1918 Georgia Tech Golden Tornado football team
1918 Georgia Tech Golden Tornado football | |
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SIAA champion | |
Conference | Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association |
Record | 6–1 (3–0 SIAA) |
Head coach |
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Offensive scheme | Jump shift |
Captain | Bill Fincher |
Home stadium | Grant Field |
Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Georgia Tech $ | 3 | – | 0 | – | 0 | 6 | – | 1 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Vanderbilt | 2 | – | 0 | – | 0 | 4 | – | 2 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Mississippi A&M | 2 | – | 0 | – | 0 | 3 | – | 2 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Clemson | 3 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 5 | – | 2 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
South Carolina | 2 | – | 1 | – | 1 | 2 | – | 1 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Furman | 1 | – | 3 | – | 0 | 3 | – | 5 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sewanee | 0 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 3 | – | 2 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Citadel | 0 | – | 1 | – | 1 | 0 | – | 2 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Auburn | 0 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 2 | – | 5 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Ole Miss | 0 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 1 | – | 3 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Wofford | 0 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 0 | – | 3 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 1918 Georgia Tech Golden Tornado football team
Tech eclipsed 100 points three different times. Its only road game was its only loss to national champion Pittsburgh at Forbes Field. Pittsburgh was the only team to score on Tech during the 1918 season. The defeat ended Georgia Tech's 33-game winning streak.
Before the season
Because of America's entry into World War I in April 1917 and the ongoing war effort, several SIAA schools did not field football teams in 1918.[2] Coming off the South's first national championship in 1917, Tech lost several players to the war effort and was heavily reliant on freshmen.[3]
With captain-elect
Coach
Schedule
Date | Opponent | Site | Result | Attendance |
---|---|---|---|---|
October 5 | Clemson | W 28–0 | ||
October 12 | Furman |
| W 118–0 | |
October 19 | Georgia Eleventh Cavalry* |
| W 123–0 | |
October 26 | Camp Gordon* |
| W 28–0 | 12,000 |
November 10 | NC State* |
| W 128–0 | |
November 23 | at Pittsburgh* | L 0–32 | 30,000 | |
November 28 | Auburn |
| W 41–0 | |
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Game summaries
Clemson
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The season opened with a 28–0 defeat of
The starting lineup was: Fincher (left end), Doyal (left tackle), Nesbit (left guard), Davis (center), Dowling (right guard), Vandegrift (right tackle), Staton (right end), Barron (quarterback), Ferst (left halfback), Guyon (right halfback), and Allen (fullback).[4]
Furman
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Buck Flowers starred in the 118–0 victory over Furman. Joe Guyon played in the line and did well. Tech made 34 first downs.[10] For one score, in the fourth quarter, Flowers hit Red Barron on a 72-yard touchdown pass that went 42 yards in the air.[7]
The scoring breakdown: Barron got 4 touchdowns, Allen 3, Adams 2, Ferst 2, Guyon, Fincher, Flowers, Smith, Cobb, and Doyal one each. Fincher made 14 straight extra points.[7] Flowers made the other two.[10]
The starting lineup was: Fincher (left end), Doyal (left tackle), Rogers (left guard), Davis (center), Huffines (right guard), Guyon (right tackle), Staton (right end), Barron (quarterback), Flowers (left halfback), Ferst (right halfback), and Allen (fullback).[10]
Georgia Eleventh Cavalry
Tech beat the Georgia Eleventh Cavalry, 123–0. The game was called after the start of the third quarter.[11] The scoring breakdown: Flowers got 5 touchdowns, Barron 4, Ferst, Allen, and Staton 2 each, Smith, Fincher, and Cobb one each.[7]
Camp Gordon
Georgia Tech beat Camp Gordon 28–0. Frank Ferst and Red Barron each scored two touchdowns. "Barron had the game of his life" said the yearbook.[7]
The game was nip and tuck until Everett Strupper, former Tech star playing for Gordon, fumbled, and Ferst recovered, racing 30 yards for a touchdown. In the third quarter, Red Barron had a 28-yard touchdown.[12]
NC State
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Two days before the Armistice, Tech beat 1918 NC State Aggies football team 128–0. State's only highlight came in the third quarter, when John Ripple recovered a teammate's fumble and returned the ball 75 yards for a touchdown. However, it was called back due to an offsides penalty. Walter Camp attended the game. Ripple became the first football player from North Carolina ever to make an All-America team when he was selected second-team All-American by Camp.[14][15] Five minutes into the fourth quarter, the game was called.[13] The scoring breakdown: Barron and Ferst got 4 touchdowns each, Smith 3, Allen 3, Staton 2, Cobb 2, and Adams 1.[7][13]
The starting lineup was: Fincher (left end), Doyal (left tackle), Nesbit (left guard), Day (center), Rogers (right guard), Webb (right tackle), Staton (right end), Barron (quarterback), Ferst (left halfback), Adams (right halfback), and Allen (fullback).[13]
Pittsburgh
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After declining the challenge the previous year,
Warner historian Francis Powers wrote:
At Forbes Field, the dressing rooms of the two teams were separated only by a thin wall. As the Panthers were sitting around, awaiting Warner's pre-game talk, Heisman began to orate in the adjoining room. In his charge to the Tech squad, Heisman became flowery and fiery. He brought the heroes of ancient Greece and the soldier dead in his armor among the ruins of Pompeii. It was terrific and the Panthers sat, spellbound. When Heisman had finished, Warner chortled and quietly said to his players: 'Okay, boys. There's the speech. Now go out and knock them off.'[20]
Tech's play was early hindered by fumbles. One source relates "Guyon and Flowers were very clever at intercepting forward passes, which in a measure made up for the fumbling in an early part of the game."[16] Guyon also starred on defense.[7]
Pitt's first score came on a pass from Tom Davies to Katy Easterday.[16] The next score came soon after the start of the second quarter, when Davies returned a punt back 50 yards for a touchdown. A double pass got the next score. The fourth touchdown was a 6-yard touchdown by George McLaren. A 55-yard touchdown run by Davies was the final score.[16]
Pitt lost its only game to the Cleveland Naval Reserves. On the Naval team was former Tech star Judy Harlan. Harlan stated: "I intercepted a pass and returned it to midfield in the fourth quarter. I felt I at least had evened up some of the losses we had at Tech."[21]
The starting lineup was: Fincher (left end), Doyal (left tackle), Mathes (left guard), Day (center), Huffines (right guard), Webb (right tackle), Staton (right end), Barron (quarterback), Flowers (left halfback), Guyon (right halfback), and Allen (fullback).[16]
Auburn
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Tech beat Auburn 41–0 on a muddy field. Substitute quarterback B. Adams returned a kickoff 80 yards for a touchdown. The other five touchdowns were achieved by plodding through the mud.[22] The first was on a pass from Buck Flowers to Joe Guyon. Flowers ran in the second, and Guyon ran in the third. Wally Smith made one, and Red Barron the last.[7]
The starting lineup: was Fincher (left end), Doyal (left tackle), Webb (left guard), Day (center), Mathes (right guard), Huffines (right tackle), Staton (right end), Barron (quarterback), Flowers (left halfback), Ferst (right halfback), and Guyon (fullback).[22]
Penn
Georgia Tech had a scheduled game with Penn in Philadelphia canceled when the Spanish flu swept through the city.[23]
Postseason
Awards and honors
Championships
Tech won its fourth straight SIAA title.[27]
Personnel
Depth chart
The following chart provides a visual depiction of Tech's lineup during the 1918 season with games started at the position reflected in parentheses. The chart mimics the offense after the jump shift has taken place.
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Varsity letterwinners
Line
Player | Position | Games started |
Hometown | Prep school | Height | Weight | Age |
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Oscar Davis | Center, guard | 2 | Atlanta, Georgia |
6'1" | 173 | 18 | |
Bum Day | Center | 3 | Barnesville, Georgia | Porter Military Academy | 5'11" | 191 | 20 |
Shorty Doyal | Tackle | 5 | Atlanta, Georgia | Tech High School | 6'3" | 183 | 20 |
Bill Fincher | End, tackle | 6 | Atlanta, Georgia | Tech High School | 6'1" | 182 | 21 |
R. D. Huffines | Tackle | 3 | Texas | 5'8" | 184 | 20 | |
W. T. Mathis | Guard | 2 | Jonesboro, Georgia | ||||
M. M. Nesbit | Guard | 2 | Atlanta, Georgia | 5'9" | 186 | 21 | |
J. C. Rogers | Guard | 2 | |||||
Albert Staton | End | 6 | Atlanta, Georgia | Boys High School |
6'2" | 174 | 18 |
B. P. Webb | Guard | 3 |
Backfield
Number
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Player | Position | Games started |
Hometown | Prep school | Height | Weight | Age |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Brainard Adams | Quarterback, halfback | 1 | Atlanta, Georgia | Boys High School | 5'10" | 151 | 20 | |
H. T. "Pug" Allen | Fullback | 5 | Charleston, South Carolina | 6'1" | 176 | 19 | ||
Red Barron | Quarterback | 7 | Monroe, Georgia | 5'11" | 166 | 18 | ||
F. R. Cobb | Halfback | 0 | Texas | 6'0" | 155 | 19 | ||
Verne Davis | Halfback | 0 | Commerce, Georgia | Commerce High School | 5'7" | 146 | 20 | |
Frank Ferst | Halfback | 6 | Savannah, Georgia | 5'9" | 159 | 19 | ||
Buck Flowers | Halfback | 4 | Sumter, South Carolina | Sumter High School | 5'7" | 150 | 19 | |
27 | Joe Guyon | Fullback | 4 | Magdalena, New Mexico | Carlisle Indian | 5'11" | 184 | 24 |
Dewey Scarboro | Halfback | 0 | Moultrie, Georgia | Moultrie High School | 5'6" | 145 | 19 | |
Wally Smith | Halfback | 0 | Atlanta, Georgia | 5'6" | 154 | 21 |
Unlisted
- L. M. Lamar
Scoring leaders
The following is an incomplete list of statistics and scores, largely dependent on newspaper summaries.
Player | Touchdowns | Extra points | Points |
---|---|---|---|
Red Barron | 15 | 90 | |
Bill Fincher | 2 | 56 | 68 |
Pug Allen |
10 | 60 | |
Frank Ferst | 10 | 60 | |
Buck Flowers | 7 | 2 | 44 |
Wally Smith | 7 | 42 | |
B. Adams | 4 | 24 | |
F. R. Cobb | 4 | 24 | |
Joe Guyon | 4 | 24 | |
Albert Staton | 4 | 24 | |
Shorty Doyal | 1 | 6 | |
Total | 68 | 58 | 466 |
Notes
Endnotes
- ^ Van Brimmer & Rice 2011, p. 147
- ^ Woodruff 1928, p. 70
- ^
- ^
- ISBN 978-1-61673-133-5.
- ^ Alexander M. Weyand (1962). Football immortals. Macmillan. p. 91.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j BluePrint, 1919
- ^ "Buck Flowers: He Could Do It All — Well". Daily Item. Sumter, S.C. October 15, 1969. p. B2.
- ^
- ^
- ^ "Georgia Tech 123, 11 U. S. Cavalry 0". The Gazette Times. Pittsburgh. October 20, 1918. sec. 3, p. 4. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
- ^
- ^ Tim Peeler. "The First Football All-American". Archived from the original on February 21, 2015. Retrieved February 21, 2015.
- ^ a b "Camp's All American: Football Dean Names Three Teams from Last Season's Records" (PDF). The New York Times. December 31, 1918.
- ^
- ISBN 1-878839-04-7.. Republished in The Greatest Moments in Pitt Football History (1994).
- ISBN 9781623680640.
- ^ Borghetti, E.J.; Nestor, Mendy; Welsh, Celeste, eds. (2008). 2008 Pitt Football Media Guide (PDF). Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh. p. 156. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 23, 2011. Retrieved July 7, 2010.
- ^ Powers 1969, p. 42
- ^ Wiley Lee Umphlett (1992). Creating the Big Game: John W. Heisman and the Invention of American Football. Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 148.
- ^
- ^ Fitzpatrick, Frank (March 11, 2020). "In 1918, it was Spanish influenza that afflicted Philadelphia sports". Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Retrieved March 11, 2020.
- ^ 2013 Georgia Tech Football Information Guide, Georgia Tech Athletic Association, Atlanta, Georgia, pp. 170, 178, 180 (2013). Retrieved August 20, 2014.
- ^ a b 2014 NCAA Football Records Book, Award Winners, National Collegiate Athletic Association, Indianapolis, Indiana, pp. 2, 4, 14 (2014). Retrieved August 20, 2014.
- ^ Joe Williams, "Joe Williams Says," El Paso Herald-Post, p. 10 (November 12, 1935). Retrieved August 20, 2014.
- ^ Woodruff 1928, p. 71
- ^ "Letterwinners" (PDF). Georgia Institute of Technology. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 9, 2016. Retrieved August 24, 2016.
References
- Powers, Francis J. (1969). Life Story of Glen S. (Pop) Warner, Gridiron's Greatest Strategist. Chicago, IL: The Athletic Institute.
- Van Brimmer, Adam; Rice, Homer (2011). 100 Things Yellow Jackets Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die. Chicago: Triumph Books. ISBN 978-1-61749-703-2.
- Woodruff, Fuzzy (1928). A History of Southern Football 1890–1928. Vol. 2.