Homecoming History

Homecoming is always a special time for everyone involved in the game, like players, students, and alumni. It’s always a wonderful time for everyone to return to campus and bring back tons of memories for everyone involved. Even though we didn’t get the outcome we wanted, Homecoming is always a high point in the football season.

Thomas and I dug up the earliest Troy/State/Teacher’s College Homecoming game we could find—October 17, 1947 against Jacksonville State. This was a 14-0 loss by the Red Wave according to that year’s Palladium.

However, for years the media guides have listed this incorrectly as a win.* Even Winsipedia has it listed incorrectly. The NCAA’s records say Troy went 5-4-1 in 1947 rather than 6-3-1. Coincidentally, this happened to be the same season that the Red Wave knocked off FSU, so it was kind of a big deal.

*-2022 UPDATE: Media guides listed the game as a loss long before the 2012 edition. We reached out to the athletic department and they have corrected the error as of the 2022 media guide.

The first win for the reinstated team came the very next year against West Alabama on October 23, 1948. The Red Wave dropped 14 on the Tigers. However, according to the 1954 Homecoming program, the game marked Troy’s 26th Homecoming.

That puts the first game in 1928, but reports in that year list it as Troy’s second homecoming, meaning 1927 was the first Homecoming in Troy history.

This also means Troy’s first Homecoming opponent (so far as I can find) was Palmer College on 11/11/1927, Armistice Day. Troy won what was essentially the first Military Appreciation game as well, by a score of 27-0. 

This is where some confusion lies. The 1928 Homecoming was held on November 10th and a game against Jacksonville State was played. The problem? Official records list the game (a 21-0, not 20-0 loss) as being played on Nov. 16. 

This is further complicated by a report on Nov. 14, 1928, listing a game on Nov. 16 against South Georgia A&M College (now Abraham Baldwin College) in Tifton, GA. The game report lists the date of the contest (a 40-0 loss) as happening on Nov. 17.

Either way, Jacksonville State and Troy did not play on that day, so we now have a brand new game that has never before been in Troy’s record books.

The 1949 game, the next earliest homecoming game we could find, was notable for a few reasons. It was Troy’s first Homecoming win over JSU, 27-6. Also, it was a Battle for the Ol’ School Bell for real as both teams went by the Teachers moniker.

Also, I have to do more research, but apparently Troy used black and red (not cardinal) jerseys enough to give players two numbers. I don’t know if this was changed game by game or in switching between offense and defense.

Though I have a few photos from them, we have no record of what games were the homecoming games for the years of 1953*, 1955*, 1958*, 1961*, and 1963*. If anyone has any newspapers or programs from those games, please let me know. 

2022 UPDATE: The 1953 game was a win vs JSU, 13-7. The 1955 game was a win vs South Georgia College, 26-7. The 1958 game was a loss vs Newberry, 28-14. The 1961 game was a loss to North Alabama, 14-8. The 1963 game was a loss to JSU, 15-8.

Overall, the officially unofficial Homecoming record for Troy is 51-29-2. The official media guide numbers would put it at 46-20-1, though it did not have Homecoming listed for 1947-50, 1954, 1962, and 1964-69. Troy’s Homecoming record inside of Veterans Memorial Stadium is 47-27-2.

All games from the first Homecoming in 1927 were played on the old Pace Field (now Riddle-Pace), until the opening of Veterans Memorial Stadium in 1951. You can still see the outline of the old football field in the measurements of RPF.

The most frequently played opponent for a Homecoming game was North Alabama. The Trojans/Teachers/Red Wave/Trojans faced off against the Lions 13 times between 1961-1991, with an 8-5 record over them.

Troy has played a Sun Belt school for HC every year since 2002. The only losses were from 2010-12, 2015, 2020, and 2021.

In Homecoming games, Troy has had two major win streaks:

1. 12 wins from 1998-2009, stretching from the FCS days in the Southland Conference to the FBS level and the Sun Belt
2. 8 games unbeaten from 1989-1996, with the only blemish being a tie with the Central State Marauders of Ohio.

North Texas took down Troy in the 2011 Homecoming game.

During Homecoming weeks, Troy has never lost more than three games in a row. This has happened three times: 1965-67, 1981-83, and 2010-12.

Troy looks to go to 4-2 with a win over Arkansas State.