1917 Davidson Wildcats football team

1917 Davidson Wildcats football

Conference	South Atlantic Intercollegiate Athletic Association
1917 record	6–4 (1–2 SAIAA)
Head coach	Bill Fetzer
Captain	Georgie King

1917 SAIAA football standings
	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
Georgetown $	2	–	0	–	0	8	–	1	–	0
Washington and Lee	2	–	1	–	0	4	–	3	–	0
North Carolina A&M	2	–	1	–	1	6	–	2	–	1
VPI	2	–	1	–	1	6	–	2	–	1
Richmond	2	–	1	–	0	4	–	2	–	1
Maryland State	2	–	1	–	1	3	–	3	–	1
Davidson	1	–	2	–	0	6	–	4	–	0
VMI	1	–	3	–	1	4	–	4	–	1
St. John's (MD)	0	–	1	–	0	0	–	1	–	0
Johns Hopkins	0	–	1	–	0	0	–	3	–	0
William & Mary	0	–	3	–	0	3	–	5	–	0

$ – Conference champion

The 1917 Davidson Wildcats football team represented Davidson University in the 1917 college football season. Led by third year coach Bill Fetzer, the Wildcats competed as a member of the South Atlantic Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SAIAA). Despite a record of 6–4 (1–2 SAIAA), some would call Davidson the second best southern team that year.^[1] Davidson defeated Auburn 21 to 7, in one of the great upsets in Southern football history,^[2] and scored the most on the 1917 Georgia Tech Golden Tornado, for many years considered the greatest football team the South ever produced,^[3] in a 32 to 10 loss. Following the Auburn game the Davidson team was first referred to as "the Wildcats.

The team included a 17-year-old Buck Flowers, and two other All-Southerns in Wooly Grey and captain Georgie King. The backfield consisted of Flowers, quarterback Henry Spann, halfback Jack Black, and fullback Buck Burns.^[4]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result
September 29	at Navy*	Worden Field • Annapolis, MD	L 6–27
October 6	at North Carolina A&M	Riddick Stadium • Raleigh, NC	L 3–7
October 13	at Georgia Tech*	Grant Field • Atlanta, GA	L 10–32
October 20	at VPI	Miles Field • Blacksburg, VA	L 7–13
October 27	vs. VMI	Danville, VA	W 23–7
November 3	at Furman*	Greenville, SC	W 28–7
November 10	vs. Auburn*	Atlanta, GA	W 21–7
November 17	Wake Forest*		W 72–7
November 24	Wofford*		W 62–0
November 29	vs. Clemson*	Charlotte, NC	W 21–9
*Non-conference game.

^[5]

Season summary

Week 3: at Georgia Tech

Davidson scored the most on the south's first national champion – Georgia Tech, for many years considered the greatest football team the South ever produced,^[3] in a 32 to 10 loss. This was the only game none of Tech's backs gained 100 yards rushing. Tech only led 6 to 3 until Everett Strupper broke open the game in the second half.^[6] Davidson got desperate and tried the pass, getting to within the 15-yard line. Walker Carpenter broke through the line and got a 10-yard loss.^[7]

Davidson captain Georgie King said “I consider Georgia Tech the best football team I have ever played against or ever expect to play against.”^[8]

Week 7: Auburn

Week 7: Davidson at Auburn

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Davidson	0	7	7	7	21
Auburn	0	0	7	0	7

Date: November 10
Location: Atlanta, GA
Referee: Lewis (Virginia)

Sources:^[9]

Auburn was involved in of the great upsets in Southern football history as the Wildcats bested the Auburn Tigers 21–7.^[9]^[10]

Week 10: Clemson

Week 10: Clemson at Davidson

	1	2	3	4	Total
Clemson	9	0	0	0	9
• Davidson	7	0	14	0	21

Date: November 29
Location: Charlotte, NC
Referee: Williams

Sources:^[11]

Davidson beat Clemson 21–9 on a soggy field. Tackle Douglas Elliott broke his leg below the knee in the second quarter. King scored two touchdowns and Flowers another. Clemson's score followed a kick return by Stumpy Banks to the 4-yard line.^[11]

The starting lineup was King (left end), Shaw (left tackle), Gray (left guard), D. Crouch (center), McMaster (right guard), Elliott (right tackle), Roberts (right end), Spann (quarterback), McAlester (left halfback), Thomas (right halfback), Burns (fullback).^[11]

References

↑ Bernie McCarty (February 1988). "Georgia Tech's 1917 backfield, better than the Four Horsemen Part 1" (PDF). College Football Historical Society. 1 (3).
↑ "Buck Flowers: He Could Do It All — Well". Daily Item. Sumter, S.C. October 15, 1969. p. B2.
1 2 Wiley Lee Umphlett (1992). Creating The Big Game. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 141. ISBN 0313284040.
↑ "Niches in the Wildcat Hall of Fame". The Davidsonian. March 6, 1924. p. 5. Retrieved August 23, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
↑ "1917 Davidson Wildcats Schedule and Results".
↑ Bernie McCarty (February 1988). "Georgia Tech's 1917 backfield, better than the Four Horsemen Part 1". College Football Historical Society. 1 (3). Part 1 Part 2
↑ Technique 9 Oct 1917, Print.
↑ (16 November 2010) In "Technique Newsletter Volume 07, Issue 11." Retrieved November 16, from http://smartech.gatech.edu/handle/1853/26083
1 2 Dick Jemison (November 11, 1917). "Ralph Flowers, Demon Halfback, Defeats Auburn". Atlanta Constitution – via Newspapers.com. Part 1 Part 2
↑ "Wildcat Origin". Retrieved March 22, 2015.
1 2 3 "Davidson Defeats The Clemson Football Team". Winston-Salem Journal. November 30, 1917. p. 9. Retrieved May 24, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.

Davidson Wildcats football

Venues	Richardson Stadium (1923–present)

Bowls & rivalries	1969 Tangerine Bowl

People	Head coaches

Seasons	1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

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