1904 VPI football team

1904 VPI football
Conference	Independent
Record	5–3
Head coach	John C. O'Connor (1st season)
Captain	George C. Willson
Home stadium	Gibboney Field

1904 Southern college football independents records

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
Georgetown			–					7	–	1	–	0
Southwest Texas State			–					5	–	1	–	0
Southwestern Louisiana Industrial			–					2	–	0	–	1
Davidson			–					6	–	1	–	1
Navy			–					7	–	2	–	1
North Carolina			–					5	–	2	–	2
Virginia			–					6	–	3	–	0
North Carolina A&M			–					3	–	1	–	2
West Virginia			–					6	–	3	–	0
VPI			–					5	–	3	–	0
George Washington			–					4	–	2	–	2
Arkansas			–					4	–	3	–	0
Oklahoma			–					4	–	3	–	1
South Carolina			–					4	–	3	–	1
Stetson			–					2	–	2	–	0
Central Oklahoma			–					2	–	3	–	0
VMI			–					3	–	5	–	0
Kentucky University			–					3	–	4	–	0
Grant			–					2	–	3	–	0
Florida State College			–					2	–	3	–	0
Maryland			–					2	–	4	–	2
East Florida Seminary			–					1	–	2	–	0
Goldey College			–					1	–	2	–	0
Baylor			–					2	–	5	–	1
Louisiana Industrial			–					1	–	4	–	0
TCU			–					1	–	4	–	1
Delaware			–					1	–	5	–	1
Kendall			–					0	–	2	–	1
Rollins			–					0	–	1	–	0
Tusculum			–					0	–	2	–	0
Florida at Lake City			–					0	–	5	–	0
Oklahoma A&M			–					0	–	6	–	0
Tennessee Docs			–					0	–	7	–	0

The 1904 VPI football team represented Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College and Polytechnic Institute in the 1904 college football season. The team was led by their head coach John C. O'Connor and finished with a record of five wins and three losses (5–3).

Scoring

The scoring in 1904 was:

• Touchdown worth 5 points
• Field goal worth 4 points
• Conversion (kick) worth 1 point
• Safety worth 2 points

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
October 1		Richmond	Gibboney Field Blacksburg, VA	W 18–0		[1][2]
October 8		Washington and Lee	Gibboney Field Blacksburg, VA	W 24–0		[3][4][5]
October 12		Nashville	Gibboney Field Blacksburg, VA	W 32–0		[6]
October 22		William & Mary	Gibboney Field Blacksburg, VA	W 30–0		[7]
October 29		North Carolina	Gibboney Field Blacksburg, VA	L 0–6		[8][9][10]
November 5		vs. Virginia	Broad Street Park Richmond, VA (rivalry)	L 0–5	3,000	[11][12][13]
November 19		at Navy	Worden Field Annapolis, MD	L 0–11		[14][15][16][17]
November 24	3:20 p.m.	vs. VMI	Roanoke, VA (rivalry)	W 17–5	3,000	[18][19]
All times are in Eastern time

Game summaries

Richmond

See also: 1904 Richmond Spiders football team

VPI's first game of the season was a victory over Richmond at Gibboney Field.

Washington and Lee

Nashville

See also: 1904 Nashville Garnet and Blue football team

William & Mary

See also: 1904 William & Mary Orange and White football team

North Carolina

See also: 1904 North Carolina Tar Heels football team

Virginia

Virginia vs. VPI

1 2 Total • UVA 0 5 5 VPI 0 0 0 Date: November 5, 1904 Location: Broad Street Park Richmond, VA Game attendance: 3,000 Referee: W. J. Thompson (Georgetown)

See also: 1904 Virginia Orange and Blue football team

The starting lineup for VPI was: Robins (left end), Willson (left tackle), McCulloch (left guard), Stiles (center), Stickling (right guard), Hynes (right tackle), Lewis (right end), E. Harris (quarterback), G. Harris (left halfback), Conner (right halfback), Nutter (fullback). The substitutes were: Cox.

The starting lineup for Virginia was: W. Rice Warren (left end), Merritt Cooke Jr. (left tackle), George Kite (left guard), John Beckett (center), Terrence Murphy (right guard), Cothran (right tackle), Gray (right end), Oscar Randolph (quarterback), Edward Johnson (left halfback), John Purcell (right halfback), John Paul (fullback). The substitutes were: Springer.

Navy

VPI at Navy

1 2 Total VPI 0 0 0 • Navy 6 5 11 Date: November 19, 1904 Location: Worden Field Annapolis, MD Referee: Myron E. Witham

See also: 1904 Navy Midshipmen football team

The starting lineup for VPI was: Shuey (left end), Willson (left tackle), McCulloch (left guard), Stiles (center), Stickling (right guard), Hynes (right tackle), Lewis (right end), E. Harris (quarterback), G. Harris (left halfback), Conner (right halfback), Nutter (fullback). The substitutes were: Robins.

The starting lineup for Navy was: Bill Dague (left end), Louis Farley (left tackle), Nelson Goss (left guard), William McClintic (center), William Piersol (right guard), Ronan Grady (right tackle), Ken Whiting (right end), Homer Norton (quarterback), Herbert Spencer (left halfback), Stephen Doherty (right halfback), R. F. Smith (fullback). The substitutes were: Richard Bernard, Jonathan Dowell, Stephen McKinney, Joseph O'Brien, Leo Welch and John Wilcox.

VMI

VMI vs. VPI

1 2 Total VMI 5 0 5 • VPI 6 11 17 Date: November 24, 1904 Location: Roanoke, VA Game start: 3:20 p.m. Game attendance: 3,000 Game weather: "cold wind" Referee: Williams

See also: 1904 VMI Keydets football team

The starting lineup for VPI was: Robins (left end), Willson (left tackle), McCulloch (left guard), Stiles (center), Stickling (right guard), Hynes (right tackle), Lewis (right end), E. Harris (quarterback), G. Harris (left halfback), Conner (right halfback), Nutter (fullback). The substitutes were: Cox, Harland, Lewis and Treadwell.

The starting lineup for VMI was: Rufus Morison (left end), David Etheridge (left tackle), Donald Fraser (left guard), William Riley (center), Alphonse Stude (right guard), Homer Pace (right tackle), Frank Steele (right end), Taliaferro (quarterback), Robert Massie (left halfback), William Beckner (right halfback), Russell James (fullback). The substitutes were: Mahlon Caffee and Richard Dodson.

Players

The following players were members of the 1904 football team according to the roster published in the 1905 edition of The Bugle, the Virginia Tech yearbook.^[20]

VPI 1904 roster
	Quarterback Edwin Rollins Harris Guards McCulloch Frank Henry Stickling Tackles Bernard Daxon Hynes George Cralle Willson (Capt.) Center Joseph Clay Stiles		Ends Thomas Walker Lewis Wilmer Nelson Robins Halfbacks Conner George Newman Harris Fullback James Arthur Nutter		Substitutes C. Ballard Cox Murray Valentine Harlan Harry A. Treadwell Philip McGregor Shuey

Coaching and training staff

• Head coach: John C. O'Connor
• Manager: T. H. Lewis
• Assistant managers
  • H. H. Gary
  • C. L. Lyon
• "Second varsity" head coach: Sally Miles
• "Second varsity" manager: J. de la Coya

References

1. "The Spiders Beaten". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Library of Congress. October 2, 1904. p. 14. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
2. "V.P.I., 18; Richmond College, 0". The Roanoke Times. Library of Virginia. October 2, 1904. p. 1. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
3. "V.P.I., 24; W. and L., 0". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Library of Congress. October 9, 1904. p. 2. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
4. "V.P.I., 24; W. and L., 0". The Roanoke Times. Library of Virginia. October 9, 1904. p. 1. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
5. "V.P.I., 24; W. & L., 0" (PDF). The Ring-tum Phi. Washington and Lee University. October 15, 1904. p. 4. Retrieved August 13, 2022.
6. "V.P.I. Defeats Nashville". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Library of Congress. October 13, 1904. p. 7. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
7. "Game At Blacksburg". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Library of Congress. October 23, 1904. p. 23. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
8. "V.P.I. Fails To Score". The Tar Heel. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. November 2, 1904. p. 1. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
9. "Carolina Defeats Polytechnic Cadets". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Library of Congress. October 30, 1904. p. 1. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
10. "The Virginians Are Overthrown". The News & Observer. Library of Congress. October 30, 1904. p. 9. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
11. "It Was A Desperate Struggle". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Library of Congress. November 6, 1904. p. 1. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
12. "Virginia Defeats V.P.I." The Daily Progress. University of Virginia. November 7, 1904. p. 8. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
13. "Referee Says Made Mistake". The Richmond News Leader. Library of Virginia. November 7, 1904. p. 4. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
14. "V.P.I. Beaten By Score Of 11 To 0". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Library of Congress. November 20, 1904. p. 2. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
15. "Virginia Tech Beaten By Navy". The Washington Times. Library of Congress. November 20, 1904. p. 10. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
16. "Annapolis Beats Virginia Eleven". New-York Tribune. Library of Congress. November 20, 1904. p. 10. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
17. "The Virginia Techs Beaten By Middies". The Roanoke Times. Library of Virginia. November 20, 1904. p. 1. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
18. "Blacksburg Boys Win". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Library of Congress. November 25, 1904. p. 7. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
19. "V.P.I. Won". The Roanoke Times. Library of Virginia. November 25, 1904. p. 5. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
20. "The Bugle 1905" (PDF). Virginia Tech Bugle. 1905. p. 153. Retrieved November 13, 2015.