Return to the 1905 season page
The Farmers came into their final game of the season with optimism: though Davidson had traditionally been one of the stronger teams in the state. The Aggies had met the Presbyterians four times before, first facing off in 1899. The Red and Black of Davidson had a slight lead in the series, leading 2-1-1. The teams had not met since 1902, though there had been tentative plans for the two colleges to meet in 1904 which fell through. In 1905, though, the Farmers were "confident of carrying off the honors," despite the fact that Davidson was expected to put up some good resistance (The Raleigh Evening Times, November 28th, 1905, p. 6).
After the UNC game, the Farmers attempted to arrange a game against Virginia Polytechnic Institute, to take place either November 18th or the following week. The main reason the Farmers wanted to arrange this game was to answer the question of who was the best team in North Carolina, as VPI had defeated UNC 6-35. Unfortunately for the Aggies, the Blacksburg boys declined the meeting, wanting to stay in their best shape before their Thanksgiving Day game against the Navy, which they went on to lose 6-12. As such, the Techs had a 2-week break before their final game of the season, though the VPI team agreed to meet the Farmers in 1906 (The Charlotte News, November 15th, 1905, p. 1; News and Observer, November 17th, 1905, p. 2).
Davidson, for their part, were having just as strong a season in 1905 as promised. They opened their season with a 0-6 loss to UNC on October 7th. Ten days later, in their sole home game of the year, the Black and Red defeated Oak Ridge by a score of either 75 or 76 to 0--reports differ. Just three days later, on October 20th, Davidson met Auburn in Birmingham, Alabama, and won 6-0. A week later, the Presbyterians traveled up to Charlottesville to take on Virginia, who defeated them 11-0. On November 4th, the Davidson boys met South Carolina in Charlotte and lost their third game of the season, this time by a score of 4-6, but rebounded the next week, taking down the Virginia Military Institute with a score of 8-6. Coming in to their game in Winston-Salem, the Black and Red had a 3-3, but with several close games over the region's juggernauts (Virginia and North Carolina) and a win over an Auburn team who the year prior had been co-champion of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association. Though the Farmers were confident in an easy win, the football fans of the state were not so sure. One article wrote that two teams were "Unusually Evenly Matched," describing the results of each team so far in the season (The Winston-Salem Journal, November 30th, 1905, p. 1).
Davidson had also recently been in the news for a class dispute involving much of the sophomore class. After three members of the Sophomore class were expelled for reported hazing of some members of the freshman class, the entire sophomore class (except for six students), number about 75 boys total, threatened to leave the college if their friends were not reinstated. Much like the 1904 "Thug Movement" at A&M, the movement was scorned by the college administrators; the expelled students were not readmitted, and the vast majority of the sophomores (who even received some backing from the freshman class) returned to college (Charlotte Daily Observer, October 22nd, 1905, p. 1; The Tar Heel, October 26th, 1905, p. 4; The (Statesville, NC) Landmark, October 27th, 1905, p. 4).
A&M | Davidson | |
---|---|---|
Gregory (Capt.) | RE | Moore (Capt.) |
Beebe | RT | Whitaker |
White | RG | Daniels |
Lykes | C | Stockard |
Sykes | LG | Lentz |
Cardy | LT | Croom |
Tull | LE | Moore |
Steele* | QB | Long |
Wilson | RHB | McCon |
Hardie | LHB | Hicks |
Shaw | FB | Jones |
*One source listed this player as "Cromer," but as Steele was described in the game description and never Cromer, this was likely a mistake.
Period | Time | Description | NCSU | ORI |
---|---|---|---|---|
1st | unk | NCSU - Steele - unk yd Run (UNKNOWN kick) unk plays, unk yards, TOP unk | 6 | 0 |
2nd | unk | NCSU - Beebe - unk yd Field Goal - unk plays, unk yards, TOP unk | 10 | 0 |
NCSU | Opponent | Rushing TDs | Steele (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 | UNKNOWN (1/1) | none |
2PT: | N/A/ prior to 1958 | N/A/ prior to 1958 |
FGs | Beebe (1/1) | Jones (0/2) |
Safety: | none | none |
Length: 52.5 (27.5 / 25) - Duration: unk Attendance: 1,500 Location: Fairview Park - Winston-Salem, NC (N) Temperature: ??? Weather: Drizzle Wind: ??? |
Unfortunately, not many details of the game have survived, probably because most football fans were more interested in the result of the yearly UNC-UVA football game. There was reportedly a fairly large and enthusiastic crowd despite some fairly cold and rainy weather; the viewers reportedly slowed the playing of the game slightly, as they crowded onto the field from the sidelines several times. Despite their enthusiasm, local journalists wrote that "six out of every ten of the spectators would not have known how the score stood."
The game was played in two halves, one of 27-1/2 minutes and one of 25 minutes, and started at 3 PM. The sole touchdown of the game was made on a long run by Steele in the first half; the goal kick was evidently made, but the kicker not noted. Beebe made the Farmers' other 4 points in the second half, making a drop kick goal (akin to a modern-day field goal). Jones of Davidson reportedly made two "trials at the goal" (probably attempted drop kick goals) but failed both of them.
Though both teams played well in general, the ball was kept in Davidson territory for almost the entirety of the game, and the Farmers failed to make the requisite distance to gain only a few times. As The Winston-Salem Journal put it, the Davidson boys "were nicely outweighted [sic], but hardly outplayed, in any stage of the game." Davidson's defense also played especially well.
There were, however, some other negative aspects to the Farmers' game. The Aggies were injured slightly several times throughout the game, though only once was "snake-bite medicine" needed to revive an injured Farmer. Additionally, the Farmers again faced troubles with frequent penalties, as well as "several costly fumbles at critical moments."
Steele was one of the big stars of the game. Both available papers from Winston-Salem wrote in awe about how played with none of the already-minimal protection of the day. "That fellow Steel [sic]," wrote The Western Sentinel, "played gilt edge ball. He was continually being called upon to do the work and he never failed to deliver 'the goods.' He wore no shield--just trusted to luck and she took pretty good care of him, for he came out of the game in first class condition, not a scratch being visible. He seemed to be possessed of as many lives as a cat, for time and again he was on the bottom side of a mass of human muscle, that was very much alive." Steele was also reported to have made several impressive hurdles and long runs. Other stars for the Aggies were Beebe, Wilson, and Tull. No particular Davidson players were praised in surviving reports of the game (The Winston-Salem Journal, December 1st, 1905, p. 1; The (Winston-Salem) Western Sentinel, December 7th, 1905, p. 2; News and Observer, December 1st, 1905, p. 1; (Greensboro, NC) Daily Industrial News, December 1st, 1905, p. 2).
This was the final game of the season for both teams.
Last updated: 6/4/2024