A Century of Carolina Football

Aug. 8, 1999

y: Joe Bray
TarHeelBlue.com

Year-by-Year:

1888: Students at the then all-male University of North Carolina were, like college students of all eras, a somewhat restless bunch with lots of energy to expend. Often that energy was spent on activities viewed positively by the University administration, but some officials felt there was too much boisterous behavior. There was a growing need for extra-curricular pursuits to keep the students occupied in a constructive manner. Thus, when the sophomore class, led by team manager DeBerniere Whitaker, organized a football team in the fall of 1888, the event was viewed favorably by President Kemp Plummer Battle... That first team won UNC's intramural football title, then went looking for more competition. Whitaker challenged the sophomores from Wake Forest (which was still located in Wake Forest, N.C., about 20 miles north of Raleigh) to a game. The teams agreed to meet on Oct. 18 during the State Fair in Raleigh... The game drew a surprisingly large amount of attention. The advertising circulars that promoted the fair billed the game as:

The best game of FOOT BALL ever played in the state

Chapel Hill vs. Wake Forest

The game was played on a 110-yard field in the middle of the Fairground's horseracing track. Spectators could view the game from a doubledecked grandstand. A touchdown was worth four points, a conversion earned two points, and a field goal, which was drop-kicked, was worth five points. There were three downs in a series, not four. Each team scored a touchdown, but Wake made its conversion and UNC did not, giving Wake Forest a 6-4 win in what came to be acknowledged as the first intercollegiate football game in the history of the state of North Carolina... Later that fall Carolina and Trinity (now Duke University) met for the first time, also in Raleigh, on Thanksgiving Day, in a game played at the Raleigh Baseball Park in downtown Raleigh. Admission was 25 cents for men, 15 cents for women and children. Spectators came by train from Chapel Hill and Durham. A crowd of about 600 watched Trinity take a 16-0 win, as Trinity's Stonewall Durham scored the first touchdown to give the team from Durham all the points it would need... oth of this season's games were rousing successes, as football, a northeastern sport, caught on quickly in the state of North Carolina... This was one of four early teams that did not have a coach. ob Bingham and Steve Bragaw were UNC's first co-captains.
1889: Hector Cowan, a former Princeton great, was hired in February as UNC's first coach. The team practiced on the school's first athletic facility, University Athletic Field, located on the current site of Bynum Hall... There was so much interest in football that the Carolina, Wake Forest and Trinity teams could not wait until the fall to play again. Rather, they scheduled two games in the spring and two more in the fall...UNC and Wake Forest met on March 1 at the "Athletic Grounds" in Raleigh, located on Boundary Street, a few blocks from the Governor's Mansion. Carolina won 33-0 before 500 fans for the first win in school history. UNC and Trinity met on the same field a week later. Carolina, with a strong March wind at its back, took a 17-4 lead at the half. Games at the time consisted of two halves, not four quarters, so UNC had a favorable wind the entire half. When the teams changed directions, Trinity mounted a furious comeback and pulled out a 25-17 win. Carolina was hurt by the loss of co-captain Steve Bragaw, who broke his leg in the first half... Carolina and Wake Forest met again in Raleigh on Nov. 22, with Wake getting revenge for its loss in the spring with an 18-8 win. Carolina and Trinity were slated to play later in the fall, but Trinity lost by forfeit.
1890: Carolina did not field a team this year. After a player broke a collarbone the previous fall and Bragaw broke his leg in the prior spring, the faculty voted to discontinue the sport in January.
1891: Students petitioned to have football restored and the ban was lifed with the aid of Professors Horace Williams, F.P. Venable and Eban Alexander. Carolina went 0-2, including a forfeit loss to Wake Forest...UNC and Wake played on Nov. 10 in Raleigh, and Carolina led 6-4 when a fight broke out in the second half. When the referee, a Wake Forest student (yes, in this early era students officiated), penalized UNC for fighting, Captain Mike Hoke ordered UNC off the field and the game was ruled a 1-0 forfeit... Trinity then came to Chapel Hill for UNC's first-ever home game. About 300 spectators sat in the wooden bleachers of the University Athletic Field and watched Trinity take a 6-4 win. Carolina's touchdown was set up by S.A. Ashe's 95-yard run from scrimmage. Ashe raced from his own 5-yard line down the 110-yard field to the Trinity ten. Ashe then scored the touchdown, but Hoke missed the conversion... The forfeits in 1889 and 1890 are the only two in UNC's history.
1892: This is considered to be the first year of real football at Carolina even though UNC had no head coach. Mike Hoke was the team captain for the 5-1 Tar Heels... UNC topped Richmond 40-0 at Richmond, Va. in the opener on a Friday, then lost the next day 30-18 to Virginia at Charlottesville. Following a three-week layoff, Carolina went to Durham to play Trinity at Trinity Park. Howard Shaw scored three touchdowns to lead Carolina to a 24-0 win before several hundred fans... North Carolina thought its season was over, but five teams (UNC, UVA, Auburn, Georgia Tech and Trinity) were invited to a special tournament in Atlanta. Carolina crushed Auburn 64-0 on Wednesday, Nov. 23, then rode the train to Nashville, Tenn. for a Thanksgiving Day game against Vanderbilt. UNC won that one 24-0, then immediately hopped the train back to Atlanta. After resting on Saturday, Carolina played Virginia for the second time this year and won 26-0. Carolina claimed it had won the "Southern Championship", but the Cavaliers claimed the title because of their earlier win over the Tar Heels... Virginia soon became Carolina's biggest rival and remained so for many years. After the odd second meeting against Virginia in Atlanta, the next 21 games were played in the state of Virginia, 18 in Richmond and 3 in Norfolk. The Cavaliers dominated, winning 17 of those 21 games. Virginia would not play in Chapel Hill until 1919... Carolina's 5-1 record was the best in the South this year. This team had only 15 players and used but one substitute the entire season...The Tar Heels outscored their final four opponents by a 138-0 margin.
1893: The university became one of ten members of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletics Association in February. The ten member institutions were North Carolina, Trinity, Georgia Tech, Georgia, Auburn, Alabama, Virginia, Washington & Lee, Tennessee and Vandberbilt. This year's team would finish 3-4 despite outscoring its opponents 152-66... Carolina opened its season with another Friday-Saturday "doubleheader" in the state of Virginia. UNC downed Washington & Lee 44-0 on Friday, then fell 10-4 at VMI on Saturday. Trinity topped the Heels 6-4 the next Saturday in Durham. Carolina then hammered Tennessee 60-0 and Wake Forest 40-0 to improve to 3-2... The next Saturday (Nov. 25) the Tar Heels became the first southern school to play in New York, losing 34-0 to Lehigh. UNC stopped in Richmond on the way home for their Thanksgiving Day game against Virginia, with the Cavaliers winning 16-0. ...Eugene Denson had a 75-yard touchdown run against Washington & Lee in the season's first game... This was the last season UNC would play without a head coach.
1894: Princeton's Vernon K. Irvine was hired as head coach. The Tar Heels played their most ambitious schedule to date, going 6-3 to win the state championship and a second place finish in the South... Carolina opened the season with rare back-to-back games against the same opponent, N.C. A&M (now N.C. State). A&M was in its third season of football. The Heels won the first game 44-0 on a Friday in Chapel Hill, then topped A&M 16-0 at Raleigh on Saturday of the next week...The following Wednesday Carolina played host to Trinity on the University Athletic Field. UNC clinched the state championship with an easy 28-0 win as George Stephens and Louis Guion each scored two touchdowns. This was the last time UNC would play Trinity until 1922. The Methodist Episcopal church was strongly against football and forced the school to give up the sport... The Tar Heels went 3-3 over their last six games after a 3-0 start. Carolina played games in Asheville and Greensboro for the first time, topping Sewanee (36-4) and Richmond (28-0), respectively. Virginia clobbered UNC 34-0 on Thanksgiving Day in the season finale at Richmond... This was the first year practices had to be closed due to crowd control.
1895: Carolina got another coach from Princeton as T.C. "Doggie" Trenchard took over and led Carolina to a 7-1-1 record... The Heels won their first four games, shutting out N.C. A&M (36-0), Richmond (34-0), Georgia (6-0) and Vanderbilt (12-0) before playing a scoreless 0-0 tie at Sewanee. Victories over Georgia, Washington & Lee and Vanderbilt put Carolina at 7-0-1 heading into the traditional season-ending game against Virginia at Richmond... 12,000 boisterous fans watched the game, and twice spectators ran onto the field to block the path of Tar Heel runners who had broken clear on apparent touchdown runs. Carolina protested, but to no avail, and the Cavaliers took a 6-0 win... Carolina shut out six opponents and outscored the opposition, 146-17...Sam Nicklin had an 80-yard punt return for a touchdown in the season-opening 36-0 win over N.C. State.
1896: Gordon Johnson took over as the head man, the only coach of the pre-1900 era who did not come from Princeton, Johnson went 3-4-1 in his only year at the helm... The Tar Heels played Guilford College for the first time to open the season. They not only played them for the first time, they played them twice in a row, taking the opener at home, then winning a week later at Guilford. A tie with Virginia Tech and a loss to Georgia were followed by three consecutive games against athletic clubs. The Heels lost 8-0 to the Charlotte A.C. before falling 18-0 to the Hampton A.C. UNC then topped the Greensboro A.C. 30-0 at home before losing 46-0 to Virginia
1897: Finally, some consistency in the head coaching department. Another Princetonian, Will A. Reynolds, began a four-year tenure as head coach by leading the Heels to a 7-3 record... Carolina recorded shutout wins over its first four opponents, including a 28-0 win over Clemson in the first ever meeting between the schools. A 4-0 loss to Virginia Tech at Danville, Va. stopped the winning streak, then the Heels went on an absolutely killer road trip to Tennessee...Carolina topped Sewanee 12-6 at Cowan, Tenn. on Friday, Nov. 5, then lost 31-0 at Vanderbilt the next day. After resting on Sunday, the Heels won at Tennessee 16-0 on Monday and 14-0 at Bingham School on Tuesday. Carolina had played an amazing four games in five days.
1898: The advantage of having a regular coach paid off in a big way as Carolina recorded the only unbeaten, untied season in school history. The Heels posted a 9-0 record and outscored their opponents by a 201-8 margin, including seven shutouts... For the second consecutive year Carolina shut out its first four opponents, topping Guilford (18-0), N.C. A&M (16-0), Greensboro A.A. (11-0) and Oak Ridge (11-0). UNC then topped Virginia Tech (28-6) at Winston-Salem and Davidson (11-0) at Charlotte before venturing to Macon, Ga. to face the Georgia Bulldogs on Sunday, Nov. 13. Carolina won 53-0, then downed Auburn 29-0 two days later at Auburn, Ala., setting up a huge matchup against Virginia to finish the season... The unbeaten Heels had lost their last five games against the Cavaliers, but thought this may be their year. They were correct, as Carolina capped off its perfect season with a huge 6-2 win over Virginia in Richmond before another rowdy crowd on Thanksgiving Day... George Rogers scored UNC's first touchdown by a kickoff return, bringing one back 90 yards in the 11-0 win over Oak Ridge.
1899: Carolina shut out its first five opponents to stretch its winning streak to 14 before a 2-3-1 finish resulted in a 7-3-1 season... The Heels blanked N.C. A&M, Oak Ridge, Guilford, Davidson and Horner's School to start the year before facing N.C. A&M for the second time this season. A&M tied UNC 11-11 in Raleigh to stop UNC's 14-game winning streak. Following a 6-0 home win over Maryland, the 6-0-1 Heels embarked on a disastrous road trip to the north... Carolina traveled to Annapolis, Md. for the first time and suffered a 12-0 loss to Navy on Saturday, Nov. 4. UNC then rode the rails to Princeton, N.J. to face the school that had supplied its first four coaches. The game was no contest as the powerful Tigers won 30-0 on Wednesday, Nov. 8...After a 22-day layoff Carolina headed to Atlanta for a pair of games to wrap up the 1900s. UNC beat Georgia 5-0 on Thanksgiving Day, then lost by the same 5-0 score to Sewannee just two days later... Sam Shull returned a kickoff 85 yards for a TD in a 45-0 win over Guilford... Carolina and Virginia did not play each other this year.

Notable: John Motley Morehead, who endowed the Morehead Scholarship, was a member of the 1888 UNC squad... 1892 was the first year in which University teams were referred to as "Carolina," with the appellations "University" and "Chapel Hill" being dropped from the popular vernacular. This was also the year that athletic control passed from the hands of the students to the faculty...Varsity letters were awarded for the first time in 1893... In a 6-0 win over Georgia in 1895, Carolina threw the first forward pass in history. It was an illegal play at the time, but was not caught by game officials. However, John Heisman (for whom the Heisman Trophy is named), was watching the game and immediately saw the possibilities of the play, recording it in his writings... In 1899 Carolina's Athletic Association voted to sever all its ties with the University of Virginia because of continued disagreements and problems with the Thanksgiving Day game in Richmond, where crowds often rushed the field to impede UNC players... The Tar Heels were on the road a great deal in the 1800's, playing 56 of 77 games (73%) at away or neutral sites. UNC played at Raleigh and Atlanta seven times and at Richmond six times.

1888-1899 By the Numbers:

Overall Record: 49-25-3
Home: 20-1
Away: 11-10-2
Neutral: 18-14-1
Longest Unbeaten Streak: 16 (Oct. 1, 1898 - Oct. 31, 1899)
Longest Losing Streak: 3 (Oct. 31, 1896 - Nov. 7, 1896)
Most Points Scored (Game): 60 in 1893. UNC 60 - Tennessee 0
Least Points Scored (Game): None 16 times
Most Points Scored (Season): 201 in 1898
Least Points Scored (Season): 4 in 1888 & 1891
Most Points Allowed (Game): 34 in 1893. Lehigh 34 - UNC 0
Least Points Allowed (Game): None 44 times
Most Points Allowed (Season): 100 in 1896
Least Points Allowed (Season): 6 in 1891

1888 (0-2)

Coach: No Coach
Captains: Bob Bingham & Steve Bragaw

        v Wake Forest        L    4-6
        v Trinity            L,  0-16
                               ------
                                 4-22

1889 (2-2)

Coach: Hector Cowan
Captains: Lacy Little & Steve Bragaw

        v Wake Forest        W,  33-0
        v Trinity            L, 17-25
        v Wake Forest        L,  8-18
        Trinity              W,   1-0
        (forfeit)
                               ------
                                58-43

1890 - No team.

1891 (0-2)

Coach: No Coach
Captains: Mike Hoke & George Graham

Nov 10  v Wake Forest        L,   0-1
          (forfeit)
Nov 10  Trinity              L,   4-6
                                 ----
                                  4-6

1892 (5-1)

Coach: No Coach
Captain: Mike Hoke

Oct 21  @ Richmond           W,  40-0
Oct 22  @ Virginia           L, 18-30
Nov 12  @ Trinity            W,  24-0
Nov 23  v Auburn             W,  64-0
Nov 24  @ Vanderbilt         W,  24-0
Nov 26  v Virginia           W,  26-0
                               ------
                               196-30

1893 (3-4)

Coach: No Coach
Captain: A.S. Barnard

Oct 20  @ Washington & Lee   W,  44-0
Oct 21  @ VMI                L,  4-10
Oct 28  @ Trinity            L,   4-6
Nov  3  Tennessee            W,  60-0
Nov 18  v Wake Forest        W,  40-0
Nov 25  v Lehigh             L,  0-34
Nov 30  v Virginia           L,  0-16
                               ------
                               152-66

1894 (6-3)

Coach: V.K. Irvine
Captain: Charles Baskerville

Oct 12  N.C. State           W,  44-0
Oct 20  @ N.C. State         W,  16-0
Oct 24  Trinity              W,  28-0
Oct 27  v Sewanee            W,  36-4
Oct 31  @ Lehigh             L,  6-24
Nov  1  @ Rutgers            L,   0-5
Nov  3  @ Georgetown         W,  20-4
Nov 10  v Richmond           W,  28-0
Nov 22  v Virginia           L,  0-34
                               ------
                               178-71

1895 (7-1-1)

Coach: T.C. Trenchard
Captain: Edwin Gregory

Oct 12  N.C. State           W,  36-0
Oct 19  Richmond             W,  34-0
Oct 26  v Georgia            W,   6-0
Oct 28  @ Vanderbilt         W,  12-0
Oct 29  @ Sewanee            T,   0-0
Oct 31  v Georgia            W,  10-6
Nov  2  v Washington & Lee   W,  16-0
Nov 16  v Virginia Tech      W,  32-5
Nov 28  v Virginia           L,   0-6
                               ------
                               146-17

1896 (3-4-1)

Coach: Gordon Johnston
Captain: Robert Wright

Oct 10  Guilford             W,  26-4
Oct 17  @ Guilford           W,  34-0
Oct 24  v Virginia Tech      T,   0-0
Oct 31  v Georgia            L, 16-24
Nov  3  @ Charlotte A.C.     L,   0-8
Nov  7  @ Hampton A.C.       L,  0-18
Nov 11  Greensboro A.C.      W,  30-0
Nov 26  v Virginia           L,  0-46
                               ------
                              106-100

1897 (7-3)

Coach: W.A. Reynolds
Captain: Arthur Belden

Oct  2  N.C. State           W,  40-0
Oct  9  Guilford             W,  16-0
Oct 22  Greensboro A.A.      W,  24-0
Oct 25  Clemson              W,  28-0
Oct 30  v Virginia Tech      L,   0-4
Nov  5  v Sewanee            W,  12-6
Nov  6  @ Vanderbilt         L,  0-31
Nov  8  @ Tennessee          W,  16-0
Nov  9  @ Bingham's School   W,  14-0
Nov 22  v Virginia           L,  0-12
                               ------
                               150-53

1898 (9-0)

Coach: W.A. Reynolds
Captain: Frank Rogers

Oct  1  Guilford             W,  18-0
Oct 15  N.C. State           W,  34-0
Oct 20  Greensboro A.A.      W,  11-0
Oct 29  Oak Ridge            W,  11-0
Nov  4  v Virginia Tech      W,  28-6
Nov  5  v Davidson           W,  11-0
Nov 13  v Georgia            W,  53-0
Nov 15  @ Auburn             W,  29-0
Nov 24  v Virginia           W,   6-2
                                -----
                                201-8

1899 (7-3-1)

Coach: W.A. Reynolds
Captain: Samuel Shull

Oct  7  N.C. State           W,  34-0
Oct 12  Oak Ridge            W,  16-0
Oct 14  Guilford             W,  45-0
Oct 21  v Davidson           W,  10-0
Oct 23  Horner's School      W,  46-0
Oct 28  @ N.C. State         T, 11-11
Oct 31  Maryland             W,   6-0
Nov  4  @ Navy               L,  0-12
Nov  8  @ Princeton          L,  0-30
Nov 30  v Georgia            W,   5-0
Dec  2  v Sewanee            L,   0-5
                               ------
                               173-58

Decade-by-Decade

1888-1899 | 1900-1909 | 1910-1919 | 1920-1929
1930-1939 | 1940-1949 | 1950-1959 | 1960-1969
1970-1979 | 1980-1989 | 1990-1998

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