University of Virginia Library

Cavaliers Not Terribly Bold
In Infamous Days Of Old

Unfortunately these days of the
past were not as good as this
reporter had expected. Delving
into the past uncovered two items
in College Topics, the predecessor
of The Cavalier Daily. They were
dated November 4, 1890. These
articles were reviews of Virginia
football games against the University
of Pennsylvania and Princeton.

The kindest thing said about the
Cavaliers in these two articles
was: "After five minutes of good
playing by both teams, time was
called, the score standing Pennsylvania
62, Virginia 0."

Princeton, then arch-rival of the
Wahoos, was not quite as considerate
of the Cavaliers ego. Excerpts
from the article follow.

"Our play was utterly devoid
of teamwork, while that of our
opponents was magnificent."

"Around our end the Princetonians
came enclosed by a solid
phalanx of defenders, and each
time would gain 10 yards or more
before our plucky tacklers could
down them."

"Before the audience realized
what had happened, King (the
Princeton right half-back) found
himself behind our goal line and
the ball in his possession."

Mercifully the first half ended
with the Tigers ahead by a mere
56 to 0. The Cavaliers would have
done a great service to their fans
and to themselves had they quietly
slipped out of the back door
during the intermission. Being
loyal and faithful to Mr. Jefferson's
institution, however, they
returned to the field for more
punishment..

The final score was 115 to 0.