Lawrence Brewer runs vs. Sadler

1915 COLLEGE FOOTBALL YEAR-IN-REVIEW

The player everyone was looking forward to seeing, Detroit City's Morris Strickland, was laid low by appendicitis early in the season and when he returned, was not the same player he had been. He was only a junior however, so fans in Michigan had high hopes for 1916, but 1915 belonged to another stellar back: Lawrence Brewer of St. Matthew's College. Brewer, a senior, had a tremendous season. In an era when players went both ways, playing offense and defense, Brewer stood out in that he could play literally anywhere. No less an expert than John Oxendine (widely considered the greatest college player of the first 50 seasons of the 20th century) when asked who was the best player he'd ever seen, he said, "Larry Brewer. He could do it all. He could run, pass and kick. He was big, strong, fast and smart enough to play quarterback and tough enough to play in the line."  Statistics from this era are virtually non-existent, but nonetheless Brewer's 1915 campaign is among the handful mentioned when an old-timer is asked for a great individual seasonal performance.

With Brewer leading the way, the St. Matthew's College Senators posted an 8-1 record. That wasn't quite good enough to merit inclusion in the annual "who's the best" discussion - that one between Bluegrass State and Travis College (both 10-0), Brunswick (9-0 and the favorite of the Old Guard) and St. Pancras (9-1-1). Noble Jones returned to prominence in the senior season of future pro star Joe Barrell (playing under the name Buck Barnwell) as the Colonels posted an 8-1 mark. Henrietta College was 9-1 while a pair of "western" schools (College of Omaha and Eastern Oklahoma) were 8-0 and 8-0-1 respectively.

There were two repeat All-Americans in 1915 as both QB Virgil Higgins of Brunswick and G Paul Dillon of Grafton earned repeat honors on Mott's list.

Mott's All-American Team for 1915:

QB Virgil Higgins (SR) Brunswick
HB Lawrence Brewer (SR) St. Matthew's
HB Mike Rich (JR) Lincoln
FB Fred Harper (SR) Dickson
E Nelson Austin (SR) College of Omaha
T Jimmie Fields (SR) Wisconsin State
G Paul Dillon (SR) Grafton
C Herman Hart (SO) Pittsburgh State
G Earl Chapman (SR) St. Pancras
T Louis Ball (JR) Dickson
E Scott Ballard (SR) Brunswick