If ever one person deserves the title of Auburn Man it's George Petrie.
He was not the founder of East Alabama Male College in 1856 since has born in 1886, but he is the dominant person in Auburn history.
He was a true Renaissance Man though he may have been a Confederate historian and blind defender of the Southern Way of Life.
I wish the author, an Auburn history grad like me, would have said more about the Southern view of American history relevant in Petrie's time. What did a "Southern View" mean specifically to Petrie? Was he too "Northern" for a Southern view?
Most likely he would have liked Dolly Parton. :)
When I was an Auburn freshman in the fall of 1968 the athletic department .was located in a little building next to what would become Haley Center named for Petrie. I had no idea at that point who he was. Dinkly little building compared to today. No idea if it's still there.
I have always been intrigued by Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. Hopkins students were not given to frivolity. P. 46
In the late 19th Century, if you couldn't make it to a German University, Germany having defined the modern University, Hopkins was THE fresh landing place where academics was supreme.
In 1888 Petrie was determined to leave Auburn, he could not see staying there, to pursue a Phd in modern languages at Hopkins. So away he went for the fall of 1888 to Baltimore hoping to remain in Baltimore for the duration.
Petrie graduated with his doctorate from Hopkins intending not to return to Auburn, but he was recruited back to Auburn by President Broun. He did not go to Hopkins intending to be a historian but got turned on to history while at Hopkins understanding how to study history rigorously beyond just memorizing facts.
History people tend to get inspired by historians who are brilliant at their craft and great teachers. What Petrie found at Johns Hopkins and what I found at his Auburn University.
Rufus Doresey scored Auburn's first touchdown on the gridiron.
The rudimentary beginnings of the game of football as described in this book in recounting the 1892 game between Auburn & Georgia in Atlanta are mind-boggling. Football certainly evolved over the years.
Georgia came into that historic game with Auburn in 1892 preUGA with a goat as their mascot. Their loss might have helped convince them that they needed a new mascot. P. 87
After beating Georgia 10 to 0 in Atlanta in the first Deep South college football game in 1892, the team had to walk 3 miles to their lodging at the Kimball Hotel before taking a train back to Auburn the next day. The Auburn campus, including President Broun, was excited by the victory. P. 88
Auburn Coach Petrie wrote a long article about the 1892 college football game Auburn vs. Georgia played at Piedmont Park in Atlanta which Auburn won 10 to 0 and shared the article with his friend Woodrow Wilson whom he had met at Hopkins in Baltimore. P. 90
After the big win over Georgia in Atlanta Petrie was beseiged by offers of other games both football and baseball. P. 98
Petrie has newfound fame and wanted to contract a new football game. P. 101
Petrie was busy after the Atlanta game dealing with requests from other school regarding scheduling baseball and/or football game. But expenses were always an issue, so was traveling away from campus, and school President Broun wasn't keen on athletics. P. 102
Petrie worked just as hard promoting baseball as he did football. P. 104
Georgia beat Auburn 13 - 3 in a baseball game in Montgomery a FU to the football game in the spring of 1892 in Atlanta. Coach Petrie took the loss hard. Hs played to win. P. 112
The University of. of Arkansas was the first Southern college to admit woman. P. 113
Petrie was a leader in promoting coeducation at Auburn in the 1890's.
Auburn did it before Alabama.
Petrie's girls. Popular with early coeds.
Hard to believe how coeducation was such a contentious issue during the beginning. Julia Tutwiler was a big leader.
I am amazazed at how much time Petrie spent establishing football and baseball at Auburn and the Southeast. I do not understand how he could be so enthusiastic about football given how primitive the game was in the beginning.
Petrie strongly promoted the value of teaching history. P. 180
He gave history talks in Auburn neighboring towns. Amazing. An apostle for the value knowing history. We could use a Petrie today. P. 180
The A & M College of Alabama officiallybecame API in 1899. P. 180
Though the college was always known as Auburn. P. 181
The Auburn history department has a long and storied history. P. 189
Early in his career Petrie was going to write a biography of Jefferson. That would have been intesting. P. 200
Popular around town bookseller Robert W. Burton. Where exactly was his bookstore? P. 200\
Completed a US history for Rand-McNally in 1919.
Funding issues with the state legislature throughout the early decades of the 20th Century. Friction with the U of A.
in the 20's after the War Petrie was disenchanted with students desire to learn. Wonder what he'd say today? P. 258
What would Petrie say about today's AI cheating? It would be embarrassing
Petrie invented "The Auburn Man." P. 292
Petrie never missed a chance to do small kindnesses for people. P. 293
The 20's were a miserable time for Auburn football. The time when we might beat only Birmingham Southern. P. 293
The depression in the 30's hit Auburn hard. P. 295
Mike Jernigan - Auburn Man:The Life and Times of George Petrie
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