Henry Wakefield (American football)

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Henry Wakefield
Fullback
Personal information
Born:(1899-02-10)February 10, 1899
Petersburg, Tennessee, U.S.
Died:November 19, 1962(1962-11-19) (aged 63)
Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.
Height5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight180 lb (82 kg)
Career history
CollegeVanderbilt (1921–1924)
Career highlights and awards

Henry Smith "Hek" Wakefield (February 10, 1899 – November 19, 1962) was an American

end for the Vanderbilt Commodores of Vanderbilt University from 1921 to 1924, receiving the honor of consensus All-American in his senior year. He was considered the greatest drop kicker in school history.[1]

Early years

Wakefield was born on February 10, 1899, in Petersburg, Tennessee, to Samuel S. T. Wakefield and Lula Dyer. Samuel, who owned a sawmill in Petersburg, reportedly died in 1917 as a result of burns caused by the explosion of a steam engine at his sawmill.[2]

Prep school

Wakefield attended

prep school at Fitzgerald & Clarke School in Tullahoma, Tennessee, where he won a state football title on a team coached by Wallace Wade, who later coached Wakefield at Vanderbilt. All-American Vanderbilt end Lynn Bomar was a teammate at both Fitzgerald & Clarke and Vanderbilt.[3]

Vanderbilt University

Football

Wakefield played for coach

field goals
.

1921

Wakefield starred in the Sewanee game to finish his freshman year. The Commodores closed the undefeated season winning 9 to 0 in what was called the "muddiest game" in its history.[5] The Commodores were reportedly knee-deep in mud and water,[6] with players unrecognizable.[7] The touchdown for Vanderbilt came after Wakefield's punt of 54 yards was fumbled by Sewanee and recovered by Pos Elam. The subsequent drive resulted in a five-yard touchdown run by Wakefield. Wakefield kicked his own extra point.[8]

1922

Wakefield in 1922.

Wakefield was the starting

Texas State Fair, which Vanderbilt won 20 to 10, the Commodores' first score came after Wakefield recovered a fumble by Texas's Franklin Stacy on a punt return, at the 25-yard line.[10] Wakefield also blocked a Texas field goal attempt that day. He made an 18-yard field goal in a 9 to 0 victory over the Kentucky Wildcats.[11] A trick play which resulted in a touchdown thrown from Doc Kuhn to Lynn Bomar against Sewanee was set up by a 33-yard punt return by Wakefield.[12] Vanderbilt won 26 to 0, finishing the year as Southern Conference champions.[13][14]
Wakefield made seven extra points on the year.

1923

During the

Champ Pickens Trophy.[18][19][20]

Jack Wakefield

In a postseason contest played for the benefit of local charitable institutions, Vanderbilt played a cast of former Princeton varsity stars on December 8. Among the stars were Stan Keck, Frank Murrey, Hank Garrity, John P. Gorman, Ralph Gilroy, A. Barr Snively, and Herb Treat.[21] It was the first showcase of Eastern football in Nashville in many years.[22] The Commodores tied the team of ex-Tigers, 7–7. Both scoring plays occurred within five minutes of each other. Murrey mentored Wakefield in the art of drop-kicking.[15]

During the game, the one player on Vanderbilt's roster not from the 1923 varsity team was Hek's younger brother, Robert Allen "Jack" Wakefield. He was a highly renowned back on the freshman team, called "the greatest player in Southern freshman football for the past season."

Memphis and committed suicide with a pistol.[27][28]

1924

Image from the Vanderbilt–Marines game. Wakefield is at the far right, number 14.

Quantico Marines
, Vanderbilt was stymied by a 13–13 tie. A newspaper account describes Vanderbilt's first score:

It was Lynn Bomar's gigantic figure that broke up what looked like a Marine cakewalk. After receiving the kickoff, the Marines drove steadily to Vanderbilt's 10-yard line as Goettge repeatedly completed short passes. At the 10, Groves dropped back. The pass from center was low. He missed it. He reached for the ball. It trickled off his fingers. The Commodores were boring in. Wakefield was in there. Then Bomar came charging through. He picked up the ball and with a twist was out of Groves' grasp. He came out of the bunch with a long, charging run. Then he seemed a little undecided. One fleeting glance behind him and he struck out. Up came his free arm to brush off his headgear. His thin, yellow hair stood out. On he swept like a thundercloud of vengeance across the goal. Bedlam broke loose.[5]

To open the second half, Waller fumbled the kickoff. The Marines recovered and were already near the goal. The Commodores' line held the Marines scoreless inside the 10-yard line on three separate occasions, mostly due to Wakefield, Bob Ledyard, and Jess Keene.[5]

As an interim team captain following the loss of both Kelly and Bomar to injuries, Wakefield scored twice in the Commodores' 13–0 win over the

broken leg, yet played for ten more minutes before hobbling to the bench, joining Kelly and Bomar.[5] Following his senior season, he was recognized as a consensus first-team All-American, having received first-team honors from the International News Service (INS), the Newspaper Enterprise Association (NEA), and Billy Evans.[30][31] Wakefield was selected a second-team All-American by Walter Camp of Collier's Weekly, who said, "The south has been entirely overlooked this year on the first eleven. It is a well known fact that the experts in that section were positive Wakefield of Vanderbilt would draw one of the ends."[32] Billy Evans, who selected Wakefield first-team All America, claimed that "Wakefield is one of the best ends I have seen in years. Southern experts rate him the greatest end the south has ever produced."[33]

Track

Wakefield was also a member of Vanderbilt's track team.[1]

Coaching career

After graduating from Vanderbilt, Wakefield became an assistant coach under McGugin from 1925 to 1928.[34] He coached the ends. Larry Creson was cited as an example of a Wakefield protégé.[35]


Post-coaching career and death

Wakefield went into banking in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1929. On June 17, 1929, he was shot twice, but survived.[36] In 1936, coach McGugin died, and Wakefield was a pall bearer.[37] The same year, Wakefield suffered a broken jaw in a car crash.[38]

Death

In 1962, Wakefield was found dead, lying in the doorway of his motel room near his parked car which had apparently been involved in a crash.[39] The car was badly damaged; the seat stained with blood.[1] The investigator said Wakefield had likely crashed into a utility pole and managed to drive back to his motel before collapsing.[1]

See also

References

  1. ^
    Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  2. ^ "Rootsweb".
  3. ^ "City loses Fitzgerald-Clarke, builds Tullahoma High School".[permanent dead link]
  4. ^ a b c Vanderbilt Football 2014 Fact Book Archived 2014-08-19 at the Wayback Machine, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, pp. 125, 137, 142, 151 (2014). Retrieved August 17, 2014.
  5. ^ a b c d e f Russell, Fred, and Maxwell Edward Benson. Fifty Years of Vanderbilt Football. Nashville, TN, 1938. pp. 42, 67
  6. ^ Closed access icon "Vanderbilt Wins From Sewanee In Final Quarter, 9-0". Augusta Chronicle. November 25, 1921.
  7. ^ Closed access icon "Vanderbilt 9, Sewanee 0". Morning Oregonian. November 25, 1921.
  8. ^ "Final Period Rally Wins for Old Vandy". Charlotte Observer. November 25, 1921.
  9. Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  10. ^ "Big Gains Are Made On Punts And Wide Runs In Dallas Game." Fort Worth Star Telegram. October 22, 1922, p. 14.
  11. ^ "Wildcats Lose Hard Fought Game To Vandy Eleven At Nashville". The Kentucky Kernel. November 17, 1922. Archived from the original on December 19, 2013. Retrieved August 30, 2014.
  12. hdl:11005/1158
    .
  13. ProQuest 504491164
    .
  14. ProQuest 145942485
    .; "No Outstanding Football Eleven During The Year." New Castle News. December 27, 1922. p. 17.; Farrell, Henry. "Sports Kings That Kept Crown." Middletown Daily Herald. December 31, 1922. p. 6.
  15. ^
    Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  16. ^ "Wakefield Star On Vandy Team". The Kingsport Times. November 27, 1923.
  17. ^ Closed access icon Ed Hebert (October 27, 1923). "Tulanians Await Starting Whistle For Vandy Battle". Times-Picayune.
  18. ^ "Wolf Pack, U.C. Grid-Game Held Season Feature". Nevada State Journal. December 3, 1923.
  19. ProQuest 180509468
    .
  20. ProQuest 497606727
    .
  21. ^ Closed access icon "Vanderbilt Ties With All-Star Princeton Team". Springfield Republican. December 9, 1923.
  22. ProQuest 180508022
    .
  23. ^ Closed access icon Ben A. Green (December 6, 1923). "Ben Green Selects All-Southern Freshie Team". Times-Picayune.
  24. ^ "Jack Wakefield Was Mythical Son of a Past Era". Commercial Appeal. Oct 16, 1938.
  25. ^ Rice, Grantland (September 15, 1949). "Charlie Was Versatile Fellow". The Roundup Record Tribune.
  26. ^ Keene, Jack (April 8, 1924). "Spotlights On Sport" (PDF). Torrance Herald. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 12, 2014.
  27. ^ Closed access icon "Ball Player Kills Self". Cleveland Plain Dealer. December 12, 1924.
  28. ^ Fred Russell. Bury Me In An Old Press Box: Good Times And Life Of A Sportswriter. p. 46.
  29. ISBN 9781625842312
    .
  30. ^ 2014 NCAA Football Records Book, Award Winners Archived 2018-11-26 at the Wayback Machine, National Collegiate Athletic Association, Indianapolis, Indiana, pp. 5 & 17 (2014). Retrieved August 17, 2014.
  31. ISBN 978-1-60949-423-0
    .
  32. Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  33. Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  34. ^ The Commodore, Vanderbilt yearbook. 1926, p. 110.
  35. ^ "1927 Vanderbilt Commodores" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2014-12-28.
  36. Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  37. Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  38. Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  39. Newspapers.com. Open access icon

External links
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