1900 Georgia Tech football team

1900 Georgia Tech football
ConferenceSouthern Intercollegiate Athletic Association
Record0–4 (0–3 SIAA)
Head coach
CaptainMorris Yow, Wayne Holman[a]
Home stadiumPiedmont Park
Seasons
← 1899
1901 →
1900 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Clemson + 2 – 0 – 0 6 – 0 – 0
Auburn 4 – 0 – 0 4 – 0 – 0
Tulane 3 – 0 – 0 5 – 0 – 0
Texas 1 – 0 – 0 6 – 0 – 0
Sewanee + 5 – 0 – 1 6 – 1 – 1
North Carolina 3 – 0 – 1 4 – 1 – 3
Vanderbilt 2 – 3 – 1 4 – 4 – 1
Alabama 1 – 3 – 0 2 – 3 – 0
Nashville 1 – 3 – 0 2 – 3 – 0
Georgia 1 – 4 – 0 2 – 4 – 0
Tennessee 0 – 2 – 1 3 – 2 – 1
Cumberland (TN) 0 – 1 – 0 0 – 1 – 0
LSU 0 – 1 – 0 2 – 2 – 0
Kentucky State 0 – 2 – 0 4 – 6 – 0
Ole Miss 0 – 3 – 0 0 – 3 – 0
Georgia Tech 0 – 3 – 0 0 – 4 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion

The 1900 Georgia Tech football team represented the Georgia School of Technology during the 1900 college football season. 1900 was the first year that the team was called the Blacksmiths[b],[2][3] although the team was still occasionally referred to as the 'Techs'.[4]

Coming into the season, Tech had not won a game since 1897 and had only scored in three of its previous thirteen games. R. B. Nalley, who had been hired as Tech's coach to much fanfare in 1899, had been unable to produce a win and did not return for the 1900 season. Georgia Tech conducted a national coaching search as President Lyman Hall continued his goal to elevate Tech athletics. Tech competed with Auburn to hire Walter Watkins and with Georgia to hire Art Hillebrand, both former players of football powerhouse Princeton, although neither offer was ultimately successful.[5] The student body raised $1,000 to support the school's athletic association.[6] Hall also hired a new physical director, Dr. W. A. Jackson, to live in the dormitories and supervise the physical training of the students.[7] All of this led to much interest in the upcoming season and an optimistic outlook on how the team would perform since there were many returning players from the previous year. Practice was planned to begin on September 15.[8]

Georgia Tech was not able to find a coach until September 18, when it hired Harris T. Collier, former captain of Virginia and coach of the winless 1899 Tulane team. Practice did not began until the next day,[9] and Collier did not arrive to Atlanta until September 27.[10] Neal was named team manager, and newly joined Morris Yow, a member of the 1898 team, was elected captain on October 2, replacing Lee Clark who had assumed the captaincy as the team had been forming.[11][1] While Collier was pleased with his team's work on the practice field, he believed that its lack of weight was its main weakness.[4] Still, as what seems the case with each of the early seasons, Tech was said to have compiled "by far the strongest yet put forth by that institution".[2]

As losses mounted during the season, friction began to occur between Coach Collier and the team and Collier almost quit the team. Fans did not show up to the games as expected leading to small gate receipts, financial trouble, and concerns the team would not be able to fulfill Collier's contract.[12] Collier agreed to coach the team through Thanksgiving. Captain Yow left the team following the game against Sewanee on doctor's orders due to rheumatism.[13][14] Manager Neal left the team–under the pretense of health concerns–and an election for a new manager was held, eventually electing Andrew Pittman.[12][14][15] To compound the financial woes, many fans were able to watch Tech's final match against Davidson without having to pass through the ticket line, causing gate receipts to be disappointing.[16]

Much like the previous two seasons, 1900 was a failure for Georgia Tech. The team lost all four of its games, capping a 14-match losing streak, and scored in only one contest. Financial woes plagued the season, and the Georgia Tech Athletic Association fell into a debt of $625 which threatened to cancel the school's upcoming baseball season[15] and the 1901 football season.[17] The Atlanta Journal helped raise money for the Tech's athletic programs.[15] Clemson's athletic association contributed to the fund.[18]

  1. ^ a b "Yow to Captain the Tech Eleven". The Atlanta Journal. Atlanta, Georgia. October 2, 1900.
  2. ^ a b "First Game Next Saturday". The Atlanta Constitution. Atlanta, Georgia. October 9, 1900.
  3. ^ "The Football Season". The Savannah Morning News. Savannah, Georgia. October 12, 1900.
  4. ^ a b "Coach Collier Pleased with Techs". The Atlanta Journal. Atlanta, Georgia. October 3, 1900.
  5. ^ "Famous Football Coaches Coming". The Atlanta Journal. Atlanta, Georgia. June 19, 1900.
  6. ^ "The "Tech" in Athletics". The Atlanta Journal. Atlanta, Georgia. June 27, 1900.
  7. ^ "Will Develop the Bodies". The Atlanta Constitution. Atlanta, Georgia. August 22, 1900.
  8. ^ "Bright Prospect for Football". The Atlanta Journal. Atlanta, Georgia. August 27, 1900.
  9. ^ "Collier to Coach the Tech Eleven". The Atlanta Journal. Atlanta, Georgia. September 18, 1900.
  10. ^ "Coach Collier Is Due Here Tonight". The Atlanta Journal. Atlanta, Georgia. September 27, 1900.
  11. ^ "Three Stars of the Football Firmament Who Will Twinkle With the Tech Team This Season". The Atlanta Journal. Atlanta, Georgia. September 20, 1900.
  12. ^ a b "Tech Eleven Has Lots of Trouble". The Atlanta Journal. Atlanta, Georgia. November 12, 1900.
  13. ^ "Yow Will Leave Tech's Eleven". The Atlanta Journal. Atlanta, Georgia. October 29, 1900.
  14. ^ a b "New Manager for Techs Not Chosen". The Atlanta Journal. Atlanta, Georgia. November 13, 1900.
  15. ^ a b c "Journal Heads Subscription to Aid the Tech's Athletics". The Atlanta Journal. Atlanta, Georgia. December 7, 1900.
  16. ^ "Football Games Played in Places Outside State". The Atlanta Constitution. Atlanta, Georgia. November 30, 1900.
  17. ^ "Techs Elect Their New Athletic Officers: Great Dramatic Benefit to Pay Old Debts". The Atlanta Journal. Atlanta, Georgia. January 14, 1901.
  18. ^ "General Desire to Help Tech's Boys Out of Debt". The Atlanta Journal. Atlanta, Georgia. December 8, 1900.


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