Football 1901-02

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1901-02 (2-0)
Coach: Ashby Woodson

University of Louisiana's first football team

Lafayette Advertiser

October 12, 1901

Mr. Woodson and the boys of the foot-ball team are very enthusiastic over the game. They are organizing and will begin practicing soon. They tell you how in their dreams they see themselves victorious throughout southwest Louisiana. Great dreams they dream; and we trust the coming months will show the football team of the Southwestern Industrial a veritable Goliath in the State.

Date	OPPONENT	W/L	SF	SA	Loc
Dec. 21	Opelousas LA	W	6	5	@
Jan. 12	Opelousas LA	W	21	0	H

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First team/group/organization to ever represent Louisiana (SLII)
Coached by: Ashby Woodson (with ball)

1901 University of Louisiana (SLII) Football Roster

Player	Position	From
Voorhies, Pothier Jean	center	Louisiana, La.
Tilley, Wilton	right guard	Louisiana, St Martinville
Voorhies, Fred	left guard	Louisiana, La.
Martin, Claude	right tackle	Louisiana, La.
Young, Henry	left tackle	Louisiana, La.
Singleton, Perry	right end	Louisiana, La.
Domengeaux, Jacques	left end	Louisiana, Carencro
Meriwether, Minor	quarter	Louisiana, La.
Woodson, Ashby	full-back	Virginia, Albemarle
Torian, John	Full Back	Louisiana, La.
Domengeaux, Rex	half back	Louisiana, La.
Miller, H. Clay	half back.	Louisiana, Carencro

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Ashby Woodson-with the blessing of President Stevens-was the individual responsible for getting the game of football off the ground at Louisiana.

The establishment of football-as a fan sport-began in Southwestern Louisiana in an era when there was no means of due east travel, and for all pratical purposes, it was a time when people of the area seldom traveled. For this reason local competition needed to be nourished. It was and the benifits of this continue down through today as Louisiana continues to be one of America's hotbeds for football talent.

One of many things that have an apropos fit in the history of UL athletics was that Mr. Woodson was the professor of the Manuel Training Dept. He was the hands on guy for the iron works school, and as part of his duties he taught forging. A forge is a workshop where pig iron is transformed into wrought iron.

Historically a gridiron was a flat framework of parallel metal bars used for grilling purposes. In football due to the yard markers visual look and lines of play on a football field, it became known as “the gridiron.”

While the connections may be based in verbiage, it is interesting that Professor Woodson was also responsible for getting the boys of the "Gridiron off to possibly the quickest start of any school in history. Professor Woodson loved the game of carrying the pigskin.

Mr. Woodson was master of the gridiron, doubly so. He taught it, he coached it, and in an era of few rules, Professor Woodson played the game of football at the University of Louisiana (SLII).

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LAFAYETTE GAZETTE
December 21, 1901
	The Foot-ball team plays Opelousas Today
	Manager Meriwether of the football team has been quite busy making the arrangements for the game which will take place at Opelousas to-day. The contest will be between the Institute team and the boys of the St. Landry High School. The Railroad Company will attach a special coach to the train, which leaves the station at 9 o'clock this morning and will give reduced fare. A large delegation will go from the Institute to "root" for the boys and it is hoped they will be joined by many people of the town. The line-up of the Institute team will be as follows: Pothier Voorhies, center; W. Tilley, right guard; Fred Voorhies, left guard; Claude Martin, right tackle; Henry Young, left tackle; Perry Singleton, right end; Jack Domengeaux, left end; M. Meriwether, quarter; Ashby Woodson, full-back; John Torian, right half back Rex Domengeaux or Clay Miller, left half back.

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Lafayette Advertiser

December 28, 1901

Lafayette Won.

The Industrial School football team played the Opelousas team on the latter grounds in Opelousas last Saturday. The game was well contested on both sides, resulting in a score of 6 to 5 in favor of the Lafayette boys. It is the intention of the Industrial School boys to invite the defeated side to another contest, this time in Lafayette, in the near future.

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Times-Picayune
Jan. 17, 1902
SOUTHWESTERN LOUISIANA INDUSTRIAL
	The football game announced in these columns last week between the Institute team and the boys of St. Landry (HS) was played on the Institute campus last Saturday afternoon. The Opelousas team brought with them many friends to yell and "root" for their eleven. Lafayette was ablaze with vermilion the institute color. Buggies, horses, harnesses, as well as walking sticks, lapels and bosoms, were bright with the flaring ribbons. The town had never witnessed a football game within its limits, but there was no lack of interest among young and old. The attendance numbered several hundreds, the large majority of which were in sympathy with the home team. The ball was kicked off promptly at 3 p.m. and for twenty minutes the Lafayette boys showed their superiority over the Opelousas team. During the last half the home team kept on scoring, shutting out the visitors altogether. The final score was 21 to 0 On Saturday evening the students of the Institute gave a reception in honor of the young gentlemen and ladies visiting from Opelousas, and the Literary Society rendered a programme as part of the entertainment. The programme consisted of reading, recitations, music, solos and part songs, a debate and a selection by the Institute Glee Club.

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Never in the history of American Institutes, Colleges and Universities, has an institution of higher learning had a football product ready to go, faster than the University of Louisiana (SLII).

Louisiana opened its doors for the first time on September 18th 1901.

Just three short weeks later the Lafayette Gazette was reporting that coach Woodson was well along in the process of organizing the football team and was indeed preparing for practice.

On December 21st of 1901 a mere 3 months and 3 days after opening its doors for academics, interscholastic play began in Football. The only means of competion at the time was to incourage high schools to pick up the game of football. Many in the surrounding area did just so.

There is no doubt that football was planned prior to the opening of academic doors, and is as much a part of UL's history as academics. The game of football started from the schools inception, and that first season was certainly the shortest, deepest, and one of the sweetest in Louisiana (SLII) history as they went 2-0.

[CajunFun]

Fascinating stuff.

Note the pix. Even our first year we were trying to lose the "Southwestern"!