1897_Southern_Intercollegiate_Athletic_Association_football_season

1897 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association football season
1897 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association football season
League	NCAA
Sport	College football
Duration	October 2, 1897; through January 8, 1898
Number of teams	16
Regular Season
Season champions	Vanderbilt
Football seasons
	← 1896 1898 →

1897 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association football season

Sports season

The 1897 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association football season was the college football games played by the members schools of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association as part of the 1897 college football season

Quick Facts League, Sport ...

More information Conf, Overall ...

The season began on October 2. Conference play began on October 9 with Georgia shutting out Clemson 24–0 in Athens.

After the Sewanee game, Coach R. G. Acton's Vanderbilt Commodores claimed the program's first ever conference title.^[1] This was followed by a challenge met by the other southern team to claim a championship, South Atlantic school Virginia; which claims seven prior championships of the South. The game ended a 0–0 tie. Said Coach Acton, "It was the best game ever played in the South." Vanderbilt held all opponents scoreless.^[2]

The Texas Longhorns averaged the most points per game in the conference.^[3]

The 1897 season was one in which a member school, Tulane University, was barred from intercollegiate football participation by SIAA President, Dr. Dudley. This was part of a sanction handed down in response to the LSU game the previous season in which Tulane was forced to forfeit for having fielded an ineligible player.^[4]^[5]

The season was also notable for the game Virginia played against Georgia, featuring the death of Richard Von Albade Gammon.^[6]

Season overview

Regular season

More information Index to colors and formatting ...

SIAA teams in bold.

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This article uses material from the Wikipedia article 1897_Southern_Intercollegiate_Athletic_Association_football_season, and is written by contributors. Text is available under a CC BY-SA 4.0 International License; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[1] [1]
"Vanderbilt Official Athletic Site - Vanderbilt University". Archived from the original on November 11, 2016. Retrieved January 10, 2017.

[2] [2]
"Vanderbilt Official Athletic Site - Vanderbilt University". Archived from the original on June 17, 2016. Retrieved January 10, 2017.

[3] [3]
"Texas Season Schedule - databaseFootball.com/NCAA". Archived from the original on March 4, 2016.

[4] [4]
Hardesty, Dan. "LSU:The Louisiana Tigers". The Strode Publishers.Huntsville, Alabama. 1975. pg 24-25.

[5] [5]
"Baton Rouge Wins Without Winning". The Daily Picayune. October 25, 1896. pg. 8.

[6] [6]
William Hanford Edwards (1916). Football Days: Memories of the Game and of the Men Behind the Ball. p. 244.

[7] [7]
"State College wins a game". The Courier-Journal. October 3, 1897. Retrieved April 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.

[8] [8]
"Kentucky University loses at other game at Nashville". The Sunday Leader. October 10, 1897. Retrieved April 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.

[9] [9]
"University of Georgia defeats Clemson College". The Morning News. October 10, 1897. Retrieved April 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.

[10] [10]
"Winchester 4, State College 0". The Courier-Journal. October 12, 1897. Retrieved April 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.

[11] [11]
"U of T wins first game of the year". The Journal and Tribune. October 16, 1897. Retrieved April 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.

[12] [12]
"Neither could score, the football game at Barnesville resulted in a draw". The Macon Telegraph. October 17, 1897. Retrieved April 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.

[13] [13]
"U. of N. downs Sewanee in a brilliant game". The Nashville American. October 17, 1897. Retrieved April 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.

[14] [14]
"Sewanee defeats Central". The Nashville American. October 19, 1897. Retrieved April 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.

[15] [15]
"The boys on the gridiron; The Varsity eleven capture their first scalp yesterday". Austin Daily Statesman. October 24, 1897. Retrieved April 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.

[16] [16]
"Georgians showed some strong plays". The Atlanta Constitution. October 25, 1897. Retrieved April 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.

[17] [17]
"Auburn wins the first game". The Atlanta Constitution. October 24, 1897. Retrieved April 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.

[18] [18]
"Game at Knoxville". Chattanooga Daily Times. October 24, 1897. Retrieved April 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.

[19] [19]
"Kentucky State College wins from Georgetown". The Lexington Herald. October 24, 1897. Retrieved April 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.

[20] [20]
"Vanderbilt's game, local collegians defeat the V.M.I. boys by a score of 12 to 0". The Nashville American. October 20, 1897. Retrieved April 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.

[21] [21]
"The University won, Clemson College defeated by a score of twenty-eight to nothing". The News and Observer. October 26, 1897. Retrieved April 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.

[22] [22]
"Alabama boys are winners". The Nashville American. October 30, 1897. Retrieved April 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.

[23] [23]
"Sewanee 0, Auburn 0". The Times-Democrat. October 31, 1897. Retrieved April 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.

[24] [24]
"Defeat". The Sunday Leader. October 31, 1897. Retrieved April 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.

[25] [25]
"Virginia wins, University practically walks over Georgia". The Richmond Dispatch. October 31, 1897. Retrieved April 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.

[26] [26]
"Fifty to noting, the score by which S.C. loses to Vanderbilt". The Lexington Herald. October 31, 1897. Retrieved April 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.

[27] [27]
"The Dallas team beat the "Varsity aggregation yesterday". Fort Worth Register. October 31, 1897. Retrieved April 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.

[28] [28]
"'Varsity again downed, Was outclassed by the local eleven of Fort Worth". The Houston Post. November 2, 1897. Retrieved April 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.

[29] [29]
"'Varsity Won". Austin Daily Statesman. November 4, 1897. Retrieved April 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.

[30] [30]
"Purple of Sewanee is trailed in the dust before North Carolina's stalwarts". The Nashville American. November 6, 1897. Retrieved April 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.

[31] [31]
"Goal from the field, Phil Connell's good foot ably assists in piling up a victorious score". The Nashville American. November 7, 1897. Retrieved April 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.

[32] [32]
"K.S.C. meets defeat at Richmond yesterday". The Lexington Herald. November 7, 1897. Retrieved April 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.

[33] [33]
"Two victories for Carolina". The Tar Heel. November 16, 1897. Retrieved April 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.

[34] [34]
"Clemson wins; The Carolina boys are wondering how it happened". The Watchman and Southron. November 17, 1897. Retrieved April 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.

[35] [35]
"Football game: The University defeated the Tuscaloosa Athletics yesterday on the college campus". The Age-Herald. Birmingham, Alabama: NewsBank: America's Historical Newspapers. November 19, 1897. p. 3.

[36] [36]
"By a score of 42 to 6, Houston was very easily defeated by 'Varsity". The Houston Post. November 14, 1897. Retrieved April 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.

[37] [37]
"The 'Varsity team defeated the San Antonio eleven by a score of 12 to 0". Austin Daily Statesman. November 21, 1897. Retrieved April 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.

[38] [38]
"'Varsity won yesterday". Austin Daily Statesman. November 26, 1897. Retrieved April 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.

[39] [39]
"Game between Centre and State College yesterday; Results in a sad defeat for the local team". The Lexington Herald. November 26, 1897. Retrieved April 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.

[40] [40]
"Vanderbilt wins; Sewanee defeated by a score of 10 to 0 in Nashville yesterday". Birmingham Age-Herald. November 26, 1897. Retrieved April 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.

[41] [41]
"Tennessee Shuts Out Blacksburg". The Times. Library of Virginia. November 26, 1897. p. 1. Retrieved October 16, 2017.

[42] [42]
"U of T wins again". The Knoxville Tribune. November 27, 1897. Retrieved April 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.

[43] [43]
"Vanderbilt, 0; Virginia, 0". Chicago Daily Tribune. December 7, 1897. p. 7. Retrieved January 7, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.

[44] [44]
"Varsity was victorious, Dallas by a score of twenty to sixteen". The Houston Post. December 12, 1897. Retrieved April 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.

[45] [45]
"Baton Rouge easily defeats Montgomery". The Daily Picayune. December 21, 1897. Retrieved April 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.

[46] [46]
"Baton Rouge was outclassed". The Daily Picayune. January 4, 1898. Retrieved April 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.

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Conf. Rank	Team	Head coach	Overall record	Conf. record	PPG	PAG
1	Vanderbilt	R. G. Acton	6–0–1	3–0	19.9	0.0
2	Georgia	Charles McCarthy	2–1	2–0	18.7	5.7
3	Auburn	John Heisman	2–0–1	2–0–1	13.3	1.3
4	Tennessee		4–1	1–0	12.8	3.2
5 (tie)	Central	H. McC. Anderson	1–1	1–1
5 (tie)	Nashville		1–1	1–1
5 (tie)	Alabama	Allen McCants	1–0	0–0	6.0	0.0
5 (tie)	Texas	Walter F. Kelly	6–2	0–0	20.5	4.5
5 (tie)	LSU	Allen Jeardeau	1–1	0–0	14.0	16.0
10	Sewanee	J. G. Jayne	1–3–1	1–2–1	3.0	5.6
11 (tie)	Clemson	William M. Williams	2–2	0–1	7.0	14.5
11 (tie)	Cumberland		0–1	0–1
11 (tie)	Georgia Tech	J. B. Wood	0–1	0–1	0.0	28.0
11 (tie)	Mercer	Gordon Saussy	0–1–1	0–1	0.0	13.0
15	Kentucky State	Lyman B. Eaton	2–4	0–2	4.7	19.7
?	Southwestern Presbyterian

Date	Visiting team	Home team	Site	Result	Reference
October 9	Kentucky University	Vanderbilt	Dudley Field • Nashville, TN	W 22–0	^[8]
October 9	Clemson	Georgia	Herty Field • Athens, GA	UGA 24–0	^[9]
October 11	Kentucky State	Kentucky Wesleyan	Winchester, KY	L 0–4	^[10]
October 15	King (TN)	Tennessee	Baldwin Park • Knoxville, TN	W 28–0	^[11]

Date	Visiting team	Home team	Site	Result	Reference
October 16	Mercer	Gordon Institute	Barnesville, GA	T 0–0	^[12]
October 16	Sewanee	Nashville	Nashville, TN	NASH 6–5	^[13]
October 18	Central (KY)	Sewanee	Hardee Field • Sewanee, TN	SEW 4–0	^[14]

Date	Visiting team	Home team	Site	Result	Attendance	Reference
October 23	San Antonio	Texas	Varsity Athletic Field • Austin, TX	W 10–0		^[15]
October 23	Georgia Tech	Georgia	Herty Field • Athens, GA	W 24–0	600	^[16]
October 23	Auburn	Mercer	Central City Park • Macon, GA	AUB 26–0		^[17]
October 23	Williamsburg (KY)	Tennessee	Baldwin Park • Knoxville, TN	W 6–0		^[18]
October 23	Georgetown (KY)	Kentucky State	Lexington, KY	W 20–4		^[19]
October 23	Clemson	Charlotte YMCA	Latta Park • Charlotte, NC	W 10–0
October 23	VMI	Vanderbilt	Dudley Field • Nashville, TN	W 12–0		^[20]
October 25	Clemson	North Carolina	Chapel Hill, NC	L 28–0		^[21]
October 29	Auburn	Nashville	Nashville, TN	AUB 14–4		^[22]

Date	Visiting team	Home team	Site	Result	Attendance	Reference
October 30	Auburn	Sewanee	Hardee Field • Sewanee, TN	T 0–0		^[23]
October 30	Washington and Lee	Central	Lexington, KY	L 0–22		^[24]
October 30	Virginia	Georgia	Brisbine Park • Atlanta, GA	L 4–17	5,000	^[25]
October 30	Kentucky State	Vanderbilt	Dudley Field • Nashville, TN	VAN 50–0	400	^[26]
October 30	Texas	Dallas	Cycle Park • Dallas, TX	L 4–18		^[27]
November 1	Texas	Fort Worth	Fort Worth, TX	L 0–6		^[28]
November 3	Texas	Add-Ran Christian	Waco, TX	W 18–10		^[29]

1897_Southern_Intercollegiate_Athletic_Association_football_season

1897 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association football season

Season overview

Results and team statistics

Regular season

Week One

Week Two

Week Three

Week Four

Week Five

Week Six

Week Seven

Week Eight

Week Nine

Week Ten

Week Eleven

Week Twelve

Week Thirteen

Week Fourteen

Week Fifteen

Week Sixteen

References

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v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
Vanderbilt $	3	–	0	–	0	6	–	0	–	1
Georgia	2	–	0	–	0	2	–	1	–	0
Auburn	2	–	0	–	1	2	–	0	–	1
Tennessee	1	–	0	–	0	4	–	1	–	0
Central (KY)	1	–	1	–	0	1	–	2	–	0
Nashville	1	–	1	–	0	1	–	1	–	0
Alabama	0	–	0	–	0	1	–	0	–	0
Texas	0	–	0	–	0	6	–	2	–	0
LSU	0	–	0	–	0	1	–	1	–	0
Sewanee	1	–	2	–	1	1	–	3	–	1
Clemson	0	–	1	–	0	2	–	2	–	0
Mercer	0	–	1	–	0	0	–	2	–	1
Cumberland (TN)	0	–	1	–	0	0	–	1	–	0
Kentucky State College	0	–	2	–	0	2	–	4	–	0
SW Presbyterian	0	–	0	–	0	0	–	0	–	0

$ – Conference champion

Date	Visiting team	Home team	Site	Result	Reference
November 5	North Carolina	Sewanee	Hardee Field • Sewanee, TN	L 6–12	^[30]
November 6	North Carolina	Vanderbilt	Dudley Field • Nashville, TN	W 31–0	^[31]
November 6	Central	Kentucky State	Lexington, KY	CENT 18–0	^[32]
November 8	North Carolina	Tennessee	Baldwin Park • Knoxville, TN	L 0–16	^[33]
November 10	Clemson	South Carolina	Columbia, SC	W 18–6	^[34]

Date	Visiting team	Home team	Site	Result	Attendance	Reference
November 13	Tuscaloosa Athletic Club	Alabama	The Quad • Tuscaloosa, AL	W 6–0		^[35]
November 13	Houston Town Team	Texas	Varsity Athletic Field • Austin, TX	W 42–6		^[36]

Date	Visiting team	Home team	Site	Result	Reference
November 20	Texas	San Antonio	San Antonio, TX	W 12–0	^[37]
November 25	Fort Worth	Texas	Varsity Athletic Field • Austin, TX	W 38–0	^[38]
November 25	Centre	Kentucky State	Lexington, KY	L 0–36	^[39]
November 25	Sewanee	Vanderbilt	Dudley Field • Nashville, TN	VAN 10–0	^[40]
November 25	Tennessee	VPI	Roanoke, VA	W 18–0	^[41]

Index to colors and formatting
Non-conference matchup; SIAA member won
Non-conference matchup; SIAA member lost
Non-conference matchup; tie
Conference matchup