The 1892 Maryland Aggies football team represented the

Maryland Agricultural College Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to it ...

(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.David Ungrady,
Tales from the Maryland Terrapins
', 2003, p. 5, Sports Publishing LLC. 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 Annapolis and attended by a large crowd. Many of the spectators had traveled to also attend the

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It in ...

–

Princeton Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ni ...

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 The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was the first common carrier railroad and the oldest railroad in the United States, with its first section opening in 1830. Merchants from Baltimore, which had benefited to some extent from the construction of ...

to face Johns Hopkins at Clifton Park in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

. 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 The ''Baltimore News-American'' was a broadsheet newspaper published in downtown Baltimore, Maryland until May 27, 1986. It had a continuous lineage (in various forms) of more than 200 years. For much of the mid-20th century, it had the largest ...

'' 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 Alexandria is an independent city in the northern region of the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of downtown Washington, D.C. In 2020, the population was 159,467. ...

. 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 piscopal'sProf. 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."Morris Allison Bealle, ''Kings of American Football: The University of Maryland, 1890–1952'', pp. 15–16, Columbia Publishing Co., 1952.

Personnel

The members of the 1892 team were:All-Time Lettermen
p. 17–22, ''2007 Terrapin Football Record Book'', University of Maryland, 2007.Morris Allison Bealle, ''Kings of American Football: The University of Maryland, 1890–1952'', p. 13, Columbia Publishing Co., 1952. * 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, Maryland, he graduated with a

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

through the Classical Course in 1892. Calvert received from

Columbian University , mottoeng = "God is Our Trust" , established = , type = Private federally chartered research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.8 billion (2022) , presid ...

LL.B. Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

in 1896 and a LL.M. 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 president. *Barnes Compton, end: son of a wealthy Maryland plantation owner, he graduated in 1895 with a

B.S. A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University ...

in the Scientific Course and became a clerk of the

. Compton died sometime before 1914.''Alumni Record of the Maryland Agricultural College: 1914'', Maryland Agricultural College, p. 42, 1914. *Clifton E. Fuller, halfback/quarterback: (May 1, 1873 – September 3, 1958)Clifton E. Fuller
Ancestry.com, retrieved October 4, 2011. a native of

Cumberland, Maryland Cumberland is a U.S. city in and the county seat of Allegany County, Maryland. It is the primary city of the Cumberland, MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 19,076. Located on the Potomac River, ...

, he graduated in 1896. Fuller worked for many years as a freight agent for the

Railway Express Agency Railway Express Agency (REA), founded as the American Railway Express Agency and later renamed the American Railway Express Inc., was a national package delivery service that operated in the United States from 1918 to 1975. REA arranged trans ...

in Cumberland and served one term as a

city councilman A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural council ...

. He attended every Maryland homecoming game in College Park between 1932 and 1957.Oft-Repeated Story
''Cumberland Times'' November 3, 1957.Football
''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'', January 19, 1952. He was a member of the

Knights of the Golden Eagle The Knights of the Golden Eagle was a fraternal organization founded in Baltimore in 1872. History The orders original objectives were to help its members find employment and aid them while unemployed. Membership was open to white males over 18 ...

. * Arthur Pue Gorman Jr., guard *Gustavus Y. Graff, tackle: born January 30, 1865, a native of Montgomery County, Maryland, 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 The Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) is a government agency within the United States Department of the Treasury that designs and produces a variety of security products for the United States government, most notable of which is Federal Reser ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

*Simon Grisard, fullback * Samuel "Pop" Harding, tackle/guard: (January 19, 1873 – May 19, 1919) born in

Highland, Maryland Highland is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Howard County, Maryland, United States. As of the 2020 census it had a population of 1,133. It uses the 20777 zip code. Geography The community is located in southern Howar ...

, 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.''Alumni Record'', p. 44. *Roland L. Harrison, halfback: born May 4, 1875, in

Charlotte Hall, Maryland Charlotte Hall is a census-designated place (CDP) in Charles and St. Mary's counties, Maryland, United States. The population was 1,420 at the 2010 census. The Maryland Veterans Home for disabled veterans, including a U.S. Veterans Affairs clinic ...

, he graduated with a B.S. through the Scientific Course in 1895. Harrison worked as a

topographer Topography is the study of the forms and features of land surfaces. The topography of an area may refer to the land forms and features themselves, or a description or depiction in maps. Topography is a field of geoscience and planetary sc ...

for the

U.S. Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, and ...

. *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 University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hemisphere. It consi ...

. Lawson worked in the railroad transportation business for the

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

squire In the Middle Ages, a squire was the shield- or armour-bearer of a knight. Use of the term evolved over time. Initially, a squire served as a knight's apprentice. Later, a village leader or a lord of the manor might come to be known as a ...

near Sykesville, Maryland. 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.The Prough Genealogy Pages
The Prough Family History, retrieved December 16, 2010. *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.''Alumni Record'', p. 41. *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, Maryland Seat Pleasant is an incorporated city in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States, located immediately east of Washington. Per the 2020 census, the population was 4,522. Two state highways pass through the community — Maryland routes 704 ...

* William W. Skinner, quarterback: (March 28, 1874 – March 10, 1953) born in

, he earned a B.S. through the Agricultural-Scientific Course and graduated as the college's

valedictorian Valedictorian is an academic title for the highest-performing student of a graduating class of an academic institution. The valedictorian is commonly determined by a numerical formula, generally an academic institution's grade point average (GPA ...

in 1895. Skinner served as the head football coach at the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory. T ...

between 1900 and 1901. He worked as a chemist for the

United States Department of Agriculture The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, and food. It aims to meet the needs of com ...

, became a prominent conservationist, and was one of the first researchers to study the effect of pollution on the

Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The Bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula (including the parts: the Eastern Shore of Maryland / ...

. *Howard Strickler, halfback: a graduate of

Randolph–Macon College Randolph–Macon College is a private liberal arts college in Ashland, Virginia. Founded in 1830, the college has an enrollment of more than 1,500 students. It is the second-oldest Methodist-run college in the country, and the oldest in continu ...

, Strickler was a professor of physical education at the Maryland Agricultural College when he played on the team.Bealle, p. 11. *W. C. Thomas, center *Clay H. Weimer, fullback: born on August 5, 1874, in

Bedford County, Pennsylvania Bedford County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 47,577. The county seat is Bedford. History In 1750 Robert MacRay, a Scots-Irish immigrant, opened the first trading post in Raystown (w ...

, he graduated with a B.S. through the Scientific Course in 1894. He earned a

Doctor of Medicine Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated M.D., from the Latin language, Latin ''Medicinae Doctor'') is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the M.D. denotes a profes ...

from the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

in 1898 and worked as an assistant superintendent at the State Hospital in Ashland, Pennsylvania, beginning in 1898. *Arthur Wooters, guard *Arthur Worthington, fullback Manager: *Sothoron Key graduated with a B.S. through the Scientific Course in 1894 and an Master of Science, M.S. in 1902. He worked as a physician in Washington, D.C.

References

{{Maryland Terrapins football navbox 1892 college football season, Maryland Maryland Terrapins football seasons College football winless seasons 1892 in sports in Maryland, Maryland Aggies football