1896 Georgia Bulldogs football team
| 1896 Georgia Bulldogs football | |
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SIAA co-champion | |
| Conference | Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association |
| 1896 record | 4–0 (3–0 SIAA) |
| Head coach | Pop Warner |
| Captain | Rufus B. Nalley |
| Home stadium | Herty Field |
| 1896 SIAA football standings | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| LSU + | 4 | – | 0 | – | 0 | 6 | – | 0 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Georgia + | 3 | – | 0 | – | 0 | 4 | – | 0 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tennessee | 1 | – | 0 | – | 0 | 4 | – | 0 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Vanderbilt | 3 | – | 0 | – | 1 | 3 | – | 2 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Auburn | 3 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 3 | – | 1 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Georgia Tech | 1 | – | 1 | – | 1 | 1 | – | 1 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Texas | 1 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 4 | – | 2 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Alabama | 1 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 2 | – | 1 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Kentucky State | 1 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 3 | – | 6 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sewanee | 2 | – | 3 | – | 0 | 3 | – | 3 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tulane | 1 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 3 | – | 2 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nashville | 0 | – | 1 | – | 1 | 0 | – | 1 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mercer | 0 | – | 2 | – | 1 | 0 | – | 2 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| North Carolina | 0 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 3 | – | 4 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| SW Presbyterian | 0 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 0 | – | 1 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ole Miss | 0 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 1 | – | 2 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mississippi A&M | 0 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 0 | – | 4 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Clemson | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | 2 | – | 1 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 1896 Georgia Bulldogs football team represented the Georgia Bulldogs of the University of Georgia during the 1896 college football season. The team competed as a member of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA) and provided Georgia with its first undefeated season, compiling a 4–0 record and defeating North Carolina for the first time. The Bulldogs were co-champions of the SIAA with LSU, who joined the conference in 1896.[1]
Before the season
This was the Georgia Bulldogs' second and final season under the guidance of head coach Pop Warner who had continued as coach for a second season at a salary of $40 per week for ten weeks.[2] Georgia did not win another conference championship until the 1920 season. Rufus B. Nalley and Richard Von Albade Gammon were both in the backfield, with Gammon at quarterback,[3] and Nalley as captain.
Schedule
| Date | Opponent | Site | Result | Attendance | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 24 | at Wofford* | Spartanburg, SC | W 26–0 | ||||||
| October 31 | North Carolina | Brisbane Park • Atlanta, GA | W 24–16 | 3,000 | |||||
| November 10 | Sewanee | Piedmont Park • Atlanta, GA | W 26–0 | ||||||
| November 30 | vs. Auburn | Piedmont Park • Atlanta, GA (Rivalry) | W 12–6 | ||||||
*Non-conference game.  Homecoming. | |||||||||
Season summary
Wofford
The season opened in Spartanburg with a 26–0 defeat of Wofford.
North Carolina
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In "the first big football game of the season",[5] Georgia beat North Carolina 24–16 in a close game.
The first touchdown came when Georgia's Price went around right tackle for 8 yards.[5] Carolina's Heyward then got his own touchdown. Later, Carolina's Belden made a great punt, which went over Lovejoy's head. Wright fell on it for a touchdown, giving Carolina the lead. Blanch tied the score with a 30-yard run between right end and tackle.[5] He later went around right end to put the Bulldogs up by a score as the first half ended. A blocked kick led to Georgia's final touchdown. Heyward scored the last touchdown for Carolina.[5]
The starting lineup was Wight (left end), Price (left tackle), Blanch (left guard), Atkinson (center, Middlebrooke (right guard), Kent (right tackle), Watson (right end), Gammon (quarterback), Nalley (left halfback), Cothrell (right halfback), Lovejoy (fullback).[5]
Sewanee
The Bulldogs defeated the Sewanee Tigers 26–0. Sewanee's offense was weak.[6]
Auburn
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In the rivalry game with John Heisman's Auburn to decide the conference, Georgia won 12–6 to close its first undefeated season. Georgia's quarterback the following season Reynolds Tichenor at the same spot for the Tigers.
Lovejoy scored Georgia's first touchdown, without Nalley using signals.[7] The next touchdown came on another trick, with an onside kick to get the ball. Walter Cothran followed this with an 80-yard touchdown run.[7] Reynolds Tichenor then had a long punt return for auburn.[7] Tichenor once said he had been sprawled on the ground, when a big Georgia lineman jumped at him, knees first, with Tichenor rolling out of the way just in time. "The fellow was very polite," Tichenor said. "We both got up and he apologized very profusely for having missed me."[7] Tichenor later transferred to Georgia to attend law school.[8]
Postseason
The 1896 team is considered one of Georgia's early great ones.[3]
References
- ↑ "Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association: Conference Championships". College Football Data Warehouse. Retrieved 2008-04-05.
- ↑ Reed, Thomas Walter (c. 1949). "Chapter XVII: Athletics at the University from the Beginning Through 1947". History of the University of Georgia. Athens, Georgia: University of Georgia.
- 1 2 "Brown Calls Vanderbilt '06 Best Eleven South Ever Had". Atlanta Constitution. February 19, 1911. p. 52. Retrieved March 8, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Georgia 1896 results". georgiadogs.com. Retrieved 2011-07-12.
- 1 2 3 4 5 "Georgia Wins Out". The Atlanta Constitution. November 1, 1896. p. 21. Retrieved May 12, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Georgia Defeated Sewanee". The Atlanta Constitution. November 10, 1896. p. 2. Retrieved May 18, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
- 1 2 3 4 Triumph Books (2006). Echoes of Georgia Football: The Greatest Stories Ever Told.
- ↑ "History of the Early S.I.A.A. Atlanta Basketball Tournament".