Year-By-Year Summaries (1900s)
 |  One disputed loss was the only thing stopping the 1901 Olive and Blue, as they were known at the time, from posting a second straight perfect season. |
1900 (5-0)
Head Coach: H.T. Summersgill
What a turnaround! Tulane went from winless and scoreless in 1899 to unbeaten and unscored upon in 1900.
H.T. Summersgill was Tulane's seventh coach in seven seasons and he led his team to a 5-0 record. The Southern Athletic Club, Alabama, Millsaps, LSU and Ole Miss all failed to cross the Tulane goal line as they lost by a combined 105-0.
Date Opponent Location Score ResultO27 Southern Athletic Club New Orleans, La. 23-0 WN3 at Alabama Tuscaloosa, Ala. 6-0 WN10 Millsaps New Orleans, La. 35-0 WN17 LSU New Orleans, La. 29-0 WN29 Ole Miss New Orleans, La. 12-0 W
1901 (5-1)
Head Coach: H.T. Summersgill
H.T. Summersgill became the first man to coach Tulane football for consecutive seasons and his success continued.
A disputed 2-0 loss to the Mobile YMCA was the only blemish on a 5-1 season. The Tulane coach argued heatedly that there were still several minutes left in the game but was overruled and suffered his only loss in two seasons.
However, you can still get an argument about that in Baton Rouge to this day. Although Tulane beat LSU on the field by a score of 22-0, the Tigers protested the game to the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association, alleging Tulane had used a professional player during the contest. Months later, the SIAA ruled the game an 11-0 forfeit in favor of LSU. The Tiger record book still claims that 11-0 "victory," while the Tulane ledger shows the contest as a 22-0 win.
In two seasons, Summersgill produced a 10-1 record on the field and outscored the opposition 214-19. Hugh Krumbhaar captained both squads.
Date Opponent Location Score ResultO16 at Meridian Meridian, Miss. 15-0 WO26 at Mobile YMCA Mobile, Ala. 0-2 LN2 YMCA New Orleans, La. 23-0 WN9 Mississippi State New Orleans, La. 24-6 WN16 LSU New Orleans, La. 22-0 WN28 Ole Miss New Orleans, La. 25-11 W
1902 (1-4-2)
Head Coach: Virginius Dabney
Coach Summersgill left and Tulane's gridiron fortunes took a dive. Virginius Dabney took over the helm and things looked good at first as he coached a 26-0 win over an alumni team. Two ties and four losses followed, however, and the final record fell to 1-4-2. After the disputed forfeit in 1901, LSU disappeared from the schedule for a while.
Date Opponent Location Score ResultO18 Alumni New Orleans, La. 26-0 WO25 Auburn New Orleans, La. 0-0 TN1 Mississippi State New Orleans, La. 11-11 TN8 at Texas A&M College Station, Texas 5-17 LN15 Vanderbilt New Orleans, La. 5-23 LN22 Texas New Orleans, La. 0-6 LN27 Ole Miss New Orleans, La. 0-10 L
1903 (2-2-1)
Head Coach: Charles Eshleman
Charles Eshleman, captain of the 1898 and 1899 teams, took over the head coaching job and improved the situation as he guided the squad to a 2-2-1 finish. It was a feast-or-famine type of season as the two wins were by a cumulative score of 64-5, while the team failed to score in the other three outings.
Date Opponent Location Score ResultO31 Meridian AA New Orleans, La. 46-0 WN7 Shreveport AA New Orleans, La. 0-23 LN18 Cumberland New Orleans, La. 0-28 LN26 Richmond New Orleans, La. 18-5 WD5 Mississippi State New Orleans, La. 0-0 T
1904 (5-2)
Head Coach: Thomas Berry
Thomas Berry took over the coaching reins from Charles Eshleman and led Tulane to a 5-2 record. The team shut out the opponent in all five victories, and failed to score in its two losses.
LSU returned to the schedule for the first time since the 1901 controversy and Tulane beat the Tigers again...and again LSU complained about player eligibility.
Ralph Wood captained the Green Wave for the second season in a row.
Date Opponent Location Score ResultO23 Louisiana Tech New Orleans, La. 11-0 WO29 Mississippi State New Orleans, La. 10-0 WN5 at Marion Military Marion, Ala. 10-0 WN12 Sewanee New Orleans, La. 0-18 LN19 LSU New Orleans, La. 5-0 WN24 Ole Miss New Orleans, La. 22-0 WD3 Alabama New Orleans, La. 0-6 L
1905 (0-1)
Head Coach: John Tobin
John Tobin replaced Thomas Berry as head coach and the season consisted of only one game. Tulane lost that contest to LSU, 5-0, and controversy marred the series once again. This time, Tulane complained about LSU's use of ineligible players. Things got heated and the series did not resume until 1911.
Date Opponent Location Score ResultN25 LSU New Orleans, La. 0-5 L
1906 (0-4-1)
Head Coach: John Russ
For the sixth season in a row, Tulane had a new head coach as John Russ replaced John Tobin. The 1906 squad showed the effects of the lack of continuity and struggled to an 0-4-1 record without scoring a point. A scoreless tie with Howard in the season opener was the campaign's best outing.
Date Opponent Location Score ResultO27 Samford New Orleans, La. 0-0 TN3 Ole Miss New Orleans, La. 0-17 LN10 Sewanee New Orleans, La. 0-35 LN17 Texas A&M New Orleans, La. 0-18 LN24 Arkansas New Orleans, La. 0-22 L
1907 (3-2)
Head Coach: Joe Curtis
Joe Curtis was Tulane's seventh coach in seven years and things started looking up as the record improved to 3-2. In defeating Howard 13-0 in the season opener, Tulane registered its first victory - and first points - since the 1904 season. The squad won its first three and lost its last two, playing three games in one week in November.
Date Opponent Location Score ResultO26 Samford New Orleans, La. 13-0 WN2 Drury New Orleans, La. 12-0 WN5 Centre New Orleans, La. 28-9 WN9 Arkansas New Orleans, La. 12-17 LN16 Texas A&M New Orleans, La. 6-18 L
1908 (7-1)
Head Coach: Joe Curtis
Joe Curtis returned for his second year as coach and things were definitely looking up for Tulane football as a 7-1 season ensued. It was a new record for victories in a season and five were by shutout.
The Wave's biggest wins were a 23-0 verdict over Mississippi State and a 28-15 road decision over Texas four days later. With Temple Brown serving as captain, Tulane outscored the opposition by a cumulative 103-23.
Date Opponent Location Score ResultO10 YMGC New Orleans, La. 11-0 WO24 Centre New Orleans, La. 10-0 WO31 Ole Miss New Orleans, La. 10-0 WN7 Baylor New Orleans, la. 10-2 WN14 Mississippi State New Orleans, La. 23-0 WN18 at Texas Austin, Texas 28-15 WN21 at Baylor Waco, Texas 0-6 LN26 Washington (Mo.) New Orleans, La. 11-0 W
1909 (4-3-2)
Head Coach: Buster Brown
Buster Brown replaced Joe Curtis as coach and the team faced a record nine opponents, finishing 4-3-2. Only three of the nine games were decided by more than 10 points. Tulane shut out the opposition four times and was held scoreless in three games. The only games in which both teams scored were ties with Alabama and Texas.
Date Opponent Location Score ResultO9 YMGC New Orleans, La. 12-0 WO16 Ole Miss New Orleans, La. 5-0 WO23 Centre New Orleans, La. 0-6 LO30 Mississippi State New Orleans, La. 2-0 WN6 Cincinnati New Orleans, La. 6-0 WN13 Texas New Orleans, La. 10-10 TN20 Alabama New Orleans, La. 5-5 TN25 Texas State New Orleans, La. 0-18 LJ1 at Cuba Athletic Club Havana, Cuba 0-11 L
