Celebrating the 100th Anniversary of Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium at the University of Texas

THE FIRST BIG GAME

An official University of Texas football team competed against the Dallas Athletic Club, who promoted themselves as the unofficial champions of Texas. The game took place on Thanksgiving Day, 30 November 1893, at the Dallas Fair Grounds with 2,000 spectators in attendance. The University of Texas team pulled off an 18-16 upset victory over the “state champion” team from Dallas. An unnamed Morning News writer who covered the Dallas team wrote of this game, “This tale is of woe to Dallasites and bright to the Austinians. ‘Our name is pants and our glory has departed,’ said Tom Monagan as he pulled his overcoat over his sweater yesterday afternoon, jerked his cap down over his eyes, wiped the blood off his face and started for home by the unseen route. Tommie was but a type of a glorious band of eleven warriors who went out to victory with banners flying and pretty girls to look on and a big gang of whoopers on the side. They were not as handsome when they came home in the evening but they had learned something.”