens on October 10th, followed by a 73-0 walloping of Georgia Tech in Atlanta. The Farmers were the third team the Orange and Black had played in 1903, but not owing to scheduling issues; according to Heisman, other teams simply refused to play them. Sewanee flat-out refused to play the Tigers, and Vanderbilt never answered a letter offering the team $200 (about $2,900 in 2019) in addition to paying their travel and boarding expenses.

The Red and White, on the other hand, had been on a losing streak, losing two of their last three games after their massive win against Guilford. Darden and Gardner, who had been out since the opening game against Guilford, traveled with the team, which left at 7:30 PM on the night of October 27th. Gardner played despite still nursing a lame knee; Darden did not start, but did play (News and Observer, October 28th, 1903, p. 5).

Both teams were of roughly equal weights, with A&M averaging 160 lbs and Clemson averaging 162 lbs.

The weather was fairly cold for the game; in Raleigh, it had snowed--the earliest snow known at the time in the South, according to local reports. South Carolina was beginning to experience morning frosts, and the weather was getting cool (Fort Mill Times, October 28th, 1903, p. 2; The (Newberry, SC) Weekly Herald, October 30th, 1903, p. 4).

Clemson kicked the ball off to A&M, who returned the kick. "From the very beginning things began to look doubtful," wrote the Red and White. The Farmers fumbled the ball after the first carry, losing it on their own 25 yard line, according to the Red and White's estimation; Maxwell of Clemson fell on the ball. Maxwell then ran the ball 15 yards, followed by another 10 yards carried by Harvey. Cogburn carried the ball the last few inches and scored the game's first touchdown after 4 minutes of play. Forsythe successfully made his kick and the Farmers got down 0-6 early.

Clemson kicked off a second time to the Red and White. There, A&M "showed her real strength," carrying the ball steadily down the field in a series of short gains to within 5-7 yards of Clemson's goal, but again lost the ball on "a heart-rending fumble." Shannonhouse, while trying to catch a lateral pass, fumbled the ball. An unnamed Clemson player recovered the fumble. The Tigers again began tearing down the field at a rapid pace, with Furtick opening the drive with a 35 yard run. Maxwell followed up a 10 yard run with a long 60 yard run for a touchdown. After a second successful kick by Forsythe, the score became 0-12; though a time was not given, based on the length of the following drive, it must have been fairly long.

Clemson kicked the ball off again, though this time they tried "side kicks"; the attempt failed, and the Orange and Black kicked off a second time, with an unnamed A&M player advancing the kick 20 yards. After a 40 yard dash by Welsh, time was called and the first half, of 25 minutes, was over.

A&M kicked the ball off to open the 20 minute second half. Maxwell advanced the kick 15 yards, followed by another 15 yards by Sadler. On a double-pass trick play, Sitton advanced the ball 40 yards, but half of that gain was removed after a 20 yard penalty on an off side play. Despite that loss, Sitton made a touchdown the next play after an "on side punt" play, with Forsythe making the kick yet again. The score was up to 0-18.

Here, the reports of the game differ. The Agromeck, Red and White, and the News and Observer reported that the final score of the game was 0-18; The Clemson College Chronicle, The Atlanta Constitution, The Greenville Daily News, and The (Newberry, SC) Herald and News claimed the score was 0-24. No source fully described the final touchdown, but the Constitution wrote that "Just as the play which carried the ball over for the last touchdown was started the referee's whistle blew for time, but the play had been called and the last touchdown of the game was made."

NC State sources said the Farmers carried the ball the length of the field twice during the game, while the Constitution said the Clemson goal was never threatened aside from the fumble early in the first half. The Agromeck wrote that the Raleigh boys "seldom failed to make the distance."

Clemson's playing was noted for its trick plays and specialized maneuvers, as was typical of Heisman's style. The Red and White decried the loss, writing that "On straight football, A. and M. really outclassed Clemson," but that Clemson's training and snappiness was better. The News and Observer echoed the sentiment, writing that the score of the game didn't represent "the true strength of the two teams" and that Clemson "could do nothing to A. and M. on straight foot." The Greenville Daily News's columnist from Columbia said "Despite the score it was one of the finest game ever seen here."

The Farmers also had some issues with fatigue and injuries, having to switch out several players over the duration of the game. At some point during the game, Koon took the place of Gardner, Darden the place of Buckley, and Seifert the place of Shannonhouse.

Though Sitton was "the bright star" of the game, Harvey, Maxwell, and Sadler also got "special mention" from The Greenville News and the News and Observer. The Constitution and The Greenville News said that Buckley was A&M's star; the News and Observer praised the playing of Shannonhouse and Welsh, and Gardner, while Red and White said that Shannonhouse, Welch, and Lykes did the best work (The Clemson College Chronicle, Vol. VII, No. 3 (December 1903), pp. 127-128; The Atlanta Constitution, October 29th, 1903, p. 13; Red and White, Vol. V, No. 4 (November 1903), pp. 11-12; The Agromeck, Vol. II (1904), p. 142; News and Observer, October 29th, 1903, p. 1; The Greenville Daily News, October 29th, 1903, p. 1

The Farmers had originally intended to play a second matchup against Clemson on November 7th, 1903, but the game ended up being canceled. Though no edition of the Red and White or The Agromeck mentioned a reason for the cancelation. The Clemson College Chronicle, on the other hand, was highly critical of A&M canceling the game, writing "Another game was fixed with A. & M., and the whole student body were eagerly looking forward to the struggle, when, after the sound wholliping which we gave them in Columbia, they decided that they had had enough of the Tiger's clawing and politely declined to meet us again on our own grounds" (The Clemson College Chronicle, Vol. VII, No. 3 (December 1903), p. 111). Though the sonud defeat the Aggies faced in their first match likely played a role in their cancelation, the heavy injuries the Farmers sustained in their game against Kentucky also likely played a hand in their decision. Clemson attempted to schedule a game against Virginia, who had lost their game against the Virginia Military Institute due to a sickness at VMI, but the game never materialized (The Atlanta Constitution, November 3rd, 1903, p. 9).