1893 Maryland Aggies football team

The 1893 Maryland Aggies football team represented the Maryland Agricultural College (now the University of Maryland) in the 1893 college football season. After losing all three of its games the previous season without scoring a point, Maryland showed considerable improvement in 1893. The Aggies defeated all six opponents and were named the District of Columbia and Maryland state champions.

Football in 1893
American football in 1893 was a variant of rugby football, played with a rugby ball and making use of rules closely derived from the original sport. The field of play was 110 yards long and 53-1/3 yards wide, with chalk lines every five yards to help the referee determine necessary distances. Forward passing was prohibited; only lateral passing or running with the ball was allowed. Teams of eleven were divided into seven "rushers or forwards" positioned at the line of scrimmage, with four backs behind the line — a quarterback just behind the line, two halfbacks located about two yards behind him, and a fullback or "goal-tend," who stood about a dozen yards behind the halfbacks.

Kickoffs were generally executed by kicking the ball forward slightly for a self-recovery and quick lateral pass to a teammate who carried the ball in the middle of a V-shaped blocking wedge of his teammates. When the ball was brought to a standstill, the runner would cry "down" and a line of scrimmage formed, with the "center-rusher" (also called the "snap-back") hiking the ball to the quarterback. The quarterback would generally pitch the ball to one of the three backs behind him to attempt to run forward, while the defenders would "endeavor by all lawful means to retard that advance."

The offense would retain the ball if it was able to gain 5 yards in three downs — or by retreating 20 yards towards their own goal line. The ball would generally be punted away after two downs "if the prospects of completing the 5-yard gain appear small."

A touchdown counted as 4 points and allowed the scoring team the opportunity to add 2 more points by kicking the ball over the crossbar and through the goal posts, which were planted at the goal line. After a touchdown, the scoring team had the option of bringing out the ball as far as desired at a right angle from the point at which the ball crossed the goal line (as in modern rugby) and attempting a place kick, or by executing a "punt out" from the end zone to a teammate making a fair catch, from which spot a drop-kick for the extra points could be attempted.

A drop kick through the goal posts from the field counted as 5 points. As with the contemporary game, safties counted for 2 points.

The game consisted of two 45-minute halves with an intermission of 10 minutes, although duration of the game could be shortened by mutual consent. No coaching was allowed from the sidelines, all game decisions had to be made by the players on the field. Once removed from the game for a substitute, a player could not return to the game (as in modern soccer).

Players
The letterwinners on the 1893 team were:
 * J. G. Bannon, end: (May 1, 1874 – January 19, 1937) graduated with a B.S. through the Scientific Course in 1895. He was the son of Maryland State Senator Michael Bannon.
 * Clifton E. Fuller, halfback/quarterback: (May 1, 1873 – September 3, 1958) a native of Cumberland, Maryland, he graduated in 1896. Fuller worked for many years as a freight agent for the Railway Express Agency in Cumberland and served one term as a city councilman. He attended every Maryland homecoming game in College Park between 1932 and 1957. He was a member of the Knights of the Golden Eagle.
 * Gustavus Y. Graff, tackle: born January 30, 1865, a native of Montgomery County, Maryland, he graduated in 1893 with a B.S. in the Scientific Course and worked as a librarian at the college for one year. Graff then worked for the Bureau of Engraving and Printing in Washington, D.C.
 * Samuel "Pop" Harding, tackle/guard: (January 19, 1873 – May 19, 1919) born in Highland, Maryland, he graduated with a B.S. through the Scientific Course in 1895. Harding worked for the Water Department in Washington, D.C., first as a skilled laborer and eventually working his way to the position of foreman.
 * George Harris, quarterback
 * Roland L. Harrison, halfback: born May 4, 1875, in Charlotte Hall, Maryland, he graduated with a B.S. through the Scientific Course in 1895. Harrison worked as a topographer for the U.S. Geological Survey.
 * Parker Mitchell, center
 * Fred Oertly, ?
 * Pearse "Shorty" Prough, halfback/quarterback: (August 15, 1873 – March 29, 1952) he worked as a country squire near Sykesville, Maryland. Born to parents George Marion and Georgia Anna (née Choate) Prough, he married Mary née DeVeries on September 27, 1927, and the couple had two sons and two daughters.
 * R. R. "Dick" Pue, guard/center and captain: he graduated with a B.S. through the Scientific Course in 1894 and died sometime before 1914.
 * William T. L. "Sherman" Rollins, halfback: he graduated with a B.S. through the Scientific Course in 1896 and worked as a supervisor of the census and inspector for the Post Office in Seat Pleasant, Maryland.
 * Henry Sherman, end
 * Clay H. Weimer, fullback: born on August 5, 1874, in Bedford County, Pennsylvania, he graduated with a B.S. through the Scientific Course in 1894. He earned a Doctor of Medicine from the University of Pennsylvania in 1898 and worked as an assistant superintendent at the State Hospital in Ashland, Pennsylvania, beginning in 1898.
 * Thomas Wharton, guard
 * Arthur Wooters, end

Non-letterwinners:
 * Dick Alvey, tackle
 * W. B. "Will" Crapster, guard: born in 1873 and a native of Taneytown, Maryland, he graduated with a B.S. through the Scientific Course in 1895. Crapster worked as a manager of the Eureka Life Insurance Company in Washington, D.C. He married on April 19, 1913.
 * Henry Harrison, guard
 * Fred Lull, guard
 * Howard Strickler, quarterback
 * John Brock, halfback
 * Barnes Compton, end: son of a wealthy Maryland plantation owner, he graduated in 1895 with a B.S. in the Scientific Course and became a clerk of the B&O Railroad. Compton died sometime before 1914.
 * Arthur Pue Gorman Jr., guard
 * Tom Greene, fullback

Manager:
 * Sothoron Key: he graduated with a B.S. through the Scientific Course in 1894 and an M.S. in 1902. He worked as a physician in Washington, D.C.