1905–06 Auburn Tigers men's basketball team

The 1905–06 Auburn Tigers men's basketball team represented Auburn University in the 1905–06 college basketball season. This was the first men's basketball team ever to represent Auburn University. The team's head coach was Mike Donahue, who was in his first season at Auburn. The team played their home games at The Gymnasium in Auburn, Alabama. They finished the season 5–1–1. The team beat Mercer 64 to 8, and beat Georgia Tech 26 to 6 in the first intercollegiate basketball game in Atlanta.^[1][2][3]

1905–06 Auburn Tigers men's basketball
SIAA champion
Conference	Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association
Record	5–1–1 (3–0 SIAA)
Head coach	Mike Donahue (1st season)
Captain	Frank Jones (1st year)
Home arena	The Gymnasium
Seasons 1906–07 →

Basketball was invented by James Naismith in 1891. It seemed to take off in the South in 1906, when Yale's basketball team traveled throughout the South.^[4] Auburn's two forwards, R. Y. Ware and C. W. Woodruff, played with Birmingham Athletic Club when it defeated Yale 24 to 18 on January 1, 1906. Auburn and B. A. C. battled to a 14 to 14 tie. The rules called for sudden-death overtime, but Auburn captain Frank Jones refused to play the overtime period because he felt the referees weren't calling a fair game.^[5]

Schedule

Date time, TV	Opponent	Result	Record	Site city, state
January 19, 1906	Tulane	W 26–7[6]	1–0	The Gymnasium  Auburn, AL
February 3*	Montgomery Athletic Club	W 32–18[7]	2–0	The Gymnasium  Auburn, AL
February 7*	Columbus YMCA	L 16–18	2–1
February 10*	at Atlanta Athletic Club	W 27–17[8]	4–1	Atlanta, GA
February 16	Mercer	W 62–8[9]	3–1	The Gymnasium  Auburn, AL
February 17	at Georgia Tech	W 26–6[9]	5–1	Peachtree Auditorium  Atlanta, GA
March 16*	at Birmingham Athletic Club	T 14–14[10]	5–1–1	Birmingham, AL
*Non-conference game. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.

^[11]

References

1. "1905-06 Auburn Tigers Schedule and Results". Retrieved May 8, 2017.
2. "Basketball 2021–22 Media Guide" (PDF). auburntigers.com. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 10, 2022. Retrieved April 10, 2022.
3. Mike Donahue (1907). "Intercollegiate Basket Ball in the South". Spalding's official collegiate basket ball guide: 55.
4. Mike Donahue (1907). "Intercollegiate Basket Ball in the South". Spalding's official collegiate basket ball guide: 55.
5. "Greatest Games". Auburn Tigers - Official Athletics Website. Retrieved August 25, 2024.
6. "Tulane loses to Auburn in basketball game". The Birmingham News. January 24, 1906. Retrieved July 22, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
7. "Auburn team defeats Montgomery at basketball". The Birmingham News. February 6, 1906. Retrieved July 22, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
8. "Auburn boys defeat Atlanta Athletics". The Atlanta Journal. February 11, 1906. Retrieved July 22, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
9. "Athletics defeat Mercer; Auburn wins from Tech". The Atlanta Journal. February 18, 1906. Retrieved July 22, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
10. "Auburn team spoils very pretty contest". The Birmingham Age-Herald. March 17, 1906. Retrieved July 22, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
11. "Basketball 2021–22 Media Guide" (PDF). auburntigers.com. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 10, 2022. Retrieved April 10, 2022.