10/12/1908 - William & Mary

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Following A&M's win (and subsequent scuffle) against Wake Forest, the Farmers went back to practice. A half a week after the Wake Forest win, the Farmers' attention was focused on "speed and accuracy," in addition to the forward pass, with the hopes that the team would have passing "down pat by the time William & Mary arrives." Thompson and Johnson were reported as progressing well, while Stephen's kicking was reported as necessarily improving (The Raleigh Evening Times, October 7th, 1908, p. 7). Other viewers said that A&M was "playing like another team" even after their big win against the Baptists, and reportedly his only complaint with the team's playing was a "lack of confidence" among the new men (The Raleigh Evening Times, October 9th, 1908, p. 3). The only thing looking down for the Farmers was that Von Glahn, their regular starting LT, was out with an injured elbow (News and Observer, October 9th, 1908, p. 5).

Part of a reason for the big improvement in play was likely the assistance of Dr. Joel Whitaker, long-time champion of A&M football. Whitaker focused primarily on helping the linemen (both offense and defense), allowing Coach Whitehurst to place extra emphasis on passing practice in particular, as well as punting, kicking goals, and trick plays. Whitaker's services were brought in not for William & Mary, of course, but instead for Georgetown, who was the second of A&M's two games played on this week (The Raleigh Evening Times, October 8th, 1908, p. 8). The Farmers even doggedly practiced unfazed through "sheets" of rain in the days preceding the game, working in particular on their endurance (News and Observer, October 10th, 1908, p. 5), and in the days before the game Graduate Manager C. D. Harris praised the team, saying the Red and White were progressing nicely on all fronts and that they could "fool the other team to death" with their trick plays (News and Observer, October 11th, 1907, p. 5).


A photo of William & Mary's team from Colonial Echo Vol. 11 (1909), p. 118.

William & Mary's team was reported to be stronger than usual; a feat considering the Orange and Black were generally a fairly strong team for a small college. Part of that aggrandizement came, counterintuitively, from the Williamsburg boys' 0-and-2 record. Despite having not scored a point since opening their season on September 26th, the Virginians were bolstered by the fact that they held Virginia to just 11 points in their opening game, and held a very strong Virginia Military Institute team to just 21 points the following week. Reportedly, the team was made up mostly of veterans, and was also proficient in both forward passing and trick plays (News and Observer, October 8th, 1908, p. 5). These facts are made even more impressive given the fact that UVA's eligibility requirements forbade the Orange and Black from playing their full team; the Farmers were allowing W&M to play their full team (The Raleigh Evening Times, October 10th, 1908, p. 16). The Orange and Black arrived in Raleigh on Sunday night (News and Observer, October 10th, 1908, p. 5).

There was a lot of anticipation for the game in Raleigh for a few reasons. Primarily, it was the first home game for A&M and the first college football game in Raleigh of the season; Season tickets were being sold at the Tucker Building Pharmacy for just $2--just over $55 in 2019 (The Raleigh Evening Times, October 9th, 1908, p. 1). Additionally, the game was essentially a precursor to the 1908 North Carolina State Fair, which opened the following Tuesday, and though not officially a part of the fair the game was frequently discussed as one of its attractions (The Raleigh Evening Times, October 10th, 1908, p. 17).


Roster

A&M W&M
Sadler RE Howard
Ross RT Porter
Dunn RG MacDonald
Bray C Lee
Floyd LG Peatrows*
Gattis LT Taylor (Capt.)
Hartzell LE Barber
Stephens (Capt.) QB Driver
Long RHB Allison
Spencer LHB Cohen
Stroud FB Hall
James SUB Wilson*
Mott SUB Creekmore*
Davidson SUB
Wilson SUB
Seifert SUB
Marshall SUB
Sexton SUB
Whitehurst SUB
Johnson SUB

Source, Source, p. 119

* No player on W&M's yearbook roster bears any name similar to these names.


Period Time Description NCSU W&M
1st 20-19 NCSU - Stroud - unk yd Run (Spencer kick) 8 plays, 70 yards, TOP 2-3 min. 6 0
1st unk NCSU - Spencer unk yd Pass from Stephens (Spencer kick) unk plays, unk yards, TOP unk 12 0
1st unk NCSU - Spencer - unk yd Run (Spencer kick) unk plays, unk yards, TOP unk 18 0
1st unk NCSU - Stroud - unk yd Run (Spencer kick) unk plays, unk yards, TOP unk 24 0

NCSU Opponent
Rushing TDs Stroud (2), Spencer (1) none
Passing TDs Stephens (1) none
Receiving TDs Spencer (1) none
Defensive TDs none none
PATs Spencer (4/4) none
2PT: N/A prior to 1958 N/A prior to 1958
FGs none none
Safety: none none
Game Notes:
Kick Off Time: 4 PM - 10/12/1908 - William & Mary
Length: 45 (22.5 / 22.5) - Duration: unk
Attendance: unknown
Location: A&M Athletic Field - Raleigh, NC
Temperature: ???
Weather: fair
Wind: ???

The weather for the game was perfect, with a high of 66 degrees on the day (News and Observer, October 14th, 1908, p. 1), and though watched by a "medium-sized crowd," the game was not described at length by any sources other than News and Observer. Raleigh's Evening Times succinctly described the first half as follows: "If you have ever seen a threshing machine go through a hay field, you saw the parallel of the first half of the football game yesterday" (The Raleigh Evening Times, October 13th, 1908, p. 7).

The Williamsburg men started with the ball, with Hall kicking off to A&M's 20-yard line. Long advanced the ball about 20 yards for the Farmers, followed by a 10 yard gain by Spencer. After a 7 yard gain by Stroud, a 6 yard gain by Spencer, followed by another 15-yard run by Long. Next came a "magnificent run around end" by Stephens for 25 yards to put the ball at the Orange and Black's 7-yard line. Three more runs ended after Stroud carried the ball over the goal line; Spencer made the goal kick, giving the Aggies a 6-0 lead after just two-to-three minutes of play (Charlotte Daily Observer, October 13th, 1908, p. 3).

Spencer kicked the ball off to William & Mary, kicking into the wind, to W&M's 10-yard line. The Orange and Black attempted a forward pass, but fumbled the pass. Fortunately for the Virginians, they recovered the fumble, but failed to gain significantly and were forced to punt. Stephens caught W&M's punt and advanced the ball 15 yards, and advanced the ball another 15 yards on the following play. Here, William & Mary's starting quarterback, Driver, was seriously injured and forced to leave the game. The injury, described as "a severe concussion," was so serious that Driver remained unconscious through the remainder of the day at the A&M school hospital. His injury prevented him from returning to Williamsburg with his team following the game (Charlotte Daily Observer, October 13th, 1908, p. 3). Thankfully, Driver recovered by the following Monday and returned to the team, reportedly "in good trim" despite his injury (The (Richmond) Times-Dispatch, October 17th, 1908, p. 5).

Despite the loss of Driver, fortune soon turned their way, if only briefly. After a 5 yard gain by Stroud and a 4-1/2 yard gain by Spencer, the Farmers needed only 1/2 a yard to go. Unfortunately for the Farmers, Stephens was tackled behind the line of scrimmage, resulting in a loss of yards and a turnover on downs. On the first scrimmage run by the Orange and Black, Hartzell broke through the W&M line and downed the ball carrier several yards behind the line of scrimmage. "After this disastrous attempt at straight football," wrote the N&O sports editor, "the visitors punted."

Upon getting the ball back, "'general mixtery,' which puzzled even the learned critics on the sidelines" prevailed. Eventually, Spencer intercepted a "badly-executed forward pass" and nearly carried the ball across the goal line, however, his gains were negated, as the official decided that A&M could gain only "the usual fifteen yards in case of a fluke" (in other words, assessing a 15-yard penalty to W&M for an incomplete forward pass) and the interception was overruled. The Virginians punted yet again, and this time the Red and White made quick work of the field. A 20 yard run by Spencer started things off, followed by 8 yard by Ross. Finally, a "long pass" from Stephens to Spencer resulted in a touchdown for the Farmers, and a second successful kick by Spencer made the game 12-0.

This time, William & Mary kicked off to the Farmers. Gattis caught the kick and returned the ball 20 yards. As The Raleigh Evening Times put it, "The third score was nearly as easy as the first." After a long run by Stephens, Long gained 15 yards and Stroud 10, with several plays for shorter gains sprinkled between. After another 8 yards of gain by Spencer and 10 by Long, a strong line plunge by Spencer netted the Farmers their third touchdown of the day; reportedly, the work of A&M's line on this play (J. B. Bray in particular) was so good that Spencer was never even touched by W&M. Spencer then made the kick, putting the Aggies up 18-0.

No existing description of the game states who delivered the fourth kickoff of the game, however, after a strong start by the Farmers a disagreement arose between the two teams about the legality of a forward pass performed by the Aggies. After five minutes of arguing, the Farmers were assessed a 15-yard penalty. "The next forward pass, however, managed by Stevens [sic] and Hartzell, earned thirty-five yards." After a few more line plunges, Stroud crossed the goal line. Spencer made the final point of the game with "a difficult kick" to put the Red and White up 24-0 just as the first half of 22-1/2 minutes was ending.

The second half, which also lasted 22-1/2 minutes, saw A&M change out almost their entire team. The Farmers took out every offensive starter except Bray, Gattis, and Floyd. Hartzell was replaced with Johnson at LE, Stroud with Morton at FB, Long with Sexton (who was himself later changed out for Whitehurst) at RHB, Salder with Seifert (who was later replaced with Wilson) at RE, Dunn with Mott at RG, Stephens with Marshall at QB, and Ross with Davidson at RT. According to the N&O, the new team was sent in with instructions to play defensively rather than trying to score.

As such, the ball was in the hands of William & Mary for much of the second half. Despite this, the Orange and Black were never able to gain substantially, though the A&M subs' teamwork was "by the nature of the case defective," however, A&M's goal line was never in danger. Failed forward passes, fumbles, runs for short gains, and "unusual tactics" reportedly made the game feel more like a practice game than a real one (News and Observer, October 13th, 1908, p. 6; The Raleigh Evening Times, October 13th, 1908, p. 7; Charlotte Daily Observer, October 13th, 1908, p. 3).

Over the course of the game, Stephens's work at quarterback and kicking was praised, as was Bray's work at center on both offense and defense. Overall, the biggest praise for A&M was the cohesion of their teamwork, with their communication and work apparently earning the admiration of "the Virginians in particular." No player on W&M's team was praised for their work in North Carolina newspapers.

William & Mary's season opened poorly; following their loss to the Farmers, the Orange and Black lost two of their next three (0-6 vs Randolph-Macon and 0-10 vs Hampden-Sidney) and tied the third against the Brambleton Athletic Club 0-0. However, on November 7th Coach George E. O'Hearn began turning the tide for his team; a 5-0 victory over the Fort Monroe Heavy Artillery team was followed with a second loss against Randolph-Macon (15-0). However, following the loss against Randolph-Macon, the Orange and Black won out the season, taking down a strong Richmond team 21-18, followed by a 17-0 win over Hampden-Sidney on Thanksgiving in Newport News and a final 6-5 post-season win over the Newport News-based St. Vincent's football team.

Last updated: 6/7/2024