# 1897 VPI football team

The 1897 VPI football team represented Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College and Polytechnic Institute in the 1897 college football season. The team was led by their head coach Charles Firth and finished with a record of five wins and two losses (5–2).

## Scoring

The scoring in 1897 was:
* Touchdown worth 4 points
* Field goal worth 5 points
* Conversion (kick) worth 2 points
* Safety worth 2 points

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | Result | Attendance |
| October 16 | | King | Sheib FieldBlacksburg, VA | W 54–0 | |
| October 30 | 3:30 p.m. | vs. North Carolina | Athletic ParkDanville, VA | W 4–0 | 500 |
| November 2 | | Roanoke | Sheib FieldBlacksburg, VA | W 41–0 | |
| November 6 | | vs. University of Maryland, Baltimore | League ParkNorfolk, VA | L 4–18 | 500 |
| November 13 | 3:30 p.m. | at Richmond | Broad Street ParkRichmond, VA | W 36–0 | 300–500 |
| November 15 | 9:30 a.m. | at Hampden–Sydney | Venable FieldHampden Sydney, VA | W 16–0 | |
| November 25 | 3:30 p.m. | vs. Tennessee | Athletic ParkRoanoke, VA | L 0–18 | 1,200 |

## Game summaries
### King

VPI's first game of the season was a victory over King at Sheib Field.

### North Carolina

| | 1 | 2 | Total |
| UNC | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| • VPI | 4 | 0 | 4 |
After their victory over King, VPI played the University of North Carolina at Athletic Park in Danville, Virginia.
The starting lineup for VPI was: Johnson (left end), Herbert (left tackle), Cox (left guard), Stull (center), Pelter (right guard), Wood (right tackle), Lewis (right end), Bell (quarterback), Barnett (left halfback), Cochran (right halfback), Whitehurst (fullback). The substitutes were: Painter, Rorebeck and Rucker.
The starting lineup for North Carolina was: William White (left end), Frank Bennett (left tackle), Seaton Borland (left guard), H. B. Cunningham (center), Cromartie (right guard), Simmons (right tackle), Warren Kluttz (right end), Frank O. Rogers (quarterback), Cameron Buxton (left halfback), Paul Collins (right halfback), Arthur Belden (fullback). The substitutes were: Edward Abbott, E. V. Howell, Jim MacRae and Willie Turner.

### Maryland, Baltimore

The starting lineup for VPI was: Johnson (left end), Herbert (left tackle), Cox (left guard), Stull (center), Pelter (right guard), Wood (right tackle), Lewis (right end), Bell (quarterback), Barnett (left halfback), Cochran (right halfback), Whitehurst (fullback).
The starting lineup for Maryland, Baltimore was: Denson (left end), Billingsbea (left tackle), Cathell (left guard), Messmore (center), Craig (right guard), Lewis (right tackle), Allen (right end), Barrow (quarterback), Roach (left halfback), Frasher (right halfback), Reddington (fullback). The substitutes were: Hicks.

### Richmond

| | 1 | 2 | Total |
| Richmond | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| • VPI | 30 | 6 | 36 |
The starting lineup for VPI was: Johnson (left end), Herbert (left tackle), Cox (left guard), Stull (center), Pelter (right guard), Wood (right tackle), Lewis (right end), Jones (quarterback), Barnett (left halfback), Cochran (right halfback), Whitehurst (fullback). The substitutes were: Bell, Rucker and Saunders.
The starting lineup for Richmond was: N. H. Pope (left end), William Powell (left tackle), William Thraves (left guard), Samuel Stone (center), Bonnie Daughtry (right guard), Benjamin Bloxton (right tackle), Charles Scott (right end), John Kaufman (quarterback), John Frazer (left halfback), Burnley Lankford (right halfback), John McNeil (fullback). The substitutes were: A. W. Parke.

### Hampden–Sydney

| | 1 | 2 | Total |
| • VPI | 10 | 6 | 16 |
| HS | 0 | 0 | 0 |
The starting lineup for VPI was: Painter (left end), Herbert (left tackle), Cox (left guard), Stull (center), Pelter (right guard), Wood (right tackle), Lewis (right end), Bell (quarterback), Barnett (left halfback), Cochran (right halfback), Whitehurst (fullback). The substitutes were: Rucker.
The starting lineup for Hampden–Sydney was: Frederick McClure (left end), Murray (left tackle), Samuel Osbourne (left guard), Eskridge (center), Williams (right guard), Charles Hudson (right tackle), Eugene Douglass (right end), David Stuart (quarterback), Thomas Blake (left halfback), Bull (right halfback), John Earhart (fullback). The substitutes were: James Kuykendall.

### Tennessee

| | 1 | 2 | Total |
| • Tenn | 6 | 12 | 18 |
| VPI | 0 | 0 | 0 |
The starting lineup for VPI was: Johnson (left end), Herbert (left tackle), Cox (left guard), Stull (center), Pelter (right guard), Wood (right tackle), Lewis (right end), Bell (quarterback), Barnett (left halfback), Cochran (right halfback), Whitehurst (fullback). The substitutes were: Painter and Rucker.
The starting lineup for Tennessee was: Henry Smith (left end), Arthur Watkins (left tackle), Robert Baird (left guard), Charles Rogan (center), John Rice (right guard), James Baird (right tackle), Arthur Tarwater (right end), Sammy Strang (quarterback), Charley Moran (left halfback), Henry Edmonds (right halfback), Jones (fullback).

## Players

The following players were members of the 1897 football team according to the roster published in the 1898 and 1903 editions of The Bugle, the Virginia Tech yearbook.

## Coaching and training staff

* Head coach: Charles Firth
* Manager: C. E. Hardy