1931 Tulane Green Wave football
SoCon champion
Rose Bowl (NCG), L 12–21 vs. USC
ConferenceSouthern Conference
Record11–1 (8–0 SoCon)
Head coach
Offensive schemeSingle wing
CaptainJerry Dalrymple
Home stadiumTulane Stadium
Seasons
← 1930
1932 →
1931 Southern Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 2 Tulane $ 8 – 0 – 0 11 – 1 – 0
No. 3 Tennessee 6 – 0 – 1 9 – 0 – 1
Alabama 7 – 1 – 0 9 – 1 – 0
No. 6 Georgia 6 – 1 – 0 8 – 2 – 0
Maryland 4 – 1 – 1 8 – 1 – 1
Kentucky 4 – 2 – 2 5 – 2 – 2
LSU 3 – 2 – 0 5 – 4 – 0
South Carolina 3 – 3 – 1 5 – 4 – 1
Duke 3 – 3 – 1 5 – 3 – 2
Auburn 3 – 3 – 0 5 – 3 – 0
Sewanee 3 – 3 – 0 6 – 3 – 1
Vanderbilt 3 – 4 – 0 5 – 4 – 0
North Carolina 2 – 3 – 3 4 – 3 – 3
Washington and Lee 2 – 3 – 0 4 – 5 – 1
Florida 2 – 4 – 2 2 – 6 – 2
Georgia Tech 2 – 4 – 1 2 – 7 – 1
VMI 2 – 4 – 0 3 – 6 – 1
NC State 2 – 4 – 0 3 – 6 – 0
VPI 1 – 4 – 1 3 – 4 – 2
Clemson 1 – 4 – 0 1 – 6 – 2
Ole Miss 1 – 5 – 0 2 – 6 – 1
Virginia 0 – 5 – 1 2 – 6 – 1
Mississippi A&M 0 – 5 – 0 2 – 6 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from Dickinson System

The 1931 Tulane Green Wave football team represented Tulane University during the 1931 Southern Conference football season. The team posted an undefeated regular season, but lost in the Rose Bowl to national champion USC. It is one of the best teams in school history.[1][2]

Before the season

Jerry Dalrymple was elected captain.

Schedule

DateOpponentSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 26Ole Miss
W 31–012,000[3]
October 3Texas A&M*
  • Tulane Stadium
  • New Orleans, LA
W 7–0[4]
October 10at Spring Hill*
  • Tulane Stadium
  • New Orleans, LA
W 40–0[5]
October 17at Vanderbilt
W 19–0[6]
October 24Georgia Tech
  • Tulane Stadium
  • New Orleans, LA
W 33–017,000[7]
October 31Mississippi A&M
  • Tulane Stadium
  • New Orleans, LA
W 59–74,000[8]
November 7vs. Auburn
W 27–0[9]
November 14at Georgia
W 20–735,000[10]
November 21Sewanee
  • Tulane Stadium
  • New Orleans, LA
W 40–08,000[11]
November 28LSU
W 34–730,000[12]
December 5Washington State*
  • Tulane Stadium
  • New Orleans, LA
W 28–1420,000[13]
January 1, 1932vs. USC*
L 12–2184,000[14]
  • *Non-conference game

[15]

Game summaries

Ole Miss

Tulane opened the season with a 31–0 victory over Ole Miss. The starting lineup was DeColigny (left end), Cunningham (left tackle), Calhoun (left guard), Lodrigues (center), Scafide (right guard), Upton (right tackle), Dalrymple (right end), Dawson (quarterback), Glover (left halfback), Zimmerman (right halfback), Felts (fullback).[16]

Texas A&M

In the second week of play, Tulane defeated Texas A&M 7–0. The starting lineup was DeColigny (left end), Cunningham (left tackle), Calhoun (left guard), Lodrigues (center), Scafide (right guard), Upton (right tackle), Dalrymple (right end), Dawson (quarterback), Glover (left halfback), Zimmerman (right halfback), Felts (fullback).[17]

Spring Hill

The Spring Hill College Badgers lost to Tulane 40–0 .

Vanderbilt

Against Vanderbilt, Tulane won 19–0.

Georgia Tech

Georgia Tech was beaten 33–0.

Mississippi A&M

Mississippi A&M was beaten 59–7. The starting lineup was Haynes (left end), Bankston (left tackle), Scafide (left guard), Lodrigues (center), Calhoun (right guard), Upton (right tackle), Dalrymple (right end), Richardson (quarterback), Roberts (left halfback), Hodgins (right halfback), Lemmon (fullback).[18]

Auburn

Don Zimmerman eclipsed 100 yards rushing in the 27–0 defeat of Auburn. Felts scored three touchdowns.[19]

Georgia

Tulane at Georgia
1 234Total
• Tulane 7 670 20
Georgia 0 070 7

Tulane defeated the Georgia Bulldogs 20–7. Tulane scored first on a 33-yard pass from Zimmerman to Vernon Haynes.[20] Nollie Felts plunged in from the 1-yard line for the next touchdown.[20] A pass from Georgia's Homey Key to Buster Mott netted 60 yards and a touchdown.[20] After a botched punt, a double pass play led to Payne sprinting around left end for Tulane's final score.[20]

Sewanee

Tulane shut out the Sewanee Tigers 40–0 .

LSU

Tulane defeated rival LSU 34–7. The starting lineup was Haynes (left end), DeColigny (left tackle), Scafide (left guard), Lodrigues (center), McCormick (right guard), Upton (right tackle), Dalrymple (right end), Dawson (quarterback), Zimmerman (left halfback), Glover (right halfback), Felts (fullback).[21]

Washington State

Tulane had an intersectional victory to close the regular season, over Washington State 28–14 . Dahlen scored the first touchdown. After starting on the bench, Dalrymple rallied the team when he entered the game. A pass from Zimmerman to Haynes got the first touchdown, with Haynes tackled by Sander at the goal line.[22]

In the second quarter, Zimmerman connected with Dawson for a long pass, pushed out of bounds at the 6-yard line. Glover then got a touchdown on a double lateral pass play, scoring with two tacklers around his neck.[22] After a Zimmerman interception and 30-yard return, another Zimmerman to Haynes pass got another touchdown.[22]

After a blocked punt and then a fumble by Tulane on the next drive, Washington State was in scoring distance, with Schroeder scoring on a line plunge. At the start of the fourth quarter, Dalrymple caught 25-yard touchdown despite being covered.[22]

Postseason

Rose Bowl

Southern Cal vs. Tulane
1 234Total
• USC 0 7140 21
Tulane 0 066 12

Tulane lost in the Rose Bowl to Southern California by a 21–12 score. The Trojans had six All-Americans in their lineup: tackle Ernie Smith, guards Johnny Baker and Aaron "Rosy" Rosenberg, halfback Erny Pinckert and quarterbacks Orville Mohler and Gaius Shaver.[23]

Down 21 to 0 in the third quarter, Zimmerman led a running attack which ended with a 6-yard pass to Haynes for the score. Tulane's other score was a run by "Wop" Glover set up by 11 and 15 yard passes from Zimmerman to Jerry Dalrymple.[24] Tulane still managed a Rose Bowl record for yardage gained.[25]

Awards and honors

One article which attempts to retroactively name Heisman Trophy winners before 1936 named Dalrymple as the recipient for 1931.[26] He was the season's only unanimous All-American; and is still the only unanimous All-American in school history.

Felts was elected next year's captain. [27]

Players

Line

Light jersey
number 		Dark jersey
number 		Player Position Games
started 		Hometown Prep school Height Weight Age
41 73 Thomas Cunningham tackle Pine Bluff, Arkansas 220
33 55 Jerry Dalrymple end Arkadelphia, Arkansas Ouachita Junior College 5'10" 178
35 57 Calvert DeColigny end New Orleans 185
24 40 William Drawe end New Orleans 170
38 70 William Featherngill tackle Independence, Kansas 200
19 62 Vernon Haynes end Arkansas City, Arkansas 170
39 74 Doyless Hill center Sand Springs, Oklahoma 200
30 54 Winnie Lodrigues center Patterson 180
20 46 Doyle Magee end Franklinton 175
34 53 John McCormick guard Monroe 171
23 47 William Penney guard Guatemala City, C. A. 180
36 59 John Read center Picayune, Mississippi 195
42 72 John Scafide guard Bay St. Louis, Mississippi Saint Stanislaus College 6'0" 210
43 66 Claggert Upton tackle New Orleans 206
31 64 Sam Zemurray tackle New Orleans 195

Backfield

Light jersey
number 		Dark jersey
number 		Player Position Games
started 		Hometown Prep school Height Weight Age
26 43 Red Dawson quarterback River Falls, Wisconsin 165
37 63 Nollie Felts fullback Hattiesburg, Mississippi Southern Miss 185
10 38 Wop Glover halfback Bay St. Louis, Mississippi Saint Stanislaus College 165
12 39 George Haik halfback Bogalusa 165
27 41 James Hodgins halfback Shreveport 165
17 60 Harold Lemmon fullback Patterson 186
29 52 Francis Payne fullback Winterville, Mississippi 175
14 49 Will Pat Richardson quarterback Ponchatoula 165
25 42 Edward Tschirn halfback New Orleans 165
18 44 Don Zimmerman halfback Lake Charles 5'11" 176

References

  1. ^ "Year-By-Year Summaries (1930s) – TulaneGreenWave.com – Tulane Athletics".
  2. ^ "Rose Bowl-Bound - Louisiana Life - September-October 2011 - New Orleans, LA".
  3. ^ "Tulane submerges Ole Miss, 31–0, in rough game at New Orleans". The Montgomery Advertiser. September 27, 1931. Retrieved December 3, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Tulane defeats Texas Aggies, 7 to 0, in muddy battle". Wichita Daily Times. October 4, 1931. Retrieved December 3, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Green Wave scores easy victory". The Shreveport Times. October 11, 1931. Retrieved December 3, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Vanderbilt beaten by Tulane, 19 to 0". The Atlanta Constitution. October 18, 1931. Retrieved December 3, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Tulane wins easily over Tech". The News and Observer. October 25, 1931. Retrieved December 3, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Tulane plunges to victory through Aggie forewall". Nashville Banner. November 1, 1931. Retrieved December 3, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Tulane trounces Auburn gridders". The News and Observer. November 8, 1931. Retrieved December 3, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Tulane blasts Georgia hopes, 20–7". The Birmingham News. November 15, 1931. Retrieved December 3, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Hodgins leading scorer as Tulane beats Sewanee". The Shreveport Times. November 22, 1931. Retrieved August 12, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Tulane wins grid title". The Los Angeles Times. November 29, 1931. Retrieved December 3, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "Wave is pushed but cops by 28–14 score". The Birmingham News. December 6, 1931. Retrieved December 3, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "Valiant Tulane Eleven Bows To Troy, 21-12". The Los Angeles Times. January 2, 1932. p. 7 – via Newspapers.co.
  15. ^ "1931 Tulane Green Wave Schedule and Results - College Football at Sports-Reference.com".
  16. ^ "Tulane University Football Program-The Greenie; Tulane vs. Ole Miss :: Tulane University Football Programs". Archived from the original on January 9, 2017. Retrieved January 8, 2017.
  17. ^ "Tulane University Football Program-The Greenie; Tulane vs. Texas A.&M. :: Tulane University Football Programs". Archived from the original on January 9, 2017. Retrieved January 9, 2017.
  18. ^ "Tulane University Football Program-The Greenie; Tulane vs. Mississippi A.&M". October 31, 1931. Archived from the original on January 9, 2017. Retrieved January 9, 2017.
  19. ^ "The Scourge of Dixie" (PDF). College Football Historical Society. 9 (1). November 1995. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016. Retrieved May 18, 2016.
  20. ^ a b c d Schmidt, Ray. "The Georgia Armada" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on September 11, 2016.
  21. ^ "Tulane University Football Program-The Greenie; Tulane vs. L.S.U." November 28, 1931. Archived from the original on January 9, 2017. Retrieved January 9, 2017.
  22. ^ a b c d "Greeneis Win On Passes By 28-14 Score". December 6, 1931. p. 23.
  23. ^ Rose Bowl Game Timeline Archived 2008-05-20 at the Wayback Machine, Pasadena Tournament of Roses
  24. ^ "The Scourge of Dixie" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016.
  25. ^ Dixon, Dave. The Saints, Superdome, and the Scandal. Pelican Publishing. p. 172. ISBN 1455611565.
  26. ^ Mike Beacom. "Who would have won the Heisman from 1900-1934".
  27. ^ "Tulane Conducts Probe of Felts". The Evening Independent. October 4, 1932. p. 6.
Categories