Return to the 1909 season page

The second game of the Farmers' 1909 season was a match against the Maryland Athletic Club. One of the leading athletic clubs in the area, the Cherry and White of Baltimore boasted a 400-person membership, "among whom are some of the... best football and baseball players in the city" (The (Baltimore) Sun, October 24th, 1909, p. 10). Despite their size and strength, the Baltimoreans were a bit slow in getting organized in 1909: as late as August 26th the team did not have an official schedule. The delay stemmed at least partially from the club's board of governors, who were required to approve the schedule (The (Baltimore) Sun, August 26th, 1909, p. 11).

The B.A.C. was coached and managed by Phil H. Harrison, a former St. John's (Maryland) athlete; their captain was noted Princeton star Eddie Harlan, who would go on to coach baseball at several schools, including Texas A&M (1915) and Johns Hopkins (1922). Harlan's men were all former college stars; other men included Claude Stonecipher, a renowned right half from the Baltimore Medical College, Robins, of Dartmouth's strong (6-1-1) 1908 team, Henry Edward Brennick, of Harvard, and George McLean, who was originally scheduled to be the captain for the Virginia Military Institute team before he chose to turn to professional football (The (Baltimore) Sun, October 5th, 1909, p. 10). The Athletics also reportedly had former Michigan, Dartmouth, Sewanee, Yale, Vanderbilt, and Virginia Polytechnic Institute (VPI) players.

The Cherry and White opened their season the week prior to facing A&M; they defeated the heavy (170 lbs) Orange Athletic Club 8-0. The Baltimoreans left for Norfolk on the Friday night before the game alongside "a large band of rooters" on the Old Bay Line steamship, leaving at 6:30 PM. Worried about handicaps due to injuries, Manager Harrison brought twenty-two men on the trip (The (Baltimore) Sun, October 8th, 1909, p. 10).

The Farmers, on the other hand, left Raleigh on Friday morning with seventeen men (The Raleigh Evening Times, October 8th, 1909, p. 4). It was emphasized that any weaknesses shown by the team in the Maryville game were being pursued by Coaches Greene and Thompson. Despite describing the MAC as an "All Star" team, the writeup in News and Observer spent more time predicting the result of the coming Kentucky game (News and Observer, October 8th, 1909, p. 7).

Not many specific details of the game are known. The day was generally reported as being too warm for football. Neither team proved able to score in the first half, which lasted 20 minutes. The first half was also very sloppy, with both sides repeatedly penalized for being offsides, in addition to numerous fumbles and generally ragged play. "Punting was frequent," wrote The Sun, "with neither team showing much form in that department of the game." Though no attendance estimates are currently available, it was likely watched with keen interest by the locals, as it was the first game of the season played on Lafayette Field.

A positive, however, was that the lines of both teams were described as "impregnable" throughout the first half, with the Red and White's line being described as a "stone wall" in both Red and White and The Sun. Maryland AC's line was similarly vaunted in the first half, but as the first half came to an end, the Cherry and White were starting to look "a little out of condition." As Red and White put it, "During the first half A. & M. sized up the Marylanders to perfection and went in the second half to win," adding that "Every man was confident we would score."

The Farmers were right: 2-to-5 minutes after play commenced in the second half, Seifert caught a forward pass from Stevens at the Cherry and White's 25-yard line and then carried the ball the remainder of the distance. The play was reportedly nearly identical to the one pulled off by the same duo during the VPI game in Norfolk the previous Thanksgiving. Long successfully made the goal kick to put the Farmers up 6-0. Though most reports said the score took place after 5 minutes, some were clearer in saying it took place shortly after the half opened. Red and White clarified that both scores took place after 7 minutes of play; since all reports agreed the second score took place 5 minutes later, the logical conclusion is that the first took about 2 minutes.

After 5 more minutes, the second touchdown of the day was made by the Farmers. Stevens caught a kick punted by Stonecipher at midfield and then made a "brilliant" 55-yard run across the remainder of the field. Raleigh papers claimed Stevens dodged "the whole Athletic team" en route to the score, where he placed the ball squarely between the goal posts in order to make for an easy goal kick. Long made the second goal to make the score 12-0.

No account of the game describes the remainder of the play in significant detail, aside from Red and White which mentioned that the Mechanics were threatening to score again as the second half (of 20 minutes) ended. All summaries, however, noted that A&M's men were in fine fettle after halftime, while the Baltimore men seemed to be listless. However, despite the strong finish by the Aggies, the game was still overall described as "sluggish throughout." Shockingly, the MAC failed to make a single first down throughout the duration of the game: this can partially be attributed to the Cherry and White's strategy, which seems to have been predominated by punting, but can also be ascribed to A&M's strong line.

Surprisingly, no account of the game praised any individual member of A&M's team. Several, however, from the Maryland AC were praised: Robins was described as "a tower of strength" by News and Observer, while Brennick, Stonecipher, and McLean were also praised. Local papers also probably lauded Stevens, of A&M, who was from Norfolk (News and Observer, October 10th, 1909, p. 11; The Raleigh Evening Times, October 11th, 1909, p. 8; Red and White, Vol. XI No. 2 (October 1909), pp. 96-97; The (Baltimore) Sun, October 10th, 1909, p. 11; Virginian-Pilot, October 10th, 1909, p. 31).

As for the low score and the Aggies' perceived slow start in the first half, A&M's manager, Lennox P. McLendon, explained it by saying that "We played with them in the first half," stating that the team came in with the plan of winning the game in the second half. "We wanted practice in defensive work" (News and Observer, October 14th, 1909, p. 3). According to a later pre-game report, Floyd at one point during the game "dragged six men for a ten yard gain," however when is unclear (News and Observer, October 17th, 1909, p. 4).

The Old Liners finished their season well despite some setbacks. Their following game, against Mount Washington (a Baltimore public school), was canceled by the Mountaineers' management after a series of injuries and a lack of experience made playing the game seem impracticable. After a week off the gridiron, the Cherry and White came back with a win over the Washington Navy Yard Seamen Gunners' Class, whom they defeated 21-0. After "the Holy Name eleven" canceled a game arranged on short-notice for November 6th, the Maryland AC's next game came on November 13th, when they took down Catonsville Country Club 22-0. The Baltimoreans were initially supposed to finish off their schedule with a highly-anticipated game against Villanova, however the Main Liners closed their season early after a cancelation by Navy would have forced the team into three weeks of inactivity before their Thanksgiving day bash. A game with the Pihladelphia-based Columbia AC was arranged as a replacement just days before Thanksgiving, but was canceled the morning of for unexplained reasons. As such, the MAC finished 1909 with a 3-1 record, A&M being their sole loss.

An interesting, if inconsequential, factoid is that former coach, Mickey Whitehurst, was heavily involved in the Maryland Athletic Club's baseball and polo teams. A well-liked coach by A&M fans and students, his departure from the school was unexpected. Though not recorded, it is possible--if not likely--that Whitehurst met back up with his former players during their time in Norfolk.