There was a great article on Sewanee University, a school that was a true College Football power in the early days of college football. If you subscribe to The Athletic, I would recommend a read.
Here are a few excerpts:
“You’ll win many a bar bet if you can name the three charter members of the SEC who no longer belong. They’ll guess Tulane, and they’ll guess Georgia Tech. And only if they’re really, really knowledgable will they guess Sewanee.”
Here resided arguably the best team in college football history. Here resided a team that still owns winning records against Auburn, Georgia and LSU, and still holds the mark for most points ever scored in regulation against Alabama.
The state of Tennessee was where the SEC originated: Its members had been in the Southern Conference. Once the league became too big for travel, schools east and south of the Appalachian Mountains decided to break off: Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, LSU, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Tennessee, Tulane, Vanderbilt … and Sewanee.
The feat that I mentioned in my thread title - A College Football Feat that will never be matched took place during the 1899 season. Per the article
Sewanee began the 1899 season with a 12-0 win at Georgia. It finished the season with wins against Auburn (coached by John Heisman) and at North Carolina.....But it’s what happened over six days in November that went down in college football lore:
Seeking to make money as the visiting team via gate receipts, team manager Luke Lea scheduled five games over six days: Texas, Texas A&M, Tulane, LSU, Ole Miss. This was with Sewanee only having 13 players, in a time when the forward pass was not allowed, leather helmets were still being introduced and players who left the game could not return.
Sewanee won them all, by a combined score of 91-0.
That was the apex of a long period of football dominance. Sewanee’s record in the 11 seasons after 1899 was 65-15-7, never losing more than two games in a season. In 1909, it beat LSU in New Orleans in a game attended by President Taft. For the first few decades of the 20th century, the rivalry between Sewanee and Vanderbilt was the biggest in the South, their Thanksgiving Day tilts often the highlight of the football season.....Sewanee once beat Alabama 54-4, during the 1907 season, and that remains the last time the Crimson Tide ever gave up that many points in regulation.
So why didn’t Sewanee capitalize on all this? The simple answer is the game of football — and the state and big-city-based schools — all grew, while Sewanee did not.
Here are a few excerpts:
“You’ll win many a bar bet if you can name the three charter members of the SEC who no longer belong. They’ll guess Tulane, and they’ll guess Georgia Tech. And only if they’re really, really knowledgable will they guess Sewanee.”
Here resided arguably the best team in college football history. Here resided a team that still owns winning records against Auburn, Georgia and LSU, and still holds the mark for most points ever scored in regulation against Alabama.
The state of Tennessee was where the SEC originated: Its members had been in the Southern Conference. Once the league became too big for travel, schools east and south of the Appalachian Mountains decided to break off: Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, LSU, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Tennessee, Tulane, Vanderbilt … and Sewanee.
The feat that I mentioned in my thread title - A College Football Feat that will never be matched took place during the 1899 season. Per the article
Sewanee began the 1899 season with a 12-0 win at Georgia. It finished the season with wins against Auburn (coached by John Heisman) and at North Carolina.....But it’s what happened over six days in November that went down in college football lore:
Seeking to make money as the visiting team via gate receipts, team manager Luke Lea scheduled five games over six days: Texas, Texas A&M, Tulane, LSU, Ole Miss. This was with Sewanee only having 13 players, in a time when the forward pass was not allowed, leather helmets were still being introduced and players who left the game could not return.
Sewanee won them all, by a combined score of 91-0.
That was the apex of a long period of football dominance. Sewanee’s record in the 11 seasons after 1899 was 65-15-7, never losing more than two games in a season. In 1909, it beat LSU in New Orleans in a game attended by President Taft. For the first few decades of the 20th century, the rivalry between Sewanee and Vanderbilt was the biggest in the South, their Thanksgiving Day tilts often the highlight of the football season.....Sewanee once beat Alabama 54-4, during the 1907 season, and that remains the last time the Crimson Tide ever gave up that many points in regulation.
So why didn’t Sewanee capitalize on all this? The simple answer is the game of football — and the state and big-city-based schools — all grew, while Sewanee did not.
