The Auburn Tigers football team represents Auburn University in American football.
Overview Early history (1892–1950)
Auburn was led by nine different coaches over a 12-year span. The organization of Auburn's first football team is credited to George Petrie, who led the 1892 Tigers to a 2–2 record. Petrie also chose burnt orange and navy blue as the official colors for Auburn athletic teams, which was inspired by his alma mater, the University of Virginia. The first game was against the University of Georgia at Piedmont Park in Atlanta, Georgia. Auburn won, 10–0, in front of a crowd of 2,000, in a game that would establish the Deep South's Oldest Rivalry. Auburn and Alabama played their first football game in Lakeview Park in Birmingham, Alabama, on February 22, 1893. Head coach D. M. Balliet led Auburn to a 32–22 victory, before an estimated crowd of 5,000. It is the first recorded, intercollegiate football game in the state of Alabama. Alabama considered the game to be the final matchup of the 1892 season and Auburn recorded it as the first of 1893. G. H. Harvey coached the four games that Auburn played the following fall. The 1894 team was led by head coach Forrest M. Hall, in his first and only year as head coach of the Tigers. The team finished with a record of one win and three losses (1–3). While the team had a losing record, the squad has the distinction of achieving the largest win in Auburn history, defeating Georgia Tech 94–0.
The most prominent coach of this early period is John Heisman, for whom the Heisman trophy is named. During five years, Heisman compiled a 12–4–2 record, before departing for Clemson in 1900. Auburn's very first conference membership came in 1895, when it joined the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA). The 1895 team executed a "hidden ball trick" with quarterback Reynolds Tichenor in the game against Vanderbilt, as Auburn seemed to run a revolving wedge. Vanderbilt still won however, 9–6; the first time in the history of southern football that a field goal decided a game. Auburn suffered its only loss to Pop Warner's champion Bulldogs in 1896. Auburn received its first national publicity when Heisman was able to convince Harper's Weekly to publish the 1896 team's photo. The 1897 team finished $700 in debt, and Heisman was the actor, director, and producer of David Garrick to raise the money. As such, he is founder of Auburn's first theatrical group: The A.P.I. Dramatic Club. The 1898 team went 2–1 with its only loss to SIAA champion North Carolina. In Heisman's opinion, the 1899 team was his best while at Auburn. Captained by Arthur Feagin, the squad is remembered as the only team to score on the legendary Sewanee Tigers team that went undefeated and beat Texas, Texas A&M, Tulane, LSU and Ole Miss over a 6-day span. Auburn lost their matchup to the "Iron Men" by a single point. The first undefeated season came in 1900, when the Tigers went 4–0 under coach Billy Watkins.
The 1902 Tigers were coached by two men that year: Robert Kent and M. S. Harvey. A little over halfway through the season, Kent stepped down after going 2–2–1. Harvey followed and in his only season as head coach went 0–2. The season featured Auburn's first All-Southern selection: the massive, 230 pound guard James C. Elmer.
The 1903 team was coached by William Penn Bates in his only season as Auburn's head coach.
Mike Donahue became the tenth head coach of the Auburn Tigers. Donahue's tenure at Auburn helped elevate the program to new heights, including the school's first national championship, three SIAA championships, and three undefeated seasons. In 1904, his first team finished with a 5–0 record and a share of the conference championship. Willis Kienholz coached the team temporarily. The 1907 season would mark the last time Auburn would play Alabama until 1948, after a 7–7 tie between the two rivals. The 1908 team was led by All-Southerns quarterback Tom McLure and halfback Lew Hardage. The Tigers lost to Hall of Famer Doc Fenton and undefeated LSU, but controversy surrounded LSU's season and Auburn also claimed a conference title. The 1910 team claimed a share of the conference championship with a 6–1 record, led by leading scorer and fullback Bradley Streit.
Donahue's peak came in the 1913 and 1914 seasons, without a single team crossing Auburn's goal through the line. The 1913 team, led by captain Kirk Newell, claimed Auburn's first outright conference championship with an 8–0 record. The 1914 Tigers posted all shutouts and also won a conference championship with an 8–0–1 record. Bull Kearley was a key feature of Donahue's 7–2–2 defense.
The 1915 team went 6–2, losing to both southern champions (Vanderbilt and Georgia Tech). Guard Baby Taylor was a unanimous All-Southern selection and a third-team All-American selection by Walter Camp. The 1917 team was very strong, including Moon Ducote as a standout, but lost 60–7 to the South's first national champion: Heisman's Georgia Tech Golden Tornado.
The Tigers would return to the top of the conference once again in 1919 with an 8–1 record. Fatty Warren ran for a 40-yard gain in the 14–7 victory over Georgia Tech, the game which netted the SIAA championship and gave Tech its first loss to an SIAA school in five years, since Auburn in 1914. It was Heisman's last game at Georgia Tech. Zelda Sayre sent All-Southern tackle Pete Bonner a telegram after the win, it read: "Shooting a seven, aren't we awfully proud of the boys, give them my love—knew we could." The 1920 team outscored its opponents by a margin of 332–49, a then-school record for points, but was held scoreless in its two losses to the conference co-champions (Georgia and Georgia Tech). Auburn moved to the Southern Conference (SoCon) in 1922. The 1922 team is considered one of Auburn's greatest football teams. The Tigers upset defending Southern champion Centre. One year later, Donahue became the coach at LSU. Boozer Pitts was promoted from assistant coach to Auburn's head football coach, serving from 1923 to 1924 and again in 1927. Pitts failed to win more than four games in a single season during his tenure that included an 0–4–2 1927 season.
In September 1925, Dave Morey was hired as the head football coach. Morey was the head coach at Auburn for three years (1925–1927), compiling an overall record of 10–10–1 at the school. The highlight of Morey's tenure with Auburn was a 2–0 win over Bernie Bierman's Tulane squad in the game that dedicated New Orleans' famous Sugar Bowl. In 1927, the Auburn football team lost its starting quarterback, who was expelled after being caught sneaking into the women's dormitory following a night of drunken reverie. The team opened the 1927 season with an 0–3 record, including embarrassing losses to Stetson College and Clemson. At a pep rally six days after the loss to Clemson, Morey announced his resignation. George Bohler was Auburn's head football coach for two seasons from 1928 to 1929. He posted a 3–11 record in those two seasons before he was replaced due to the poor record and support. Chet A. Wynne was Auburn's head football coach for four seasons (1930–1933), posting a 22–15–2 record before departing to take the head football coach position at Kentucky. Wynne's 1932 team posted a 9–0–1 record and won the Southern Conference championship in its final year in the conference before moving to the SEC. Jimmy Hitchcock was consensus All-American. Jack Meagher came to Auburn from Rice. Auburn's first bowl appearance came in 1936 under Coach Meagher after a 7–2–2 season. The Tigers traveled to Havana, Cuba to play Villanova in the Bacardi Bowl, which ended in a 7–7 tie. Auburn's first bowl win came after the 1937 season against Michigan State in the Orange Bowl. Meagher's final record at Auburn in 48–37–10. Due to the events surrounding World War II, Auburn did not field a team in 1943, but resumed competition in 1944 under Carl Voyles. During Earl Brown's tenure, Auburn met Alabama for the first time since 1907, which ended with an Alabama victory. The Tigers quickly responded in 1949, as they stunned the heavily favored Crimson Tide in a 14–13 victory. An 0–10 season in 1950 called for a change, and marked the end of a trying era for Auburn football.
Ralph "Shug" Jordan era (1951–1975) In 1951, Auburn hired Ralph "Shug" Jordan to become the new head coach of the Tigers. During his first season, Auburn finished with a 5–5 record. He led the Tigers to three consecutive bowl appearances in 1953, 1954, and 1955. Jordan is most recognized for his 1957 squad, which finished the season with a 10–0 record, and won Auburn's first SEC Championship. The Associated Press named the Auburn Tigers no. 1 in its postseason poll, marking the school's first consensus national championship in the modern era. The 1957 Auburn team was ineligible for Bowl participation due to NCAA Sanctions, having been placed on probation indefinitely. The 1958 team was also named national champions by minor selector Montgomery Ratings, after a 9–0–1 season. Auburn went on to appear in bowl games in 1963 and 1965. Beginning in 1968, the Tigers enjoyed seven consecutive bowl appearances under coach Jordan.
In 1970 James Owens, a fullback from Fairfield, Alabama, became Auburn's first African American football player. He played for three seasons. He was followed in 1971 by Thom Gossom. In 1971, Auburn quarterback Pat Sullivan led the Tigers to a 9–2 record, and became the school's first Heisman Trophy winner. Auburn would go on to lose the 1972 Sugar Bowl to Oklahoma, 40–22. One of Jordan's biggest victories came against Alabama in 1972, when the Tigers shocked the Crimson Tide in a 17–16 upset. The 1972 Iron Bowl became known as the "Punt Bama Punt" game, due to two blocked Alabama punts in the fourth quarter, which were both returned for Auburn touchdowns. In 1973, Auburn's Cliff–Hare Stadium was renamed Jordan–Hare Stadium, which was the first stadium in the nation to be named for an active coach. After the 1975 season, Jordan retired after a 25-year tenure at Auburn, with a 176–83–7 record and a .675 winning percentage. The 176 career wins remain a record for an Auburn coach.
Doug Barfield era (1976–1980) Following Jordan's retirement, Auburn hired Doug Barfield to become the new head coach. From 1976 to 1980, Barfield's Tigers compiled a 27–27–1 on-field record, with no bowl appearances. He lost all five games to rival Alabama during his tenure, and was later awarded two victories due to forfeits by Mississippi State in 1976 and 1977, making his record 29–25–1. He was dismissed from his position after a disappointing season in 1980, as the Tigers finished with a 5–6 record. Auburn then hired Pat Dye, a former assistant coach at Alabama under Coach Paul W. Bryant, and head coach at Wyoming at the time. During his first season in 1981, Auburn finished with a 5–6 record.
Pat Dye era (1981–1992) In 1982, Pat Dye led Auburn to a 9–3 record and its first bowl appearance in eight years. The 1982 season would also begin a streak of nine consecutive bowl game appearances. The highlight of the season came against Alabama in the Iron Bowl, when Auburn snapped the Tide's 9-game winning streak. The 1982 Iron Bowl is widely known as the "Bo Over the Top" game, for Auburn running back Bo Jackson's leap over the top of a pile from the one-yard line to secure a 23–22 victory over Alabama. This would be the final Iron Bowl for Alabama's legendary coach, Bear Bryant, who retired after the 1982 season and died on January 26, 1983.