1897 North Carolina Tar Heels football team

The 1897 North Carolina Tar Heels football team represented the University of North Carolina as an independent during the 1897 college football season. Led by first-year head coach William Ayres Reynolds, the Tar Heels compiled a record of 7–3. Arthur Belden was the team captain.

1897 North Carolina Tar Heels football
Conference	Independent
Record	7–3
Head coach	William Ayres Reynolds (1st season)
Captain	Arthur Belden
Home stadium	Campus Athletic Field (I)
Seasons ← 1896 1898 →

1897 Southern college football independents records

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
Oklahoma			–					2	–	0	–	0
Arkansas			–					2	–	0	–	1
Navy			–					8	–	1	–	0
Virginia			–					6	–	2	–	1
Add-Ran			–					3	–	1	–	0
Washington and Lee			–					3	–	1	–	0
VPI			–					5	–	2	–	0
North Carolina			–					7	–	3	–	0
VMI			–					3	–	2	–	0
Guilford			–					2	–	1	–	0
West Virginia			–					5	–	4	–	1
Davidson			–					1	–	1	–	0
Georgia Tech			–					1	–	1	–	0
Columbian			–					4	–	5	–	1
Richmond			–					3	–	5	–	0
North Carolina A&M			–					1	–	2	–	0
Texas A&M			–					1	–	2	–	0
Delaware			–					1	–	5	–	1
William & Mary			–					0	–	1	–	0
Marshall			–					0	–	3	–	0
South Carolina			–					0	–	3	–	0

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
October 2	4:00 p.m.[1]	North Carolina A&M	Campus Athletic Field (I) Chapel Hill, NC (rivalry)	W 40–0	300[1]	[2]
October 9	2:05 p.m.[3]	Guilford	Campus Athletic Field (I) Chapel Hill, NC	W 16–0		[4]
October 21		Greensboro A.A.	Campus Athletic Field (I) Chapel Hill, NC	W 24–0		[5][6]
October 25	2:00 p.m.[7]	Clemson	Campus Athletic Field (I) Chapel Hill, NC	W 28–0	200[7]	[8]
October 30	3:30 p.m.[7]	vs. VPI	Athletic Park (Danville) Danville, VA	L 0–4	500	[9]
November 5	3:15 p.m.[10]	at Sewanee	Hardee Field Sewanee, TN	W 12–6
November 6	4:00 p.m.[11]	at Vanderbilt	Dudley Field Nashville, TN	L 0–31		[12]
November 8	3:00 p.m.[13]	at Tennessee	Baldwin Park Knoxville, TN	W 16–0		[14]
November 9	3:30 p.m.[15]	at Robert Bingham School	Allandale Field Asheville, NC	W 14–0	300[16]
November 25	3:00 p.m.[17]	vs. Virginia	West-End Park Richmond, VA (South's Oldest Rivalry)	L 0–12	4,000[18]	[19][20][21]

References

1. "The Tar Heel. (Chapel Hill, N.C.) 1943-1946, October 08, 1897, Image 1". October 8, 1897. p. 1.
2. "North Carolina colleges play". The Atlanta Constitution. October 4, 1897. Retrieved July 22, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
3. "The Tar Heel. (Chapel Hill, N.C.) 1943-1946, October 15, 1897, Image 1". October 15, 1897. p. 1.
4. "University Wins Again". Raleigh Times. Raleigh, North Carolina. October 11, 1897. p. 1. Retrieved August 9, 2022 – via Newspapers.com .
5. "The Tar Heel. (Chapel Hill, N.C.) 1943-1946, October 22, 1897, Page 3, Image 3 · North Carolina Newspapers (digitalnc.org)".
6. "Greensboro evening telegram. (Greensboro, N.C.) 1897-1900, October 22, 1897, Page 1, Image 1 · North Carolina Newspapers (digitalnc.org)".
7. "The Tar Heel. (Chapel Hill, N.C.) 1943-1946, November 02, 1897, Image 1". November 2, 1897. p. 1.
8. "The University won, Clemson College defeated by a score of twenty-eight to nothing". The News and Observer. October 26, 1897. Retrieved December 16, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
9. "A Great Victory". The Times. Library of Virginia. October 31, 1897. p. 5. Retrieved November 21, 2015.
10. "The Times-Democrat from New Orleans, Louisiana on November 7, 1897 · Page 8 (newspapers.com)".
11. "Nashville Banner from Nashville, Tennessee on November 5, 1897 · 5 (newspapers.com)".
12. "Goal from the field, Phil Connell's good foot ably assists in piling up a victorious score". The Nashville American. November 7, 1897. Retrieved December 16, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
13. "The Journal and Tribune from Knoxville, Tennessee on November 8, 1897 · 5 (newspapers.com)".
14. "Two victories for Carolina". The Tar Heel. November 16, 1897. Retrieved July 8, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
15. "The Tar Heel. (Chapel Hill, N.C.) 1943-1946, November 16, 1897, Image 1". November 16, 1897. p. 1.
16. "Charlotte Daily Observer. (Charlotte, N.C.) 1897-1916, October 13, 1904, Page 2, Image 2 · North Carolina Newspapers (digitalnc.org)".
17. "Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, November 25, 1897, Image 8". November 25, 1897. p. 8.
18. "Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, November 26, 1897, Image 1". November 26, 1897.
19. "Great Game Today". The Richmond Dispatch. Richmond, Virginia. November 25, 1897. p. 1. Retrieved September 14, 2021 – via Newspapers.com .
20. "Virginia Boys Win". The Richmond Dispatch. Richmond, Virginia. November 26, 1897. p. 1. Retrieved September 14, 2021 – via Newspapers.com .
21. "Virginia Boys Win (continued)". The Richmond Dispatch. Richmond, Virginia. November 26, 1897. p. 6. Retrieved September 14, 2021 – via Newspapers.com .