Review of "The Origins of Southern College Football"

 This was a book that grabbed my attention with just the title.  Given how the Southeastern Conference has produced so many great teams and players the last 20 years or so, it was good to learn about the origins of the game in the area.  Here is my review of "The Origins of Southern College Football."

Title/Author:

“Origins of Southern College Football: How an Ivy League Game Became a Dixie Tradition" by Andrew McIlwaine Bell

Tags:

Football (American), college, history

Publish date:

August 12, 2020

Length:

200 pages

Rating:

4 of 5 stars (very good)

Review:

Most college football fans, broadcasters and writers will agree that the Southeastern Conference has the best teams and players in the game today. However, that hasn't always been the case as in the early history of college football, the game was primarily played at Ivy League schools and the quality of play in the South wasn't considered as good. This book by Andrew McIlwaine Bell gives the reader an insight into the game in that region during those early days.

Something the book shows that might be surprising is that there is no single "ah-ha" moment or game when football became the game of the South.  Instead, it was gradually gaining acceptance and popularity as the South was recovering from its losses in the Civil War and was looking to its northern neighbors for ways to rebuild.  Organized, "scientific" football was one of those customs that was already popular in the Northeast and some Ivy League transplants brought the game to the South, where it became a symbol of the area's strength, resilience and yes, its culture that included racism.           

On that last topic, this issue and other historical matters such as two other wars (the Spanish-American War and World War I) and politics are featured as prominently as football in this book.  These are important to include to bring the complete picture to the reader as they helped shape the region's attitude and participation in the game.  Of course, Theodore Roosevelt's actions toward making the game safer is an example of how these issues tie in with the game.

If there are any events, games or teams that truly brought attention to the way the game was played in the South to writers and other important figures in the Northeast, it would be the accomplishments of two particular teams.  One would the team from Sewanee (now known as the University of the South) in 1899.  They became the first team from the South to go undefeated in one season.  While they have now been properly recognized for that feat, the "elite" in the Northeast felt that this wasn't much of an accomplishment since it was believed the quality of play in the South was much more inferior than that in the Northeast.  It took nearly two decades to change that attitude when John Heisman led the 1917 Georgia Tech team to a national title.  That team shut out most of its opponents and still holds the record for the most lopsided win in college football history, a 222-0 win over Cumberland College.  

While the book in some parts reads like a scholarly work, it is still an enjoyable book for the reader who wants to learn more about college football in the South at that time and in that culture.  Even die-hard college football fans are bound to learn some new information about the game, as this reviewer did.  

 I wish to thank LSU Press for providing a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review. 

Book Format Read:

E-book (Kindle)

 Buying Links:

https://www.amazon.com/Origins-Southern-College-Football-Tradition/dp/0807171204/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=