September 30, 1933: The football team at the University of Kentucky beats Sewanee: The University of the South, 7-0 at McLean Stadium in Lexington, Kentucky. UK is normally thought of as one of the great powers of college basketball, certainly the leading hoop school in the Southeastern Conference. It is not one of the traditional leaders in SEC football. Nevertheless, the Wildcats hosted, played, and won the first game between two SEC teams -- technically, the 1st SEC football game.
Sewanee left the SEC after the 1940 season, and downgraded their program. They now play in NCAA Division III.
Although schools that are currently members of the SEC have been playing football since 1892, it was only in 1933 that the league was formed, mostly with teams leaving the Southern Conference, whose rump members would invite other schools, and, 20 years later, face another exodus, one that resulted in the founding of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).
Other SEC schools played on this day, but not against other SEC teams:
* Alabama beat Oglethorpe University, of Brookhaven, Georgia, 34-0 at Denny Stadium (now Bryant-Denny Stadium) in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
* Arkansas beat Oklahoma Baptist, 42-7 at The Hill in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
* Florida beat Stetson University, of DeLand, Florida, 28-0 at Florida Field in Gainesville.
* Georgia beat North Carolina State, 20-0 at Sanford Stadium in Athens, Georgia.
* Georgia Tech, a charter member of the SEC but no longer in it, beat Clemson, 39-2 at Grant Field in Atlanta.
* Louisiana State University (LSU) beat Rice, 13-0 at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
* Mississippi (a.k.a. Ole Miss) beat Mississippi State Teachers College, 45-0 at Hemingway Stadium (now Vaught-Hemingway Stadium) in Oxford, Mississippi. MSTC is now the University of Southern Mississippi.
* Mississippi State beat Millsaps College, of Jackson, Mississippi, 12-0 at Scott Field (now Davis-Wade Stadium) in Starkville, Mississippi.
* Tennessee beat Virginia Tech, 27-0 at Shields-Watkins Field (now Neyland Stadium) in Knoxville, Tennessee.
* The night before, Alabama Tech beat Howard College, 19-0 at Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama. In 1960, Alabama Tech was renamed Auburn University. In 1965, Howard, of Homewood, Alabama, was renamed Samford University. It should not be confused with Howard University in Washington, D.C.; or with Stanford University in Palo Alto, California.
Most of the SEC did rather well. But not all of them. Vanderbilt played Oklahoma to a 0-0 tie at Owen Field in Norman, Oklahoma. Tulane lost to Texas A&M, 13-6 at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans. And, the night before, South Carolina, a member of the SEC now but not then, lost to Temple, 26-6 at Temple Stadium in Philadelphia.
When the season ended, Alabama had a conference record of 5-0-1, and LSU were 3-0-2. Because they played more games and had fewer blemishes on their record, Alabama were declared the 1st SEC football Champions. They finished 7-1-1, having lost to Fordham, 2-0 at the Polo Grounds, and a tie with Ole Miss at Legion Field.
That game at the Polo Grounds? It attracted 60,000. 'Bama's other 8 games combined? 112,000. The SEC already had most of the stadiums it is known for today, but they had yet to be expanded to the massive size they are today.
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September 30, 1933 was a Saturday. These other notable college football games were played that day:
* Army beat Mercer University, of Macon, Georgia, 19-6 at Michie Stadium in West Point, New York.
* Navy beat William & Mary, 12-0 at Thompson Stadium in Annapolis, Maryland.
* Rivalry: Colorado A&M, which became Colorado State in 1957, beat Wyoming, 7-0 at Corbett Field in Laramie, Wyoming.
* Fordham beat Albright College, of Reading, Pennsylvania, 52-0 at Fordham Field in The Bronx.
* Manhattan College beat Clarkson University, of Potsdam, New York, 13-7 at Manhattan Field, next-door to the Polo Grounds in Upper Manhattan.
* City College of New York (CCNY) beat Brooklyn College, 18-12 at Lewisohn Stadium in Upper Manhattan.
* Rutgers beat Franklin & Marshall, 10-0 at Neilson Field in New Brunswick, New Jersey. New York City's Columbia and New York University (NYU), and New Jersey's Princeton, began their season the following week.
And Major League Baseball entered its final weekend. These games were played:
* The New York Yankees lost to the Washington Senators, 7-2 at Yankee Stadium. The Senators had already clinched the American League Pennant. Babe Ruth went 2-for-3 with a home run. Lou Gehrig went 1-for-3.
* The New York Giants beat their arch-rivals, the Brooklyn Dodgers, 4-2 at Ebbets Field. The Giants had already clinched the National League Pennant. Player-manager Bill Terry and Mel Ott both went 2-for-5 with an RBI.
* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Boston Braves, 2-1 at Braves Field in Boston. Virgil Davis hit a home run to win it in the to of the 10th inning.
* The Boston Red Sox swept a doubleheader from the Philadelphia Athletics, 2-1 and 12-1 at Shibe Park in Philadelphia. Over the 2 games, Jimmie Foxx went 1-for-6 with a walk.
* The Detroit Tigers beat the Cleveland Indians, 3-0 at Navin Field in Detroit. (That ballpark was later renamed Briggs Stadium and Tiger Stadium.)
* The Chicago White Sox beat the St. Louis Browns, 4-1 at Comiskey Park in Chicago.
* The Chicago Cubs beat their arch-rivals, the St. Louis Cardinals, 12-2 at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis. Babe Herman, formerly a star with the Brooklyn Dodgers, went 4-for-6 with a home run and 4 RBIs. Woody English went 3-for-6 with 2 RBIs. Billy Herman (no relation to Babe) went 3-for-5 with a walk and an RBI. Riggs Stephenson went 2-for-6 with 2 RBIs. Kiki Cuyler went 2-for-5 with an RBI. Every Cubs player, including pitcher Guy Bush, got at least 1 hit. Bush outpitched Dizzy Dean.
* And, in an action that wouldn't be done today, the Cincinnati Reds and the Pittsburgh Pirates moved their game scheduled for today, at Crosley Field in Cincinnati, up, to July 30. The Pirates won that game, 8-6. Paul Waner went 1-for-5 with 2 RBIs. Lloyd Waner had no RBIs -- he usually batted leadoff -- but went 4-for-5.
And in English soccer, Arsenal beat North Yorkshire team Middlesbrough, 6-0 at the Arsenal Stadium, a.k.a. Highbury, in North London.
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