American college football season
The 1911 college football season was the last one before major reforms were made to the American game in 1912. In 1911, touchdowns were worth five points, the field was 110 yards in length, and a team had three downs within which to advance the ball ten yards. The United States Naval Academy (Navy) finished with a record of 6 wins and 3 ties (6–0–3). Two of the ties were 0–0 games with the other major unbeaten teams, Penn State (8–0–1) and Princeton (8–0–2). Other teams that finished the season unbeaten were Minnesota (6–0–1) and Florida (5–0–1). The Helms Athletic Foundation, founded in 1936, declared retroactively that Princeton had been the best team of 1911 [1]
Rules
The rules for American football in 1911 included:[2]
- Field 110 yards in length
- Kickoff made from midfield
- Three downs to gain ten yards
- Touchdown worth 5 points
- Field goal worth 3 points
- Forward pass legal, but subject to penalties:
A pass could not be caught beyond the goal line, nor more than 20 yards beyond the line of scrimmage.[2]
January 1912
The last five-point American football touchdown was scored on January 1, 1912, in a game played in Havana, Cuba. Mississippi A&M College (now Mississippi State University) defeated the Club Atletico de Cuba, 12–0.[4]
Conference standings
Major conference standings
For this article, major conferences defined as those including multiple state flagship public universities.
Independents
Minor conferences
Minor conference standings
Awards and honors
All-Americans
The consensus All-America team included:
Position
|
Name
|
Height
|
Weight (lbs.)
|
Class
|
Hometown
|
Team
|
QB
|
Art Howe
|
5'10"
|
153
|
Sr.
|
South Orange, New Jersey
|
Yale
|
QB
|
Earl Sprackling
|
5'9"
|
150
|
Sr.
|
Cleveland, Ohio
|
Brown
|
HB
|
Percy Wendell
|
|
|
Jr.
|
Roxbury, Massachusetts
|
Harvard
|
HB
|
Jim Thorpe
|
6'1"
|
180
|
Jr.
|
Shawnee, Oklahoma
|
Carlisle
|
FB
|
John Dalton
|
5'11"
|
174
|
Sr.
|
St. Louis, Missouri
|
Penn
|
E
|
Sanford White
|
|
|
Sr.
|
Fall River, Massachusetts
|
Princeton
|
T
|
Ed Hart
|
5'11"
|
208
|
Sr.
|
Exeter, New Hampshire
|
Princeton
|
G
|
Bob Fisher
|
|
|
Sr.
|
Boston, Massachusetts
|
Harvard
|
C
|
Hank Ketcham
|
6'0"
|
175
|
So.
|
Englewood, New Jersey
|
Yale
|
G
|
Joseph Duff
|
|
|
Sr.
|
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
|
Princeton
|
T
|
Leland Devore
|
6'4"
|
225
|
Jr.
|
Wheeling, West Virginia
|
Army
|
E
|
Doug Bomeisler
|
5'11"
|
190
|
Jr.
|
Brooklyn, New York
|
Yale
|