Note: The following appears in the Georgia Tech football gameday program.
The rivalry between Clemson and Georgia Tech dates to 1897, the second season of Clemson football and the sixth season for the Yellow Jackets. Both programs were positively impacted by John Heisman, one of the first nationally known coaches in the history of the sport.
In many ways, the fanbases of both schools believing that coaching is important dates to the 1903-05 era. Heisman was Clemson’s head coach in 1903, and he led the Tigers to a 73-0 victory over the Yellow Jackets. Two years later, he was the head coach at Georgia Tech, and his Yellow Jackets beat the Tigers 17-10.
Heisman came to Clemson in 1900 after serving at Auburn from 1895-99. Walter Riggs, Clemson’s first head football coach in 1896 and later Clemson’s president, had worked at Auburn when Heisman was the head coach, and he convinced Heisman to leave Auburn and come to Clemson. The announcement was made on Dec. 8, 1899.
It did not take long for Heisman to whip the Tigers into shape, as Clemson finished the 1900 season with a 6-0 record, a campaign that included wins over Alabama (35-0), Georgia (39-5) and South Carolina (51-0). It was the first undefeated season in Tiger history, and it was the school’s first conference championship, as Clemson won the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association. Clemson did have another perfect record until 1948.
The 1901 season included a 122-0 win over Guilford, still the largest margin of victory in Tiger history. Clemson averaged 30 yards per play and scored a touchdown every 26 seconds in a game that saw just 30 minutes of playing time.
Heisman coached Clemson to two more conference titles in 1902 and 1903. The 1902 season included an 11-0 victory over Tennessee, a game played in the snow that clinched the SIAA championship.
The 1903 season included victories over Georgia and Georgia Tech. After Clemson’s 29-0 win over Georgia, the Bulldogs made a deal with Heisman that they would give Clemson one bushel of apples for every point it beat Georgia Tech above their 29-point margin recorded against the Bulldogs.
Heisman and his Tigers must have loved apple pie, because they went on to beat the Yellow Jackets 73-0. Clemson had a school-record 615 yards on 55 carries in that game. That winter, Georgia sent Clemson 44 bushels of apples.
Oct. 28, 1903 turned out to be a landmark day in Clemson history for a good reason and a bad one. The Tigers beat NC State 24-0 in a game…