The 1917 Davidson Wildcats football team represented

Davidson University Davidson College is a private liberal arts college in Davidson, North Carolina. It was established in 1837 by the Concord Presbytery and named after Revolutionary War general William Lee Davidson, who was killed at the nearby Battle of Cowan’ ...

in the 1917 college football season. Led by third year coach

Bill Fetzer William McKinnon Fetzer (June 24, 1884 – May 3, 1959) was an American football, basketball, and baseball coach. He served as the head football coach at Davidson College (1915–1918), North Carolina State University (1919–1920), and the Univer ...

, the Wildcats competed as a member of the

South Atlantic Intercollegiate Athletic Association The South Atlantic Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SAIAA) was an intercollegiate athletic conference with its main focus of promoting track and arranging track meets. Its member schools were located in the states of Maryland, Virginia, North ...

(SAIAA). Despite a record of 6–4 (1–2 SAIAA), some would call Davidson the second best southern team that year. Davidson defeated Auburn 21 to 7, in one of the great upsets in Southern football history, and scored the most on the 1917 Georgia Tech Golden Tornado, for many years considered the greatest football team the

South South is one of the cardinal directions or Points of the compass, compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Pro ...

ever produced, in a 32 to 10 loss. Following the Auburn game the Davidson team was first referred to as "the Wildcats. The team included a 17-year-old

Buck Flowers Allen Ralph "Buck" Flowers, Jr. (March 26, 1899 – April 8, 1983) was an American college football player who was a halfback for the Davidson Wildcats football team of Davidson College in 1917 and for the Georgia Tech Golden Tornado footbal ...

, and two other All-Southerns in Wooly Grey and

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

Georgie King. The backfield consisted of Flowers, quarterback Henry Spann, halfback Jack Black, and fullback Buck Burns.

Schedule

Season summary

Week 3: at Georgia Tech

Davidson scored the most on the south's first national champion –

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...

, for many years considered the greatest football team the

ever produced, in a 32 to 10 loss. This was the only game none of Tech's backs gained 100 yards rushing. Tech only led 6 to 3 until

Everett Strupper George Everett Strupper Jr. (July 26, 1896 – February 4, 1950), known variously as "Ev" or "Strup" or "Stroop" was an American football player. He played halfback for Georgia Tech from 1915 to 1917. Strupper overcame deafness resulting from ...

broke open the game in the second half.Part 1Part 2
Davidson got desperate and tried the pass, getting to within the 15-yard line.

Walker Carpenter Walker Glenn "Bill" "Big Six" Carpenter (June 3, 1893 – September 24, 1956) was an American football Tackle (American football), tackle for John Heisman's Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football, Georgia Tech Golden Tornado of the Georgia Inst ...

broke through the line and got a 10-yard loss. Davidson

Georgie King said "I consider Georgia Tech the best football team I have ever played against or ever expect to play against."

Week 7: Auburn

*Sources: Auburn was involved in of the great upsets in Southern football history as the Wildcats bested the

Auburn Tigers The Auburn Tigers are the athletic teams representing Auburn University, a public four-year coeducational university located in Auburn, Alabama, United States. The Auburn Tigers compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Associat ...

21–7.Part 1Part 2

Week 10: Clemson

*Sources: Davidson beat Clemson 21–9 on a soggy field. Tackle Douglas Elliott broke his leg below the knee in the second quarter. King scored two touchdowns and Flowers another. Clemson's score followed a kick return by

Stumpy Banks Bertie Cecil "Stumpy" Banks (July 11, 1898 – November 15, 1960) was an American college football player and athletic director. He was a prominent running back, receiving five varsity letters for the Clemson Tigers. He scored five touchdowns ...

to the 4-yard line. The starting lineup was King (left end), Shaw (left tackle), Gray (left guard), D. Crouch (center), McMaster (right guard), Elliott (right tackle), Roberts (right end), Spann (quarterback), McAlester (left halfback), Thomas (right halfback), Burns (fullback).

References

{{Davidson Wildcats football navbox

Davidson Davidson may refer to: * Davidson (name) * Clan Davidson, a Highland Scottish clan * Davidson Media Group * Davidson Seamount, undersea mountain southwest of Monterey, California, USA * Tyler Davidson Fountain, monument in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA * ...

Davidson Wildcats football seasons

Davidson Wildcats football The Davidson Wildcats football program is the intercollegiate American football team for Davidson College located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. The team competes in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) and are membe ...