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  * Non-conference games

  * Non-conference games

A number of rule changes were enacted before the start of the 1903 season. The most important rule was a change in allowed quarterback play. Previously, the quarterback had been prevented from carrying the ball past the line of scrimmage. After the rule change, the quarterback was still allowed to advance the ball, so long as he ran more than 5 yards from the center of the field in either direction, and was inside either of the 25 yard lines. In the same area (between the two 25 yard lines) it was also required to have seven men on the line of scrimmage at all times; the point of these changes was to prevent the "mass plays" of previous years during most of the game, while allowing these plays to take place closer to the goal line. These rule changes also accompanied a change in field layout to accompany this change, requiring that lines be painted 5 yards apart parallel to the side lines (giving the center of the field a checkerboard appearance) in order to make seeing the movement of the quarterback easier.

Another more major change was the change in procedure after scoring. Formerly, after a team was scored upon, they were required to kick off. Under the new rules, the team was allowed to choose whether they wanted to kick or receive the ball. A few other more minor changes that were made included rules on what "armor" players could wear, making allowed items more strictly defined, changing the penalty for holding on offense from the loss of the ball to a 5 yard penalty, and allowing lineman to call penalties on offside plays, tripping, and roughing calls in place of the referee.

A final change made to the 1903 team was that of their necessary strategy. The "tackle back" formation smuggled to A&M in 1901 by Whitaker which had helped to bring the Red and White some success in the past was no longer a passable system to defeat most teams; they had figured out how to stop it (Red and White, Vol. IX No. 4 (December 1907), p. 157).

The schedule arranged by team manager Hunter in 1903 was one of the more ambitious schedules in A&M's history, playing just one "prep school" team and otherwise facing a list of fairly strong Southern teams. Oddly, the 1903 season saw a noticable dearth of games against North Carolina-based teams, a trend seen elsewhere in the state as well. The Farmers faced only one in-state team, the fewest in a season with more than two confirmed games. While this continued a trend from the previous years (1902 saw only 3 in-state matches, while 1901 had seen 6), the trend was not unique to A&M, and was mostly caused by a disinterest in playing smaller "prep school" teams rather than colleges intentionally shunning each other; at the time, the only major schools playing football were NC A&M, UNC, Guilford, and Davidson; Wake Forest and Trinity (Duke) had both banned the sport, and no other teams in the state were playing yet.

Indeed, the Charlotte Observer ran the following joke to poke fun at the lack of intrastate matches: "There is a story about an old broke and broken-down sport who had a passion for racing, and who had contrived to hold on to a stable of old broken-down rips of race horses which somebody said were so stiff and feeble that they couldn't even beat on another. These North Carolina football teams might see if they can beat one another." The Red and White reprinted the report and added that while they weren't sure why a game against Davidson was scheduled (and indeed one had been discussed as "Not definitely arranged" against Davidson in early October), he asserted that "the University [of North Carolina] team... consider[s] us too small a potato; they think we are unpedigreed, and without records, all of which may be true." The writer then went on to recall that A&M had tied UNC the previous year, insinuating that the White and Blue were afraid of being defeated (Red and White, Vol. 5, No. 4 (November 1903), pp. 15-16; News and Observer, October 2nd, 1903, p. 1).

The historical record shows that A&M had attempted to schedule a game against UNC, numerous times. The first attempt was a trip to Chapel Hill by team manager Hill M. Hunter on September 21st; his trip was unsuccessful. Later, it was reported in early October that A&M's team was "anxious" to play the White and Blue, but that UNC refused to play, even after a special trip was made to UNC by Dr. Whitaker and Gardner. So why was UNC so staunchly refusing to consider a football game between essentially their best in-state competition?

It appears that the reason UNC refused to play the Farmers was because of something extremely catty: gate receipts. Though no reports were made of this disagreement at the time, a report from 1904 upon the renewal of football relations between the two teams reported that UNC was upset after the 1902 match between the two teams in Raleigh; reportedly, A&M had allowed its students to use season tickets to watch the game, depriving the Tar Heels of some of their gate receipts (The (Kinston, NC) Daily Free Press, October 27th, 1904, p. 1).

Whatever the reason for UNC's refusal to play, it was apparently ameliorated by the 1903 baseball season, for the Wilmington Messenger ran the following: "A fine schedule has been arranged, and there will be two games of baseball and one of football with the University of North Carolina, all differences having been harmonized." UNC, for their part, also avoided most North Carolina-based teams in 1903, facing just Guilford and Oak Ridge (Red and White, Vol. V, No. 1 (September 1903), p. 22; The Asheville Daily Citizen, October 8th, 1903, p. 4; News and Observer, October 9th, 1903, p. 8; The Wilmington Messenger, December 13th, 1903, p. 5).

There could have been a number of reasons UNC refused to play A&M, but the exact reason is unclear. Perhaps UNC objected to the number of post-grad players (Welch and Gardner, and possibly others) on the Red and White team; or perhaps, the Farmers wished that Roberson--who had been a star player on A&M's team the previous year but transferred to UNC over the summer--sit out of the game, and the teams couldn't come to an agreement. Whatever the issue, the disagreement began some time after the 1902 football game; the 1903 UNC and A&M baseball teams failed to face each other, despite A&M playing every other major North Carolina-based team.

The 1903 season was a season of incredible highs and incredible lows for the A&M boys. The team started and stopped the season with tremendous wins, but also lost to most of the college teams they played, often by three scores or more. Much of this lackluster performance was caused by the injury of Gardner and Darden in the Guilford game; their injuries kept both players out of action for most of the season, a problem which was exacerbated by the fact that both players were among the best on the Farmers' team.

The Red and White began training on September 1st, and by September 20th, Dr. Joel Whitaker, former UNC star and longtime champion of A&M football, and former player Ceburn (C. D.) Harris ("one of the best men that ever charged a line for the A. and M. College"), in addition to the team captain, Gulley, were out training the team. Gulley was confident that "this year will be brilliant in the history of athletics at the A. and M.," with nine of the previous years' starters reported as returning to play. In addition to those starters, the freshman class was reported to be unusually good, with 30-40 players vying for a spot on the team. One report on all of the state's main teams said that "No college team in the state has made more progress in the last few years" than the Farmers, with the previous years' team being regarded as "one of the strongest in the south." By September 27th it was announced that the coach was Arthur Devlin, with Whitaker working as an assistant coach (The (Raleigh) Morning Post, October 4th, 1903, p. 6; News and Observer, September 20th, 1903, p. 4; The Wilmington Messenger, September 27th, 1903, p. 5).

In Red and White, former captain O. Max Gardner warned students not to anticipate too much success, writing that "we have good men on the athletic field," but that "in the mind of many students... A. & M. has reached a place in football where there are no more worlds to conquer," admitting that despite their good players and rigorous training, the other teams would be putting in just as much work. He also added a caution to the team to behave well in public, writing that "There have been men on our football teams who were totally devoid of the first principles of good behavior.... Let our men be spoken of as gentlemen, and if they are not victorious, defeat will not be so stinging" (Red and White, Vol. 5, No. 1 (September 1903), pp. 14-15).

Gardner's writing here was probably a reference to Harwood Beebe, a Civil Engineering student from Baltimore, Maryland. A star on the 1902 football team, Beebe was expelled on September 3rd, 1903 after he and a second student, Athur Coffin, were caught hazing. Beebe and Coffin's expulsion created some controversy among the upper classes: the Sophomore, Junior, and Senior classes all submitted petitions urging the Board of Trustees to reinstate the two upperclassmen. The petitions failed to alter the outcome of the decision, as President Winston "was requested to state to the student body that the faculty appreciated highly the attitude of the students towards hazing, and their general interest in putting an end to the practice." On September 8th, the Board agreed to form a committee consisting of President Winston and Commandant Phelps to reconsider the issue after receiving letters from the parents of both Beebe and Coffin urging the faculty to reconsider the matter. On September 22nd, the committee concluded that the students would not be allowed to return. (Meeting Minutes 1897-1911 (Volume 2), North Carolina State University, Faculty Meeting Records, UA 002.004, NC State University Libraries Special Collections Research Center - p. 271-272, 274).

After learning that UNC's season opener the week prior resulted in a defeat of Guilford by only 15 points, the Farmers likely felt it necessary, given the Tar Heel's refusal to schedule a game against them, to show their superiority to their in-state rivals in blue by defeating Guilford as much as possible. The Farmers did that, but at a price, injuring Gardner and Darden in the process. Additionally, several other players sustained more mimor injuries in the game. After a trip to Virginia for a close loss against VMI, the Farmers got embarrassed at the hands of what was then one of their closest rivals, VPI (Virginia Tech), despite being composed of several experienced players; the Maroon and Orange were simply too good. After regaining a little face by defeating the only non-college team on their 1903 schedule, a surprisingly-strong DMI team, the Farmers went on to drop games against a powerful Clemson team and a purported-champion Kentucky University (now Transylvania University) team. The Farmers ended the year on a positive note, narrowly edging out South Carolina before annihilating an otherwise-successful (but not unbeatable) Richmond team. The season still ended on a damper, however, after the Aggies' anticipated Thanksgiving Day game against Washington & Lee was cancelled after a breakout of typhoid fever struck Lexington, VA, specifically on the VMI and W&L campuses.

At the end of the season, L. F. Abernathy, of Hickory, NC, was elected captain of the next year's team, while Julian Howard, of Tarboro, NC, former assistant manager, was elected team manager. Perhaps in response to the fairly large amount of off-campus games played by the Farmers, the Red and White baseball team was fairly limited in their away games in 1903, with an article giving a general update on A&M athletics writing "The faculty do not deem it advisable to allow the [baseball] team to spend too much time away from college," adding that "Most of the games will be played in Raleigh" (The (Raleigh) Morning Post, November 29th, 1903, p. 3).

Despite the mid-season slump, the 1903 football season was still widely considered successful for a number of reasons. First, the team was made of a primary base of players, who, for the most part, only rotated for injuries. Secondly, despite the poor record, the Farmers did not have the advantage of scores of weak local prep school teams to boost their scores. As the Red and White put it, "Members of the present Senior Class can easily recall the days when a football victory over Guilford was an occasion for a celebration, and hopes of scoring on Davidson comprised the aim of the whole football season. But to-day the football eleven carries out creditably a schedule embracing many of the greater institutions of the South, and A. and M. celebrates only when some of the larger colleges have fallen victims to her hard playing" (Red and White, Vol. V, No. 5 (December 1903), p. 21).

Following the success, big changes were coming. Coach Devlin left A&M almost immediately after the football season closed; by December 14th, it was public knowledge that the football coach and perennial local baseball star had been signed by the Giants of the New York National League Baseball Club. Devlin departed before the baseball season he had been expected to coach, leaving a vacancy in the head coach position that was later plugged with former all-around A&M athlete C. D. Welch. At the time, it was expected that Devlin would be replaced with Roscoe P. McClave, a fullback from Princeton. (The (Baltimore) Sun, December 15th, 1903, p. 9; News and Observer, December 15th, 1903, p. 6).

McClave was a significantly more reputable coach than any coach who had previously coached the Farmers. So why did the Aggies think they would be getting such a comparatively high-profile coach? Almost every previous coach had been primarily a local football star, with the notable exception of Devlin, who was primarily at the school for his job coaching baseball, and spent much of his free time playing on local baseball teams. The answer: an increase in funding.

Previously, the Red and White had been funded by students purchasing copies of Red and White; the magazine was the official organ of the school's Athletic Association, and all profits from the magazine went towards supporting the school's sports. However, the magazine was not extremely profitable; as the editors opined multiple times, most students preferred to borrow the copy of a friend rather than purchase their own. The Athletic Association created a twelve-man committee, led by Gardner, who explained their grievances to the school and proposed a fee-based system on December 4th, 1903. While the sport was on the table for payment, the faculty members renewed their attempts to end school's support of the sport. Despite his vacation of his coaching positions, Devlin delivered an impassioned speech in favor of keeping football, saying the sport was "essentially part of a man's college training" and "particularly adapted to a military institution." After additional talks by Capt. Phelps (Instructor of Military Science and Tactics and head of the school's ROTC program), William Richardson (senior and captain of the track team), Charles A. Seifert (junior and prominent school football player), Charles W. Martin (champion declaimer and winner of the Leazar Literary Society's annual debate's gold medal), and Gardner, the faculty agreed on December 15th to approve the fee (Red and White, Vol. V, No. 6 (December 17, 1903), p. 26).

For the first time in school history, students would be fined $1 (just under $30 in 2019) per student per year, with the first fee being collected in Jaunary 1904 and the following years' at the beginning of fall, with money going primarily towards a gymnasium. Riddick had strongly encouraged a $2 fee, but other members of the athletic association felt that fee would be too steep. Though the Athletic Association collected $500 from the fee, Gardner pressed for additional funding for a formal, full-time coach and physical training instructor. Riddick's opinion turned out to also be favored by the entire student body, though; in mid-March, the entire 355-person student body signed a petition asking the faculty to raise the athletic fee from $1 per year to $2 per year, writing that "$1,000 will not hire a first class man for an entire year." The Board of Trustees consented, and gave another $500 to the Athletic Association, giving the Association $1000 total (just over $29,000 in 2019). The fees led to the Athletic Association having "money left in the treasury" for "the first time in a number of years" at the start of the baseball season (Meeting Minutes 1897-1911 (Vol. 2), North Carolina State University, Faculty Meeting Records, UA 002.004, NC State University Libraries Special Collections Research Center – paper located between p. 288 and 289; Red and White, Vol. V, No. 10 (March 1903), p. 21).

Though McClare never ended up coming to A&M, the money proffered by the Board of Trustees did bring William Kienholtz, of Minnesota, to A&M. Though Kienholtz stayed only 1 season in Raleigh, with him he brought the sensational Wilson brothers, who would prove to be premier halfbacks on A&M's coming teams (Beezley, pp. XX).