.-.•.FOOTBALL REVIEW.-.-.
Turning over the pages of history
of athletics at our college, we shall
unhesitatingly pause when we arrive
at the year 1899.
Athletics, and football in particu
lar, has always been a prominent fac
tor in an A. and M. student’s life; it
has long been the desire of the corps
of cadets, the friends and alumni of
the college, and, of late, the faculty,
to send forth a football team that
should be a credit to the college and a
joy to her friends.
By hard and constant work, untir
ing efforts and sacrifice of both time
and pleasure, football has risen during
the short space of three years from an
» insignificant “kid” team until to-day
the A. and M. College team is recog
nized as one of the strongest teams in
the South and as the champion team
of the State. This was the final goal
we reached; but our ambition and as
pirations have not yet come to an end:
on the contrary, they are only begin
ning to bud. This ambition was born
to our team and college: its birth
place was Athletic Park, Austin, Tex
as; and its birthday, October 22, 1898,
when we were honestly and righteous
ly defeated by the ’Varsity team by the
tremendous score of 48-0. From that
day on, a friendly fire of rivalry was
kindled in the breast of every person
who erer had any connection with the
A. and M.; and this became our motto:
“ ’Varsity’s scalp must be ours.” Such
were the aspirations and determination
under which we opened the past sea
son.
Coach Murray went to work at once
to train the raw material; the appli
cants were possessed with a strong
desire to assist in sending out a team
that should reflect credit on their col
lege, and every able-bodied and well-
developed student was always and is
always ready to assist in supporting
and defending his college on football
fields. The first team our team met
was the Houston High School. In this
game it was established what wonder
ful progress the team had made. Our
system was not favorable to individual
brilliancy; but it was a system which
called for victory, and to accomplish
this the men on the team were trained
to play together, not everybody for
himself, hut everybody for each other.
In this kind of play—what is known
as “team work”—our team developed
so successfully as to be without a rival
in the South.
The ’Varsity game will always be
remembered with a sorrowful heart.
In this game our team showed their
superiority in every point over their
rivals; victory seemed within our
grasp from the very beginning to the
very last. The ’Varsity called this one
of her practice games. Maybe it was;
but our friends from Austin would cer
tainly have bestowed a pleasure on us
if they had given us another practice
game, for which we asked them so re
peatedly and offered them such liberal
terms. We were defeated in this
game. ’Varsity carried off the v„icl£>ry,
not because they had the strongest and
best team, but because our men played
under disadvantageous circumstances
that could not be avoided for the time
being.
The real strength of oiir team was
shown in the Sewanee game. This
game was a good exhibition of college
football, and it was only by the fierc
est and hardest playing that the Uni
versity of the South was able to carry
off the laurels.