1892 Maryland Aggies football team
Encyclopedia
The 1892 Maryland Aggies football team represented the Maryland Agricultural College (now the University of Maryland) in the 1892 college football season
. It was the first football team to officially represent the school. Maryland played three games, all of which it lost, and failed to score any points. Halfback
Pearse "Shorty" Prough gained the only positive yardage for the team against Episcopal High School
. He netted 35 yards from scrimmage after first running 30 yards in the wrong direction. It remained the only winless Maryland team until matched by the 1967 squad coached by Bob Ward.
and attended by a large crowd. Many of the spectators had traveled to also attend the Navy
–Princeton
game on the same day. Maryland was overmatched in all aspects and was routed by St. John's, 50–0.
On November 5, the Aggies traveled by the B&O Railroad to face Johns Hopkins at Clifton Park
in Baltimore
. The heavier Hopkins team scored a touchdown in the game's first 40 seconds on its way to a 62–0 victory. The Baltimore American judged Prough, Rollins, Strickler, and Worthington as Maryland's best players of the game.
Maryland closed the season against Episcopal High School
in Alexandria, Virginia
. Episcopal controlled the game and won, 16–0. Halfback Pearse "Shorty" Prough recovered an Episcopal fumble and ran in the wrong direction 30 yards before realizing his error and changing course for a net gain of 35 yards to the opponent's 15-yard line. According to later accounts from eyewitnesses described in King of American Football in 1952, it may have been the Aggies' only positive yardage of the game. Episcopal's school newspaper, the Monthly Chronicle wrote, "Runs by [Episcopal's] Prof. Mead and Conrad were followed by Whaley dropping the ball. Prough picks it up and, forgetting himself, starts off for the wrong goal. He regains his self-possession, however, in time to turn and, by a pretty piece of running, make a net gain in the end." The Chronicle added that Maryland "showed an unaccreditable ignorance of football."
Manager:
1892 college football season
The 1892 college football season had a clear-cut champion, with the Official NCAA Division I Football Records Book listing Yale as national champions....
. It was the first football team to officially represent the school. Maryland played three games, all of which it lost, and failed to score any points. Halfback
Halfback (American football)
A halfback, sometimes referred to as a tailback, is an offensive position in American football, which lines up in the backfield and generally is responsible for carrying the ball on run plays. Historically, from the 1870s through the 1950s, the halfback position was both an offensive and defensive...
Pearse "Shorty" Prough gained the only positive yardage for the team against Episcopal High School
Episcopal High School (Alexandria, Virginia)
Episcopal High School , founded in 1839, is a private boarding school located in Alexandria, Virginia. The Holy Hill's campus houses 435 students from 30 states, the District of Columbia and 17 different countries...
. He netted 35 yards from scrimmage after first running 30 yards in the wrong direction. It remained the only winless Maryland team until matched by the 1967 squad coached by Bob Ward.
Schedule
Season summary
Teams composed mostly of MAC students were fielded in 1890 and 1891, but the 1892 squad was the first officially sponsored by the college. Dick Pue was elected captain as the only member to return from the unofficial 1891 "varsity". The Aggies opened the season against St. John's College, which had fielded a team since 1885. The game was held on October 15 in AnnapolisAnnapolis, Maryland
Annapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Maryland, as well as the county seat of Anne Arundel County. It had a population of 38,394 at the 2010 census and is situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east of Washington, D.C. Annapolis is...
and attended by a large crowd. Many of the spectators had traveled to also attend the Navy
Navy Midshipmen football
The Navy Midshipmen football team represents the United States Naval Academy in NCAA Division I-A college football. They are a Division I Football Bowl Subdivision independent school and coached by Ken Niumatalolo since December 2007...
–Princeton
Princeton Tigers football
The Princeton Tigers football program represents Princeton University college football at the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision...
game on the same day. Maryland was overmatched in all aspects and was routed by St. John's, 50–0.
On November 5, the Aggies traveled by the B&O Railroad to face Johns Hopkins at Clifton Park
Clifton Park, Baltimore
Clifton Park is a public urban park located in the Belair-Edison neighborhood in the northeast section of Baltimore, Maryland. USA. It is roughly bordered by Erdman Avenue to the northeast, Sinclair Lane to the south, Harford Road to the northwest and Belair Road to the southeast...
in Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
. The heavier Hopkins team scored a touchdown in the game's first 40 seconds on its way to a 62–0 victory. The Baltimore American judged Prough, Rollins, Strickler, and Worthington as Maryland's best players of the game.
Maryland closed the season against Episcopal High School
Episcopal High School (Alexandria, Virginia)
Episcopal High School , founded in 1839, is a private boarding school located in Alexandria, Virginia. The Holy Hill's campus houses 435 students from 30 states, the District of Columbia and 17 different countries...
in Alexandria, Virginia
Alexandria, Virginia
Alexandria is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2009, the city had a total population of 139,966. Located along the Western bank of the Potomac River, Alexandria is approximately six miles south of downtown Washington, D.C.Like the rest of northern Virginia, as well as...
. Episcopal controlled the game and won, 16–0. Halfback Pearse "Shorty" Prough recovered an Episcopal fumble and ran in the wrong direction 30 yards before realizing his error and changing course for a net gain of 35 yards to the opponent's 15-yard line. According to later accounts from eyewitnesses described in King of American Football in 1952, it may have been the Aggies' only positive yardage of the game. Episcopal's school newspaper, the Monthly Chronicle wrote, "Runs by [Episcopal's] Prof. Mead and Conrad were followed by Whaley dropping the ball. Prough picks it up and, forgetting himself, starts off for the wrong goal. He regains his self-possession, however, in time to turn and, by a pretty piece of running, make a net gain in the end." The Chronicle added that Maryland "showed an unaccreditable ignorance of football."
Personnel
The members of the 1892 team were:- J. G. Bannon, end: (May 1, 1874 – January 19, 1937) graduated with a B.S. through the Scientific Course in 1895. He was the son of Maryland State Senator Michael Bannon.
- George H. Calvert, Jr., end/center: born October 2, 1874 in Prince George's County, MarylandPrince George's County, MarylandPrince George's County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland, immediately north, east, and south of Washington, DC. As of 2010, it has a population of 863,420 and is the wealthiest African-American majority county in the nation....
, he graduated with a B.A.Bachelor of ArtsA Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
through the Classical Course in 1892. Calvert received from Columbian University a LL.B.Bachelor of LawsThe Bachelor of Laws is an undergraduate, or bachelor, degree in law originating in England and offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree...
in 1896 and a LL.M.Master of LawsThe Master of Laws is an advanced academic degree, pursued by those holding a professional law degree, and is commonly abbreviated LL.M. from its Latin name, Legum Magister. The University of Oxford names its taught masters of laws B.C.L...
in 1897, and then worked as an attorney-at-law in Washington, D.C. and Prince George's County. In January 1906, he became the director and secretary of the National Hotel Company in Washington, D.C. and was elected as its the president. - Barnes Compton, end: son of a wealthy Maryland plantation ownerBarnes ComptonBarnes Compton was a wealthy planter who became a politician at the state level before the Civil War. He was appointed as Maryland State Treasurer, serving 1872-1885. He was elected to the US House of Representatives from the fifth congressional district of Maryland...
, he graduated in 1895 with a B.S.Bachelor of ScienceA Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
in the Scientific Course and became a clerk of the B&O Railroad. Compton died sometime before 1914. - Clifton E. Fuller, halfback/quarterback: (May 1, 1873 – September 3, 1958) a native of Cumberland, MarylandCumberland, MarylandCumberland is a city in the far western, Appalachian portion of Maryland, United States. It is the county seat of Allegany County, and the primary city of the Cumberland, MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area. At the 2010 census, the city had a population of 20,859, and the metropolitan area had a...
, he graduated in 1896. Fuller worked for many years as a freight agent for the Railway Express AgencyRailway Express AgencyThe Railway Express Agency was a the national monopoly set up by the Untied States federal government in 1917. Rail express services provided small package and parcel transportation using the extant railroad infrastructure much as UPS functions today using the road system...
in Cumberland and served one term as a city councilman. He attended every Maryland homecoming game in College ParkCollege Park, MarylandCollege Park is a city in Prince George's County, Maryland, USA. The population was 30,413 at the 2010 census. It is best known as the home of the University of Maryland, College Park, and since 1994 the city has also been home to the "Archives II" facility of the U.S...
between 1932 and 1957. He was a member of the Knights of the Golden EagleKnights of the Golden Eagle-External links:*...
. - Arthur Pue Gorman, Jr., guard: (May 27, 1873 – September 3, 1919) born in Baltimore to United States Senator Arthur Pue GormanArthur Pue GormanArthur Pue Gorman was a United States Senator from Maryland, serving from 1881 to 1899 and from 1903 to 1906. He also served in the Maryland House of Delegates from 1869 to 1875...
, he was a member of the Democratic PartyDemocratic Party (United States)The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
and served as a Maryland State Senator from 1904 to 1910 and as the President of the Maryland Senate in 1910. Gorman worked as the state tax commissioner until his death in 1919. - Gustavus Y. Graff, tackle: born January 30, 1865, a native of Montgomery County, MarylandMontgomery County, MarylandMontgomery County is a county in the U.S. state of Maryland, situated just to the north of Washington, D.C., and southwest of the city of Baltimore. It is one of the most affluent counties in the United States, and has the highest percentage of residents over 25 years of age who hold post-graduate...
, he graduated in 1893 with a B.S. in the Scientific Course and worked as a librarian at the college for one year. Graff then worked for the Bureau of Printing and Engraving in Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
- Simon Grisard, fullback
- Samuel "Pop" HardingSamuel HardingSamuel Herbert "Pop" Harding was an American college football coach. He served as head coach at the Maryland Agricultural College in 1893 and led the team to a perfect 6–0 record and its first winning season.-Biography:Harding was born on January 19, 1873 in Highland, Maryland...
, tackle/guard: (January 19, 1873 – May 19, 1919) born in Highland, MarylandHighland, MarylandHighland is an unincorporated community in western Howard County, Maryland which uses the 20777 zip code. The community is located at the junction of Highland Road, Maryland Route 216 and Maryland Route 108, and is still heavily influenced by its agrarian history; farms and horse fields are common...
, he graduated with a B.S. through the Scientific Course in 1895. Harding worked for the Water Department in Washington, D.C., first as a skilled laborer and eventually working his way to the position of foreman. - Roland L. Harrison, halfback: born May 4, 1875 in Charlotte Hall, MarylandCharlotte Hall, MarylandCharlotte Hall is a census-designated place in St. Mary's County, Maryland, United States. The population was 1,214 at the 2000 census. The Maryland Veterans Home for disabled veterans, including a U.S. Veterans Affairs clinic, is located on the site of the former Charlotte Hall Military Academy...
, he graduated with a B.S. through the Scientific Course in 1895. Harrison worked as a topographer for the U.S. Geological Survey. - James W. Lawson, tackle: born September 13, 1873 in Fountain Mills, Maryland, he graduated with a B.S. through the Scientific Course in 1893. He then studied chemistry, physics, and mathematics at Johns Hopkins UniversityJohns Hopkins UniversityThe Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...
. Lawson worked in the railroad transportation business for the B&O Railroad and the Southern Railway. - Will McDonald, end
- Parker Mitchell, guard
- Pearse "Shorty" Prough, halfback/quarterback: (August 15, 1873 – March 29, 1952) he worked as a country squireSquireThe English word squire is a shortened version of the word Esquire, from the Old French , itself derived from the Late Latin , in medieval or Old English a scutifer. The Classical Latin equivalent was , "arms bearer"...
near Sykesville, MarylandSykesville, MarylandSykesville is a town in Carroll County, Maryland, United States. The population was 4,197 at the 2000 census.-History:The land on which Sykesville sits started out as part of a Springfield Estate, owned by wealthy Baltimore shipbuilder William Patterson...
. Born to parents George Marion and Georgia Anna (née Choate) Prough, he married Mary née DeVeries on September 27, 1927, and the couple had two sons and two daughters. - R. R. "Dick" Pue, guard/center and captain: he graduated with a B.S. through the Scientific Course in 1894 and died sometime before 1914.
- William T. L. "Sherman" Rollins, halfback: he graduated with a B.S. through the Scientific Course in 1896 and worked as a supervisor of the census and inspector for the Post Office in Seat Pleasant, MarylandSeat Pleasant, MarylandSeat Pleasant is an incorporated city in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States immediately east of Washington D.C. The population was 4,885 at the 2000 census. Two state highways run through it — Maryland Route 704 and Maryland Route 214...
.
- William W. Skinner, quarterback: (March 28, 1874 – March 10, 1953) born in Baltimore, Maryland, he earned a B.S. through the Agricultural-Scientific Course and graduated as the college's valedictorianValedictorianValedictorian is an academic title conferred upon the student who delivers the closing or farewell statement at a graduation ceremony. Usually, the valedictorian is the highest ranked student among those graduating from an educational institution...
in 1895. Skinner served as the head football coach at the University of ArizonaUniversity of ArizonaThe University of Arizona is a land-grant and space-grant public institution of higher education and research located in Tucson, Arizona, United States. The University of Arizona was the first university in the state of Arizona, founded in 1885...
between 1900 and 1901. He worked as a chemist for the United States Department of AgricultureUnited States Department of AgricultureThe United States Department of Agriculture is the United States federal executive department responsible for developing and executing U.S. federal government policy on farming, agriculture, and food...
, became a prominent conservationist, and was one of the first researchers to study the effect of pollution on the Chesapeake BayChesapeake BayThe Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. It lies off the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by Maryland and Virginia. The Chesapeake Bay's drainage basin covers in the District of Columbia and parts of six states: New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West...
. - Howard Strickler, halfback: a graduate of Randolph-Macon CollegeRandolph-Macon CollegeRandolph–Macon College is a private, co-educational liberal arts college located in Ashland, Virginia, United States, near the capital city of Richmond. Founded in 1830, the school has an enrollment of over 1,200 students...
, Strickler was a professor of physical education at the Maryland Agricultural College when he played on the team. - W. C. Thomas, center
- Clay H. Weimer, fullback: born on August 5, 1874 in Bedford County, PennsylvaniaBedford County, PennsylvaniaBedford County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the population was 49,762. The county seat is Bedford. It is part of the Altoona, Pennsylvania, Metropolitan Statistical Area.- History :...
, he graduated with a B.S. through the Scientific Course in 1894. He earned a Doctor of MedicineDoctor of MedicineDoctor of Medicine is a doctoral degree for physicians. The degree is granted by medical schools...
from the University of PennsylvaniaUniversity of PennsylvaniaThe University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
in 1898 and worked as an assistant superintendent at the State Hospital in Ashland, PennsylvaniaAshland, PennsylvaniaAshland is a borough in Schuylkill county in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, 12 miles northwest of Pottsville. The Borough lies in the anthracite coal region of eastern Pennsylvania. Settled in 1850, Ashland was incorporated in 1857, and was named for Henry Clay's estate near Lexington, Kentucky....
beginning in 1898. - Arthur Wooters, guard
- Arthur Worthington, fullback
Manager:
- Sothoron Key: he graduated with a B.S. through the Scientific Course in 1894 and an M.S.Master of ScienceA Master of Science is a postgraduate academic master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is typically studied for in the sciences including the social sciences.-Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay:...
in 1902. He worked as a physician in Washington, D.C.