Battle of the Brazos
| Sport | Football |
|---|---|
| First meeting | 1899 Texas A&M 33, Baylor 0 |
| Latest meeting | October 15, 2011 Texas A&M 55, Baylor 28 |
| Statistics | |
| Meetings total | 108 |
| All-time series | Texas A&M leads, 68–31–9 |
| Largest victory | Texas A&M, 73–10 (2003) |
| Longest win streak | Texas A&M, 13 (1991–2003) |
| Current win streak | Texas A&M, 3 (2009–present) |
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The Battle of the Brazos was the official collegiate sports rivalry between the Baylor Bears and Texas A&M Aggies. The rivalry is named for the Brazos River that flows by the two schools, which are only 90 miles apart. The Battle of the Brazos debuted in 1899.
In the early days of the rivalry (1905 and earlier), Baylor and Texas A&M played each other multiple times in a single year, possibly due to a dearth of regional opponents. The two teams were also geographically close with only a one-hour train ride separating the two colleges.
The 1926 football game coincided with Baylor's homecoming. During halftime Baylor Homecoming floats paraded around the field. When a float – actually a car pulling a flatbed trailer with several female Baylor students – neared the section where the Texas A&M Corps of Cadets sat, a cadet raced towards the car and grabbed the steering wheel. The motion caused Louise Normand to fall off the truck, injuring her and inciting a large riot. Students began using metal folding chairs and planks of wood that had been used as yard markers for weapons. Texas A&M student Lt. Charles Sessums was hit in the head during the melee and, although he initially appeared to recover, he died following the game.
On December 8, 1926, the two school presidents agreed to temporarily suspend athletic relations between the schools. The schools would not compete against each other in any athletic event for the next four years. Baylor and Texas A&M would not meet in football again until 1931.
In 1936 Baylor students awoke to find Texas A&M signs plastered across campus, with red paint applied to turn the Baylor flagpole into a barber pole. A huge sign on Waco Hall predicted, "A and M 50, Baylor 0."
It was once great sport before a big football matchup for Aggie students to drive to Waco with nefarious intentions of capturing Baylor's bear mascot. Baylor students sometimes resorted to extraordinary defensive measures. In 1946 they placed mascot Chita in the custody of Waco Police so the Aggies could not find her.
In the 1950s, two Aggie students drove to Waco and stole the Baylor mascot, a young bear cub, from the Baylor campus. While they were driving back to College Station in a brand–new car belonging to one of their families, the bear became enraged. Twenty–miles from Waco, the bear ripped out the inside of the car, and the boys set it free. The young men were caught when they took the car to be repaired.
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