1893 Georgia Tech football team

1893 Georgia Tech football
ConferenceIndependent
Record2–1–0
Head coach
CaptainWill Hunter
Home stadiumPiedmont Park
Seasons
← 1892
1894 →
1893 Southern college football independents records
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Maryland   –   6 – 0 – 0
Texas   –   4 – 0 – 0
Central (KY)   –   2 – 0 – 0
Howard   –   2 – 0 – 0
North Carolina A&M   –   2 – 0 – 0
Vanderbilt   –   6 – 1 – 0
Auburn   –   3 – 0 – 2
Virginia   –   8 – 2 – 0
Ole Miss   –   4 – 1 – 0
Centre   –   4 – 1 – 0
Trinity (NC)   –   3 – 1 – 0
VMI   –   3 – 1 – 0
Kentucky State College   –   5 – 2 – 1
Delaware   –   2 – 1 – 0
Georgia Tech   –   2 – 1 – 0
Guilford   –   2 – 1 – 0
West Virginia   –   2 – 1 – 0
William & Mary   –   2 – 1 – 0
Navy   –   5 – 3 – 0
Richmond   –   3 – 2 – 0
Georgetown   –   4 – 4 – 0
Sewanee   –   3 – 3 – 0
Furman   –   1 – 1 – 0
Georgia   –   2 – 2 – 1
Western Maryland   –   1 – 1 – 0
Johns Hopkins   –   2 – 3 – 2
North Carolina   –   3 – 4 – 0
Tennessee   –   2 – 4 – 0
Tulane   –   1 – 2 – 0
Wake Forest   –   1 – 2 – 0
Hampden–Sydney   –   0 – 1 – 0
LSU   –   0 – 1 – 0
Maryville (TN)   –   0 – 1 – 0
Mercer   –   0 – 1 – 0
Wofford   –   0 – 1 – 0
VAMC   –   0 – 2 – 0
Alabama   –   0 – 4 – 0

The 1893 Georgia Tech football team represented the Georgia School of Technology during the 1893 college football season. It was the team's second season and included its first ever victory.[1] The Techs, as the local papers referred to the team,[2] finished with a record of 2–1–0, including against Georgia in the first iteration of the rivalry that would become known as Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate.

Leonard Wood, a 33-year-old Post Surgeon at Fort McPherson, enrolled at Georgia Tech by taking a special course in the wood shop and soon began organizing a university football team.[3] He would serve as a player-coach and became the star of the team. Wood and Ernest Nourse, the teams' trainer, selected and trained the team. Adjunct math professor Frank Spain, Arthur Solomon, and William Mealor, the team manager, raised money for the '93 Football Association by offering shares of stock at $2.50 a share. The stock owners made 100% profit on their investment.[3]

Will Hunter, member of the 1892 team was named team captain. Uniforms were provided by the Clarke Hardware Company, who also, ironically, provided uniforms for the Georgia Team.[2] As football uniforms were still in a primitive state at that time, there was little padding besides a leather nose cover and players would grow their hair out to cushion their heads against thrown objects or the hard clay.[4] As there was no established field on Georgia Tech's campus, Tech's lone home game was played at Piedmont Park in Atlanta, Georgia. With wins over in-state rivals Georgia and Mercer (avenging its 1892 loss), the season was considered memorable.[3]

Georgia Tech's colors during the year were yellow and white.[5][6] Fans created a standard cheer to be yelled out during the game:[7] 

  Tech–i–ty–tech!
  Hoo–Rex!–Hoo–Rex!
  Boom–Rah!–Boom–Rah!
  Georgia!

During the 40th anniversary of the season, a memorial plaque honoring Wood, a Medal of Honor recipient who later became U.S. Army Chief of Staff and governor of Cuba and the Philippines, was unveiled on Grant Field on November 25, 1933.[3]

  1. ^ Mike Flynn; Andrew Clausen, eds. (2023). 2023 Georgia Tech Football Information Guide (PDF).
  2. ^ a b "The Football Season". The Atlanta Constitution. Atlanta, Georgia. November 1, 1893.
  3. ^ a b c d "Tech to Honor General Wood at Home Coming Game". The Georgia Tech Alumnus. Vol. XII, no. 2. November–December 1933. p. 24. Retrieved November 30, 2023.
  4. ^ "Letters". Georgia Tech Alumnus. Vol. 49, no. 3. January–February 1971. p. 28. Retrieved November 30, 2023.
  5. ^ "College Boys Uneasy". The Atlanta Constitution. Atlanta, Georgia. November 1, 1893.
  6. ^ "Football Is the Go". The Atlanta Constitution. Atlanta, Georgia. November 29, 1893.
  7. ^ "Mercer Will Play the Techs". The Macon Telegraph. Macon, Georgia. December 16, 1893.