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IE BATTALION
Tradition Bound by Spirit
TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY
Crowd
From the Farmers to the Aggies, A&M football is rich in Aggie tradition
By Justin smith
THE BATTALION
Aggie football, an integral part of
Texas A&M's identity and traditions,
was non-existent during the school’s
first 18 years. When the Agriculture
and Mechanical College of Texas
fielded its first team in 1894 with the
“Farmers” as its mascot, few would
have predicted it would evolve into
one of the most prominent college
football programs in the country.
A&M played only two games its
first season. The first was against the
University of Texas (UT), where the
Aggies
were shutout by the Longhorns, 0-38.
The second game, a. 14-6 victory
against Ball High School from
Galveston, was the Aggies’ first win
and first home game. By today’s stan
dards, it may seem unusual for a col
lege team to play a high school team,
but A&M played several high schools
until the tum of the century.
The Aggies had no
football team the year "SipP
after their inaugural
season. Led by M
head coach J.D. S^SaT"''*'
Perkins, they
regrouped and
returned in
1896 and have played ever since.
In 1898, A&M suffered its largest
defeat when UT blasted A&M. 48-0.
Afterward, several coaches led the
team until C.B. Moran stepped in for
the 1909 season.
Coach Moran only had one losing
season in his six-year stay at A&M.
In 1915, the Southwest Conference
(SWC) was formed
and remained
until 1996
when the Big 12 took its place. The
UT team made its first visit to Kyle
Field in 1915, losing to the Farmers,
13-0, in front of an estimated 10,000
fans.
Two years later, in 1917, Coach
Dana X. Bible took the helm and led
the Aggies to their first perfect season
with a record of eight wins, no losses
and a first-place ranking in the SWC.
Two years later, the Aggies had
another perfect season, 10-0.
In 1920, A&M destroyed Daniel
Baker, 110-0, giving the Aggies their
largest margin of victory ever.
At the end of the 1921 season, the
Aggies went to their first bowl game,
the Dixie Classic, and battled against
the "Champions of the South,” Centre
College. Centre only allowed six
points to their opponents all season,
but A&M came through with the
upset, winning, 22-14.
This game holds the roots of
the 12th Man tradition.
E. King Gill, an
mt*
' ' r f.
Aggie basketball player, asked Bible
if he could help spot players from the
press box. Near the end of the first
half, Bible called Gill down to the
field and asked him to be ready to
play. Gill changed into the uniform of
one of the injured players under the
stands and stood on the sidelines for
the rest of the game, but he was never
called.
A&M did not see another bowl
game or perfect season until 1939,
when Homer Norton’s Aggies went to
the Sugar Bowl to fight for the
National Championship against the
Tulane Green Wave. The Aggies had
an early lead until Tulane’s Bob
Kellog ran a quick kick back 76 yards
to tie the game. The Green Wave
scored another touchdown, but Herbie
Smith, who had been sick before the
game, blocked the extra-point attempt
making the score 13-7.
In the fourth quarter, on the Tulane
26-yard line, quarterback Cotton Price
passed to Smith who ran the ball to the
10-yard line where he gave a lateral
pass to Aggie legend John
Kimbrough, who rushed the rest of the
way for the winning touchdown. With
a 14-13 final score, A&M won its only
national title.
In 1941, A&M made its first
appearance in the Cotton Bowl, losing
its last regular season game to Texas
and settling for a co-championship
with Southern Methodist University.
In 1957, John David Crow rushed
for 562 yards and caught five inter
ceptions to become the only Aggie to
win the Heisman Trophy. As the
years passed, the Aggies continued
to attend bowl games, 26 total,
under the leadership of several
coaches, including Paul “Bear”
Bryant. Gene Stallings, Emory
Bellard. Jackie Sherrill and R.C.
Slocum.
The Aggies have won 18
SWC Championships and two
Big 12 South’Championships
k in A&M football history.
L A&M won the Big 12
Championship in 1998 in a
Stt memorable double-overtime
victory over No. 1 Kansas
There have been 42 First
wm Team All-Americans in A&M
football history, beginning
with Joe Routt in 1936 and
ending with Shane Lechler in
1999. A&M has produced 202
professional football players,
including Ray Childress, John
David Crow, Lester Hayes, John
Kimbrough, Dat Nguyen and Jack
Pardee, who later became a profes
sional coach.
Of those players, 42 are playing in
the NFL today.
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im