1916 College Football All-Southern Team
Graham Vowell was the only unanimous selection of 1916.
The 1916 College Football All-Southern Team consists of American football players selected to the College Football All-Southern Teams selected by various organizations in 1916. Georgia Tech posted the best SIAA record, and tied for the championship with Tennessee. Graham Vowell, Pup Phillips, and Irby Curry were selected for Walter Camp's third-team All-American. Both Curry and Tommy Spence would die in France serving the United States in the First World War.
Composite team
The composite All-Southern team formed by the selection of 4 newspapers included:
- Walker Carpenter, tackle for Georgia Tech, starter for the 1916 team which, as one writer wrote, "seemed to personify Heisman."[1] The season included the 222 to 0 defeat of Cumberland.
- Josh Cody, tackle for Vanderbilt, inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1970, only three-time All-American in Vanderbilt football history. He was selected for the Associated Press Southeast Area All-Time football team 1869-1919 era.[2] Third-team Camp All-American. Later a prominent football coach at many institutions.
- Rabbit Curry, quarterback for Vanderbilt, was selected third-team All-American by Walter Camp. During the First World War, he was killed in aerial combat over France. He was a beloved player of Coach McGugin, described by one writer as "the player who has most appealed to the imagination, admiration, and affection of the entire university community through the years."[3]
- Bob Lang, guard for Georgia Tech, starter in the 222 to 0 win. He was the first guard selected for the Heisman era All-Era Tech football team.
- Chink Lowe, guard and captain-elect for Tennessee. He served in the First World War as a marine and earned the Distinguished Service Cross.[4]
- Pup Phillips, center for Georgia Tech, was selected third-team All-American by Walter Camp. The first Tech center to be selected All-Southern.[5]
- Doc Rodes, halfback for Kentucky, a team which defeated Centre 68–0 and finished the season with an upset – a scoreless tie with SIAA co-champion Tennessee. Kentucky's only loss came against Vanderbilt. Vanderbilt coach Dan McGugin stated "If you would give me Doc Rodes, I would say he was a greater player than Curry."[6]
- Tommy Spence, fullback for Georgia Tech, scored second most behind Strupper in the 222 to 0 win. Spence, like Curry, was also a casualty of the First World War over French skies. He is the namesake of Spence Air Base.[7]
- Everett Strupper, halfback for Georgia Tech, inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1972. He was deaf and scored the most in the 222 to 0 win.
- Graham Vowell, end and captain for Tennessee, the lone unanimous selection. He was also selected third-team All-American by Walter Camp. After football he worked in the lumber business.[8]
Composite overview
| Name | Position | School | First-team selections |
|---|---|---|---|
| Graham Vowell | End | Tennessee | 4 |
| Josh Cody | Tackle | Vanderbilt | 3 |
| Pup Phillips | Center | Georgia Tech | 3 |
| Irby Curry | Quarterback | Vanderbilt | 3 |
| Everett Strupper | Halfback | Georgia Tech | 3 |
| Tommy Spence | Fullback | Georgia Tech | 3 |
| Walker Carpenter | Tackle | Georgia Tech | 2 |
| Bob Lang | Guard | Georgia Tech | 2 |
| Chink Lowe | Guard | Tennessee | 2 |
| Doc Rodes | Halfback | Kentucky | 2 |
| Charles Jones | End | Auburn | 1 |
| Lloyd Wolfe | End | Tennessee | 1 |
| Si Bell | End | Georgia Tech | 1 |
| Tom Thrash | Tackle | Georgia | 1 |
| Ike Rogers | Tackle | Alabama | 1 |
| Phillip Cooper | Tackle | LSU | 1 |
| Moon Ducote | Guard | Auburn | 1 |
| Pryor Williams | Guard | Vanderbilt | 1 |
| Charlie Carman | Guard | Vanderbilt | 1 |
| Carey Robinson | Center | Auburn | 1 |
| Froggie Morrison | Quarterback | Georgia Tech | 1 |
| Bill Folger | Halfback | North Carolina | 1 |
| Cecil Creen | Halfback | Alabama | 1 |
| Red Floyd | Halfback | Vanderbilt | 1 |
| Homer Prendergast | Fullback | Auburn | 1 |
All-Southerns of 1916
Ends
- Graham Vowell†, Tennessee (C, DJ, H, MB, HS)[9]
- Charles Jones, Auburn (C)
- Lloyd Wolfe, Tennessee (C)
- Si Bell, Georgia Tech (C)
Tackles
- Josh Cody, Vanderbilt (College Football Hall of Fame) (C, DJ [as E], H, MB, HS)
- Walker Carpenter, Georgia Tech (C, DJ, H, MB)
- Tom Thrash, Georgia (C)
- Ike Rogers, Alabama (C, HS [as E])
- Phillip Cooper, LSU (C, DJ)
Guards
- Bob Lang, Georgia Tech (C, DJ, H, HS)
- William "Chink" Lowe, Tennessee (C, HS)
- Moon Ducote, Auburn (C, H [as E], HS [as T])
- Pryor Williams, Vanderbilt (C, H, MB)
- Charlie Carman, Vanderbilt (C)
- Garmany, Georgie (MB)
Center
- Pup Phillips, Georgia Tech (C, DJ, H, MB, HS)
- Carey Robinson, Auburn (C, DJ [as G], MB [as E])
Quarterbacks
- Rabbit Curry, Vanderbilt (C, H, MB [as HB], HS)
- Froggie Morrison, Georgia Tech (C, DJ, MB)
Halfbacks
- Everett Strupper, Georgia Tech (College Football Hall of Fame) (C, DJ, H, MB, HS)
- Doc Rodes, Kentucky (C, H)
- Bill Folger, North Carolina (C, DJ)
- Cecil Creen, Alabama (C)
- Red Floyd, Vanderbilt (C, HS)
Fullbacks
- Tommy Spence, Georgia Tech (C, DJ, H, MB, HS)
- Homer Prendergast, Auburn, (C)
Key
Bold = Composite selection
* = Consensus All-American
† = Unanimous selection
C = received at least one selection from a composite of 4 newspapers: The Atlanta Constitution, The Birmingham Age-Herald, The Knoxville Journal and Tribune, and The Nashville Tennessean.[10]
DJ = Dick Jemison of the Atlanta Constitution.[11][12] He had an "All-Southern" and an "All-SIAA" selection. The only difference was switching Eben Wortham at halfback for Folger.
H = John Heisman, coach at Georgia Institute of Technology.[12]
MB = Morgan Blake of the Atlanta Journal.[12]
HS = Hugh Sparrow, sporting editor for the Birmingham Ledger.[11]
See also
References
- ↑ Heisman, John M. Heisman: The Man Behind the Trophy. p. 144.
- ↑ "All-Time Football Team Lists Greats Of Past, Present". Gadsden Times. July 27, 1969.
- ↑ Edwin Mims (1946). History of Vanderbilt University. p. 285.
- ↑ "Volunteer Warrior". University of Tennessee Alumni Magazine.
- ↑ Matt Winkeljohn (November 7, 2009). "Page Ear-marked For Hall of Fame".
- ↑ "Doc Rodes".
- ↑ "Spence Air Base".
- ↑ "Vowell & Sons, Inc. History".
- ↑ Consensus could be artifact of brothers Morris and Graham Vowell playing for Tennessee, though Morris was a tackle.
- ↑ "All-Southern Football Team As Picked By Sport Writers". Augusta Chronicle. December 3, 1916.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Intercollegiate Athletic Calendar 1. p. 167.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 "3 Experts Pick S.I.A.A. Elevens". December 3, 1916. p. 20. Retrieved April 23, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
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