1909 VPI football team

1909 Virginia Tech Hokies football
Southern champion
Conference	Independent
1909 record	6–1
Head coach	Branch Bocock (1st year)
Captain	Hoss Hodgson
Home stadium	Miles Field

The 1909 VPI football team represented the Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College and Polytechnic Institute in the 1909 college football season. Led by first year head coach Branch Bocock, the team went 6–1 and claims a Southern championship.^[1][2] Tech outscored its opponents 148 to 27. The starting lineup averaged 172 pounds.^[3] This is the first season the team was referred to in print as the "Gobblers", and it became the official nickname in 1912.^[2][4]

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance
October 2, 1909		Clemson*	Miles Field • Blacksburg, VA	W 6–0	-
October 13, 1909		at Princeton*	University Field • Princeton, NJ	L 6–8	-
October 23, 1909		at Richmond	Richmond, VA	W 52–0	1,500[5]
October 30, 1909		vs. Washington and Lee*	Lynchburg, VA	W 34–6	2,200[6]
November 6, 1909	3:30pm[7]	vs. North Carolina	Broad Street Park[7] • Richmond, VA	W 15–0	2,000[8]
November 12, 1909[9]		at George Washington	Washington, D.C.	W 17–8	-
November 25, 1909	2:30pm[10]	vs. North Carolina A&M	Athletic Park[11] • Norfolk, VA	W 18–5	10,000[11]
*Non-conference game.

• Source: HokieSports.com: 1909 Virginia Tech football schedule^[12]

Players

The following players were members of the 1909 football team according to the roster published in the 1910 edition of The Bugle, the Virginia Tech yearbook.^[13]

VPI 1909 roster
	Quarterback John Lepburn Hughes Guards Hoss Hodgson (Capt.) Harry Guilford Jones Tackles William Henry Burruss Edward Raymond Norris Center Aubrey Gravatt Gibbs		Ends Thomas Paret Hicks Joseph Talmage Luttrell Halfbacks Henry Evans Billups Asbury Nathaniel Hodgson Fullback Vivian Burnett Hodgson		Substitutes Winston Bozel Davis Frederick Hughes Legge Caesar Pancratius Massei

Season summary

at Princeton

VPI at Princeton

1 2 Total VPI 6 0 6 • Princeton 5 3 8 Date: October 13, 1909 Location: Princeton, NJ Game weather: Frigid Referee: Joe Pendleton (Bowdoin)

VPI's strongest showing came in the close loss to Princeton. In a game plagued by frigid weather conditions,^[14] each side scored on a fumble.^[15] Princeton's Logan Cunningham scored a touchdown in the first two minutes of play after a fumble on VPI's 10-yard line, and missed the extra point.^[16] Later in the contest, a snap from center went over the Princeton quarterback's head, and Hoss Hodgson returned the lost fumble 50 yards for a touchdown.^[17] Hodgson then made his own extra point. After leading 6 to 5 for some time, and only minutes left to play, Princeton's Cunningham made a drop kick to secure the 8 to 6 victory.^[18]

VPI's starting lineup against Princeton: Luttrell (left end), Burruss (left tackle), Jones (left guard), Gibbes (center), E. Hodgson (right guard), Norris (right tackle), Hicks (right end), Hughes (quarterback), Davis (left halfback), Billups (right halfback), V. Hodgson (fullback).^[18]

References

1. e. g. "VPI Southern Champions".
2. "Virginia Tech Historical Data Book".
3. "Sidelines".
4. "What is a Hokie?". University Relations, Virginia Tech. 2006.
5. "Techs Pile Up Score of 52-0 Against Spiders". Richmond Times-Dispatch (Library of Virginia). October 24, 1909. p. E1. Retrieved November 20, 2015.
6. "Virginia Tech Buries W. & L. By Large Score". Richmond Times-Dispatch (Library of Virginia). October 31, 1909. p. E1. Retrieved November 20, 2015.
7. "Techs and Carolina Are Anxious for Game To-Day". Richmond Times-Dispatch (Library of Virginia). November 6, 1909. p. 3. Retrieved November 20, 2015.
8. "V.P.I. Beats Carolina in Fiercely Fought Game". Daily Press (Library of Virginia). November 7, 1909. p. 6. Retrieved November 20, 2015.
9. "Techs Off to Play George Washington". Richmond Times-Dispatch (Library of Virginia). November 12, 1909. p. 5. Retrieved November 20, 2015.
10. "V.P.I. -- A. & M. Game in Norfolk To-Day". Richmond Times-Dispatch (Library of Virginia). November 25, 1909. p. 5. Retrieved November 20, 2015.
11. "V.P.I. Wins From A. & M. In Great Struggle". Richmond Times-Dispatch (Library of Virginia). November 26, 1909. p. 5. Retrieved November 20, 2015.
12. Virginia Tech Football Past Schedules "1909–1910". Virginia Tech Sports Information Department, Hokiesports.com. Accessed November 18, 2015.
13. "The Bugle 1910" (PDF). Virginia Tech Bugle. 1910. p. 167. Retrieved 2015-11-18.
14. "Football". The Cincinnati Enquirer. October 14, 1909. p. 9. Retrieved December 19, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
15. "Drop-Kick Wins Again". Daily Princetonian 34 (97). October 14, 1909.
16. Associated Press (October 14, 1909). "V. P. I. Football Team Gives Princeton A Scare". Daily Press 14 (23).
17. "Princeton 8; Blacksburg 6". The Evening News 20 (97). October 14, 1909.
18. "V. P. I. Team Gives Princeton A Scare". Times Dispatch. October 14, 1909.