KNOXVILLE — University of Tennessee football is rich in tradition and Vols Wire will explore the history of the program by examining each head coach’s tenure for the Volunteers.
The first installment of this series will explore the early years of the program when the Volunteers played without a head coach. This era covers 1891-93.
In 1891, the Vols played just one game. They tangled with Sewanee in Chattanooga and lost, 24-0.
The following season, Tennessee played seven games, going 2-5.
The Vols opened the 1892 campaign with a 25-0 victory over Maryville College in Maryville.
After shutting out the Scots, UT lost three consecutive games, falling to Vanderbilt (22-4), Sewanee (54-0) and at home against Sewanee (10-0).
The Vols picked up their second win of the season when they defeated the Chattanooga Athletic Club, 16-6.
Tennessee then closed the season with another loss to Vanderbilt (12-0) and to Wake Forest (10-6).
In 1893, the Vols went 2-4 with victories over Maryville and Asheville Athletic Club to close the campaign.
Tennessee lost the first four games of the season to Kentucky A&M, Wake Forest, Trinity and North Carolina.
After that season the school’s athletic association officially dropped the sport.