11/23/1903 - Richmond

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The Red and Blue of Richmond had been playing football pretty well in 1903, making its "best showing... in years." (The (Richmond) Times-Dispatch, November 5th, 1903, p. 7). Coming in to their game against A&M, the Richmond team had won all of their games but two, and only one loss, having defeated the Petersburg YMCA 38-0, Fredericksburg College 34-0, Hampden-Sydney 23-0, Columbia College (now George Washington University) 22-6, William & Mary 24-0, and Randolph-Macon 16-0; the only two games the "Preachers" (as Raleigh papers dubbed the team) had not won was an 11-11 tie against an unusually powerful Danville Military Institute eleven and a 0-11 loss to the perennially-powerful Washington & Lee team. Their most recent game was the victory over Randolph-Macon, their usual rival and a yearly contender for second-best team in Virginia (the only real achievement most Virginian teams could hope for at the time, owing to UVA's domination of the sport).

The Farmers were also coming off a sort of victory-high, having narrowly won their game against South Carolina. After succumbing to a number of injuries early in the season (and having a fair number of slight injuries in their game against South Carolina), the Aggies had mostly recovered and had a large and healthy roster of players. Local papers predicted it would be "one of the finest contests of the season" (The (Raleigh) Morning Post, November 22nd, 1903, p. 5).


Roster

A&M Richmond
Gulley (Capt.) RE Frazer or Sutherland*
Gardner RT Snead
Neal RG Anderton or Kenny*
Hadley C Webster (Capt.)**
Wilson LG Powell
Abernathy LT Hudgins
Gregory LE Woodfin
Buckley QB Toombs
Shannonhouse RHB Wright
Welch LHB Mench
Miller FB Bowen
Koon SUB
Asbury SUB
Darden SUB
Seifert SUB

Source 1, Source 2, Source 3, Sourcce 4 (No. 1 pp. 50-51, No. 2-3 pp. 109-110)

*Sutherland and Kenny were both normally "scrub team" players; in both cases, the former may have started while the latter subbed in later.

**Acting captain; their usual captain was Smith. Smith attended the game, but did not play, possibly because he was exhausted from their game against Hampden-Sydney on 11/21.


Period Time Description NCSU GUIL
1st unk NCSU - Shannonhouse - 3 yd Run (Miller kick failed) 3 plays, 28-38 yards, TOP unk 5 0
1st unk NCSU - Abernathy - 60 yd Run (Miller kick) 3 plays, 93 yards, TOP unk 11 0
1st unk NCSU - Welch - 45 yd Run (Miller kick) 2 plays, 70 yards, TOP unk 17 0
1st unk NCSU - Wilson - 15 yd Run (Miller kick) 3 plays, 35 yards, TOP unk 23 0
1st unk NCSU - Miller - 10 yd Run (Miller kick) 3 plays, 30 yards, TOP unk 29 0
1st unk NCSU - Gulley - 40 yd Run (Miller kick) 2 plays, 85 yards, TOP unk 35 0
2nd unk NCSU - Koon - unk yd Run (Miller kick) 7 plays, 49+ yards, TOP unk 41 0
2nd unk NCSU - Abernathy - 20 yd Run (Miller kick) 1 play, 20 yards, TOP unk 47 0
2nd unk NCSU - Wilson - unk yd Run (Miller kick) 5 play, 21+ yards, TOP unk 53 0

NCSU Opponent
Rushing TDs Abernathy (2), Wilson (2), Gulley (1), Koon (1), Shannonhouse (1), Welch (1) none
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 Miller (7/8) none
2PT: N/A/ prior to 1958 N/A/ prior to 1958
FGs none none
Safety: none none
Game Notes:
Kick Off Time: 3:30 PM - 11/23/1903 - Richmond
Length: 35 (20 / 15) - Duration: unk
Attendance: 350
Location: Fair Grounds - Raleigh, NC
Temperature: ???
Weather: ???
Wind: ???

Before the game, Captains Smith and Gulley agreed to play two halves, one of 20 minutes and a second of 15 minutes. The News and Observer wrote that Smith won the toss and chose to defend the North goal (a fact the Red and White agreed with), receiving the kick, while The Morning Post wrote that Gulley won the toss and chose to kick off from the South goal. Either way, the Preachers started with the ball at the North goal.

Miller started the game by kicking the ball 40-45 yards. Mench returned the kick but was tackled after just 3 yards of gain. "Here," wrote the News and Observer, "Richmond showed her strongest offensive work of the day." After Wright and Powell made two short gains of 1 yard apiece, Mench broke through for 7 yards, earning the Red and Blue their first first down. On the next play, Richmond fumbled the ball and "House" (Shannonhouse) fell on the ball. On their first carry, though, the Aggies fumbled the ball, giving control back to the Preachers. After two carries for no gain by Bowen and Hudgins, the Red and White were penalized for an offsides play, giving the Spiders 5 yards and a new set of downs. After that, Mench, Wright, and Bowen combined for 6 yards in three plays--just enough to get a first down--but subsequent carries by Hudgins and Wright turned up short, giving the ball back to the Raleigh boys. Immediately after getting the ball, Abernathy tore off a 20-25 yard run, followed by a 5-10 yard run by Gardner. Shannonhouse carried the ball the final 3 yards across the goal line. After Miller missed the goal kick, the score became 5-0 in favor of the Farmers.

Though no time was given for the first score, the Red and White article said that after the first score was made, a touchdown was made every 4 minutes of the half. Also after the first touchdown, the News and Observer stopped summarizing the game, writing "From this point on it would cause the supporters of the Red and Blue much agony, if we were to go into details," adding that the Red and White's playing was so fast that "it would have taken a person familiar with the Marconi system [morse code] to take notes." The Morning Post, however, did not fear similarly hurting the Richmondites' sensibilities (News and Observer, November 24th, 1903, p. 5).

The second touchdown of the game did not take much longer to score. Richmond kicked the ball 30 yards to Buckley, who returned the ball to midfield. After Buckley's return, Welch drove the ball 8 yards, followed by a 25 yard run by Miller. Abernathy ran the ball the remaining distance of the drive for the touchdown. The Morning Post wrote that he ran the ball 60 yards on this final drive, but given the length of the other plays, this seems grandiose. Either way, A&M made the touchdown and Miller made the goal kick, making the score 11-0.

Miller kicked off this time, sending the ball to Richmond's 15 yard line, the ball "came back" 10 yards. After runs for no gain by Snead, Mench, and Bowen, the Preachers kicked the ball away, sending it 25 yards further from their goal. In catching Richmond's kick, Buckley was tackled for a huge 10 yard loss, but managed to retain control of the ball. On a fake kick, "House" advanced the ball 25 yards. After a run for no gain, Welch tried a second time and broke through the line for a 45 yard gain and a touchdown. Miller kicked his second goal kick to make the score 17-0.

Miller kicked the ball off a second time, this time sending it to Richmond's 25 yard line. Richmond advanced the kick 20 yards, and then elected to kick it 10 yards further up field. Despite this, A&M reportedly got the ball on Richmond's 35 yard line. After a 5 yard gain by Welch and a 15 yard run by Neal, Wilson ran the remaining distance for a touchdown. Miller again made his goal kick, and the score became 23-0.

This time, Richmond elected to kick off, sending the ball to A&M's 25 yard line. Gulley returned the kick 55 yards with the help of some "fine interference." After Gulley's run, Welch went on a 15 yard tear, followed by a 5 yard gain by Neal. Finally, Miller ran the remaining distance to earn the game's fifth touchdown and kick his fourth goal kick setting the score at 29-0 in favor of the Farmers.

Richmond kicked the ball again to A&M's 25 yard line. Buckley opened the drive off with a strong 45 yard run. Immediately after Buckley's large gain, Gulley covered the remaining distance. Miller kicked his fifth straight goal kick, making the score 35-0. At that point, time was called, and the first half ended.

Richmond opened up the second half by kicking the ball, delivering yet another 25 yard boot. Asbury returned the kick 25 yards to midfield, but fumbled the ball, giving Richmond control of the ball. Mench and Snead both made a 3 yard run, but after two 1 yard runs that came up just short by Bowen and Hudgins, the Aggies got control of the ball back. After Wilson failed to make any gains, Miller booted the ball 35 yards closer to Richmond's goal line, and Koon hit the Richmond runner before they could advance. Koon's hit dislodged the ball, which Gulley scooped up. Buckley resumed the Farmers' gains with a 25 yard run, and after a 3 yard gain by Darden, Seifert broke away for a 12 yard gain. After 3 more runs by Neal, Abernathy, and Miller, Koon ran the remaining distance required to cross the goal line. Miller made yet another kick, and the Farmers were up 41-0.

The next Red and White touchdown did not take long. Miller kicked the ball 35 yards, to the Red and Blue 15 yard line. The Spiders' catcher fumbled the catch, which allowed Gregory to fall on top of the ball, 20 yards from Richmond's goal line. On the very next play, Abernathy broke through the line for a touchdown. After a seventh straight goal kick by Miller, the score became 47-0 in favor of the Aggies.

The final score of the game took a bit longer. Miller kicked the ball to Richmond's 25 yard line, and A&M stopped the runner in their tracks. Toombs lost 3 yards which were subsequently recovered by Webster, but the Red and Blue drive had stalled, and they elected to kick the ball away, sending the leather 30 yards down field. Asbury caught the kick and returned it half that distance. After the return, the Red and White fumbled the ball, ceding control to the Preachers, but Richmond immediately fumbled themselves. After a 5 yard push by Seifert, Neal carried the ball 15 yards. After a total gain of 1 yard by Wilson and Abernathy, Wilson took the ball a second time and drove the ball across the Richmond goal line. Miller made his eighth straight goal kick to put the Farmers up 53-0.

Reported stars for the game were, for A&M, all sources agreed that Abernathy and Shannonhouse were the stars of the game, while two of the three main summaries of the game also gave praise to Gulley and Buckley, while Welch, Gregory, and Hadley were described positively by one summary each. For Richmond, Wright, Bowen, and Toombs were praised for their work (News and Observer, November 24th, 1903, p. 5; The (Raleigh) Morning Post, November 24th, 1903, p. 5; Red and White, Vol. V, No. 5 (December 1903), pp. 25-26).

The only estimation of the score of the game came from a bitter report in the Richmond Times-Dispatch, who lamented that "It was really a featureless game" and that the spectators' "principal gratification was that the home team had things their way" (The (Richmond) Times-Dispatch, November 24th, 1903, p. 7). Because no Raleigh papers commented on the small attendance of the game, it seems unlikely that the attendance was actually this low, but with no other estimations to go off of, we have no evidence it was low.

Last updated: 6/4/2024