Coming off of winless campaign, the Aggies decided changes were in order for the 1896 season. Mississippi A & M added a few more games to the schedule, and the student body decided to hire a coach instead of using a playing captain. Without a doubt, expectations were high for the Men of Starkville. What could possibly go wrong?
In the season opener, the Aggies played host to Southern Baptist (now Union), but the game finished with a similar result, a shut out loss. The Aggies gave a valiant effort, but fell 8-0 in that affair.
In the second game of the season, the Maroon and White dislike for Alabama began as the Aggies hit the road to face Alabama. In what was not much not much of a contest, Alabama slapped a 21-0 loss on Mississippi A & M, a feeling that many descendants of fans of that 1896 squad knows all too well.
In what had to be quite a head scratcher, the Aggies decided to play games on back-to-back days in November against LSU and the New Orleans Athletic Club. It was a disastrous trip that saw the Bulldogs outscored 107-0.
Contrary to rumors, there is no proof that Sylvester Croom claims Coach J.B. Hildebrand, the coach that the students paid $300, as an ancestor.
The 1896 season was so horrible that the football program was dropped until 1901, an action that many MSU fans would have favored around the turn of the 21st century.
You can hear Joe Abston and I talk about 1895 and 1896 on today's Daily Grind.