1898 Sewanee Tigers football team

1898 Sewanee Tigers football
SIAA champion
Conference	Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association
Record	4–0 (3–0 SIAA)
Head coach	John Gere Jayne (2nd season)
Captain	Dana Smith
Home stadium	Hardee Field

1898 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
Sewanee	3	–	0	–	0			4	–	0	–	0
Auburn	2	–	0	–	0			2	–	1	–	0
LSU	1	–	0	–	0			1	–	0	–	0
Georgia	3	–	1	–	0			4	–	2	–	0
Clemson	1	–	1	–	0			3	–	1	–	0
Tulane	1	–	1	–	0			1	–	1	–	0
Vanderbilt	1	–	2	–	0			1	–	5	–	0
Mississippi	0	–	1	–	0			1	–	1	–	0
Texas	0	–	1	–	0			5	–	1	–	0
Nashville	0	–	2	–	0			0	–	2	–	0
Georgia Tech	0	–	3	–	0			0	–	4	–	0
Kentucky State#	0	–	0	–	0			7	–	0	–	0
Cumberland (TN)	0	–	0	–	0			0	–	0	–	0
SW Presbyterian	0	–	0	–	0			0	–	0	–	0
$ – Conference champion # – State champion

The 1898 Sewanee Tigers football team represented Sewanee: The University of the South during the 1898 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association football season. The team was coached by John Gere Jayne in his second year as head coach, compiling a record of 4–0 (3–0 SIAA) and outscoring opponents 56 to 4 to win the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association title. Due to misgivings over Virginia and North Carolina playing ringers, Caspar Whitney declared Sewanee the best team in the South.[1]

Before the season

Sewanee was coming off the worst season in school history.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
October 15	Nashville	Hardee Field Sewanee, TN	W 10–0		[2]
November 10	at Texas	Varsity Athletic Field Austin, TX	W 4–0		[3]
November 12	at Southern Athletic Club*	Athletic Park New Orleans, LA	W 21–0		[4]
November 24	at Vanderbilt	Dudley Field Nashville, TN (rivalry)	W 19–4	4,000	[5]
*Non-conference game

[6]

Game summaries

Nashville

Nashville at Sewanee

1 2 Total Nashville 0 0 0 • Sewanee 5 5 10 Date: October 15 Location: McGee Field Sewanee, Tennessee Referee: Throne Sources:[7]

The season opened with a 10–0 victory to avenge last year's loss to the Nashville Garnet and Blue.[8]

The starting lineup was Waites (left end), Jones (left tackle), Bolling (left guard), Risley (center), Claiborne (right guard), Smith (right tackle), Crandle (right end), Wilson (quarterback), Kilpatrick (left halfback), Gray (right halfback), Simkins (fullback).[7]

Texas

Sewanee at Texas

1 2 Total • Sewanee 4 0 4 Texas 0 0 0 Date: November 10 Location: Austin, Texas Sources:[9]

Sewanee beat Texas 4–0, scoring on a trick play.[9]

The starting lineup was Waites (left end), Jones (left tackle), Risby (left guard), Poole (center), Claiborne (right guard), Smith (right tackle), Crandle (right end), Wilson (quarterback), Kilpatrick (left halfback), Gray (right halfback), Simkins (fullback).[9]

Southern A. C.

Sewanee at Southern A. C.

1 2 Total • Sewanee 11 10 21 Southern 0 0 0 Date: November 12 Location: Athletic Park New Orleans Game start: 3:00 p. m. Referee: Leigh Carroll Sources:[4]

Sewanee defeated the Southern Athletic Club of New Orleans 21–0. A 12-yard run by Jones made the first touchdown. Davis made the next touchdown. He also scored the third, in the second half.[4] Ormond Simkins made the last touchdown, racing for the goal after William H. Poole blocked a kick.[4]

The starting lineup was Waites (left end), Jones (left tackle), Risby (left guard), Poole (center), Claiborne (right guard), Smith (right tackle), Crandell (right end), Wilson (quarterback), Kilpatrick (left halfback), Davis (right halfback), Simkins (fullback).[4]

Vanderbilt

Sewanee at Vanderbilt

1 2 Total • Sewanee 10 9 19 Vanderbilt 4 0 4 Date: November 24 Location: Dudley Field Nashville, Tennessee Game start: 2:30 p. m. Game attendance: 4,000 Referee: W. P. Taylor (Birmingham) Sources:[10]

The Tigers beat rival Vanderbilt 19–4. Sewell made the first touchdown on a 7-yard run. Vanderbilt's score came on a 40-yard run around left end by Walter H. Simmons.[10] Simkins scored next on a 2-yard run. After the half, Kilpatrick scored on a 2-yard run.[10] The last touchdown was a 35-yard run from Smith.[10]

The starting lineup was Waites (left end), Jones (left tackle), Risley (left guard), Poole (center), Claiborne (right guard), Smith (right tackle), Davis (right end), Wilson (quarterback), Kilpatrick (left halfback), Siebels (right halfback), Simkins (fullback).[10]

Postseason

Sewanee won the SIAA title.[11]

Players

Varsity lettermen

Line

Player	Position	Games started	Hometown	Prep school	Height	Weight	Age
"Wild Bill" Claiborne	guard		Amherst Co., Virginia	Roanoke College	6'0"	190
A. H. Davis	end
J. W. "Deacon" Jones	tackle		Marshall, Texas
William H. Poole	center		Glyndon, Maryland		6'0"	185	18
H. S. Risley	guard
Dana Smith	tackle
John C. Waties	end

Backfield

Player	Position	Games started	Hometown	Prep school	Height	Weight	Age
Charles Quintard Gray	halfback		Ocala, Florida
Rex Kilpatrick	halfback		Bridgeport, Alabama		6'1"	185	17
Henry Seibels	halfback		Montgomery, Alabama		5'10"	170	22
Ormond Simkins	fullback		Corsicana, Texas		5'10"	163	19
Warbler Wilson	quarterback		Rock Hill, South Carolina		5'10"	154	21

Subs

Player	Position	Games started	Hometown	Prep school	Height	Weight	Age
R. G. Arrington
Ralph P. Black
R. E. Bolling
G. G. Cannon
Howard Crandell
Ralph Nesbit
H. M. T. "Bunny" Pearce	end
Charles B. Colmore	back

References

1. Hapgood, Norman (1857). "Harper's weekly". pp. 65 v.
2. "Sewanee wins; Defeats Nashville by a score of ten to nothing". The Nashville American. October 16, 1898. Retrieved April 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
3. "Brilliant football; Sewanee defeats the University of Texas". The Times-Democrat. November 11, 1898. Retrieved April 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
4. "Sewanee makes the score 21 to 0". The Times-Picayune. November 13, 1898. p. 8. Retrieved April 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "Sewanee defeats Vanderbilt". The Birmingham Age-Herald. November 25, 1898. Retrieved April 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
6. "2004 Sewanee football media guide" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on March 9, 2013.
7. "Sewanee Wins". Sewanee Purple. Vol. 12, no. 7. October 22, 1898. hdl:11005/629.
8. "Football". Sewanee Purple. Vol. 12, no. 6. October 15, 1898. hdl:11005/628.
9. "Sewanee Plays Fine Ball With Texas". The Times-Picayune. November 11, 1898. p. 8. Retrieved May 16, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
10. "Up Goes Sewanee's Purple". The Tennessean. November 25, 1898. p. 5. Retrieved May 16, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
11. "David Wilson's Homepage".