The 1921 Vanderbilt Commodores football team was an American football team representing Vanderbilt University during the 1921 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association football season. It was Dan McGugin's 17th season as head coach, and Wallace Wade's first season as assistant coach. Vanderbilt outscored its opponents 161–21 for a record of 7–0–1 (5–0–1 in conference games) and a share of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA) championship. The team's leading scorer was halfback Rupert Smith and its captain was "Pink" Wade, father of future Vanderbilt star Bill Wade. The Commodores played their home games at Dudley Field.
The season included the first of a seven-game series with the Texas Longhorns at the Texas State Fair. It also featured the first time the Kentucky Wildcats were able to score on the Commodores, and the "muddiest game" in Vanderbilt history against rival Sewanee. Vanderbilt tied the Georgia Bulldogs on an onside kick to win a share of the conference title. Vanderbilt was the only undefeated contender, and selector Clyde Berryman retroactively awarded the Commodores a national championship.
Schedule
Preseason 1921 was Wallace Wade's first year as a full-time assistant coach for the Commodores, and the intensity of their practices had increased since his arrival (the first workout on September 12). Wade had played guard on a Brown Bruins football team which represented the Eastern U.S. in the 1916 Rose Bowl. Before coming to Vanderbilt Wade coached at the Fitzgerald & Clarke School in Tullahoma, Tennessee, where he won a state prep-school championship in 1920 with a 16–3 record. Also moving from Fitzgerald & Clarke were Lynn Bomar, Hek Wakefield, Pos Elam, and Red Williams. Other Commodore players debuting on the team included Putty Overall and Rupe Smith, who played for the Middle Tennessee State Normal School in the years surrounding the First World War.
Returning veterans included Neely, Frank Godchaux, Doc Kuhn, Tot McCullough, Pink Wade, Alvin Bell, Alfred Sharp, and Percy Conyers. Godchaux was the first player to follow in his father's footsteps as a Vanderbilt football player. Captain Pink Wade, father of future Vanderbilt quarterback Bill Wade,Traughber, William L. Vanderbilt Football: Tales of Commodore Gridiron History. Charleston, SC: History, 2011. moved from fullback to guard. Tackle Tex Bradford had played for Texas Christian University for two years; after sitting out a year at Vanderbilt, he was eligible to play for the Commodores.
According to sportswriter Ferguson "Fuzzy" Woodruff, "While prospects seem fair to middling in most of the big southern colleges, there are two notable exceptions. Dan McGugin expects nothing of Vanderbilt this year. Dan has lost Berryhill, his only reliable backfield man, through the matrimonial route." Coach Dan McGugin was elected to the Tennessee state senate, beginning his term in 1921. According to a story on file in the Vanderbilt University Library quoted by Chuck Offenburger, "McGugin didn't want to get involved in politics, but he 'was drafted into service by a citizens committee.
Game summaries Week 1: Middle Tennessee State Normal
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Vanderbilt opened the season at Old Dudley Field against the Middle Tennessee State Normal of Murfreesboro, winning 34–0. The field was at the northeastern corner of the campus, where Wilson Hall, Kissam Quadrangle, and a portion of the Vanderbilt University Law School now stand, adjacent to today's Twenty-First Avenue South. Normal was coached by Alfred B. Miles. Commodore touchdowns were scored by Tot McCullough, Thomas Ryan, Rupert Smith, Percy Conyers, and Alvin Bell. Two extra points were scored by Smith, and one by Bell. During the game, Vanderbilt began using substitutes. The Commodore, Vanderbilt's yearbook, reported on the passing game: "Practically the only thing of note was the aerial efficiency—Kuhn to Ryan and Kuhn to McCullough". Tex Bradford reportedly had to wear street shoes during the game, because Vanderbilt had not yet received cleats large enough to fit him.
Week 2: Mercer
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In the second week of play Vanderbilt defeated the Mercer Baptists 42–0, Mercer's worst loss of the year. After no first downs in the first quarter Vanderbilt scored four touchdowns in the second quarter on 173 total yards, 91 on two passes. The Baptists were led by second-year head coach Josh Cody. Before the game, Wade told his players "in no uncertain terms that the coaches were disgusted that such ragged material should display no symptoms of fight".
The Baptists had sustained injuries in its opening game against the Georgia Bulldogs, and their practice schedule was hampered by rain. Near the end of the first quarter, Godchaux finally got off a good punt to Mercer's 10-yard line and Tom Ryan made the tackle. Godchaux returned Mercer's punt ten yards, beginning a drive gaining six yards off-tackle. On the next play Doc Kuhn passed to Tot McCullough for twelve yards and first down on the nine-yard line. Rupert Smith ran to the five-yard line, and then to the two. Red Williams fumbled on the next play, but it was recovered by Alfred Sharp in the end zone.
After a Mercer punt and a return of fifteen yards by Ryan, Vanderbilt began a scoring drive highlighted by Godchaux' 48-yard run around the left end for a touchdown. A Baptist fumble, recovered by Tex Bradford, led to the next touchdown. After Vanderbilt was caught offside, Smith sprinted 11 yards off-tackle and the ball was at Mercer's 16-yard line. Red Williams ran for 12 yards on a split buck play, and Rupe Smith scored a touchdown on the next play. Mercer then ran a fake punt which netted four yards around the left end. The Baptists punted, giving Vanderbilt the ball at their own 39-yard line. After two short gains, Kuhn ran 10 yards from a punt formation and Meiers ran six more off-tackle. The next play was a 55-yard pass from Jess Neely to Tot McCullough for a touchdown, and the half ended with Mercer's 25-yard kick return.
Mercer was again forced to punt in the second half from its 15-yard line, and Neely had a 25-yard return to begin the next scoring drive. Williams reached the five-yard line when he was injured in a tackle, and Lynn Bomar went in as a substitute. On the next series of downs, Meiers scored a touchdown. A long pass was intercepted by Rupe Smith, who returned the ball to his own 35-yard line. Smith ran seven yards, and Bomar crossed the 50-yard line for nine yards and first down. Bomar ran three more yards before Smith ran down to Mercer's 10-yard line. Smith gained a few more on an end run before passing to Ryan for another touchdown. When Mercer again punted, Mixon eluded four tacklers and returned the punt 42 yards before running out of bounds at the Mercer five-yard line. The Commodores failed to score, and the game ended with an exchange of punts. Vanderbilt's starting lineup was McCullough (left end), Bradford (left tackle), Wade (left guard), Sharp (center), Wilson (right guard), Elam (right tackle), Ryan (right end), Kuhn (quarterback), Godchaux (right halfback), Smith (left halfback), and Williams (fullback).
Week 3: at Kentucky
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In the third game of the season, the Commodores traveled to Lexington and defeated the Kentucky Wildcats 21–14 in a close game. The Wildcats, coached by second-year head coach William "Indian Bill" Juneau, practiced their signals under cover of night behind closed gates. The Commodores were considered the toughest team on Kentucky's schedule, and it was the most exciting home game for Kentucky fans in some time; a sportswriter called it "the hardest-fought battle that has been staged on the Kentucky gridiron in many a day". According to Bruce Dudley, the Commodores were outplayed by the Wildcats for three quarters. Their opponents completed 10 out of 20 passes, including passes between quarterback Bobby Lavin and Fuller. Before this game, Kentucky had never scored against Vanderbilt; the Commodores were heavy favorites, with a distinct weight advantage. The Lexington Herald reported, "That Nashville is intensely interested in the outcome of the game is evidenced by the fact that a special wire, giving the game play by play, will be installed at the field and connected with the Nashville papers".
Vanderbilt's first two touchdowns came early. After the kickoff went to Kentucky and the Wildcats' Saunders returned the ball to the 30-yard line, a punt was kicked to the Commodores; after a good return but little gain, the ball was punted back to Kentucky. Lavin fumbled on the return, and the ball was recovered by Neely on the 10-yard line. On third down, Frank Godchaux ran around the end for a touchdown; Rupert Smith scored the second and third touchdowns for the Commodores. After an exchange of punts, Vanderbilt began a drive on Kentucky's 32-yard line. Neely passed 22 yards to Pink Wade, with short runs by Smith and Bomar followed by Smith running around right end for a touchdown; Kentucky's Server kicked the ball into the end zone for a touchback. Alfred Sharp was ejected from the game for fighting, and the Commodores were penalized half the distance to the goal. Neely punted the ball to Lavin, who returned the ball five yards. On the next play, Lavin ran around the edge for 19 yards; three plays later, fullback Birkett Pribble carried the ball in for the score.
After a punt by Neely the Wildcats were penalized 10 yards for holding, followed by an unfavorable punt which put the ball at Kentucky's 30-yard line. Punts back and forth sent Vanderbilt closer to midfield. Godchaux made a 20-yard run around the right end, and Tot McCullough caught a 24-yard pass; Smith then skirted around end for the Commodores' final score. The Wildcats' "Slug" Fleahman blocked Neely's punt, giving Kentucky the ball at the 12-yard line, and Lavin wove through the Commodore defense for Kentucky's final touchdown. Late in the game Kentucky threatened to tie the score, but turned the ball over on downs at the two-yard line; Neely sealed the win by running the ball 34 yards to the 36-yard line. Vanderbilt's starting lineup was McCullough (left end), Bradford (left tackle), Lawrence (left guard), Sharp (center), Wade (right guard), Elam (right tackle), Ryan (right end), Godchaux (quarterback), Smith (left halfback), Neely (right halfback), and Williams (fullback).
Week 4: at Texas
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The season's fourth game saw the Commodores, favored to lose by two touchdowns against the Texas Longhorns, pull off a 20–0 upset. According to Edwin Pope's Football's Greatest Coaches, "The Texas game, sparked by McGugin's unforgettable oratory, was the big one; and Vandy got out of the year without a loss". Blinkey Horn, sportswriter for The Tennessean, wrote on "a Turkish bath day which blistered tongues and made legs weary the McGuginites shook off the galling heat and won a hellish battle on a hellish afternoon." The game was the first of a seven-year series, from 1921 to 1928 (except 1924), between Vanderbilt and Texas at the Texas State Fair in Dallas. The crowd at Fair Park Stadium was expected to be the largest to watch a game in Dallas.
The Longhorns were coached by Berry Whitaker in his second year as head coach. Texas won the Southwest Conference with an undefeated record in 1920. The 1921 team was arguably the best in Longhorns history, and Vanderbilt football seemed to be in decline when Georgia Tech defeated the Commodores 44–0 the year before.
As Charles Cason writes, "Instead of hammering detailed strategy into them," coach Dan McGugin took his team to the nearby grave of former Vanderbilt quarterback and third-team All-American Irby "Rabbit" Curry in Marlin. Just before the teams took to the field, referring to this grave, McGugin tapped his fingers on the locker room floor and began his noted speech: