Georgia football vs Auburn: The rivalry returns to its roots this Saturday

Georgia football meets bitter rival Auburn again this Saturday in the SEC Championship Game in Atlanta. The Bulldogs lost to the Tigers 43-14 earlier this season.

The “Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry” didn’t just get its name from a mail in contest or a poll on the internet. Georgia versus Auburn is indeed the oldest rivalry in the deep south. So old that Georgia was Auburn’s first opponent and Auburn was Georgia’s second opponent ever when the two schools met on February 2, 1892 in Atlanta’s Piedmont Park.

Auburn won that first game 10-0. But the day was a party for both schools. Students from the University of Georgia and Auburn University (then known as the Agriculture and Mechanical College of Alabama) arrived in decorated train cars and had a pep rally before the game.

It might be hard to believe in 2017, but this game was a huge deal in 1892, not just to the schools, but to the city of Atlanta. Georgia Tech did not yet have a football team so this was the cities introduction to the fairly new sport. Between 2,000 and 3,000 people attended the game with tickets ranging from 50 cents for adults and 25 cents to children.

Atlanta was the perfect location for the time. Two decades before automobiles were common and a whole half-century before the interstate highway system, neither Athens nor Auburn were easily accessible. But both towns had train tracks that ran through Atlanta. The University of Georgia team and fans traveled 70 miles, the Auburn school traveled 112.

The game was organized by Georgia chemistry professor and head coach Charles Herty, and Auburn history professor George Petrie. The two men were good friends at John Hopkins University where they organized that school’s football club using Walter Camp’s guidelines.

Action on the field started much like it stands today; close. Georgia and Auburn went into halftime tied 0-0. But Auburn scored 10 points in a downpour to win.

At the time, Georgia versus Auburn was barely a rivalry. They were just two schools trying to start their own american football clubs. They didn’t even meet in 1893. But unknown to everyone involved, they helped form the origins of one of the sports biggest rivalries.