LSU's First Touchdown & First Win were in Natchez!!

1893 was the first year LSU had a football team, and they were coached by a professor. They played one game, which was against Tulane. LSU lost and never even scored. However, this was the beginning of the Purple & Gold. They wanted to use Mardi Gras colors on their uniforms, but they couldn't find any green ribbons because the Tulane Green Wave bought them all.

1894 LSU football team

In 1894, they got a real football coach (Albert Simmons) and played three games. Their first game was on November 30 and was against the Natchez Athletic Club in Natchez. Here they scored their first touchdown and went on to get their first win with a score of 36 - 0. The team's captain, Samuel Marmaduke Dinwidie Clark, became the first LSU player to ever score a touchdown.

Johnny Waycaster had heard this story and asked us if we had the Natchez paper for that time on microfilm. We looked, and sure enough there was an article in the Natchez paper, The Saturday Evening Banner. (You just never know the treasures and trivia your Library has available!) Here's the story - it's hilarious:

The foot-ball game between the University team of Baton Rouge and the Natchez team came off yesterday afternoon. The game was to have taken place on Thanksgiving day, but the visitors were detained on a sand-bar near Lehmann's Landing, on board the steamer Royal, until yesterday morning, when they came up on the Natchez. The game attracted a large crowd to the park, as a foot-ball match was something new for Natchez. It proved to be quite entertaining to those present, but the home team proved to be too weak for the visitors, the score standing 36 - 0. The visitors were entertained last evening at the hospitable home of Capt. F. J. Arrighi, whose son, Hughes Arrighi, is a member of the Baton Rouge team. They departed for home this morning well pleased with their visit, and the courteous treatment received while here. The Natchez foot-ball colors, red, orange, and blue, have been quite prominently displayed during the past few days.

So Natchez families have been sending their children to LSU for a long time - and Natchez hospitality and partying after games are obviously well established traditions.

LSU's second game that year and first home game was against Ole Miss, and LSU had their first loss to Ole Miss. LSU's only touchdown was scored by the coach, who was presumably a player-coach.

1895 LSU football team

In 1895, Coach Albert Simmons, in his last year at LSU, helped the Tigers to their first undefeated season  in LSU football history. The season also featured the first home victory in LSU history with a win over Tulane in front of 1,500 spectators. They did not play Ole Miss that year - but they did play Alabama in the last game of the season. Surely that will happen again on Monday!.

1896 LSU football team

In 1896, LSU played 6 games, was again undefeated, and won their first Conference Championship. This time, they beat Ole Miss for the first time. And this rivalry continued forever.






NOTE: The pictures and some of this information came from Wikipedia.