1923 Wake Forest Baptists football team

The 1923 Wake Forest Baptists football team was an American football team that represented Wake Forest University during the 1923 college football season. In its first season under head coach Hank Garrity, the team compiled a 6–3 record.^[1] After a particularly impressive win against Trinity College (predecessor of Duke University), in the following issue of the school newspaper, the editor of the paper, Mayon Parker (1924 Wake Forest graduate), first referred to the team as "Demon Deacons," in recognition of what he called their "devilish" play and fighting spirit. Henry Belk, Wake Forest's news director, and Garrity liked the title and used it often, so the popularity of the term grew.

1923 Wake Forest Baptists football
Conference	Independent
Record	6–3
Head coach	Hank Garrity (1st season)
Captain	Pete Pegano
Home stadium	Gore Field
Seasons ← 1922 1924 →

1923 Southern college football independents records

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
Davis & Elkins			–					8	–	0	–	0
King			–					8	–	0	–	1
VMI			–					9	–	1	–	0
Tennessee Docs			–					6	–	0	–	2
West Virginia			–					7	–	1	–	1
Loyola (LA)			–					5	–	1	–	1
Navy			–					5	–	1	–	3
Middle Tennessee State Normal			–					4	–	1	–	0
Quantico Marines			–					7	–	2	–	1
Wake Forest			–					6	–	3	–	0
West Tennessee State Normal			–					6	–	3	–	0
William & Mary			–					6	–	3	–	0
Louisville			–					5	–	3	–	0
Delaware			–					5	–	3	–	1
Trinity (NC)			–					5	–	4	–	0
Western Kentucky State Normal			–					5	–	4	–	0
Union (TN)			–					4	–	4	–	1
Catholic University			–					4	–	4	–	0
Mississippi Normal			–					3	–	3	–	0
Texas Mines			–					3	–	4	–	0
Richmond			–					3	–	5	–	0
Georgetown			–					3	–	6	–	0
East Tennessee State Normal			–					3	–	6	–	0
Davidson			–					3	–	7	–	0
George Washington			–					2	–	8	–	0
Birmingham–Southern			–					1	–	5	–	2
Marshall			–					1	–	7	–	0
Spring Hill			–					1	–	7	–	0

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 23		at North Carolina	Emerson Field Chapel Hill, NC (rivalry)	L 0–22	5,000
October 6		Guilford	Gore Field Wake Forest, NC	W 41–0
October 13		Lynchburg	Gore Field Wake Forest, NC	W 25–0
October 20	3:30 p.m.	vs. Davidson	Wearn Field Charlotte, NC	W 6–0	4,000	^[2]
October 27		vs. Florida	Plant Field Tampa, FL	L 7–16	7,000	^[3]
November 10		vs. Trinity (NC)	Winston-Salem, NC (rivalry)	W 16–6	1,500
November 17		Elon	Gore Field Wake Forest, NC	W 9–6
November 24		NC State	Gore Field Wake Forest, NC (rivalry)	W 14–0	4,000	^[4]
November 29		at South Carolina	University Field Columbia, SC	L 7–14		^[5]

References

1. "1923 Wake Forest Demon Deacons Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 24, 2015.
2. "Wake Forest downs Davidson". Charlotte Sunday Observer. October 21, 1922. Retrieved September 3, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
3. "Florida eleven beats Wake Forest outfit". The Index-Journal. October 28, 1923. p. 6. Retrieved August 21, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.  
4. "State defeat gives Wake Forest 2nd honors in North Carolina". The News and Observer. November 25, 1923. Retrieved December 15, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "Baptist Demon Deacons yield to Gamecocks, 14–7". The News and Observer. November 30, 1923. Retrieved January 25, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.