What Is 1904 Ole Miss Rebels football team

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Last updated: April 14, 2026

Quick Answer: The 1904 Ole Miss Rebels football team represented the University of Mississippi during the 1904 college football season, finishing with a 2–3 record under first-year head coach Frank D. Herrington. The team played its home games in Oxford, Mississippi, and competed as an independent.

Key Facts

The 904 Ole Miss Rebels had a final record of 2 wins and 3 losses.
Head coach Frank D. Herrington was in his first and only season.
Ole Miss played as an independent with no conference affiliation.
The team played home games at a field in Oxford, Mississippi.
The 1904 season marked the program's 11th season of intercollegiate football.

Overview

The 1904 Ole Miss Rebels football team represented the University of Mississippi during the 1904 college football season. This season marked the program's 11th year of intercollegiate football, continuing the school's early development in collegiate athletics.

Under the leadership of first-year head coach Frank D. Herrington, the team compiled a 2–3 record. As an independent, Ole Miss did not belong to a formal conference and scheduled games against regional opponents, reflecting common practices in early 20th-century college football.

Record: The team finished the season with a 2–3 overall record, marking a modest performance in a five-game schedule.
Head Coach:Frank D. Herrington led the team in his first and only season, departing after one year.
Season Duration: The 1904 season occurred during the early developmental era of college football, before the formation of major conferences.
Home Venue: Games were played on a field in Oxford, Mississippi, long before the construction of Vaught–Hemingway Stadium.
Opponents: The Rebels faced regional teams, though specific opponent names and scores from the season are not fully documented in surviving records.

How It Works

Understanding the 1904 Ole Miss Rebels season requires context about college football in the early 1900s, when rules, schedules, and team structures differed significantly from today’s game.

Independent Status:Ole Miss competed as an independent, meaning it was not part of a conference and arranged games independently, a common setup before conference realignment.
Season Length: Teams typically played fewer than ten games per season; the 1904 Rebels played just five, reflecting limited travel and scheduling capabilities.
Coaching Tenure:Frank D. Herrington served one season, a pattern seen in early football when coaching was often a part-time or temporary role.
Player Roles: Players often played both offense and defense, as specialization and large rosters had not yet developed.
Game Rules: The sport in 1904 used rules closer to rugby, with scoring and formations evolving rapidly before standardization in later decades.
Historical Record:Documentation is sparse, with few box scores or play-by-play accounts surviving from the 1904 season.

Comparison at a Glance

The 1904 Ole Miss Rebels can be better understood by comparing their season to both earlier and later iterations of the program, as well as peer institutions of the era.

Season	Record	Head Coach	Games Played	Notes
1902	2–2	W. S. Lefeuvre	4	Two wins, including a victory over Mississippi A&M.
1903	3–1	Frank D. Herrington	4	Herrington’s first season as coach; strong performance.
1904	2–3	Frank D. Herrington	5	Only season with a losing record under Herrington.
1905	3–2	Don Guerry	5	New coach led slight improvement in win count.
1906	3–3	Don Guerry	6	Increased schedule length and balanced record.

This comparison shows that the 1904 season was a slight downturn from the previous year’s 3–1 record. While the team played one more game than in 1903, it struggled to maintain consistency. Coaching turnover after 1904 and limited institutional support for athletics at the time contributed to fluctuating performance. The Rebels’ independent status meant scheduling was inconsistent, and travel limitations restricted competition to nearby Southern schools. Despite the losing record, the season was part of a broader trend of steady, if unspectacular, development in Ole Miss football during the early 1900s.

Why It Matters

The 1904 Ole Miss Rebels season is a small but significant chapter in the history of one of the South’s oldest collegiate football programs, illustrating the challenges and evolution of early college sports.

Historical Foundation: The season contributes to the long-term legacy of Ole Miss football, which now competes in the SEC.
Coaching Transitions: Herrington’s single season highlights the instability of early coaching roles, often filled by faculty or short-term hires.
Regional Rivalries: Games in 1904 helped lay the groundwork for future in-state rivalries, including with Mississippi State.
Sports Evolution: The 1904 season reflects how college football was still developing as a structured, organized sport.
Institutional Growth: Early seasons like 1904 demonstrate how athletics grew alongside academic expansion at Southern universities.
Record Keeping: Sparse documentation underscores the importance of preserving sports history for future research.

Though not a standout season in terms of wins, the 1904 campaign remains a factual milestone in Ole Miss’s athletic timeline, offering insight into the humble beginnings of a program that would later achieve national prominence.