Florida State College Football 1902-1904


Florida State College, forerunner of Florida State University played 3 years of intercollegiate football from 1902 to 1904. In 1905 the state legislature passed the Buckman Bill and Florida State College became Florida State College for Women. The University of Florida at Lake City moved to Gainesville and merged with the East Florida Seminary to form a new University of Florida. FSU did not play football again until 1947.




Click to enlarge
1902
Coach: W.W. Hughes
    
       OPPONENT                 DATE     SCORE   LOC      COMMENT
============================  ========  =======  ===  ============================
BAINBRIDGE (GA) GIANTS        11/21/02  W  5- 0   H   
FLORIDA AGRICULTURAL COL (UF) 12/12/02  W  6- 0   H   
FLORIDA AGRICULTURAL COL (UF) 12/20/02  L  0- 6   A   Lake City, Fl
	



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1903
Coach: W.W. Hughes
    
       OPPONENT                 DATE     SCORE   LOC      COMMENT
============================  ========  =======  ===  ============================
BAINBRIDGE (GA) GIANTS        10/16/03  W 22- 0   H   
BAINBRIDGE (GA) GIANTS        10/23/03  W  5- 0   A   Bainbridge, Ga
EAST FLORIDA SEMINARY         10/31/03  L  0-16   H   From Gainesville, Fl
GEORGIA TECH                  11/07/03  L  0-17   A   
FLORIDA                       11/13/03  W 12- 0   H   From Lake City
STETSON                       11/26/03  T  5- 5   A   
	
Results of the October 16 and October 23, 1903 games against the Bainbridge Giants were not posted in the Florida Times-Union.
From the Florida-Times Union, Sunday, November 1, 1903, page 2.

E. F. S. Won Game

Defeated Tallahassee State College 16 to 0

Tallahassee, Oct. 31 - The East Florida Seminary football team met and beat the State College team here yesterday by a score of 16 to 0.

The victors had the home team beat at every point. A large crowd witnessed the game.


From the Florida-Times Union, Sunday, November 8, 1903, page 2.
At Atlanta - Georgia Tech 17, Florida State College 0

Results of the November 13, 1903 game against Florida was not posted in the Florida Times-Union.
From the Florida-Times Union, Friday, November 27, 1903, page 6.

The Game at Stetson

Tallahassee College Failed To Take The Times-Union Trophy

DeLand, Nov 26 - The Times-Union Trophy cup game between Tallahassee and Stetson here today resulted in a tie with the score 5 to 5.

It was a clean game and well played by both. Stetson kicked off and in three plays got the ball on downs and held it for a touchdown which was made by a series of line bucks.

In the second half Stetson kicked off and held Tallahassee well, with varying results, until the last ten minutes when Tallahassee, by a series of line plays, claimed by Stetson to be illegal, using four men massed back of the line, made a touchdown, but failed to kick goal.

The Tallahassee team are being entertained at dinner and reception at the school tonight.



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1904
Coach: Jack Forsythe
    
       OPPONENT                 DATE     SCORE   LOC      COMMENT
============================  ========  =======  ===  ============================
GEORGIA TECH                  10/08/04  L  0-35   A   
FLORIDA                       10/22/04  W 23- 0   A   Lake City, Fl
SAVANNAH ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION 10/29/04  L  0- 6   A   
JACKSONVILLE CONSOLIDATED     11/05/04  L  0- 6   A   
STETSON                       11/24/04  W 18- 6   H   Florida State Champions
	
From the Florida-Times Union, Sunday, October 9, 1904, page 2.
At Atlanta - Georgia Tech 35, Florida State College 0

From the Florida-Times Union, Sunday, October 23, 1904, page 14.

State College Defeats University

Hotly contested Football Game on Lake City Gridiron.

LAKE CITY, Oct. 22 - The Florida State College of Tallahassee and the University of Florida played a hotly contested football game on the local gridiron here today.

The line-up of the State College was Peters, center; Buchholz, right guard; Watson, left guard; McCord, right tackle; Mullen, left tackle; Puliston, right end; Johnson, left end; Murray, quarterback; Whitner, right half back; Cook, left half back; University of Florida: Keen, center; T. Cason, right guard; Schmit, left guard; Rowlet, right tackle; Bratton, left tackle; Zelius, right end; Weller, left end; R. Cason, quarterback; B. T. Bridges, right half back; Buck, left half back; McQuire, full back. Referee, A. G. Witle of Princeton; umpire, W. C. Forsythe of Clemson. (editors note: only 10 players were listed for FSC - I guess we didn't need 11 to whip that other school.)

The university kicked off. The first half was hotly contested, resulting in Tallahassee making a touchdown and kicking goal. Score, 6. Second half. Tallahassee made quick work in scoring a touchdown, but failed to make goal. Score, 5.

The feature of the game was the kick from field to touchdown by Whitmer of the Tallahassee team, kicked goal. Score, 6.

In the last half Tallahassee rushed and made a touchdown and kicked goal. Cason's tackling stamps him as the best player on either team. (editors note: UF just lost 23-0 but according to this paper had the best player on the field. Makes sense to me!!)

Time of game: First half, 25 minutes; second half, 20 minutes. Result, State College, 23; University of Florida, 0.


Results of the October 29, 1904 game against Savannah Athletic Association was not posted in the Florida Times-Union.

From the Florida-Times Union, Sunday, November 6, 1904, page 7.

Jacksonville Won From College Team

In a Fierce Contest, the Consolidated scores Touchdown and Goal.

Visitors Could Not Score

Were Equal to Jacksonville at Times, but Lost a Hard Game.


Line-Up of the Teams:
Jacksonville                    State College
Finley          center          Williams
Waters          left guard      Cook
Bridges         left tackle     Liddell
Dodge           left end        Johnson
Appleyard       right guard     Buchholz
Jones           right tackle    McCord
Coyler          right end       Puleston
Kennedy         quarterback     Murray
Yancey          right half      Watson
Ferris          fullback        Whitner
Curran          left half       Forsyth
Field Officials - Humphries, referee; Forsyth, umpire; Vinzant and Hopkins, timekeepers; Chappelle, chief linesman.

The Jacksonville Consolidated team won from the Florida State College yesterday through a sensational run to goal by Jones from a catch of a kickoff. It was a spectacular run, and an event in football seldom seen where two good teams are contesting the field. It was a great play.

Jones was standing on Jacksonville's fifteen-yard line when Tallahassee kicked off and he caught the ball. A dash through center for a fake run was followed by a sudden dart through right tackle, catching the opposing team almost unawares. Good interference from Curran and others, and a clever direction of his route by Kennedy assisted Jones materially in making the touchdown. Jones caught the ball fair, and his run was as fleet as that of a deer. When he started out the opposing team expected him to break through center, as he was making rapid strides in that direction, Tallahassee bunched for the center and left her ends practically unprotected. Once around the center of the Tallahassee line and between tackle and right end, Jones had almost clear sailiing. There were but two efforts to tackle him but they were successfully met. Jones jumped one of the tackles and Curran guarded him against the second.

Continued Down the Field
Continuing down the field for a long run the scene was a most exciting one. The fleet college boys and the Jacksonville players were racing with Jones for the goal, the Tallahassee players in an effort to overtake Jones and the Consolidated team making a run to beat them back.

Nothing like it has ever been seen on the Jacksonville gidiron, and what lent interest and excitement to the play was the fact that the college team had demonstrated that it was a clever eleven, and that it was a good match for the Consolidated. The first half had been played without a score and after a terrific twenty minutes of bucking through center and good offensive and defensive work on the part of both Elevens. That they were evenly matched was manifested every time that there was a snap of the ball. It was with the greatest effort and with great force that the two sides had advanced, and the spectators were appreciating the fact that the game was an even one. But when Jones hiked out with the ball, dodged Tallahassee's strong center, jumped a tackle, and dodged another, had broken completely through the line, and was running in the lead for Tallahassee's goal, there was the greatest excitement. Those who had been waving aloft the Jacksonville colors went wild with enthusiasm, and there was a din which lasted until Yancey had succeeded in kicking the goal.

A Great Achievement
It was a great achievement for a football player, and it was the one great achievement of the day. But Jones was playing a remarkably clever and hard game during all of the two halves. (editor's note: I wonder if Jones' girl friend wrote this article?) He was terrific in his onslaughts and charges against the center of the college boys' line, and made long and frequent gains during the scrimmages.

The saddest part of the game for Jacksonville was the calling of time in the second half, when Jacksonville was in posession of the ball and within only five yards of the Tallahassee goal. Another touchdown would probably have been made with another play, but time was called before this could be done. The ball was almost over but not quite.

Yancey Kicked Off
Jacksonville started the game with a kickoff by Yancey to Liddell on the thirty-yard line. Liddell fumbled the ball and was held where he caught it. Then commenced a series of rapid charges through the center of the Consolidated team. The visitors were fierce in their work, and as rapid as they could have been. They made perceptible gains, and were threatening the Jacksonville goal when Jacksonville got the ball on a fumble and commenced its return toward the Tallahassee goal. There were rapid advances made by Jones and Yancey with good interference and heavy work on a scrimmage. Again Tallahassee got the ball by a fumble by Yancey and ???? ???? Jacksonville forced back toward her goal.

When on the thirty-yard line and with Tallahassee in posession of the ball, Jones did a pretty piece of work in tackling and Tallahassee again lost a fumble. But after advancing the ball for several yards an effort to send it around the left end of the college team resulted in a loss of ten yards. Yancey again lost several yards but by a technicality kept possession of the ball instead of delivering it on downs.

Yancey, Jones and Kennedy then commenced a rapid advance of the ball by a series of fierce bucks. Bridges was clever also in this part of the game and worked viciously and hard. The half ended with the ball in Jacksonville's territory.

The Second Half
In the second half, with the exception of Jones' sensational touchdown, the incidents of the first half were repeated with the exception that there was a decided improvement in the work of the home team and an apparently falling off in the defensive work of the visitors. Jacksonville was getting into weak points of Tallahassee and managed to advance a little more rapidly. It was, however, the slow work of recovery while in possession of the ball that caused a failure to score in this half. Jacksonville ought to have reached the goal in this half, and would have done so had the home team quickly recovered themselves and played more rapidly.

After the touchdown by Jones the ball was returned to the center and Jacksonville kicked off to the visitors. the ball was caught by Puleston, who carried it from the 16-yard line to the 30-yard line by rapid work. The visitors again made vicious onslaughts against the center of the home team, and made some perceptible gains. Fifteen yards were gained when again the visitors lost on a fumble.

Almost Another Touchdown
Jacksonville took the ball and worked hard to advance it toward the opposing goal. The Tallahassee team was good on the defensive here, and held the home team back well, though they were unable to get the ball on downs. There were a number of close decisions in this part of the game as to whether the proper distances had been made, but Jacksonville managed to retain it until within twenty yards from the goal when it was fumbled. Tallahassee took the ball but lost it on downs before it had been carried for a great length. There were then but three minutes to play, and the home team made a vigorous effort to cross the chalk line, failing to do so in only about four yards.

A Great Game
It was a great game, and the best that has been seen in Jacksonville for several years. The Tallahassee team is a strong one, and has been well coached and thoroughly seasoned by the contests with other colleges.

The next game is to be next Sunday when the Fort Sereven soldiers are coming from Savannah for a game. The soldiers have been playing Savannah and Charleston and will give the home team a hard contest. The eleven that the Consolidated had on the field yesterday is the best football team Jacksonville has ever got together, and the indications are that it will win some notable victories before the closing of the season.


From the Florida-Times Union, Friday, November 25, 1904, page 2.
Minor Games
At Tallahassee, Fla. - Florida State College 18, Stetson University 6

FSU lays claim to the state's first Rhodes scholar

Source: Tallahassee Democrat, 11/20/12

By Gerald Ensley

Fritz Buchholz was one of the greatest residents ever of the fair city of Gainesville.

And the Gainesville-based University of Florida gets to claim Buchholz as one of the most successful young men ever admitted to UF.

But should you need a little extra “Nanny, nanny, boo, boo” to throw at Gator fans during this weekend’s football game, feel free to invoke the name of Buchholz (BYOO-holz). He was the first Rhodes scholar from the state of Florida. And he belongs to Florida State University.

“The Rhodes scholarship represents all that’s valuable and important about a good solid liberal arts education,” said Craig Filar, director of FSU’s Office of National Fellowships. “Buchholz exemplifies that tradition we hold dear and shows that’s our tradition, that it’s in our DNA.”

Filar’s office was created in 2005 to support students seeking a wide range of prestigious scholarships and fellowships, most notably the Rhodes, Truman, Goldwater, Fulbright and Boren scholarships. Before the office was created, FSU counted only one Rhodes scholar: 1976’s Caroline Alexander, now a celebrated author.

But since 2005, FSU has produced three Rhodes scholars: Garrett Johnson (2005), Joe O’Shea (2007) and Myron Rolle (2008). It’s also produced Rhodes finalists the past three years, including Madison Marks, a Jacksonville senior and runner-up in last Saturday’s interviews.

Yet this past summer, after a tip from alumnus and Tallahassee attorney Ken Van Assenderp, FSU became aware that it had never counted the school’s first Rhodes scholar: Buchholz, one of the most storied educators in state history.

Frederick William “Fritz” Buchholz was the longtime principal (1917-1951) of Gainesville High who served many years simultaneously as the Alachua County superintendent of schools. He coached Gainesville High’s first football team (1914) and helped found the Florida High School Athletic Association (1920). He even spent a term as a state legislator (1935).

Buchholz died in 1965 in Gainesville, where a high school was named in his honor in 1971.

But he got his start in Tallahassee, where Buchholz attended Florida State College, the co-ed forerunner of Florida State College for Women, which was the forerunner of today’s Florida State University.

Born in Tampa, Buchholz moved to Tallahassee when his father, Ludwig Wilhelm Buchholz, was hired as principal of the State Normal Teachers College at Florida State College (and his mother, Margaret, taught music). The teachers college was the forerunner of today’s FSU College of Education.

Fritz Buchholz was very definitely a BMOC at FSC. He was a fullback and lineman on the football team from 1902-1904, leading FSC to a 3-2 record against schools that later merged to form the University of Florida. He was a star on the track team. He helped form FSC’s Kappa Alpha fraternity.

When he graduated from FSC in spring 1905, two momentous things happened.

One was the Legislature’s passage of the Buckman Act, consolidating eight state-supported colleges into three: University of Florida (men only), Florida State College for Women (women only) and Florida A&M (blacks only). Buchholz had planned to pursue a master’s degree at FSC. With that blocked, he applied to and was accepted at the University of Florida.

The other was he won a Rhodes scholarship, now considered the most prestigious scholarship in the world and a springboard to greatness in many fields. The program was started in 1902 and has produced more than 7,000 scholars from around the world, each selected to study for one to three years at Oxford University in England. Buchholz studied philosophy and ancient history at Oxford from 1905 to 1908.

Over the years, there has been some confusion about Buchholz’ time at UF. Some stories claim he attended UF for a semester or two after graduating from FSC; his Oxford dates seem to rule out that possibility, though he may have attended graduate classes after returning from England (he did spend a summer semester teaching Latin at UF before accepting a post at Gainesville High). Some publications have listed him as a UF grad, which one assumes is just a misreading of his title as “Florida’s first Rhodes scholar.”

But Tallahassee certainly knew his roots.

In June 1905, as state leaders argued whether UF or FSC would become the state’s main university in the new consolidation, this newspaper’s forerunner, the Weekly True Democrat, ran a front-page story about FSC’s merits. It cited Buchholz’ Rhodes scholarship as proof FSC “stands preeminent above all competitors” as the “only logical site for the State University.”

Of course, Tallahassee lost that argument. From 1905 to 1947, UF was the main state university while FSCW was the “girls school” (albeit one of the best women’s colleges in the nation).

In 1947, both schools became co-ed. In 1958, the two teams began playing football. Florida leads the football series 33-20-2 (or 35-23-2, if you count those Buchholz games).

Florida also leads the Rhodes scholar series: UF has produced 12 Rhodes scholars to FSU’s five — though it has been 12 years since UF’s last Rhodes scholar.

Unquestionably, FSU is proud to claim Buchholz. Filar recently secured a letter from the Rhodes Trust, certifying that Buchholz was counted as FSU-origin in the accounting of Rhodes scholars.

“I’m so thankful Ken made us aware of Buchholz,” Filar said. “(Buchholz) gives our students a precedence to draw from. We’re continuing his legacy in a way we think would make him proud.”