Introduced in 1896, football soon became central to TCU culture.

Within a decade, in addition to small foes such as Daniel Baker College and Fort Worth University, football-crazed TCU rounded out its schedule with much larger schools, including Texas A&M and the University of Texas.

“A. and M. was like a drove of giants in comparison with our light team, and it was easy for the Farmers to pile up 42 scores against us,” reads the 1907 Horned Frog yearbook.

When the University of Texas led the charge to organize larger schools into what would become the Southwest Conference in 1914, TCU hesitated to apply. A conference rule required students to complete one year of college before being eligible for varsity sports, and the Horned Frogs weren’t sure they could field a varsity team without drawing from the freshman class.

TCU’s 1914-15 undergraduate enrollment was just over 400. But by the 1922-23 academic year, undergraduate enrollment had swelled to almost 800.

“Under the expert tutelage of Dutch Meyer, the first-year men were built into a team that was hard to beat.”
1924 Horned Frog Yearbook.

“It is now believed that T. C. U. can fairly compete with the teams representing the larger colleges in the Conference,” observes the 1923 Horned Frog.

TCU’s Southwest Conference application was submitted and approved in December 1922.

In fall 1923, three-sport Horned Frog letterman Leo “Dutch” Meyer ’22 received the call to coach the newly formed freshman football, men’s basketball and baseball teams,  which were called the Wogs — short for Polliwogs.

“Under the expert tutelage of Dutch Meyer, the first-year men were built into a team that was hard to beat,” reads the 1924 Horned Frog.

Meyer’s primary task was not winning games but producing varsity material — but he accomplished both. During his 11-year reign before taking the varsity job in 1934, Meyer led the Wogs to a 29-4 record.

The Wogs football team typically played three to five games each season. Opponents included local high schools, junior colleges and freshman teams from varsity rivals — the Baylor Cubs, SMU Colts, Texas A&M Fish, Texas Shorthorns and Yearlings, and Rice Owlets.

“Our first game was always against the Texas A&M Fish, and it was a big deal for us,” said Jon Sparks ’72, who played on the 1967 Wogs team and was an assistant for the 1971 freshman team.

“During Howdy Week, the freshmen got TCU beanies. Most students wore it to some Howdy Week events and then put it in their closet or scrapbook. The freshman Wogs had to wear our beanies anytime we left our room until we beat the Texas A&M freshmen. I think the year we won was the 17th consecutive year that we beat the Texas A&M freshmen.

“So you would be cannon fodder — dummies for the varsity, and they would beat up on you.”
Jon Sparks, who played on the 1967 Wogs team

When they weren’t playing their own games, the Wogs practiced with the varsity athletes. They often served as a scout team, running the upcoming opponent’s offense or defense during scrimmages.

“So you would be cannon fodder — dummies for the varsity,” Sparks said, “and they would beat up on you.”

The extra year of player development had advantages.

“Back then things were different,” Sparks said. “There really weren’t that many freshmen talented enough, in my opinion, to play varsity football and play enough to make it worth it. Instead of being a backup on the varsity, coaches would rather have you starting on a freshman team. As things changed and players developed, you started to see more and more freshmen being able to play varsity ball.”

By 1970, freshmen were allowed to play varsity sports other than football and basketball, and on Jan. 8, 1972, the NCAA extended the same eligibility to its two biggest team sports, thus ending the Wogs’ five-decade run.