1911 Vanderbilt Commodores football team
| 1911 Vanderbilt Commodores football | |
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SIAA champion | |
| Conference | Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association |
| 1911 record | 8–1 (4–0 SIAA) |
| Head coach | Dan McGugin (8th year) |
| Assistant coach | Owsley Manier |
| Offensive scheme | Short-punt |
| Captain | Ray Morrison |
| Home stadium | Dudley Field |
| 1911 SIAA football standings | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Vanderbilt $ | 5 | – | 0 | – | 0 | 8 | – | 1 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Auburn | 4 | – | 0 | – | 1 | 4 | – | 2 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Georgia | 5 | – | 1 | – | 1 | 7 | – | 1 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Georgia Tech | 5 | – | 2 | – | 1 | 6 | – | 2 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| LSU | 2 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 6 | – | 3 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mississippi A&M | 4 | – | 2 | – | 1 | 7 | – | 2 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Alabama | 2 | – | 2 | – | 2 | 5 | – | 2 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ole Miss | 2 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 6 | – | 3 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sewanee | 2 | – | 3 | – | 0 | 6 | – | 3 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tulane | 2 | – | 3 | – | 0 | 5 | – | 3 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Clemson | 3 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 3 | – | 5 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Kentucky State | 1 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 7 | – | 3 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The Citadel | 1 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 5 | – | 2 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mercer | 2 | – | 5 | – | 0 | 4 | – | 5 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Central | 0 | – | 2 | – | 1 | 3 | – | 2 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tennessee | 0 | – | 2 | – | 1 | 3 | – | 4 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mississippi College | 0 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 1 | – | 5 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Howard | 0 | – | 6 | – | 0 | 1 | – | 6 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 1911 Vanderbilt Commodores football team represented Vanderbilt University in the 1911 college football season. The 1911 season was Dan McGugin's 8th year as head coach. The team outscored its opponents 259 to 9.
Edwin Pope's Football's Greatest Coaches reads "A lightning-swift backfield of Lew Hardage, Wilson Collins, Ammie Sikes, and Ray Morrison pushed Vandy through 1911 with only a 9-8 loss to Michigan." The Atlanta Constitution voted Vanderbilt's the best backfield in the South.[1]
Before the season
Vanderbilt prepared to face its most difficult schedule to date.[2]
Schedule
| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | Result | Attendance | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 30 | Birmingham* | Dudley Field • Nashville, TN | W 40–0 | ||||||
| October 7 | Maryville (TN)* | Dudley Field • Nashville, TN | W 46–0 | ||||||
| October 14 | Rose Polytechnic* | Dudley Field • Nashville, TN | W 33–0 | ||||||
| October 21 | Centre* | Dudley Field • Nashville, TN | W 45–0 | ||||||
| October 28 | at Michigan* | Ferry Field • Ann Arbor, MI | L 8–9 | ||||||
| November 4 | Georgia | Dudley Field • Nashville, TN (Rivalry) | W 17–0 | ||||||
| November 11 | Kentucky State | Dudley Field • Nashville, TN (Rivalry) | W 18–0 | ||||||
| November 18 | Ole Miss | Dudley Field • Nashville, TN (Rivalry) | W 21–0 | ||||||
| November 30 | 2:15 p. m. | Sewanee | Dudley Field • Nashville, TN (Rivalry) | W 31–0 | 6,000 | ||||
| *Non-conference game. | |||||||||
Season summary
Week 1: Birmingham
The season opened with a 40–0 win over Birmingham on a slippery field. Ammie Sikes and Lew Hardage proved stars of the game.[3]
Week 2: Maryvillle
The next week, Vanderbilt won 46–0 over Maryville. Ewing Y. Freeland and Zeke Martin starred in the line.[3]
Week 3: Rose Poly
Vanderbilt won 33–0 over Rose Polytechnic, in a game harder than prior weeks.[3]
Week 4: Central
Vanderbilt drubbed Central 45–0. Central had claimed Southern titles, on the grounds that Vanderbilt would not play them.[3] Lew Hardage and Ray Morrison and Rabbi Robins all had two touchdowns each. Ammie Sikes and Murrah had one each.[4] The starting lineup was Morrison (left end), Freeland (left tackle), Huffman (left guard), Morgan (center), C. Brown (right guard), Covington (right tackle), E. Brown (right end). R. Morrison (quarterback), Hardage (left halfback), Collins (right halfback), Sikes (fullback).[4]
Week 5: at Michigan
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The Michigan Wolverines defeated the Commodores 9 to 8. The game matched Michigan head coach Fielding H. Yost against his former player and brother-in-law, Dan McGugin. Because of the relationship between Yost and McGugin, the two teams played nine times between 1905 and 1923, with Michigan winning eight games and tying one.[6]
Before the game, Coach Yost reminded reporters that Vanderbilt's 1911 team included the same veteran line that had held Yale scoreless in 1910. Yost predicted a hard game.[7]
After a scoreless first half, Zach Curlin made a drop kick to put the Commodores up 3 to 0 in the third quarter. The Vanderbilt University Quarterly notes "when the score was 3 to 0 in our favor the situation in the Michigan grand stands was heartrending."[5] Fielding Yost said after the game "It was one of the most exciting games I have ever witnessed."[8]
Walter Eckersall served as the umpire and covered the game for the Chicago Daily Tribune. Eckersall wrote that Michigan's offense suffered from "an air of overconfidence," its tackling was poor, and the team was completely fooled on forward passes. He opined that the game was a reversal for Michigan, which would need "vast improvement" to defeat Penn and Cornell.[9]
The starting lineup against Michigan: Morrison (left end), Freeland (left tackle), Metzger (left guard), Morgan (center), C. Brown (right guard), T. Brown (right tackle), E. Brown (right end). R. Morrison (quarterback), Hardage (left halfback), Collins (right halfback), Sikes (fullback).[10]
Week 6: Georgia
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Vanderbilt easily defeated the Georgia Bulldogs 17–0 under a "cold, leaden sky" with splashes of rain.[11] After a scoreless first quarter, Lew Hardage called for a fair-catch at Georgia's 28-yard line, starting Vanderbilt's first scoring drive. It ended with an Ammie Sikes touchdown from 2 yards out.[11] Hardage ran around right end for 45 yards, down to the 17-yard line. Vanderbilt then worked the ball to the goal, including an 8-yard pass from Hardage to Wilson Collins, until Ray Morrison went over for a 4-yard touchdown.[11] On one play later in the period, Hardage had his left shoulder and arm badly sprained, threatening his status for the season.[11]
In the third quarter, Morrison made 22 yards on a fake punt, Sikes went 35 yards thrugh line. Sikes then made 5 more, Collins 1, and Morrison finished with a 4-yard touchdown.[11]
The starting lineup against Georgia: K. Morrison (left end), Covington (left tackle), Metzger (left guard), Morgan (center), C. Brown (right guard), T. Brown (right tackle), E. Brown (right end), R. Morrison (quarterback), Hardage (left halfback), Collins (right halfback), Sikes (fullback).[11]
Week 7: Kentucky State
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The Commodores beat Kentucky State 18–0. Kentucky expected to lose by a larger margin.[12] The first touchdown came on "a pretty forward pass" from Robins to Nuck Brown.[12] The next score came in the third quarter, on a 7-yard run from Ray Morrison. Just after the start of the fourth quarter, Zach Curlin made an 8-yard field goal. He later made another 10-yard field goal from a difficult angle.[12] The starting lineup was K. Morrison (left end), Covington (left tackle), Metzger (left guard), Morgan (center), C. Brown (right guard), T. Brown (right tackle), E. Brown (right end), R. Morrison (quarterback), Collins (left halfback), Robins (right halfback), Sikes (fullback).[12]
Week 8: Mississippi
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Vanderbilt beat Mississippi 21–0 and claimed the championship of the South.[13] "This was easily the greatest southern game of the season".[14]
In the second quarter, a long trick pass was caught by Ammie Sikes, to Miss's 5-yard line. Ray Morrison then got the score.[13] Morrison at one point had a 70-yard run.[14] Zach Curlin later made a field goal. In the second half, Morrison ran 75 yards on a fake punt, out of bounds at the 30-yard line. On the next play, Lew Hardage started around left end, then reverse right, and was again crowded out, reversing field back around left end. He seemed to break a tackle from every player on Mississippi.[13] Vanderbilt scored a final touchdown in the last quarter.[13]
Week 9: Sewanee and Ty Cobb
Ty Cobb
Ty Cobb traveled to Nashville on Monday of the week of the Sewanee game to act in the play The College Widow.[n 1] Cobb watched the team practice, and donned a Vanderbilt uniform to practice with the team during the week, including punts and drop-kicks.[15]
Sewanee
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Vanderbilt defeated the Sewanee Tigers 31 to 0. Vanderbilt's first score came on a 3-yard end run from Ray Morrison. In the next period, Will Metzger and Tom Brown blocked a kick. Brown then picked it and ran it in for a touchdown. The next score came on a pass from Morrison to Hardage. After the half, Wilson Collins had a touchdown run over tackle. In the same period Sewanee had abass pass from center for a safety. In the final period, Collins had another touchdown behind tackle. Vanderbilt had 455 total yards and Sewanee 69.[16]
The starting lineup for Vanderbilt against Sewanee: K. Morrison (left end), Freeland (left tackle), Metzger (left guard), Morgan (center), C. Brown (right guard), T. Brown (right tackle), E. Brown (right end), Morrison (quarterback), Curlin (right halfback), Hardage (left halfback), Sikes (fullback). The umpire was Ted Coy.[16]
Post season
Assistant coach Owsley Manier left the team to spend the winter of 1911 at the University of Pennsylvania Hospital.[17] The Atlanta Constitution voted Vanderbilt's the best backfield in the South.[1]
Players
Depth chart
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Varsity letter winners
"Wearers of the V"[18]
Line
| Player | Position | Games started | Hometown | Prep school | Height | Weight | Age |
| Charles Brown | Guard | 5 | |||||
| Enoch Brown | End | 5 | Franklin, Tennessee | Battle Ground Academy | 5'8" | 160 | |
| Tom Brown | Tackle | 4 | Gallatin, Tennessee | 6'2" | 180 | 21 | |
| Joe Covington | Guard, tackle | 2 | |||||
| Ewing Y. Freeland | Tackle | 2 | Turnersville, Texas | 196 | 24 | ||
| Carl T. "Zeke" Martin | End | 1 | |||||
| Will Metzger | Guard | 4 | Nashville, Tennessee | 6'1" | 175 | 21 | |
| Hugh Morgan | Center | 5 | Nashville, Tennessee | 216 | 18 | ||
| Kent Morrison | End | 5 |
Backfield
| Player | Position | Games started | Hometown | Prep school | Height | Weight | Age |
| Wilson Collins | Halfback | 4 | Pulaski, Tennessee | 5'9" | 165 | 22 | |
| Zach Curlin | Halfback | 1 | Luxora, Arkansas | 21 | |||
| Lew Hardage | Halfback | 5 | Madison, Alabama | 165 | 20 | ||
| Ray Morrison | Quarterback | 6 | Sugar Branch, Indiana | 159 | 26 | ||
| Fred "Rabbi" Robins | Quarterback, halfback | 1 | |||||
| Ammie Sikes | Fullback | 6 | Smyrna, Tennessee | 164 | 19 |
Coaching staff
- Dan McGugin, head coach
- Owsley Manier, assistant
- Sam Costen, assistant
- Frank Gilliland, manager
See also
- 1911 College Football All-Southern Team
- 1911 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association football season
Notes
- ↑ Cobb was coming off an American League MVP season wth a .420 batting average. He was taken for an automobile ride around the town by Nashville Vols president W. G. Hirsig.[15]
Endnotes
- 1 2 Charles Weatherby. "Wilson Collins". The Miracle Braves of 1914: Boston's Original Worst-to-First World Series: 13.
- ↑ "Hard Schedule For The Vanderbilt Football Team". The Courier-Journal. February 6, 1911. p. 6. Retrieved April 9, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
- 1 2 3 4 Vanderbilt University, p. 259
- 1 2 Spick Hall (October 22, 1911). "Central of KY. Badly Drubbed By Vanderbilt". The Tennessean. p. 39. Retrieved April 25, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
- 1 2 Vanderbilt University, pp. 259-260
- ↑ "Michigan vs Vanderbilt". College Football Data Warehouse.
- ↑ "Yost Looking For Hard Game With Vanderbilt Today: Coach McGugin's Team Is Made Up of Veterans of Tried and True Line That Held Yale Scoreless Last Year--Wolverine Leader, However, Believes His Charges Can Swing the Verdict to Michigan's Banner Again". Detroit Free Press. October 28, 1911. p. 9.
- ↑ Spick Hall (October 29, 1911). "Michigan Beats Vanderbilt In A Great Contest". The Tennessean. p. 1. Retrieved April 25, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ Walter Eckersall (October 29, 1911). "Michigan Forced by Vanderbilt: Wolverines Uncover Everything to Defeat Southern Champions; Lucky to Escape a Tie; Morrison's Poor Puntout After Touchdown, Preventing Fair Catch, Is Costly". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. C1.
- ↑ "Michigan Is Winner Over Vanderbilt". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. October 29, 1911. p. 20. Retrieved April 9, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Spick Hall (November 5, 1911). "Georgia Puts Up A Game Fight, But Is Beaten". The Tennessean. p. 22. Retrieved April 9, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
- 1 2 3 4 5 "Kentucky State Puts Up Great Game Vs. Vandy". The Tennessean. November 12, 1911. p. 22. Retrieved April 25, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
- 1 2 3 4 5 "Vanderbilt Lands Honor of South". The Inter Ocean. November 29, 1911. p. 27. Retrieved April 9, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
- 1 2 Vanderbilt University, p. 261
- 1 2 Traughber, pp. 51-52
- 1 2 3 Vanderbilt University, pp. 261-263
- ↑ "Dr. Manier Leaves For Philadelphia". The Tennessean. December 3, 1911. p. 47. Retrieved September 20, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ Vanderbilt University, pp. 202-203
Bibliography
- Traughber, Bill (2011). Vanderbilt Football: Tales of Commodore Gridiron History. The History Press. ISBN 978-1-60949-423-0.
- Vanderbilt University (1911). Vanderbilt University Quarterly 11.
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