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Aggies first years filled with trials, triumphs
By Nick Georgandis
The Battalion
Although games of football had sprung
up on the campus of Texas A&M as early
as 1892, the University did not field an of
ficial team until 1894.
Despite most records showing the Ag
gies’ first game was against Galveston
Ball High School, Texas A&M archivist
John Dyal has proven through old news
paper research that the first game was ac
tually played against the University of
Texas in Austin. The inaugural season
started off poorly, as the Aggies were
blown out by Varsity 38-0.
The Aggies would play just one more
game that year, defeating Galveston Ball
High School 14-6 in Galveston on Thanks
giving Day to finish their inaugural sea
son with a 1-1 record. The first coach at
A&M was Frank Dudly Perkins, a rather
versatile man, who also served as the
team’s manager and starting fullback.
After not being able to field a team in
1895, the Aggies returned to the gridiron
in 1896 and have fielded a team every
year since. Their schedule expanded to
three games in 1896 and to six games by
1898.
In the first three years of Aggie football,
the rules of the game were drastically dif
ferent from the ones A&M fans are famil
iar with today. From 1894 to 1897, touch
downs were worth four points and points
after were worth two. In addition, for
ward passes were illegal.
While the first few years of Aggie foot
ball were a bit of a roller coaster ride, as
the team swung between good (4-2 in
1898) and not-so-good (1-4 in 1901). But
things truly
came together
for A&M in
1902 as the
team compiled
a 7-0-2 record
including the
school’s first-
ever victory
over Texas, 12-
0, at Austin. It
was A&M’s first
win over Varsi
ty in five tries,
and the follow
ing quote ap
peared in the
Dallas News
the following
day, commemo
rating the end
of the Aggies’
frustration
against their
Austin nemesis.
“For the first
time in the his
tory of the game in Texas, the state Uni
versity went down in defeat before the
The Decade
in Review
Decade record: 31-16-5
(.644)
Best record: 7-0-2 (1902)
Worst record: 1 -4 (1901)
Southwest
Championships: 1902
Highlights: 1902 - first
win over Texas (11-0)
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A&M’s second decade had
good defense, odd opponents
By Nick Georgandis
The Battalion
The second decade of Texas A&M foot
ball saw the game evolve more towards the
contest played at Kyle Field today. In 1906,
the forward pass was legalized; in 1909,
field goals dropped in worth from four
points to three and by 1912 touchdowns be
came worth six points a piece up from four.
The Aggies obviously favored the new
style of play, as they compiled a 61-18-4
record over the ten-year period, enjoying
winning records in eight of the seasons.
The best campaign of the decade was
easily 1909,
when head
coach C.B.
Moran led A&M
to a 7-0-1
record, with the
lone blemish
coming in a 0-0
deadlock with
TCU.
As was be
coming the
trademark of
their early
teams, the 1909
Aggies had an
outstanding de
fense, pitching
six shutouts and
outscoring their
opponents 130-
14 overall. That
defensive trend
continued over
the next three
seasons, as
A&M outscored the opposition by a com
bined total of 833-61 while piling up a 39-3-
1 record from 1909-1912.
The Decade
in Review
Decade record:
61-18-4 (.759)
Best record: 7-0-1 (1909)
Worst record: 3-5 (1908)
SWC Championships:
none
Highlights: A near riot
happens between A&M
and Texas fans in 1908.
Agricultural and Mechanical eleven and it
was the first time that team had ever
scored against the Varsity.
“The College boys and their friends are
painting the town red tonight, while
everything is silent and dark on the cam
pus. The explanation of the unexpected is
that College simply has the best team.”
Only a lack of offense kept the Aggies
from having a true perfect season in 1902.
Twice, A&M tied opponents at 0-0, but
overall they held their opponents to a mi
nuscule 11 points over the course of the
entire season. At the end of the 1902 cam
paign, the Aggies were proclaimed Cham
pions of the Southwest.
Although Tfexas A&M was still learning
the game of football in that first decade,
they were not without controversial games.
In the 1899 Texas game, A&M was de
nied an apparent touchdown on a contro
versial official’s ruling. When the officials
awarded Texas the ball on the Aggie two-
yard line after a mad scramble for a fum
ble, A&M captain Hal Moseley led the
team off the field and out of the stadium
with 28 minutes still remaining in the
game. Texas was awarded the game by
forfeit, 6-0.
Despite an overall successful first ten
years (a 31-16-5 composite record and a
.644 winning percentage), the first decade
gave the Aggies their worst two defeats of
the century to come. At Texas in 1898, the
Longhorns ripped A&M 48-0. Three years
later, Baylor trounced the Aggies 46-0.
The 1908 season was a disappointing
one, both in the Aggies’ record and in their
fans’ display in the annual tilt against the
University of Texas. The season ended 3-5
and during their clash with the Longhorns,
played in Houston, Aggie fans showed their
sensitive side.
UT led 14-0 at halftime when some of
the 1,200 Longhorn students in attendance
marched across the field with brooms rest
ing on their shoulders like rifles. What was
supposed to be a traditional snake dance
was interpreted by a group of cadets as a
motion that Texas would “sweep” the Ag
gies off the field. The cadets came onto the
field and a riot nearly ensued. One Texas
student was stabbed three times, but no ar
rests were made and Texas went on to a 24-
8 victory.
With the Southwest Conference not com
ing into existence until 1915, Texas A&Ms
schedule varied from year to year, and some
of the Aggies’ opponents were of the head-
scratching variety.
The first A&M game of the decade is a
perfect example, as A&M defeated the
Dumb and Deaf Institute 49-0. The follow
ing year, A&M blanked the Houston YMCA
29-0, but were defeated by Transylvania
(Kentucky) University 29-6.
Over the course of the decade, the Ag
gies found a couple of the teams to be
much to their liking, the Haskell Institute
and Daniel Baker. Although Haskell de
feated A&M a couple of times in the
decade, the Aggies usually had their way.
Daniel Baker however, was not so lucky.
In 1906, the Aggies whipped Daniel Baker
34-0, then destroyed the small school 50-0
in 1912. Another unlikely opponent of the
Aggies was Fort Worth Polytechnic Col
lege, who actually held their own in a 19-6
loss in 1913.
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