1917 COLLEGE FOOTBALL YEAR-IN-REVIEW
The United States entered the First World War in April of 1917 and by the time the fall college football season rolled around in September, the nation was on a wartime footing and sports, from FABL down to the collegiate ranks, was feeling the impact. The war impacted college football greatly as many players enlisted in the Armed Forces and several big programs - including Noble Jones College - didn't field a squad at all.
Still, many did, and in a trend that would continue the next year, many of the schools played various service teams. The four top programs in the nation in the crazy year of '17, all of whom went unbeaten and untied, were Georgia Baptist (9-0 and retroactively named the National Champions), Oklahoma City State (11-0), Garden State (a surprise 9-0) and St. Matthew's (8-0). Mile High State also posted a 9-0 mark, but many discounted the Falcons as they played an easier schedule than the others with the only tough competition being Boulder State (a 14-10 victory for the Falcons) and some patsies that included an Army team and their own Alumni.
By comparison, the Georgia Baptist Gators' 9-0 mark included wins over quality opponents such as Bluegrass State (who they pasted 61-21), Centerville (52-28) and Opelika State (43-10). If you're sensing a trend, it this: the Gators' offense was as high-powered as they come as they racked up 416 points. Oklahoma City State scored 494 themselves over their 11 game slate, but they also played what most considered a "softer" schedule that included wins over two service teams by scores of 51-0 and 62-0, accounting for a significant portion of their point total. Garden State posted the best season in school history, and did so with wins over opponents both quality (St. Pancras, Huntington State) and patsy (three service teams they defeated by a combined 118-15). St. Matthew's probably had the second-best claim to the title, as they played a reasonably quality schedule with only one service team (a 32-0 win over the Army Ambulance Corps) and one patsy (Lebanon College, a 38-12 win) on the schedule.
The All-American squad for 1917 was headed up by a sophomore QB named Gus Goldman who played for the academically-oriented Buchanan College. Goldman was a highly-talented player who celebrated his All-American award by leaving school and joining the Army (he'd go back to school in 1919 after the war ended, would again be an All-American and eventually play professionally as well). Rome State's Paul Yates repeated as an All-American, this time as a halfback after shifting from fullback. Charlie Horton was the lone Georgia Baptist player on the list, while Garden State had one (end Earnest Hart). Two schools put a pair of players on the list: Pittsburgh State had two linemen (Leo Bright and Lee McCoy) and Central Ohio saw their fullback Roger Marshall earn his second straight honor and End Oliver Pool also be honored.
Mott's All-American Team for 1917:
QB | Gus Goldman (SO) | Buchanan |
HB | Paul Yates (SR) | Rome State |
HB | Charlie Horton (SR) | Georgia Baptist |
FB | Eddie Grimes (SO) | Central Ohio |
E | Oliver Poole (SR) | Central Ohio |
T | Leo Bright (SR) | Pittsburgh State |
G | Lee McCoy (SR) | Pittsburgh State |
C | Walter Sloan (SR) | St. Blane |
G | Wilbur Porter (SR) | Grafton |
T | Marion Meier (SR) | St. Pancras |
E | Earnest Hart (JR) | Garden State |
1916 COLLEGE FOOTBALL YEAR-IN-REVIEW
In an era where there was no official National Champion it was understandable that there would be a bit of contentious debate about just who the best team in college football was in any given year. 1916 was certainly no different as a slew of teams went unbeaten. Possibly (no one knows for sure as there are several versions of the story) because of this, a group of promoters in southern California decided to host an annual "East vs West" game pitting "top teams" against each other. It might also have been just to grow the sport, or for simple financial gain. As mentioned above, there are several conflicting stories. What is known is that the first of the "Bowl Games" was born in this way: the East-West Game (which today is just known as the Festival Bowl.
The game would ultimately pit Pierpont, representing the East, against Portland Tech, representing the West. It was a bit of a letdown - Pierpont was not very good (they were in fact, 2-8 that season) but Grafton (7-2), St. Blane (9-0) and St. Matthew's (9-0) had all turned down the trip to Los Angeles. Portland Tech, however, was good - they posted an 8-0 mark and were clearly the class of the west. So the game turned out to be (as expected) a one-side affair with Portland Tech winning 27-0.
As far as naming a champion, the AIAA officially recognizes two teams: Liberty College and Lubbock State, both of whom went 10-0. Georgia Baptist, St. Blane, Bluegrass State and St. Matt's all were 9-0, and Portland Tech was 8-0. Noble Jones, having graduated Joe Barrell and Park Donaldson, two pillars of recent success, managed to go 8-1 despite scoring just 96 points while allowing 82, a credit to the coaching (or possibly luck) of Head Coach John Christian. At the other end of the spectrum, former power Eastern State struggled to a 3-6 mark, joining the likes of Pierpont and Lincoln (1-6) amongst the once mighty who had fallen low.
Empire State featured one of the first truly gifted passers in football history: Ted Crane. Crane had been starring for the Centurions since 1914, but really polished his passing ability in 1916. In this era, quarterbacks played a wide variety of roles: blocking, kicking, running and passing. Crane was excellent in all facets, but he was an accurate passer, which was rare for the era. He went on to become on the first stars of professional football as well before entering the coaching profession.
Crane headed up Mott's list of All-Americans for 1916. There was one repeat appearance, by Herman Hart of Pittsburgh State who had made the 1915 team as a sophomore. One other name appeared who would go on - like Barrell, Crane and some others we'll see soon - in becoming a professional star: Ellery halfback Russell "Rusty" White.
Mott's All-American Team for 1916:
QB | Ted Crane (SR) | Empire State |
HB | Roger Marshall (SO) | Central Ohio |
HB | Russell White (SR) | Ellery |
FB | Paul Yates (JR) | Rome State |
E | Eddie Snider (SR) | Minnesota Tech |
T | Hugh Ramsey (SR) | Empire State |
G | Floyd Dunn (SR) | George Fox |
C | Herman Hart (JR) | Pittsburgh State |
G | Stan Glover (SR) | Sadler |
T | Billy Travis (SR) | Empire State |
E | Jerry Jefferson (SR) | Pittsburgh State |