# 1893 Texas Longhorns football team

The 1893 Texas Varsity football team represented the University of Texas at Austin in the 1893 college football season. In Texas' first year of playing college football, they went undefeated, pulling off an upset over the Dallas Athletic Club.
While various unsponsored football matches had been played at the university since at least 1883; James Morrison and brothers Paul & Ray Mclane are usually credited as being the founders of the Texas football program. Even though the University's Athletic Association had been founded in 1892, college football at the time was usually managed by the players. Paul taught the team, almost all of whom had never played the sport before. Since the team did not have a coach until the following season, Paul served as the defacto team captain.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | Result | Attendance |
| November 30 | | at Dallas Athletic Club | Dallas Fair GroundsDallas, TX | W 18–16 | 2,000 |
| December 16 | | San Antonio Town Team | Zoo ParkAustin, TX | W 30–0 | 500–600 |
| February 3, 1894 | 4:15 p.m. | at San Antonio Town Team | Jockey Club GroundsSan Antonio, TX | W 34–0 | 500 |
| February 22, 1894 | 3:05 p.m. | Dallas Athletic Club | Hyde ParkAustin, TX | W 16–0 | |

## Roster

The team, like all other college football teams at the time, operated under the one-platoon system which did not include separate offensive and defensive units. All players had the letter number 1.
The formation of five linemen, two ends, two halfbacks, one fullback and one quarterback, was the basic Texas football lineup for several decades onwards.
1893 Texas Varsity Roster :
| Name | Number | Position |
| William P. McLean | 1 | Quarterback |
| Addison Day | 1 | Fullback |
| Davil S. Furman | 1 | Right Halfback |
| Robert U. Lee | 1 | Left Halfback (QB against San Antonio) |
| Ray McLane | 1 | Right End |
| James Morrison | 1 | Right Tackle |
| Charles D. Bennett (replacing Morrison) | 1 | Right Tackle |
| Billy Richardson | 1 | Right Guard |
| Victor C. Moore (replacing Richardson) | 1 | Right Guard |
| John H. Myers | 1 | Center |
| John W. Philp | 1 | Left Guard |
| Rob Roy | 1 | Left Tackle |
| Paul McLane | 1 | Left End |
| Bibb Graves | 1 | Substitute |
| John Maverick | 1 | Substitute |
| Jesse Andrews | 1 | Substitute |
| Ross Clark | 1 | Substitute |

## Game Summaries
### At Dallas Athletic Club

| | 1 | 2 | Total |
| • Texas | 12 | 6 | 18 |
| Dallas | 10 | 6 | 16 |
On November 30th the Varsity team defeated the Dallas Athletic Club 18-16 at the Fair Grounds in Dallas in front of a crowd of around 2,000 people. Since football was a relatively new sport to the state, the Dallas club was considered the champions of the state and hadn't been beaten or scored against since their inception. Texas won the coin toss and scored a touchdown within 3 minutes which was promptly answered by Dallas with their own T.D. At some point Texas and Dallas both scored again but Dallas failed on their conversion attempt. Since at the time touchdowns were worth 4 points and PATs worth 2; the score at the end of the first half stood 12-10 with Texas in the lead. Both teams scored one touchdown in the second half in what was described as "sharp and close playing" to bring the final score to 18-16. Following the victory Texas was declared the "Champion eleven of Texas".

### Vs. San Antonio Town Team

| | 1 | 2 | Total |
| San Antonio | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| • Texas | 12 | 18 | 30 |
On December 16th the Varsity team beat the San Antonio Town Team 30-0 at Zoo Park in Austin. San Antonio won the toss and made a "brilliant run" that brought them to the Texas 25 but turned the ball over on downs. Texas then scored a touchdown after a slow drive downfield. San Antonio turned the ball over again on downs and Texas almost lost it on a fumble, but John Myers recovered. Texas' James Morrison scored the second touchdown to bring the score to 12-0 near the end of the half.
Texas received the ball to start the second half and drove down to the Town Teams' endzone but fumbled and San Antonio lost it on a safety, they drove down to their 25 but turned the ball over again and Texas scored their third touchdown but failed on the extra point, Texas 16-0. Throughout the game San Antonio had only been running the wedge play and as the Texas' defensive front adjusted they were more successful at stopping it, they got the ball back and Ray Mclane fumbled the ball just before the S.A. endzone after a 45 yard run San Antonio again jumped on it and got another safety, then got stopped on their 25. Texas scored two more touchdowns and missed one of the extra points to make the final score 30-0.

### At San Antonio Town Team

| | 1 | 2 | Total |
| • Texas | 16 | 18 | 34 |
| San Antonio | 0 | 0 | 0 |
On February 3rd of 1894 the Varsity team again beat the San Antonio Town Team, this time 34-0 at the Jockey Club Grounds in San Antonio. The game was viewed by a crowd of about 500; which was "largely composed of the society element of both Austin and San Antonio". San Antonio's primary formation again was the Flying Wedge but they lacked cohesion and Texas remained in control of the game, apart from a few missed extra points, with their superior rushing game.

### Vs. Dallas Athletic Club

On February 22nd of 1894 the Varsity team again beat the Dallas Athletic Club, this time 16-0 at Hyde Park in Austin.