by John Shearer
posted October 2, 2008
As Baylor School plays its 2008 football season highlighted by the annual rivalry game against McCallie on Friday night at Finley Stadium, the team is marking its 100th anniversary of organized football.
Although the Red Raiders did play some club-style football earlier and even faced McCallie in 1905 and 1906 in losses, Baylor historical records consider 1908 the first year of formal competition.
As the late former English teacher Jim Hitt wrote in his popular 1971 school history, “It Never Rains After Three O’Clock,” an organized football team resulted in part from a decision by the school to expel a popular student named Lewis Coleman.
The thinking was evidently that Baylor, even though it already offered formal basketball and baseball programs, needed to expand its extracurricular offerings in part to keep the young men from having too much free time to get into mischief.
So, beginning in the 1908-09 school year, founder John Roy Baylor and school officials took steps.
“Foremost, in public interest, of course, was the organization of Baylor’s first official football team – that is, the first football team that had a coach and a schedule and the official support of the administration of the school,” wrote Mr. Hitt.
Baylor during this period was also struggling for students, and the thinking may have been that a formal football program would help boost enrollment.
Hired to be the first official football coach of Baylor was Sam J. McAllester. He had been the head coach at the University of Chattanooga the year before and may have been connected with Chattanooga “City” High. The future lawyer and bankruptcy judge led Baylor to wins over American University School, Athens University and Baker-Himel, and one loss to Tennessee Military Institute.
However, the only game that really mattered then, and now, was the encounter against McCallie. That year, the two teams played to a 0-0 tie.
The McCallie-Baylor game that year was also significant for its location - a new stadium named Chamberlain Field.
With its first-year success, Baylor would go on to enjoy many high moments over the next 100 years.
After Coach McAllester left after 1911, Elmer Rule and Edward Whiteside coached in 1912.
The year 1913 brought a familiar name as coach, but not because of football. Although Alex Guerry Sr. would become better known as the Baylor headmaster, University of Chattanooga president, and vice chancellor (or top administrator) at Sewanee, he led Baylor to good seasons in 1914 and 1915 after coming from McCallie.
After two coaches in three years, Baylor in 1919 hired from Central High a coach who would lead Baylor to a place of prominence over much of the 20th century. His name was James B. Rike.
He was able to have a winning record against McCallie and produced such players as Tennessee standouts Herman Hickman and Fred Newman.
In 1940 came the arrival of the man who would take Baylor football even higher – Humphrey “Humpy” Heywood.
From 1940-60, he produced 16 seasons in which he either went undefeated or lost only one game. Although he did play a small number of post-graduates, his teams developed quite a reputation for excellence.
Star players during that time included Eddie Prokop, who finished fifth in the voting for the Heisman Trophy in 1943 at Georgia Tech, and Joe Steffy, the Outland Trophy winner at Army in 1947.
Georgia Tech’s entire early 1950s backfield of Billy Teas, Leon Hardeman, Glenn Turner and Dave Bristol had all played together at Baylor.
Although coach Heywood enjoyed plenty of success, his tenure was not without heartache of the most tragic kind. In 1948, a polio outbreak at the school forced the postponement of classes for several weeks and claimed the life of star football player Tom Smoot.
Also during the early part of Heywood’s tenure, Baylor and McCallie discontinued the football series until 1971.
Under coach Jim Worthington’s tenure in the 1960s, Baylor produced an undefeated and untied football team in 1963. Players on that squad included star Georgia Tech punt return man Jimmy Brown, all-SEC linebacker “Happy” Dicks of Georgia, and future Vanderbilt star Chip Healy.
Later captains under coach Worthington were future Mayfield Dairy executive Scotty Mayfield and future Georgia Tech player Rob Healy, who is considering running for mayor of Chattanooga. Future NFL great John Hannah also played for Worthington.
In 1970, another coaching legend arrived at Baylor – coach E.B. “Red” Etter, who had already become a legend at Central. He brought plenty of excitement to the school over football throughout the 1970s, winning a state and mythical national championship in 1973 and state runnerup finishes in 1972 and 1977.
The 1975 squad was also undefeated and ranked No. 1 in the state before being upset in the first round of the playoffs by McMinn County and current Ooltewah coach Benny Monroe.
Also during coach Etter’s tenure, Baylor opened Heywood Stadium. Prior to that, the school had daytime games at Rike Field in front of the Baylor Fieldhouse or played at places like Chamerlain Field.
The 1980s brought a little dry spell for Baylor, but the 1991 team featuring running back Frahn D’Anjou and coach Fred Hubbs reached the third round of the playoffs before losing to Knoxville Central and future baseball great Todd Helton.
Ralph Potter also led the Red Raiders to third-round playoff runs in 1995 and 1996 before leaving for his alma mater, McCallie.
Since then, the Red Raiders have been competitive most years, but have struggled against McCallie and some of the perennially talented Division II schools from the Nashville area.
But for 100 years, young men have always worn the Baylor red jerseys with pride.
Jcshearer2@comcast.net
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