1896 Georgia Tech Football Team
The 1896 Georgia Tech football team represented the Georgia School of Technology during the 1896 college football season. After not fielding a team during the previous year, 1896 featured Georgia Tech’s fourth season of football. The team was nicknamed the Techs.
Season Overview
Over the summer, newly elected Georgia Tech President Lyman Hall developed plans to pay more attention to athletes than the school had done previously. He initiated the hiring of new professors including one specifically to be placed in charge of training the football and baseball teams. More attention was to be paid to athletes over the next season than ever before, which included the overhaul of the school’s gymnasium. J. B. Wood, a former football captain at Central University, was selected for the role and arrived on campus on September 15. He would serve as Georgia Tech’s coach for the next two years. The fervor led to high expectations for the upcoming season and many students arrived at school early to begin training.
Team Composition
The team was made up of only underclassmen and there were early concerns about their lack of experience. Frank Ogletree, the fullback, and West, the center, were the only returnees from the 1894 season, and Ogletree rarely took the field. Wright, the quarterback, was named captain. Coach Wood said of the team: “Although the team is rather lightweight, averaging about 155 pounds, and is made up almost entirely of raw material, I feel confident that they will make a creditable showing on the gridiron. The men put up a game always snappy and clever, and should, I think, win at least a majority of the games played this season.”
Colors and Cheer
Georgia Tech used the colors of old gold and white, and its fans shouted the following cheer:
Teckity–Teck Hoo-reck! Hoo-reck!
Tecikty-Teck Hoo-reck! Hoo reck!
Boom–rah! Boom–rah! GEORGIA!
Season Record
With a 2-2-1 record, the season was a competent return to football for Georgia Tech. While Tech performed adequately against its lesser opponents, its easy defeat by Auburn showed that it was not ready to play against the power football schools of the south. Unfortunately, the season did not give Georgia Tech any momentum in its football program as the team would not win another game until the 1901 season.
Schedule
Georgia Tech made plans for several other games for the season including a match against Fort McPherson on October 24, Virginia Tech on November 17, and games against Furman and Wofford on Thanksgiving, and possible games against Auburn and Georgia.
Game Summaries
Georgia Tech’s first game of the season marked its return to the field after not fielding a team the previous year. For the majority of the Tech team, this was the first game of their careers. Mercer had lost its first game of the season to Auburn 0-46. Georgia Tech’s coach, J. B. Wood, umpired the game, which caused claims of unfairness from Mercer. The all-time series between the schools was tied 1-1-0 with their last match-up in 1894.
Georgia Tech vs. Mercer
The game was described as the “prettiest game seen on the Macon gridiron in years”. Mercer got off to a very fast start and scored a goal within the first five minutes. However, Mercer missed the kick for extra points which would prove costly. Mercer continued to have the upper hand and took the ball within six inches of the Tech goal, but a costly fumble stopped the attack. Eventually, Georgia Tech was able to score a touchdown of their own and its successful extra points would decide the game 6-4. Mercer claimed that the score should have been 4-4 and that the umpire–who was Georgia Tech’s coach–was unfair in declaring Tech’s try for extra points as successful. However, the person who made the call on the field was Mercer’s referee.
Georgia Tech vs. Auburn
Georgia Tech’s second match-up against Auburn at Auburn, Alabama, was the first time that Tech traveled outside of the state of Georgia to play a football game. Both teams had only played one earlier game in the season, each winning against Mercer. Auburn quickly showed that they outmatched the Techs, scoring a touchdown in the first minute of the game. Auburn scored a total of seven touchdowns during the game. Georgia Tech had trouble moving the ball against Auburn and only came within ten yards of a touchdown one time. Auburn won the game 40-0.
Georgia Tech vs. Fort McPherson
Georgia Tech next played the officers from Fort McPherson in a rematch of their 1894 defeat. The game was well played and hotly contested from the beginning. Georgia Tech scored touchdowns from Crawford and Frazer and won the game 10–4.
Georgia Tech vs. Mercer Rematch
The Georgia Tech-Mercer rematch was an anticipated event in Atlanta due to the rivalry between the schools and the controversial result of the first game. Georgia Tech won the toss and deferred to Mercer who promptly fumbled the ball on its first play from scrimmage. Tech was able to score a few plays later by Freyer‘s run through the right tackle and guard. The teams played back and forth in the drives that followed. Eventually, Tech made very good progress and came within feet of the Mercer goal. However, Mercer’s halfback, Glass, pulled the ball out of Ogletree’s hands and ran the length of the field for a touchdown. Mercer missed all three tries for extra points. The second half ended in a 12-12 tie, the first tie in Georgia Tech’s history.
Thanksgiving Matchup
Georgia Tech was slated to play a rematch against Fort McPherson as part of Atlanta’s Thanksgiving festivities. The game was plagued by delays and was stopped early due to scheduling conflicts with the Auburn-Georgia match-up. Fort McPherson won the match 10-0.
Players
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