1921 Harvard Crimson football
A group of football players
ConferenceIndependent
Record7–2–1
Head coach
Home stadiumHarvard Stadium
Seasons
← 1920
1922 →
1921 Eastern college football independents records
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Washington & Jefferson   –   10 – 0 – 1
Lafayette   –   9 – 0 – 0
Cornell   –   8 – 0 – 0
Penn State   –   8 – 0 – 2
Yale   –   8 – 1 – 0
New Hampshire   –   8 – 1 – 1
Franklin & Marshall   –   6 – 1 – 2
Villanova   –   6 – 1 – 2
Carnegie Tech   –   7 – 2 – 0
Syracuse   –   7 – 2 – 0
Harvard   –   7 – 2 – 1
Boston University   –   6 – 2 – 0
Dartmouth   –   6 – 2 – 1
Brown   –   5 – 3 – 1
Bucknell   –   5 – 3 – 1
Geneva   –   5 – 3 – 1
Pittsburgh   –   5 – 3 – 1
Holy Cross   –   5 – 3 – 0
Army   –   6 – 4 – 0
Princeton   –   4 – 3 – 0
Boston College   –   4 – 3 – 1
Fordham   –   4 – 3 – 2
Penn   –   4 – 3 – 2
Colgate   –   4 – 4 – 2
Lehigh   –   4 – 4 – 0
Springfield   –   4 – 5 – 2
Vermont   –   3 – 4 – 0
NYU   –   2 – 3 – 3
Buffalo   –   2 – 3 – 2
Drexel   –   2 – 3 – 1
Rutgers   –   4 – 6 – 0
Rhode Island State   –   3 – 5 – 0
Columbia   –   2 – 6 – 0
Tufts   –   1 – 5 – 2
Duquesne   –   0 – 4 – 1

The 1921 Harvard Crimson football team represented Harvard University in the 1921 college football season. The Crimson finished with a 7–2–1 record under third-year head coach Bob Fisher.[1][2] Walter Camp selected one Harvard player, guard John Fiske Brown, as a first-team member of his 1921 College Football All-America Team.[3]

Schedule

DateTimeOpponentSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 24 Boston University
W 10–015,000[4][5]
September 24 Middlebury
  • Harvard Stadium
  • Boston, MA
W 16–015,000[4][5]
October 1 Holy Cross
  • Harvard Stadium
  • Boston, MA
W 3–030,000[6]
October 8 Indiana
  • Harvard Stadium
  • Boston, MA
W 19–015,000[7][8][9]
October 15 Georgia
  • Harvard Stadium
  • Boston, MA
W 10–725,000[10][11][12]
October 22 Penn State
  • Harvard Stadium
  • Boston, MA
T 21–2130,000[13][14]
October 29 Centre
  • Harvard Stadium
  • Boston, MA
L 0–643,000[15]
November 5at Princeton
L 3–10[16]
November 122:00 p.m. Brown
  • Harvard Stadium
  • Boston, MA
W 9–725,000[17][18][19]
November 19 Yale
  • Harvard Stadium
  • Boston, MA (rivalry)
W 10–3[20][21]

Personnel

Depth chart

Roster

Player[22] Position[23] Games
started 		Prep school Height Weight Age
Line
Wesley Brocker Guard 1 Mechanic Arts HS 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 26
Fiske Brown Guard 1 Andover HS 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 207 lb (94 kg) 21
Henry W. Clark Center Phillips Exeter Academy 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 167 lb (76 kg) 22
John Crocker End 1 Groton School 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 21
R. P. Field End St. Mark's School 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 20
H. S. Grew Guard St. Mark's School 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 209 lb (95 kg) 20
Charles Hubbard Tackle 1 Milton HS 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 19
Henry Janin End Pomfret School 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 21
Richmond Kane Tackle 1 St. George's School 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 21
Philip Kunhardt Center 1 Groton School 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 21
Alexander Ladd Tackle Milton HS 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 187 lb (85 kg) 19
Benoni Lockwood Tackle 1 Groton School 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 19
Charles Macomber End Newton HS 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 21
Charles Tierney Center Andover HS 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 192 lb (87 kg) 27
Backfield
Charles Buell Quarterback 1 Pomfret School 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 156 lb (71 kg) 22
Vinton Chapin Back 1 St. Mark's School 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 165 lb (75 kg) 21
Winthrop Churchill Back Milton HS 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) 160 lb (73 kg) 20
Philip Coburn Back Noble and Greenough School 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 21
Roscoe Fitts Back 1 Tufts University 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 20
Erwin Gehrke Back Cleveland HS 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 182 lb (83 kg) 22
Mitchell Gratwick Back Andover HS 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 160 lb (73 kg) 21
Percy Jenkins Back Mercersburg Academy 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 165 lb (75 kg) 20
Frank Johnson Quarterback Gunnery School 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) 155 lb (70 kg) 24
George Owen Back 1 Newton HS 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 184 lb (83 kg) 20
Karl Pfaffman Back Boston College HS 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 160 lb (73 kg) 21

The "Games started" column is correct through Harvard's first game, against Boston University. It will be updated as more progress is made on the article's "Game summaries" section.

Game summaries

Game 1: Boston University

Boston University at Harvard
1 234Total
Boston University 0 000 0
• Harvard 7 030 10

Harvard began the 1921 season with a doubleheader at Harvard Stadium on September 24; both games were played with eight-minute quarters.[4][5] The first game of the doubleheader was against Boston University. Harvard's team played conservatively and the line played better than was expected. With the ball on the Boston 16-yard line, they completed a forward pass and called a series of rushes which culminated in a touchdown rush by George Owen in the first quarter. Charles Buell converted the extra point to make the score 7–0. The only other scoring play in the contest was a field goal kicked from the Boston 18-yard line by Buell, which followed an 80-yard kick return by Vinton Chapin.[4]

Harvard's season-opening starting lineup was Kunhardt at center; Kane, Hubbard, Brocker, Brown, Lockwood, and Crocker also on the line; Buell at quarterback, Fitts and Owen at halfback, and Chapin at fullback.[4]

Game 2: Middlebury

Middlebury at Harvard
1 234Total
Middlebury 0 000 0
• Harvard 0 1006 16

Harvard's starters for the game were Bradford at center, Hartley, Henry, Anthony, Grew, Hobson, and Macomber also on the line, Johnson at quarterback, Pfaffman and Rouillard at halfback, and Churchill at fullback.[5]

Game 3: Holy Cross

Holy Cross at Harvard
1 234Total
Holy Cross 0 000 0
• Harvard 0 030 3

Game 4: Indiana

Indiana at Harvard
1 234Total
Indiana 0 000 0
• Harvard 3 1006 19

Game 5: Georgia

Georgia at Harvard
1 234Total
Georgia 0 007 7
• Harvard 7 300 10

Game 6: Penn State

Penn State at Harvard
1 234Total
Penn State 0 777 21
Harvard 7 707 21

Game 7: Centre

Main article: 1921 Centre vs. Harvard football game
Centre at Harvard, "C6H0"
1 234Total
• Centre 0 060 6
Harvard 0 000 0

Game 8: Princeton

See also: Harvard–Princeton football rivalry
Harvard at Princeton
1 234Total
Harvard 0 003 3
• Princeton 0 0010 10

Game 9: Brown

Brown at Harvard
1 234Total
Brown 0 007 7
• Harvard 0 036 9

Game 10: Yale

See also: Harvard–Yale football rivalry
Yale at Harvard
1 234Total
Yale 3 000 3
• Harvard 0 0010 10

References

  1. ^ "1921 Harvard Crimson Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 27, 2017.
  2. ^ "Harvard Football Yearly Records". GoCrimson.com. Harvard University. Archived from the original on August 14, 2014. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
  3. ^ "Walter Camp's All-America Selections for 1921" (PDF). The New York Times. December 21, 1921.
  4. ^ a b c d e "Harvard starts football season with double win". Buffalo Courier. Buffalo, New York. September 25, 1921. p. 61. Retrieved January 5, 2024 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  5. ^ a b c d "15,000 see Harvard defeat Middlebury by the score of 10–0". Rutland Daily Herald. Rutland, Vermont. September 26, 1921. p. 6. Retrieved January 5, 2024.
  6. ^ "Charlie Buell's swell drop kick won for Harvard". Buffalo Courier-Express. Buffalo, New York. October 2, 1921. p. 58. Retrieved January 5, 2024 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  7. ^ "Harvard defeats Indiana eleven". Brazil Daily Times. Brazil, Indiana. October 10, 1921. p. 2. Retrieved January 5, 2024 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  8. ^ "Indiana no match for Harvard team". The Boston Globe. Boston, Massachusetts. October 9, 1921. p. 18. Retrieved January 16, 2024 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  9. ^ "Hoosiers beaten by Harvard 19–0". The Star Press. Muncie, Indiana. October 9, 1921. p. 11. Retrieved January 16, 2024 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  10. ^ Wheatley, Cliff (October 16, 1921). "Crimson Beats Red and Black By Lonely Goal". The Atlanta Constitution. p. 3. Retrieved May 7, 2016 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  11. ^ Blake, Morgan (October 16, 1921). "Fighting gallantly, Bulldogs bow to Harvard, 10 to 7". The Atlanta Journal. Atlanta, Georgia. p. 17. Retrieved January 16, 2024 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon Story continued on p. 18 here.
  12. ^ "Harvard eleven again weak in offensive". The Boston Globe. Boston, Massachusetts. October 17, 1921. p. 13. Retrieved January 16, 2024 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  13. ^ Webb Jr., Melville E. (October 23, 1921). "Harvard ties Penn State, 21–21, by forward pass near finish". The Boston Globe. Boston, Massachusetts. p. 1. Retrieved January 5, 2024 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  14. ^ "Penn State holds Harvard to exciting tie". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. October 23, 1921. p. 23. Retrieved January 16, 2024 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  15. ^ "Centre wins battle 6 to 0". Boston Sunday Globe. October 30, 1921. Retrieved December 15, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ "Princeton victor over Harvard in thrilling struggle". The New York Times. New York, New York. November 6, 1921. p. 1. Retrieved January 5, 2024 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon Story continued on p. 16 here.
  17. ^ "Crimson subs have bear trap baited". The Boston Globe. Boston, Massachusetts. November 12, 1921. p. 7. Retrieved March 19, 2022 – via Newspapers.com Open access icon.
  18. ^ "Harvard's game, 9–7". The Boston Sunday Globe. Boston, Massachusetts. November 13, 1921. p. 1. Retrieved March 19, 2022 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon Story continued on p. 18 here.
  19. ^ "Last minute score prevents Brown victory over Harvard". New-York Tribune. New York, New York. November 13, 1921. p. 21. Retrieved January 16, 2024 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  20. ^ "Harvard humbles Yale in thrilling gridiron battle". The New York Times. New York, New York. November 20, 1921. p. 1. Retrieved January 16, 2024 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon Story continued on p. 20 here.
  21. ^ "Great last ditch rally by game Harvard team pulls out wonder victory over Yale, 10 to 3". The Boston Globe. Boston, Massachusetts. November 20, 1921. p. 1. Retrieved January 16, 2024 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon Story continued on p. 18 here, p. 19 here, p. 20 here, and p. 21 here
  22. ^ "All-Time Letterwinners" (PDF). Harvard Football Record Book. Harvard University. 2020. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 20, 2022. Retrieved September 20, 2022.
  23. ^ Harvard-Yale Football Game Souvenir Song Program. Boston, Massachusetts: The Harvard Crimson. November 19, 1921. p. 5.
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