1923 COLLEGE FOOTBALL YEAR-IN-REVIEW
The 1923 Lincoln Presidents posted a 7-1 mark. Good, but not outstanding when Northern California went 10-0-0 and Bulein (who?) went 11-0-0. Heck even Texas Gulf Coast (9-0-0) had a better record. And that's not even mentioning the burgeoning reputation of St. Pancras (who also went 9-0-0) and St. Blane (9-1-0) whose backfield was deep and very, very good. But Lincoln had something going too - something that was going to thrill college football fans for the next three autumns, and then possibly save the professional version of the sport over the next few seasons after that. That "thing" was a shifty, explosive halfback named Urban Dane. Same say he was the greatest player in college football history and while some would disagree no one can dispute his impact on the sport, or the simple fact that he was - if not *the* greatest ever, certainly amongst the very few who could make that claim.
Dane was born in Peoria, IL, played for his local high school and that was where he caught the eye of German-born coach Dolph Zimmer. Coach Zimmer convinced Dane to play for the Presidents. Though he played only sparingly as a freshman, Dane's talent was evident from the first day he set foot on campus. In his sophomore campaign, with All-American senior guard Eddie Craft opening holes for him, Dane was a revelation. The only blemish on Lincoln's record in '23 came at the hands of Central Ohio. The Aviators keyed in on Dane (which almost everyone did) and had enough speed of their own to hem the shifty soph in most of the afternoon. He did tear off a 40-yard TD run, but that was the only score of the game for the Presidents, who fell 17-7.
The other big story in '23 was the surprising play of Bulein College. The Bulein Hornets, playing in Greenville, SC, ran off a perfect season. Granted, they didn't play the type of opposition some of the bigger Southern programs did, but an 11-0-0 campaign is impressive nonetheless. Northern California's detractors pointed out (correctly) that their 10-0-0 mark included wins over an alumni team and the Olympic Athletic Club and that they were less than stellar in wins over Rainier College (24-12) and Redwood (28-21). In fact, the team that most pundits felt was the "true champion" of 1923 was St. Pancras. And truth be told, the 9-0-0 Lions were very impressive. All-American end Marty Greer was the team's star, and their slate of victories included an impressive 14-0 win over Pittsburgh State before a full house in New York's Bigsby Oval on October 20th and a 14-12 squeaker over a very good Alabama Baptist team the week before.
St. Blane was on the cusp of something special too. Coach George Menke, who had himself been a Second-Team All-American back in 1913 at St. Blane, now ran the program and like the former star back he was, he was excellent working with the offensive backfield. Three of his four backfield players in 1923, would be All-Americans in 1924 (can you guess who the other backfield All-American was in '24?).
Mott's All-American Team for 1923:
QB | Seth Merritt (SR) | Brunswick |
HB | Urban Dane (SO) | Lincoln |
HB | Dudley Little (SR) | Liberty College |
FB | Bert Dale (SR) | George Fox |
E | Burl Seaton (JR) | Bluegrass State |
T | Charlie Clements (SR) | George Fox |
G | Harvey Pate (SR) | Dickson |
C | Jackie Owens (SR) | Commonwealth Catholic |
G | Eddie Craft (SR) | Lincoln |
T | Paul Dodds (SR) | Wisconsin State |
E | Marty Greer (SR) | St. Pancras |
1922 COLLEGE FOOTBALL YEAR-IN-REVIEW
The Alabama Baptist Panthers had, by the start of the 1922, emerged as one of the deep South's better programs. The Panthers had been 9-0-0 in 1919, emerging from the war as a rising force. They followed that up with a 10-1-0 season in '20 and an 8-3-0 campaign in '21. It all came together for them in 1922 when they posted a 10-0-0 season to be the nearly consensus choice as "national champions" (the AIAA has retroactively named the Panthers, as well as Northern California (9-0-0), Pittsburgh State (9-0-1) and George Fox (9-0-1) as valid claimants to the title).
Each of the teams mentioned above had outstanding seasons. George Fox, for one, had a smothering defense that allowed just 21 points. Northern California featured a powerhouse offense with the nation's best end in senior All-American (for the 2nd straight year) Abner Williams. And Pittsburgh State was simply rock solid on both sides of the ball. But Alabama Baptist had perhaps the best claim, having beaten quality opponents such as Georgia Baptist (22-14), Noble Jones (34-10) and Northern Mississippi (26-0).
There was some postseason drama as well. The trustees of the East-West Game extended an invitation to the Northern California Miners, but the Bay Area school refused. Rumors abound as to why this occurred, but in the end, it was Coastal California (a good team with an 8-1-2 mark) that carried the Western flag in the game against Liberty College. The game itself was a bit of a dud as the teams struggled to a 3-3 tie. The Texas Invitational did not feature a home state school as the matchup was between Pittsburgh State and Redwood, with Pittsburgh State winning 12-7.
Notable All-Americans included Sandy Noel, a rare sophomore to earn First-Team honors. What made it interesting is that while Noel was a sophomore at Rome State, he had already played four years for Henrietta College. In fact, he would play eight years of college football, and be a three-time All-American (though two of those were Second-Team). Despite, or perhaps because, of all that collegiate experience, Noel did not play professionally. Someone who did go on to play in the pros (albeit for one season) was Abner Williams, the Northern California end who was as good an all-around player as anyone could hope to find (as great defensively as he was offensively and that was great indeed). And several juniors also made the First-Team, led by QB Kermit Alford of Western Iowa and FB Melville Burnett of Chicago Poly, whose coach, none other than John Thomas Wesley, called him "the best back I've ever seen."
Mott's All-American Team for 1922:
QB | Kermit Alford (JR) | Western Iowa |
HB | Hobie Hill (JR) | Detroit City College |
HB | Albie Armstrong (SR) | Brunswick |
FB | Melville Burnett (JR) | Chicago Poly |
E | Abner Williams (SR) | Northern California |
T | Rich Wiggins (SR) | Pierpont |
G | Harvey Pate (JR) | Dickson |
C | Sandy Noel (SO) | Rome State |
G | Don Kurtzman (JR) | Eastern Virginia |
T | Jerry Holcomb (SR) | Sadler |
E | Armond Woods (SR) | Annapolis Maritime |