Published November 18, 2016
Ninety years ago, Bethune-Cookman made history that Florida A&M would just soon forget.
Wildcats 12. Rattlers 0. In just their third season of existence, Mary McLeod Bethune's boys established themselves as a football program that continues today.
How young was this team? Not only the football program was still in its infancy, Bethune-Cookman was still upgrading to a co-educational institution. The 12-0 score had been relegated to record book pages – all but forgotten and occasionally debated until recent research confirmed.
And since it's Florida Classic week … and since we won … deal with it, Rattlers.
The background:
B-CC became co-ed after the merger with the Cookman Institute in 1923. Coached by Leon James, the first-ever team was fielded that season, with the first-ever game a 56-6 loss to Lincoln HS out of Gainesville. By 1924, the Wildcats won the Florida Interscholastic Association state championship and faced Alabama State in the first Black College football game ever played in Miami. In 1925, the first Wildcats-Rattlers meeting took place in Tallahassee, with the Rattlers taking a 25-0 decision in that contest.
FYI, FAMC had been playing since 1906. Jubie Bragg, whose name is now on FAMU's stadium, started the program and came back in 1923 to re-launch the program after being inactive for a number of years. He then handed the coaching reigns to "Jazzy" Byrd.
On November 24, 1926 – the day before Thanksgiving – the Wildcats hosted the Rattlers for the first-time ever. B-CC was considered the underdog, but after holding off early scoring drives by the Rattlers, took control of the game.
B-CC took a 6-0 lead in the second quarter when the Wildcats' Simpkins (the Pittsburgh Courier recap did not list first names) scored on a short run.
The Wildcats maintained their lead in a battle of field position until the fourth quarter, when FAMC decided to air the ball out, but ultimately backfired.
B-CC's Rice intercepted a Rattler pass and returned it 40 yards to the one-yard line. He scored on the next play to give Bethune-Cookman a 12-0 lead, while the Wildcats defense preserved the shutout the rest of the way.
The Pittsburgh Courier credited James for his coaching and also for the team's conditioning.
B-CC and FAMC met yearly after that, with the Wildcats managing ties in 1929 and 1930. After a 25-0 FAMC win in 1932, the teams didn't meet again until 1947.
