Page 8
A&M
THE BATTALION
WEDNESDAY, MAY 1, 1974
enjoys rich sports history
Bible’s undefeated football teams highlight early years
Aaron Stadium,
Editor’s note: The following is
the first of a four part series on
the history of organized sports at
A&M.
By JERRY JOHNSON
From the first semester in
1876 until a baseball game was
played in 1894, there is no record
ed history of sports at A&M. By
1920, however, intercollegiate
competition was firmly entrench
ed at Aggieland and A&M sports
enjoyed enormous success during
the early years.
The highlight of this period is
the Aggies two undefeated, untied
and unscored on football teams of
1917 and 1919. Coaching those
teams was D. X. Bible who be
came known as the man whose
specialty was undefeated teams.
But before one gets to those
teams, it’s good to go back to the
years when sports got their start
at Aggieland.
In 1894, Texas A&M fielded a
baseball team without a coach.
They were the first team to rep
resent the Aggies in college com
petition. They won three of the
four games they played. A&M
didn’t again compete in baseball
until 1904.
Football came on the scene that
same year as an interested stu
dent and a professor formed the
team. F. D. Perkins and Prof. A.
M. Soule are given credit for the
start. That team was one and one
with the loss coming to the hands
of Texas 38-0.
In 1902, J. E. Platt started the
Aggie track team. They finished
second to someone but it is un
clear who won the championship.
The final team to be started at
Aggieland was the basketball
team in 1913. Coach F. D. Steger
and his players competed with
the likes of Marlin High School
and the Galveston YMCA. Their
record was four and two with the
losses coming at the hands of the
YMCA team and Houston High
School. They lost both games by
two points.
Since it’s inception in 1894, the
Aggies have fielded a football
team every year except 1895. Per
haps the best of the early teams
was Coach J. E. PlatPs—team of
1902. In the midst of a struggle
to outlaw football by then Presi
dent Theodore Roosevelt, the Ag
gies were undefeated in nine
games. They were tied by Trinity
and Texas. In the second contest
with the Longhorns that year, the
Aggies stopped the Varsity 11-0.
This was the first time the Ag
gies had ever scored on or beaten
Texas.
Football took the campus by
storm and produced the first Sat
urday afternoon heroes. Aggie
Hall of Famers Joe Utay and
Charley DeWare captained the
1907 and 1908 teams. The coach
was Uncle Charlie Moran. He was
in charge of the football, baseball
and track programs until 1914.
Also in the Aggie Hall from
this period are Dutch Hohn and
Tyree Bell who captained the
1912 football team. That team
scored 366 points in nine games,
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an A&M record.
Then came Bible. 1917 was his
first year at A&M. He started
fall practice with four returning
“T” men and none of them were
backs. They worked for two
weeks and beat Austin College
66-0. One week later, they allowed
Dallas University only one first
down and scored 98 points. The
season ended with the Aggies 10-
0 victory over Rice. They were
crowned the “Champions of the
Southwest” after that perfect sea
son.
Two years later, Bible had the
Aggies in position again. They
opened the 1919 season with a
double header against San Marcos
Teachers College and Sam Hous
ton State. San Marcos lost 28-0
and Sam Houston lost 77-0. So
began a second perfect season
and another “Champions of the
Southwest” crown.
The 1919-20 school year was
especially successful because the
basketball team was also unde
feated. Coach Billy Driver took
them through 19 games and fi
nalized the season with a 17-13
win over the Longhorns.
By the year 1920, sports at
A&M had begun to progress. The
football and basketball teams
were coming off perfect seasons.
The baseball team finished sec
ond to the Longhorns and the
track team was fourth in the
conference. That year, the Ag
gies also had their first repre
sentative to the Olympics. Ag
gie Hall member Jack Mahan
placed fifth in the javelin.
ATLANTA (AP)—Mayor Maynard Jackson
wants Atlanta Stadium renamed Henry Aaron
Stadium to honor the Braves slugger.
More than 35 million persons watched Aaron
hit his 715th career home run there and break the
record set by Babe Ruth, Mayor Jackson said Mon
day night in a regular monthly telecast.
He urged the city council to recognize Aaron’s
accomplishment in naming the stadium after him.
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