Henry Seibels

Bio

Halfback Henry Seibels led the University of the South (Sewanee) team on a gridiron odyssey few schools have ever experienced. It was 1899, a year when small schools were forced to travel far and wide to find their competition. That year, the Tigers headed off on a 3,000-mile tour of three states -Texas, Louisiana and Tennessee - and defeated many larger schools that became major powers. When the trip had ended, Sewanee had won five straight games. It set the tempo for what would become the most successful season of Seibel's five-year career at the tiny Episcopal school in Tennessee. The Tigers became the first to conquer every one of its ten Southern Conference opponents on the way to a perfect 12-game season. Twice, they won two games within three-day spans. They were to out-score the competition, 322-10. Auburn would post the only points against the Sewanee defense that year, losing 11-10. Halfback Seibels, was the heart of the team, a powerful hard-hitting runner. After college he was headmaster of Sewanee Grammar School and then moved to Birmingham and was in the insurance business. He was an all-around athlete, a star in baseball, and the 1922 Alabama state golf champion. Years later, Sewanee old-timers were naming Seibels to the school's All-Time team.