Sewanee Tigers Remain One of College Football's Most Dominant Teams

Published on November 16th, 2024 7:42 pm EST
Written By: Dave Manuel


The 1899 Sewanee Tigers remain one of the most dominant college football teams of all time.

The team, which finished the season with a record of 12-0, scored 322 points in 12 games while allowing just 10 points.

The most remarkable part of the 1899 Sewanee Tigers season was the incredible ten-day road trip that they embarked on, which saw them play five games in just six days.

This was before the days of chartered airplanes or luxurious buses - the Sewanee Tigers made the 2,500 mile, 10-day trip entirely by train. They were cramped and hurting after games, but they still sat in their seats on the train and made their way to the next game.

In fact, the road trip is still talked about to this day.

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The Sewanee Tigers were 4-0 when they embarked on their epic road trip in November of 1899.

The Tigers were off to a hot start, having scored 144 points in their first four games, while allowing zero points.

On November 9th, 1899, the Tigers beat Texas by a score of 12-0 at Varsity Athletic Field in Austin, Texas.

On November 10th, 1899, the Tigers beat Texas A&M by a score of 10-0 at Herald Park in Houston, Texas.

On November 11th, 1899, the Tigers beat Tulane by a score of 23-0 at Tulane Athletic Field in New Orleans, Louisiana.

On November 13th, 1899, the Tigers beat LSU 34-0 at State Field in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

On November 14th, 1899, the Tigers beat Ole Miss by a score of 12-0 at Billings Park in Memphis, Tennessee.

Now, two things should stand out to you here:

1) The Tigers allowed ZERO points on their road trip

2) The Tigers played three games in three days, including a game in Houston, Texas and a game in New Orleans, Louisiana on back-to-back nights.

That means that the Tigers played in Houston, Texas on November 10th and then immediately embarked on a 347 train ride to New Orleans, Louisiana.

To make matters worse, the game against Tulane started at 4 pm, so the Tigers had to travel through the night to make it to New Orleans in time for their game.