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1913 Auburn Tigers football team

American college football season

American college football season

FieldValue
year1913
teamAuburn Tigers
sportfootball
imageAuburn Tigers football team (1913).jpg
image_size285
conferenceSouthern Intercollegiate Athletic Association
short_confSIAA
record8–0
conf_record8–0
head_coachMike Donahue
hc_year9th
def_scheme[7–2–2](7-2-2-defense)
captainKirk Newell
stadiumDrake Field
Rickwood Field
championNational champion (Billingsley MOV)
SIAA champion
uniform10sauburnuniform.png

Rickwood Field SIAA champion The 1913 Auburn Tigers football team represented Auburn University in the 1913 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association football season. The team was coached by Mike Donahue and was undefeated at 8–0, outscoring opponents 224–13. Auburn was the champion of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association. The team played just two games at home.

Richard Billingsley is the only NCAA-recognized "major selector" to select Auburn as 1913 national champion. The retroactive selection of the 1913 Tigers first appeared in the 2000 NCAA records book, as the Billingsley Report revised its math system for the BCS computer rankings. In the 1996 NCAA records book, under his primary methodology, he had selected Chicago for 1913. Auburn did not claim the title until 2025, but did acknowledge it in its official media guide before then.

Before the season

Since Auburn's tie with Vanderbilt last year, teams other than Vanderbilt had a chance to win a title, and newspapers covered football more than the World Series for the first time.

Coach Donahue built his team around his defense, which played out of a 7–2–2 scheme. The team was led by senior captain Kirk Newell. One source reads "Coach Donahue loved the fullback dive and would run the play over and over again before sending the elusive Newell wide on a sweep."

Schedule

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Game summaries

Mercer

A.P.I. began its season with a 53-0 blowout against visiting Mercer on Drake Field.

Florida

  • Sources: The week before, the Florida Gators had the largest win in their history, a 144–0 win over Southern College. Auburn crushed the Gators 55–0. Auburn scored five touchdowns in the first half.

The starting lineup was Wynne (left end), Esslinger (left tackle), Lockwood (left guard), Pitts (center), Thigpen (right guard), Louisell (right tackle), Robinson (right end), Arnold (quarterback), Newell (left halfback), Sparkman (right halfback), Harris (fullback).

Mississippi A&M

The second place Mississippi A&M Aggies fell to Auburn 34–0 after years of close games between the two schools.

Clemson

Clemson was defeated 20–0 with coach Donahue using his fullback.

The starting lineup was Wynne (left end), Esslinger (left tackle), Lockwood (left guard), Pitts (center), Thigpen (right guard), Louisell (right tackle), Robinson (right end), Arnold (quarterback), Newell (left halfback), Sparkman (right halfback), Harris (fullback).

LSU

Sources: In a close game of conventional football, Auburn beat the LSU Tigers 7–0, with Tom Dutton standing out at center of defense. Kirk Newell starred with end runs, and in the third quarter brought the ball to the 12-yard line with a 40-yard run.

The starting lineup was Taylor (left end), Louisell (left tackle), Thigpen (left guard), Pitts (center), Lockwood (right guard), Esslinger (right tackle), Robinson (right end), Arnold (quarterback), Newell (left halfback), Kearley (right halfback), Harris (fullback).

Georgia Tech

Auburn beat Georgia Tech 20–0, Auburn's sixth straight shutout. After the first half, Tech's line was beaten down by Auburn's.

Vanderbilt

Sources: In "one of the most spectacular games the South ever saw", Auburn beat Dan McGugin's Vanderbilt Commodores 14–6. Auburn scored with fullback Hart. Vanderbilt responded quickly with a 30-yard pass from Ammie Sikes to Hord Boensch. Using four different fullbacks on one drive, Auburn drove 80 yards to win.

Georgia

Atlanta Sources: The Tigers defeated the Georgia Bulldogs 21–7 to claim the SIAA title. Many prominent persons, including the governor, saw the contest.

Kirk Newell of Auburn and Bob McWhorter of Georgia played their last games. At the 25-yard line, from a freak formation, Georgia's David Paddock pass the ball to Logan who caught it on the run and into the endzone for the first score of the game. Red Harris got over a score in the second period. In the third quarter, Auburn had driven to the 11-yard line, and Donahue pulled Harris for Christopher. The Georgia team expected a buck, and committed to stopping it. Newell skirted around right end for 7 yards. Christopher eventually plunged in from the 4-yard line. Later, from the 35-yard line, Newell had a run to the 7-yard line, chased out of bounds by McWhorter. Christopher again got the touchdown.

The starting lineup was Kearley (left end), Louisell (left tackle), Thigpen (left guard), Pitts (center), Lockwood (right guard), Esslinger (right tackle), Robinson (right end), Arnold (quarterback), Newell (left halfback), Prendergast (right halfback), Harris (fullback).

Postseason

Newell gained 1,707 yards that year, 46% of the team's entire offensive output; and 5,800 yards rushing, 350 yards receiving, and 1,200 yards on punt returns for his career. One writer claims "Auburn had a lot of great football teams, but there may not have been one greater than the 1913–1914 team." Newell went on to be a World War I hero and member of the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame.

Roster

Starters

Line

Jack WynneEnd2

Backfield

S. S. SparkmanHalfback3

Subs

Staff

  • Mike Donahue, coach
  • George Penton, assistant
  • Ed Bragg, alumni coach
  • Jonathan Bell Lovelace, manager
  • Thomas Bragg, graduate manager
  • Dean Cliff Hare, faculty chairman of athletics

Notes

References

Additional sources

References

  1. "AUBURNTIGERS.COM :: Auburn University Official Athletic Site Auburn University Official Athletic Site :: Football".
  2. National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). (2015). "National Poll Rankings". NCAA.
  3. "Auburn Recognized National Championships".
  4. (2008). "Billingsley's National Champions by Year". College Football Research Center.
  5. (August 19, 2025). "Auburn football recognizing seven additional national championships". AL.com.
  6. {{Harvnb. Woodruff. 1928
  7. (June 28, 2013). "100 Year Anniversary: The Top 10 Players on Auburn's 1913 National Championship Team".
  8. (October 5, 1913). "Mercer's eleven no match for Auburn". The Montgomery Advertiser.
  9. (October 12, 1913). "Auburn swamps Florida team". The Atlanta Journal.
  10. (October 19, 1913). "Auburn forced to fight". The Commercial Appeal.
  11. (October 26, 1913). "Auburn eleven scores at will". The Atlanta Constitution.
  12. G. J. Flournoy. (November 2, 1913). "Auburn's line plunging wins from Louisiana State team; Kirk Newell stars again". The Atlanta Constitution.
  13. (November 9, 1913). "Auburn romps on Tech". The Nashville Tennessean.
  14. (November 16, 1913). "Auburn triumphs over Commodores". The Birmingham Age-Herald.
  15. (November 23, 1913). "Auburn proves claim to title". The Birmingham News.
  16. (October 12, 1913). "Florida Is Easy For Auburn Team". The Atlanta Constitution.
  17. {{Harvnb. Woodruff. 1928
  18. {{Harvnb. Woodruff. 1928
  19. {{Harvnb. Woodruff. 1928
  20. G. J. Flournoy. (November 2, 1913). "Auburn's Line Plunging Wins From Louisiana State Team; Kirk Newell Stars Again". The Atlanta Constitution.
  21. {{Harvnb. Woodruff. 1928
  22. {{Harvnb. Woodruff. 1928
  23. {{Harvnb. Woodruff. 1928
  24. (November 23, 1913). "Thousands Of Enthusiasts See Auburn Football Team Win South's Championship". The Atlanta Constitution.
  25. Dick Jemison. (November 23, 1913). "Auburn Wins Southern Title; Georgia Beaten Decisively; Harris Star of Fierce Game". The Atlanta Constitution.
  26. Henderson, Jeremy. (August 21, 2013). "Football rankings guru Richard Billingsley says Auburn should claim century-old crown: 'My national championship for Auburn in 1913 is a very valid national championship'".
  27. Kelly Kazek. (2011). "Hidden History of Auburn". The History Press.
  28. "Auburn's 1913 undefeated team". Auburn Tigers Football.
  29. "Alabama Sports Hall of Fame – Birmingham, Alabama – Where Heroes Live Forever – Newell".
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