10/1/1904 - at Virginia Military Institute

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Coming off an absolute blowout of a game against Guilford, the Aggies headed northward to Lexington, Virginia, where they met the Cadets of the Virginia Military Institute. After the win, some changes were reportedly made to shore up some of their weak spots. Other more obvious changes were made as well: Arthur "Babe" Wilson's brother, Harlan "Curley" Wilson, fellow halfback from Knoxville, Illinois, joined the Farmers team, both following their coach from his former Lombard College in Galesburg, Ill. The A&M team left for Virginia on Friday morning. The team also returned former-starter Hadley (The (Raleigh) Morning Post, October 1st, 1904, p. 2).


A photo of VMI's team from The Bomb (1905), p. 138.

The VMI team was a bit more of an unknown going into the game: tThey had not played a game yet that season. Local papers reported that "considerable interest" was being taken in the team in 1904; VMI's coach, W. W. Roper, received assistance at the start of the season by three former Cadets, along with two other adult coaches. The team reportedly returned only three of its previous year's members, but papers reminded readers that the "strong aggregation" from A&M had lost to the Lexington boys the previous year (The Lexington (Va.) Gazette, September 21st, 1904, p. 3; The Lexington (Va.) Gazette, September 28th, 1904, p. 3).


Roster

A&M VMI
L. Sykes RE Steele
Gardner RT Duncan
Perkins RG Stude
T. Sykes C Race
Hadley LG Frazier
Abernathy (Capt.) LT James
Gregory LE Graves
Saddler QB Bain
A. Wilson RHB Caffee
Hardy LHB Dodson
Watkins FB Massy
SUB Sinclair
SUB Beckner

Source


Period Time Description NCSU VMI
1st unk NCSU - A. Wilson - 30 yd Defensive Fumble Recovery (Watkins kick) 0 plays, 30 yards, TOP unk 6 0

NCSU Opponent
Rushing TDs none 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 Wilson (1) none
PATs Watkins (1/1) none
2PT: N/A/ prior to 1958 N/A/ prior to 1958
FGs none none
Safety: none none
Game Notes:
Kick Off Time: unknown - 10/1/1904 - at Virginia Military Institute
Length: 30 (15 / 15) - Duration: unk
Attendance: unknown
Location: Parade Ground - Lexington, VA
Temperature: ???
Weather: ???
Wind: ???

Not many details of the game were recorded, and those that were recorded almost all directly contradict each other.

The game was played in two 15 minute halves. The Red and White said that though VMI's team was "exceptionally strong," the game was in the Farmers favor throughout, reporting that VMI was in scoring distance "only once," adding that the ball was advanced primarily by quarterback kicks, but that the Raleigh boys' defense was "impregnable." The Red and White's summary closed by adding that the coach said the treament of the students in Lexington was "extremely courteous" by both Washington & Lee and the VMI cadets, a stark contrast from the reported poor treatment the Red and White received the previous year. The Red and White also lamented that "the officials slightly favored V. M. I.," occaisionally letting 12 or 13 men on the field for VMI instead of usual substitutions.

Reports from Lexington, on the other hand, said that the ball was primarily in A&M's territory, suggesting that the VMI Cadets controlled the ball most of the game, especially in the second half. The Gazette also reported that "both sides made frequent fumbles" and that the sole touchdown of the game was made on a fluke. The Lexington paper also added that in the second half the Aggies were twice "dangerously near their opponents' goal line," but that the Farmers failed to convert both, losing the ball once on downs and fumbling the ball the other time.

The sole score of the game came on a 30 yard fumble recovery by "Babe" Wilson; the run was described in the Red and White as "phenomenal." After Wilson's touchdown, Watkins made the goal kick to set the score at 6-0 in favor of the Farmers. After that score, which took place in the first half, there was no more scoring for the remainder of the game (Red and White, Vol. VI No. 2 (October 1904), pp. 100-101; The Lexington (Va.) Gazette, October 5th, 1904, p. 3; Virginian-Pilot, October 2nd, 1904, p. 16).

This win was a big moral victory for the Farmers. Though VMI was historically a middling team in roughly the same position as A&M, they were known for defending their home turf ferociously. The claim was made that the Cadets had not lost a game on their home field in 12 years at the time of the A&M game. The claim was close to the truth: VMI had not recorded a loss at home since 1896, in 8 years, though there had been ties. However, most of VMI's games against major opponents were played away from Lexington; worse teams were generally played on the Cadets' grounds. However, in general, this win shows improvement by the Farmers over their previous teams.

After their loss to the Aggies, the Cadets went on to amass a 3-5 record, losing 0-12 at Navy, 0-17 at Virginia, 6-12 at home against St. John's College's medical team at home, and 5-17 against Virginia Polytechnic in Roanoke, while defeating a group of Marine Officers 26-6, Davidson 6-0, and Augusta Military Academy of Fort Defiance, Va. 27-0, all at home. Overall, the Lexington team performed respectably in 1904, losing most games they would have been expected to (UVA, Navy, VPI), winning games they should have (Marine Officers, Augusta Military Academy), and roughly splitting the remaining three toss-ups with A&M, Davidson, and St. John's.

Last updated: 7/16/2024