Sewanee–Vanderbilt football rivalry
| Sport | Football |
|---|---|
| First meeting |
November 7, 1891 Vanderbilt 22, Sewanee 0 |
| Latest meeting |
November 23, 1944 Vanderbilt 28, Sewanee 7 |
| Statistics | |
| Meetings total | 52 |
| All-time series | Vanderbilt, 40–8–4 |
| Largest victory | Vanderbilt, 68–4 (1905) |
| Longest streak | Vanderbilt, 14 (1925–1941) |
| Current streak | Vanderbilt, 1 (1944) |
University
The Sewanee–Vanderbilt football rivalry was an American college football rivalry between the Sewanee Tigers and Vanderbilt Commodores. They were both founding members of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA), the Southern Conference, and the Southeastern Conference (SEC). Both teams' histories feature some powerhouses of early Southern football, e.g. 1899 Sewanee Tigers football team and 1915 Vanderbilt Commodores football team. It was the oldest of Vanderbilt's rivalries; dating back to 1891 when Vanderbilt played its second ever football game and Sewanee played its first.[1] Vanderbilt leads the series 40–8–4.[2] It used to be claimed as the oldest rivalry in the south,[3] older than the "South's Oldest Rivalry" between North Carolina and Virginia. Usually played towards the end of the season on Thanksgiving Day, the two teams have not met again since 1944.
The two universities are in the same state of Tennessee and are over 90 miles away from each other. A newspaper account of the rivalry reads: "Both schools look upon the game as the big feature of their schedule each year, no matter what other games are included, and it is always the biggest drawing card on either schedule."[4] "Goodbye Sewanee goodbye" was even a song sung by Vanderbilt students.[5]
Game results
| Sewanee victories | Vanderbilt victories | Tie games |
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Notable games
1891: Sewanee's first game; Vanderbilt's second
Sewanee's first ever football game, and Vanderbilt's second, was the first instance of this rivalry at McGee Field on November 7, 1891. Vanderbilt won 22 to 0. McGee Field is the oldest stadium in the south still in use, and the fourth oldest in the nation.[6]
1902: Sewanee drubs Vandy
Sewanee defeated Vanderbilt in a surprising 11 to 5 upset.[7] John Edgerton's touchdown was the first Vanderbilt had scored on Sewanee since 1897. Captain Henry D. Phillips made Sewanee's touchdown.
1907: Grantland Rice's Greatest Thrill
In the second year of the legal forward pass Vanderbilt won the SIAA championship on a double-pass play. Sewanee led 12 to 11 with twelve minutes to play. At McGugin's signal, the Commodores went into a freakish formation in which Stein Stone remained at center but all other players shifted to his left.[8] Quarterback Hugh Potts took the snap and lateraled the ball to Vaughn Blake, who lateraled it across to Bob Blake, who had lined up deep in punt formation, as Stone ran down the field.[8] Blake then connected with Stone on a 35-yard pass down inside the 5-yard line.[9][10] Honus Craig ran in it to win the game.[11] It was cited by Grantland Rice as the greatest thrill he ever witnessed in his years of watching sports.[12] Vanderbilt coach Dan McGugin in Spalding's Football Guide's summation of the season in the SIAA wrote "The standing. First, Vanderbilt; second, Sewanee, a might good second;" and that Aubrey Lanier "came near winning the Vanderbilt game by his brilliant dashes after receiving punts."[13] Innis Brown recalled that Sewanee was likely the South's best team that year.[10]
1921: Vanderbilt's muddiest game
The Commodores closed the season with a 9 to 0 win over Sewanee in the "muddiest game" in its history.[14] The Commodores were supposedly knee-deep in mud and water,[15] with players unrecognizable.[16] The two teams were considered a fairly even match before the game. Sewanee felt confident its line gave them a chance to win, but also a bit nervous about Vanderbilt's passing attack.[17] In a game for bragging rights and the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association title, Lynn Bomar would be injured.[18]
The game went scoreless until the fourth quarter, when Sewanee fumbled the snap on a punt and the punter was smothered by Jess Neely, Frank Godchaux, and Pink Wade for a safety. Later in the fourth, Hek Wakefield would punt the ball 54 yards from his own 38 yard-line, and Elam recovered a fumble by Sewanee's Powers. Wakefield ran in the game's only touchdown off-tackle from about 5 yards out. Wakefield kicked goal. Sewanee had more first downs than Vanderbilt, six to Vandy's two, but suffered four successive fumbles.[19][20]
1924: Sewanee's last and greatest victory
Sewanee won for the first time in a decade by the score of 16-0. The student newspaper The Sewanee Purple labeled it "The Greatest Victory for Sewanee in Its Thirty-one Years of Football History."[21] Vanderbilt coach Dan McGugin stated "Sewanee played a brilliant, sustained game. It was her day all the way." Michigan coach Fielding Yost said of the game, "It was one of those days when everything you try goes wrong and everything the other fellow tries goes right. Sewanee played great football." Gil Reese was relatively controlled and Bob Rives' line play was adequately challenged. Gil Reese and Fatty Lawrence starred for the Commodores. Sewanee's backfield of captain Harris, Gibbons, Barker, and Mahoney "clicked to perfection"[14] and its line received lots of praise as well.[21] It's the last time Sewanee has beaten Vanderbilt.
References
- ↑ William L. Traughber. "CHC- Sewanee Was Vandy's First Rival".
- ↑ cf. William L. Traughber. Vanderbilt Football: Tales of Commodore Gridiron History. p. 26.
- ↑ "Oldest Dual Series" (PDF).
- ↑ "Ready For Big Game". The State (Columbia, South Carolina). November 19, 1920.
- ↑ "Goodbye, Sewanee, Goodbye". Retrieved February 1, 2015.
- ↑ "2004 Sewanee football media guide" (PDF). p. 43.
- ↑ "Vanderbilt Is Given Drubbing". Atlanta Constitution. November 28, 1902. p. 1. Retrieved March 30, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
- 1 2 Edwin Pope. Football's Greatest Coaches. p. 339.
- ↑ "Claiming Rampant". The Miami News. February 9, 1954.
- 1 2 "Brown Calls Vanderbilt '06 Best Eleven South Ever Had". Atlanta Constitution. February 19, 1911. p. 52. Retrieved March 8, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ Bill Traughber (December 5, 2007). "CHC: Stein Stone's Famous 1907 Catch".
- ↑ "Grantland Rice Tells Of Greatest Thrill In Years Of Watching Sport". Boston Daily Globe. April 27, 1924.
- ↑ Dan McGugin (1907). "Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association Foot Ball". The Official National Collegiate Athletic Association Football Guide (National Collegiate Athletic Association): 71–75.
- 1 2 Russell, Fred, and Maxwell Edward Benson. Fifty Years of Vanderbilt Football. Nashville, TN, 1938, p.39, 43
- ↑ "Vanderbilt Wins From Sewanee In Final Quarter, 9-0". Augusta Chronicle. November 25, 1921.
- ↑ "Vanderbilt 9, Sewanee 0.". Morning Oregonian. November 25, 1921.
- ↑ "Gridiron Gossip". Montgomery Advertiser. November 10, 1921.
- ↑ "Vanderbilt-Sewanee Clash is Big Even". Montgomery Advertiser. November 24, 1921.
- ↑ Camp, Walter, ed. National Collegiate Athletic Association Football Rules: Official Intercollegiate Football Guide. 45 Rose St, New York: American Sports, 1922. Print. Spalding's Athletic Library.
- ↑ "Final Period Rally Wins for Old Vandy". Charlotte Observer. November 25, 1921.
- 1 2 "Sewanee 16, Vandy 0". The Sewanee Purple. December 3, 1924.
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