uk football

From UK’s first All-American, Clyde Johnson, to its most recent, Derek Abney; from Professor A.M. Miller to Coach Rich Brooks; from old Stoll Field to Commonwealth Stadium; from the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association to the Southeastern Conference; and with all the ensuing changes, Kentucky football holds a unique and storied tradition that began in 1881.
UK football holds a captivating list of firsts: UK was the first South­eastern Conference team to introduce football, which it did in 1881; UK played in the first and only Great Lakes Bowl in 1947, defeating Villanova, 24-14; Kentucky tackle Bob Gain was awarded the 1950 Outland Trophy, making him the first player from the SEC to claim the honor; the Wildcats’ Nat Northington was the first African-American player to sign with a South­eastern Conference institution and the first to play in a league contest – vs. Ole Miss in 1967. And in 1989, UK became the first SEC school to win the coveted College Football Association Academic Achievement Award for highest graduation rate.
In 116 seasons, Kentucky has participated in 1,130 contests and owns 545 wins, 541 losses and 44 ties. The 545 victories rank 43rd among NCAA Bowl Subdivision (formerly Division I-A) programs in most wins. Kentucky football has won one national championship, two Southeastern Conference championships and appeared in 11 bowls.
UK football has had 15 National Football League first-round draft choices, one Outland Trophy winner, 22 first-team All-Americans (selected 26 times), 12 Academic All-Americans (selected 14 times), 69 first-team All-SEC players (selected 91 times), and 378 Academic All-SEC selections.
Kentucky football got its start on Nov. 12, 1881. Kentucky, known in those days as A&M College, Kentucky State College and/or State University of Kentucky, defeated Kentucky University by the clumsy score of 7 1/4 to 1. The game of football resembled more of a rugby form and the scoring procedure is still unclear. Though football came to Kentucky in 1881, it quickly vanished after the three-game season. UK finished 1-2 in the inaugural campaign, but the lid was shut on UK football for the next nine seasons.
Football returned to the University of Kentucky in 1891, when UK defeated Georgetown College, 8-2, on April 10, 1891. The sport would not again be interrupted until the 1943 season because of World War II. The first known head football coach
at Kentucky was Professor A.M. Miller, a Princeton graduate. Miller began the 1892 season as head coach and led UK to a 2-2-1 ledger through five games. He was replaced by John A. Thompson at the conclusion of the 1892 campaign.
Some successful years in the early 1900s dot the UK record book. Kentucky finished 7-1 in 1903 under Coach C.A. Wright; 9-1 in 1904 under Coach F.E. Schact; 9-1-1 in 1907 with Coach J. White Guyn, and 9-1 in 1909 under E.R. Sweetland.
The greatest UK team of that era was the 1898 squad, known simply to Kentuckians as “The Immortals.” To this day, the Immortals remain the only undefeated, untied, and unscored upon team in UK football history. The Immortals were coached by W.R. Bass and ended the year a perfect 7-0-0, despite an average weight of 147 pounds per player. Victories came easy for this squad, as the Immortals raced by Kentucky University (18-0), Georgetown (28-0), Company H of the 8th Massachusetts (59-0), Louisville Athletic Club (16-0), Centre (6-0), 160th Indiana (17-0) and Newcastle Athletic Club (36-0).
Besides Bass, two of the most successful coaches in the early stages of UK football were E.R. Sweetland and Harry Gamage. Sweetland compiled a 23-5 mark in three seasons (1909-10, 12). His best year was 9-1 in ’09. Gamage, on the other hand, had the longest tenure of any head coach during the first 43 years of Kentucky football. Gamage took the reins of the UK program in 1927 and remained until following the 1933 campaign. In between, Gamage led the Wildcats to a combined 32-25-5 record. His best season was 6-1-1 in ’29.
One of Gamage’s brightest moments came during the 1930 season. During the 57-0 blanking of Maryville, UK running back Shipwreck Kelly rushed for a school-record 280 yards in leading the Cats.
More than a decade after Gamage had left UK, a young man by the name of Paul “Bear” Bryant arrived on the scene at Lexington in 1946. Bryant quickly grabbed the UK program by the collar and turned the Cats into a national power.
Bryant took UK to eight consecutive winning seasons (1946-53) and helped the Wildcats claim their first national championship and Southeastern Conference championship in 1950. He also sent UK squads to four bowl games which included the 1947 Great Lakes Bowl, 1950 Orange Bowl, 1951 Sugar Bowl, and the 1952 Cotton Bowl.
The biggest win in UK football history came under Bryant. After leading Kentucky to its first SEC title and a 10-1 regular-season record, UK found itself matched with national champion Oklahoma in the 1951 Sugar Bowl. The Wildcats scored early and held off the Sooners, 13-7, breaking Oklahoma’s 31-game winning streak which is currently the seventh-longest in NCAA history.
In the 1990s, research by Jeff Sagarin, who compiles the Sagarin Computer Ratings for USA Today, indicates that UK is the national champion for the 1950 season under that ranking system.
Also under Bryant, tackle Bob Gain became the first UK and SEC player to win the Outland Trophy in 1950. Other standouts in the Bryant era included George Blanda, All-American Babe Parilli, and eventual UK coach Jerry Claiborne.
Bryant left Kentucky following the 1953 season. He compiled an impressive 60-23-5 record in eight years. Bryant’s 60 victories are still a UK football record for head coaches.
Blanton Collier had the uneasy task of following in Bryant’s footsteps. Collier took over the Kentucky football program in 1954 and promptly led the Wildcats to a 7-3 record during his initial campaign.
Collier stayed eight years at UK as well, etching a 41-36-3 record from 1954 to 1961. Kentuckians best remember Collier for his 5-2-1 record against arch-rival Tennessee. He coached All-Americans Lou Michaels (1957-58) and Howard Schnellenberger (1955) at UK. Charlie Bradshaw became the head mentor at UK in time for the 1962 season. Bradshaw, a UK graduate who lettered four years (1946-49), managed only a 25-41-4 record in seven seasons. One highlight of his coaching career featured an upset of No. 1-ranked Ole Miss early in the 1964 season. Bradshaw’s Cats held off the Rebels, 27-21, in Memorial Stadium at Jackson, Miss., and ranks as one of UK’s all-time biggest victories.
John Ray entered the scene in 1969 as head coach. In four years, Ray was 10-33. His biggest win came during his first year as Kentucky again victimized Ole Miss and Archie Manning. The Cats upset the Rebels, 10-9, at Lexington.
The Fran Curci era began in 1973, the same year Kentucky moved from ancient Stoll Field/McLean Stadium to spacious Common-wealth Stadium. Though Curci had only one winning campaign during his first three years, things got interesting beginning with the 1976 season. UK ended the ’76 year with an 8-3 record and its second SEC championship.
Kentucky helped secure its second league title on the strength of a 62-yard touchdown pass from Derrick Ramsey to Greg Woods to beat Tennessee, 7-0, at Knoxville, Tenn. The victory clinched a berth in the Peach Bowl against North Carolina, UK’s first postseason appearance in 25 years. Before a UK contingent estimated at 25,000, the Cats blanked the Tar Heels, 21-0.
The following year, Kentucky went on NCAA probation. Despite an early season loss at Baylor, the Wildcats rolled to an impressive 10-1 record doing it the hard way. Kentucky defeated Penn State (24-20) at University Park, Pa., defeated LSU (33-13) at Baton Rouge, La., blanked Georgia (33-0) at Athens, Ga., beat Florida (14-7) at Gainesville, Fla., and defeated Tennessee (21-17) at Lexington.
In the Curci era, players like Sonny Collins (UK career leader with 3,835 yards rushing), All-Americans Warren Bryant and Art Still and multi-talented Derrick Ramsey, wore the blue and white.
Curci stepped down following the 1981 season. In all, Curci worked nine years as UK head coach (longest of any UK football coach) and was 47-51-2 overall.
Jerry Claiborne answered the call of his alma mater in December of 1981 and was named the school’s 31st head football coach. Claiborne had played at UK from 1946-49 and was an assistant coach under Bryant at UK in 1952-53.
After an 0-10-1 mark in Claiborne’s first season, his 1983 squad tied for the nation’s most improved program with a regular-season record of 6-4-1. As a reward, the Hall of Fame Bowl offered an invitation and UK accepted to give the Cats their sixth bowl appearance.