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  * Non-conference games

  * Non-conference games

Following the early departure of Willie Heston from A&M in 1906, the Farmers began yet another coaching search. While Willie Heston had successfully continued implementing a Western style of play at A&M (following the efforts of George S. Whitney and Heston), his results had been middling, with the number of ties (4) exceeding the wins (3). While Heston had left mid-season of his own volition, clearly, the feeling was mutual.

It's not exactly when or why the A&M faculty decided on Milton Morris "Mickey" (or, frequently, "Michie") Whitehurst; newspapers in North Carolina did not mention Whitehurst's name until late September, when pre-season write-ups were getting written. A departure from their trend of Western coaches, Whitehurst had been the coach of Western Maryland (now McDaniel College) from 1901-1906, compiling a modest 28-24-2 record against a strong Maryland region. While at Western Maryland, Whitehurst also managed the baseball team, at least for the summer immediately preceding his employment by A&M, and was active through June (The (Westminster, MD) Democratic Advocate, June 21st, 1907, p. 2).

"Mickey" arrived in Raleigh some time in late August or early September and immediately had the squad out practicing. The Farmers returned only five of their starters from their 1906 campaign, including speedy halfbacks Beebe and Captain F. M. Thompson (who would transition to fullback for most of his Junior season), and Stephens at quarterback, as well as Stroud, Sykes, and McKinnon, along with promising material from the scrub team in the form of Sadler, Bray, Von Glahn, and new try-outs Lattimore and Seifert (News and Observer, September 26th, 1907, p. 5).

Despite the high amount of returning star-power heading up a strong group of 48 prospects and the "excellent record" of Dr. Whitehurst, the tone of Red and White's incipient article was glum, opening with the line "The prospects for a heavy eleven are not bright," and retrospective histories of the team agreed, with Joel Whitaker's 1907 history of the team writing that prospects were "hardly as bright as they had been for the past four years" (Joel Whitaker, p. 158). The newspapers were, per usual, more optimistic, with the N&O heralding Whitehurst as "the best coach in [A&M's] history" before the season even started (News and Observer, September 26th, 1907, p. 5).

Part of the gloom around the coming season likely stemmed from the loss of one of the biggest stars in A&M history, "Babe" Wilson. Wilson had came to A&M in 1904 with coach W. S. Kienholz and played until 1906. At that juncture, however, disputes regarding his eligibility raised by vairous Southern institutions proved to be too problematic. As such, he spent the season as a chemistry instructor at A&M before eventually going on to play at Cornell in 1908 (News and Observer, October 9th, 1908, p. 5).

Whitehurst took advantage of the light weight of his football team, which ran contrary to the traditional Southern style of play at the time. "Mickey" kept A&M's style of play similar to the Western style they had used the past few seasons, emphasizing speed and strength. Whitehurst noted that he was eager to develop a "fast, aggressive eleven with thorough knowledge of the game" (Red and White, Vol. IX No. 1 (September 1907), pp. 32-33). Mickey succeeded; remembered as the "best offensive coach A&M ever had" in his time (C. D. Harris, p. 180), Whitehurst was particularly renowned for his ability to coax the best talent possible out of his players (Joel Whitaker, p. 158)

There were more changes coming to the Farmers than just the coach: the Farmers' uniforms got an update. Changing from jerseys with maroon and white stripes on the sleeves and stockings (see here) of years' past, the new jerseys had "a four inch maroon stripe at the sleeve biceps and white stockings with a four-inch stripe at the calf" (see here or here).

Additionally, the Farmers held an "athletic hop." Reportedly the first such dance held to raise money for the coming athletic season, the dance was held from 9 PM to 11:45 in the new Pullen Auditorium on the night of Saturday, September 28th; music was furnished by the popular Levin's Orchestra (News and Observer, September 26th, 1907, p. 6). The Farmers had done a few fundraisers before: in 1893, an expanded program required a lawn party hosted by "some friendly ladies" to complete funding for the seaosn; and around 1906 while Arthur Bowen was soliciting donations for what eventually became Riddick Field on a 10% commission (Beezley, p. 18). However, this was the first time the Farmers raised money without a specific objective in mind.

Let by Captain Frank Thompson, the Red and White's first game on Monday, September 30th, against Randolph-Macon. Their first September game since 1905, when the Aggies pulled off a 5-0 win over VMI. There was a great deal of trepidation about the first game due to the number of changed aspects from the year before. Despite that fear, the Techs won an easy 20-0 game played before a crowd of about 800. Though some authors (namely Thad Mumau) claim that this was the first game ever played on what later became Riddick Field, that is not the case; the field was finished party-way through the previous season (Mumau, p. 31). The bleachers were, however, expanded following the R-MC game to hold nearly 600 rooters, meaning the crowd of 800 was above-capacity (News and Observer, October 1st, 1907, p. 6).

The Farmers continued to roll through their season; after a cancelation by William & Mary, the Aggies defeated a strong Richmond team 7-4 and a 22-0 win over Roanoke. Unfortunately for the Farmers, though, Capt. Thompson was injured during the game against the Spiders; though he started the following game against Roanoke, he was pulled at halftime due to his injury.

Thankfully, however, Thompson recovered by the next time they met the Blue and Red of Richmond, helping lead the Aggies on an 11-0 home victory for their third-consecutive home shut-out of the season (fourth if the previous season is included). There had been tentative plans at various times throughout the season to play at George Washington (probably at the request of Coach Whitehurst, who would have been familiar with the staff at George Washington thanks to his time at Western Maryland), however, the plan never materialized, likely due to the fact that GW played a game on the proposed date (Cherry Tree, 1908, p. 326).

After a long break, the Farmers faced off against Davidson in a neutral-site game in Charlotte. Regarded as the game to determine who won the laurels of State Champion, the Red and Black of Davidson proved to be stiff competition. Some of the Presbyterian fans felt that their team had been cheated by officiating--a feeling which would be amplified further after it was announced that Thompson and Sykes were forbore from playing against Virginia due to eligibility constraints.

Before the season finale (an exciting neutral-site game against Virginia in Norfolk), though, a hastily-arranged game against a group of North Carolina-based football stars was organized. Prior to the Stars game, the closest the Red and White had come to losing was their first game against Richmond, when an errant field goal prevented the Spiders from taking the lead. In the All-Stars game, the Aggies were a missed goal kick (extra point kick) away from losing their only game of the season. The Farmers played against two of their own teammates (Sykes and Thompson) to practice playing without their captain and an experienced star in the coming UVA game.

The touchdown Sykes scored on the Aggies was the first point given up at home by the Farmers since their 1903 South Carolina game, which the Farmers won 6-5. Even more notably, though, was that the player who scored on the Farmers was still an Aggie: though playing for the opponents, Sykes made the goal. That means that NC A&M was unscored upon at home by a member who did not represent A&M from November 1903 until October 1909, when A&M beat Kentucky 15-6. Also a matter of some interest is that some observers said Thompson, the kicker, intentionally missed the goal kick which would have earned a victory for the All-Stars. It also would have interrupted an at-home undefeated streak that instead lasted from November 2nd, 1903 (0-18 vs Kentucky University) until October 17th, 1912, when Georgetown obliterated the Farmers 48-to-nothing.

The season culminated in an exciting come-from-behind win over Virginia in Norfolk; watched by a split crowd of 10,000 fans, the game was played on Thanksgiving and coincided with Jamestown's 1907 Exposition, as well as the Exposition's Raleigh Day. Though playing without Captain Thompson or Sykes, Stephens took the helm of the team and led the Aggies to an exciting victory over one of the region's traditional powerhouses.

The caveat that prevented Thompson and Sykes from playing against UVA was that both men were playing for their fifth year, breaking Virginia's eligibility rule. Though in accordance with A&M's own eligibility rules (adopted in 1906) which included aspects about professionalism and credit hour requirements, the Farmers soon dropped scrapped them to be in accordance with UVA and UNC's set of rules, which were more strict, to prevent such conflicts in the future (Beezley, pp. 17-18).

Notably, the 1907 eleven was the first Red and White aggregation to earn a title. Though modern resources only claim the right to South Atlantic Champion, several North Carolina-based sources (especially Red and White) claimed that the Farmers could lay claim to Champion of the South, such arguments do not receive much attention today due to the dominance of Vanderbilt and Sewanee--an aspect that was neglected by proponents of the Southern Championship claim.

Though there were several good players on the team, there were few clear "stars." Thompson, Stephens, and Sadler were generally the consensus leaders, reviews often added other names to the mix as well. Rather than winning by skill, contemporary reports wrote that the team won so much by "sticking together on the field and by being good 'up hill' fighters" and having good "grit" Joel Whitaker, p. 159).

Though few of the players were obvious stars on the field (the only players to get All-Southern honors were Beebe and Sadler despite the team being ranked first overall by at least one pollster), several went on to become well-known figures at NC State for other accomplishments (College Topics, Vol. XIX No. 21 (December 4th, 1907), p. 1; The (Newport News) Daily Press, December 11th, 1907, p. 3). After graduating in 1909, Captain Thompson would go on to coach Wake Forest's football team from 1911 to 1913; he also coached A&M's baseball team for the 1910-11 baseball seasons. Killed in action in 1918 at the end of World War I, Thompson Theatre (formerly Thompson Gymnasium) has borne his name since it was completed in 1925. Freshman and backup D. W. "Dutch" Seifert would go on to found the Wolfpack Club in 1940 to help support NC State's athletics.

One of just two undefeated seasons in A&M's history (the other coming three years later, in 1910), the 1907 campaign must be recognized for its profound impact on the program. After being pummeled for years by the major schools around them, the Farmers had finally shown they could consistently defeat their neighbors and rivals--if only they would play them.