Category: Sports

These are excerpts from the Wofford College Journal’s April 1915 sports
section. Spring sports were an important part of campus life in the early 20th century, and baseball was arguably more important to students than football during those years.

Baseball

The baseball season was ushered in Thursday, April 1, with a
brilliant victory for the Old Gold and Black nine over the “huskies” from
Guilford College, NC, 4 to 3. It was a
great game in every sense of the word, the Wofford boys deserving great credit,
as Guilford reached Spartanburg after having taken several scalps on her way
South. It was also the Terriers’ first
game, this fact being considered gives some idea of the swell exhibition they
put up, only one error being chalked up against them. The Terriers had lots of “pep” and kept
fighting harder than ever when their opponents tied up the score in the fourth
inning, and finally nosed out a victory in the eighth by a one run margin. Wofford began the fireworks, scoring one in
the first and two in the third, and things began to look like a cinch for the
Terriers, when, by a splendid rally in the fourth, Guilford tied things
up. The score remained a tie until the
eighth, when Wofford managed to shove another man over the plate and sewed the
game up. The Wofford boys are justly
proud of this victory, and are sure they will add a long list just like it ere
the season has closed.

Track

A preliminary track meet was held late in March to determine
who would represent Wofford on the track team this season, and a fine array of
talent was picked up on that occasion. A
meet will be held with Carolina on the 8^th, and the Terriers are
sure to give a good account of themselves and show the university boys a few
things in the way of track work. The
following are the events and winners:

100 yards – Fletcher, Cates
High Jump – Collins, Cates
Half Mile – Riley, Wannamaker
220 Yards – Fletcher, Fowler
Pole Vault – Williams, Morgan
High Hurdles – Cauthen, Harllee
Hammer Throw – Williams, Earle
440 Yards – Moseley, Riley
Broad Jump – Cates, Morgan
Low Hurdles – Cates, Cauthen
Shot Put – Williams, Earle
One Mile – Collins, Whitaker
Discus – Morgan, Williams

Wofford students were playing baseball several years before the first football game.  Legend holds that the first games on campus were between students and some of the federal soldiers stationed in Spartanburg during Reconstruction.

Below is an excerpt from the June 1903 Wofford College Journal detailing some of the exploits of the 1903 baseball season.

A very successful season in the baseball line has just been completed by the Wofford team.  From first to last the members of the team have been faithful in their practicing, earnest in their efforts, and determined in their purpose to represent the college well.  They have played will, and the whole college community appreciates to the fullest the high character of ball playing the boys have done.  During the entire season there were fourteen games played with other colleges — and out of these fourteen we won eight and yielded six.Not all the games were what would be considered excellent games.  Those played with the North Carolina teams, with the possible exception of the one with Trinity College, were splendid exhibitions of base ball playing.  The game with the University of North Carolina, in which the University won by a score of 2 to 0, was perhaps the most beautiful game that has ever been play(ed) on our grounds.

In the Trinity game, about which mention has been made, neither team played the usual game.  Trinity was broken up, having just played several hard games.  Wofford’s pitcher (was) disabled and the team in general playing at low ebb.

The Davidson game was fast and exciting — keeping the enthusiasts guessing as to which team should strike the decisive blow.  Davidson came out in the lead by one point, the score being 3 to 2.

The Wake Forest boys put up a good game, but from the beginning it was evident that Wofford’s team was the stronger.

The games in the State, some of them were good.  We lost two games to Clemson College, one to Erskine.

The tour through Tennessee resulted most successfully to our team.  In the three games played our boys were triumphant, winning too off University of Tennessee at Knoxville, and taking one from Sewanee.

Photos: The 1903 baseball team, the team from 1905. 

In recent posts, I’ve neglected Wofford’s long history of intercollegiate athletics.  Since we’re presently in the thick of Southern Conference basketball play, I thought it would be appropriate to put up a sketch of an earlier basketball season.  This snippet comes from the 1916 Bohemian and talks about a few games from that year.

When the call was issued for candidates for the basket-ball team last winter, there were many out to try their skill at throwing baskets.  There were only two regulars back from the championship team of the year before, but they made up in quality what was lacking in quantity.
Captain Patterson, All-State Guard and Collins, All-State Centre, furnished a good nucleus to build a team around.  All of the second-string men of the previous year were back also, and some good material was uncovered in the Freshman class.  We secured the services of Mr. L. J. Denning as coach and to his careful work the success of the team may be in large measure ascribed.

The first game of the season was played with Furman, on our court, on December 19.  The Terriers were thirsting for revenge for the defeat in football, and went into the game with the intention of making it a slaughter.  During the first half the weight of the heavy Baptist team offset in some degree the superior speed and passing of Wofford and the score at the end of the period was only 14 to 10 against them.  The Terriers came back, however, to start the second half and, playing with a rush that swept the Furman five off its feet, went far on into the lead.  The Baptists never had a chance to rally, and all the way through the last half the game was a veritable riot.  The score at the end of the second half was 50 to 12, with Furman holding the smaller figure.

Presbyterian College came up on the following Wednesday [in February] and went down in one of the roughest and most bitterly contested fights of the season.  Wofford got a slight lead in the first few minutes, and held it doggedly to the end, in spite of P. C.’s hardest efforts.  The final count was 34 to 26, with the Terriers on top.

February 18 was set aside for Erskine’s slaughter, and the job was well done.  Rushing their opponents off their feet, and with a whirlwind attack at the start, the Terriers kept them on the run, and the count at the end was 61 to 19.  Turner featured the contest, with 31 of Wofford’s 61 points.

Turner would be Henry Grady Turner, whose sweater was featured in an earlier blog post.

Photographs: The 1915-16 Varsity basketball team, and individual shots of team members Patterson and Collins.

On this day 118 years ago, Wofford and Furman played the first intercollegiate football game in the state of South Carolina.  The account of the game, written by a Wofford student journalist in The Wofford College Journal and published in January 1890, is reprinted below.

On Saturday morning, December 14, 1889, the foot ball teams of Furman University and Wofford College played a very interesting and exciting game at the Encampment Grounds, Spartanburg, S.C.

The players were: Furman– Jones, Hammett, Young, Sneider, Padgett, Lott, Edwards, Little, Rodgers, and Tate.  Substitutes: Wilkins, Scott, and Sirrine.

Wofford– Bruce, Bearden, Clyde S., Bearden, Clyde H., Covington, Ellerbe, Flemming, Hayes, McRoy, Rankin, and Rouquie.  Substitutes: Dent and Calhoun.

The Wofford team wished association rules to govern the game, but Furman protesting, after some discussion, it was decided to play by the old rough-and-tumble rules.

Prof. J. H. Marshall umpired with great satisfaction to both sides.  The game lasted one hour and a half, with two fifteen minute rests, and was won with ease by Wofford, the score being five to one.

Furman’s team did some good playing, but it was evident from the first that the superior strength and skill of the Wofford boys would win the game.

Much of Wofford’s success was due to the instruction of Edwin Kerrison, Esq., a graduate of Yale, who kindly trained the team and acted as coacher during the contest.

The game was replete with good plays.  Bruce and Haynes did good work, while the goal kick of Bearden has scarcely been excelled on a foot ball field.

The visiting team left on the afternoon train wiser and sadder men, having learned though “they receive instruction in their heads, not feet” at Furman, a little education of the pedal extremities is requisite to make good foot ball players.

Another game will be played in Greenville Saturday, January 14.  The boys will go under the management of Prof. Marshall, whose efforts to establish athletic sports at Wofford deserve the greatest commendation.
— G. Rouquie.

In this photo, of the class of 1891, are at least three members of the team. Gabriel Rouquie, the author of this piece, is the first person on the left in the middle row.  W. W. Bruce is the fourth person on the middle row.  J. L. Flemming is directly behind Bruce.