The 1895 North Carolina Tar Heels football team represented the

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the multi-campus public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the NC School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referred to as the UNC Sy ...

during the 1895 college football season. They played nine games with a final record of 7–1–1. The team captain for the 1895 season was Edwin Gregory. The team went 3–0–1 on a 6-day, 4 game road trip.

Schedule

Season summary

North Carolina A&M

The season opened with a defeat of the rival A and M college by a 36–0 score Nicklin had runs of 57, 67, and 80 yards. The starting lineup was Gregory (left end), Steele (left tackle), Hurley (left guard), White (center), Collier (right guard), Wright (right tackle), Merritt (right ed), Whitaker (quarterback), Nicklin (left halfback), Moore (right halfback), McRae (fullback).

Richmond

The Tar Heels beat the winless

Richmond Spiders The Richmond Spiders represent the University of Richmond in Richmond, Virginia. The Spiders compete in the Division I FCS of the National Collegiate Athletic Association as a member of the Atlantic 10 Conference for most sports. The Spider na ...

34–0.

Georgia

The Georgia Bulldogs, coached by

Pop Warner Glenn Scobey Warner (April 5, 1871 – September 7, 1954), most commonly known as Pop Warner, was an American college football coach at various institutions who is responsible for several key aspects of the modern game. Included among his inn ...

, were defeated 6–0 what some claim is the very first (legal or otherwise; the legal pass starts in 1906)

forward pass In several forms of football, a forward pass is the throwing of the ball in the direction in which the offensive team is trying to move, towards the defensive team's goal line. The forward pass is one of the main distinguishers between gridiron ...

. Bob Quincy notes in his 1973 book They Made the Bell Tower Chime: " John Heisman, a noted historian, wrote 30 years later that, indeed, the Tar Heels had given birth to the forward pass against the Bulldogs (UGA). It was conceived to break a scoreless deadlock and give UNC a 6–0 win. The Carolinians were in a punting situation and a Georgia rush seemed destined to block the ball. The punter, with an impromptu dash to his right, tossed the ball and it was caught by

George Stephens George Stephens may refer to: *George Stephens (playwright) (1800–1851), English author and dramatist *George Stephens (philologist) (1813–1895), British archaeologist and philologist, who worked in Scandinavia * George Washington Stephens, Sr. ...

, who ran 70 yards for a touchdown." The ball was thrown out of desperation by back Dr.

Joel Whitaker Joel D. Whitaker (October 5, 1877 – October 13, 1947) was an American Ophthalmology, ophthalmologist and college football player and coach. He was hired as one of the first coaches of the Guilford Quakers football, Guilford Quakers in 1897, post ...

. Georgia coach

complained to the referee that the play was illegal, however, the referee let the play stand because he did not see the pass. Only 4 minutes of game time had passed when Stephens scored. Governor William Y. Atkinson attended the game.

Vanderbilt

Carolina outcoached Vanderbilt on its way to a 12–0 victory. Butler had a punt return for a touchdown. The game was called due to darkness.

Sewanee

The

Sewanee Tigers The University of the South, familiarly known as Sewanee (), is a private Episcopal Church (United States), Episcopal Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Sewanee, Tennessee. It is owned by 28 Province 4 of the Epis ...

fought UNC to a scoreless tie.

Georgia again

The Georgia and Carolina teams played a second time to round out the road trip and North Carolina won 10–6.

Washington and Lee

The Tar Heels defeated

Washington and Lee Generals The Washington and Lee Generals are the athletic teams that represent Washington and Lee University, located in Lexington, Virginia, in NCAA Division III intercollegiate sports. The Generals compete as members of the Old Dominion Athletic Conferen ...

16–0.

VAMC

North Carolina beat VAMC in

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

with 1,000 looking on. North Carolina scored three touchdowns in the first half and then scored two more touchdowns in the second half. VAMC then drove to North Carolina's three-yard line, but was stopped on downs. The final score was 5–32. The starting lineup was Gregory (left end), Wright (left tackle), Hurley (left guard), White (center), Collier (right guard), Baird (right tackle), Merritt (right ed), Stanley (quarterback), Nicklin (left halfback), Moore (right halfback), Butler (fullback).

Virginia

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

defeated North Carolina 10–6 in this year's version of the

South's Oldest Rivalry The South's Oldest Rivalry is the name given to the North Carolina–Virginia football rivalry. It is an American college football rivalry game played annually by the Virginia Cavaliers football team of the University of Virginia and the North ...

. Virginia thereby claims a Southern championship.

Players

Varsity lettermen

First award: *Richard Busbee *George Phineas Butler, fullback *Thomas Hurley, guard *Lawrence MacRae, end *Samuel Strong Nicklin, halfback *Robert Thomas Stephens Steele, guard/end * Joel D. Whitaker, Jr., quarterback *Joseph Harvey Wright, center *Robert Herring Wright, tackle Second award: * James Andrew Baird, tackle * Harris Taylor Collier, guard *Edwin Clarke Gregory, end *John Allen Moore, halfback *

, halfback Third award: *Thomas Allen Sharpe, center *Benjamin Edward Stanley, quarterback Fourth award: * William Daniel Merritt, end

References

{{North Carolina Tar Heels football navbox

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

North Carolina Tar Heels football seasons

North Carolina Tar Heels football The North Carolina Tar Heels football team represents the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in the sport of American football or Gridiron Football. The Tar Heels play in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate ...