1923 Vanderbilt Commodores football team

Following two unbeaten seasons, Wallace Wade left his position at assistant coach to be head coach at Alabama, where he went on to win three national and four SoCon titles. He was replaced at Vanderbilt with former All-American tackle and Vanderbilt alumnus Josh Cody. Vanderbilt faced a hard schedule through the month of October. Quarterback Oliver Kuhn was elected captain at the end of last year. Returning players included Kuhn, Lynn Bomar, Tuck Kelly, Red Rountree, Gil Reese, and Fatty Lawrence; who composed "the nucleus around which Dan McGugin and his assistant "Josh" Cody are forming the 1923 eleven." ==Schedule==

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Week 1: Howard (AL) The Commodores opened the season at Dudley Field against the Howard Bulldogs on October 6 and were considered heavy favorites. Vanderbilt won by a score of 27–0. The regulars played only in the first quarter, scoring 20 points. Captain Doc Kuhn returned the opening kickoff 60 yards and Tom Ryan ran in the first touchdown. Gil Reese went over for the second touchdown, but fumbled, recovered by Kuhn. His loss was lamented so near the eve of the Michigan game, for his line work against them was "materially responsible" for the 0 to 0 tie of last year. He was not alone in this view, the Commodores were "regarded as having fully as strong an aggregation as last year." Vanderbilt lost the hard-fought game 3–0, handing the Commodores their first loss in two years. Much like last year, the game featured little offense and stalwart defense. Two field goal attempts by Kipke failed. One was blocked and another rolled under the cross bar. The one other long gain of the day was a 20-yard run late in the third quarter from Herb Steger. The run came just after Vanderbilt had advanced its furthest into Michigan territory and had its drive ended by a Steger interception. Vanderbilt never advanced far enough to attempt a field goal. Thomas Ryan also had a fine game, out-punting the famed Harry Kipke. Steger was Michigan's best runner that day. The Wolverines' backfield having three men who could pass the ball in Kipke, Steger, and Uteritz, was said to help them throughout the game by vexing Vanderbilt's secondary. Week 3: at Texas • Sources: as Vanderbilt lost to the Texas Longhorns in Dallas. Before the game, the Mexia Daily News reported "that Vandy outweighs Texas about fifteen pounds to the man but remember the saying "the bigger they are the harder they fall"' The Longhorns were coached by Ed Stewart. In the first period Vanderbilt drove to within a few yards of the goal, but Texas held. Lane Tynes and Oscar Eckhardt led the Texas drive which ended in a score. In the third quarter, Robert Robertson kicked a 45-yard field goal. A 12-yard run by Oscar Eckhardt over left tackle in the fourth quarter was the final score. Onlookers said Oscar Eckhardt "flattened tacklers like dominoes," until almost down at the 8-yard line. He regained his balance with one hand and plowed over for the score that led to a 16–0 victory. Said the Fort Worth Star-Telegram of Eckhardt's run, "Eckhardt, knocked to earth, rose like a phoenix and blazed down the line until he crossed the thin white marker. In all, he drove 20 yards through the gold and black to put his name in the Texas Varsity hall of fame." Blinkey Horn, sportswriter for the Nashville Tennessean, wrote "In Texas, Oscar Eckhardt has displaced Davy Crockett, Sam Houston, and the Alamo. If there are any more institutions in the new country, he has set them aside. Texas beat its first six opponents by a combined score of 202-0, and finish the year undefeated at 8-0-1. This was Vanderbilt's first loss to a southern team since 1920. The travel, to Texas four days after returning from Michigan, was cited as a reason for the loss. One writer put it as "the cross-country trip was too much for the stamina of the team." Week 4: Tulane • Sources: Tulane showed considerable optimism going into its road trip with Vanderbilt, Tennessee, and Auburn. Ed Hebert of the Times-Picayune wrote of underdog Tulane, "Handicapped through the absence of their captain "Little Eva" Talbot, through an injury, the Greenbacks have become more determined to upset the dope kettle and completely bathe the Vandy eleven in a contest that points every way to a victory for the powerful crew that held the Michigan Wolverines to a 3–0 victory recently at Ann Arbor." On having played similar foes in Texas, he went on, "Thus if Vandy can be so outclassed by a club that Tulane has already fought every inch of the way it stands that there is going to be fur-flying in copious quantities when the Commodores and Greenbacks meet Saturday." Tulane had a renowned backfield of Lester Lautenschlaeger, Brother Brown, Ellis Henican, and Peggy Flournoy. Lynn Bomar's play was exemplary. "Take Bomar out of the Vandy lineup", said Hebert, "and Tulane would have won the game by three touchdowns." Vanderbilt's starting lineup for Tulane: Roland (left end), Rives (left tackle), Kelly (left guard), Sharp (center), Lawrence (right guard), Walker (right tackle), Bomar (right end), Wakefield (quarterback), Meiers (left halfback), Rountree (right halfback), Ryan (fullback). Gil Reese was the biggest feature of Vanderbilt's offense, as Bomar, Wakefield, and Kenneth Bryan were given praise on the defensive side of the ball. Halfbacks Stephens and H. G. Perkins were offensive standouts for Mississippi A & M. The Aggies went on to also tie Florida, their only Southern loss coming against Tennessee the week before the Vandy game. The starting lineup for the Mississippi A&M game was the following: Bomar (left end), Rives (left tackle), Lawrence (left guard), Sharp (center), Bryan (right guard), Walker (right tackle), Wakefield (right end), Kuhn (quarterback), Reese (left halfback), Rountree (right halfback), Ryan (fullback). Week 6: Tennessee • Sources: Ralph McGill reflected the sentiment, "All the pent-up fury of misunderstanding and disappointment burst out like a flood. The Vols might as well have flung themselves in the way of a runaway train. It was a machine that found itself. The power was there and the Commodores took a fierce joy in using it." Lynn Bomar, Alfred Sharp, and Bob Rives on defense helped hold the Volunteers to only 7. With the win Vanderbilt was still a contender for the Southern title. Georgia was labeled "Dixie's top team;" Early on in the first quarter, Gil Reese fumbled a punt from Georgia's Joe Bennett; and the Bulldogs' own Jim Taylor recovered it on Vanderbilt's 25-yard line. The Commodores' defense stood tall, and Georgia was unable to score. At some point during the first quarter, Gil Reese foreshadowed what was to come with a 23-yard run. Later on, the Commodores were to get their first score. With the first quarter just about to end, Bennett dropped back to pass. The ball hit off his receiver's finger tips, into the hands of Alfred Sharp for the interception. Sharp was tackled on Georgia's 30-yard line; the pass coming from somewhere inside the 25-yard line. On the ensuing Vanderbilt possession, Red Rountree ran up the middle for a 7-yard gain. Thomas Ryan ran through for 4 more yards and the first down. Ryan ran three more times in a row to close out the quarter, netting another first down on the third carry. This carried the Commodores to the 7-yard line before the quarter closed and teams had to switch sides. After a 2-yard run from Ryan, Reese ran in for a touchdown behind guard Tuck Kelly. Hek Wakefield missed the field goal for the extra point, but an offside penalty from the Bulldogs awarded the Commodores the point. with 232 yards on his five largest plays and over 300 total yards. Along with Reese's play, Lynn Bomar's and Bob Rives' defensive play were cited as highlights for Vanderbilt. For Georgia, the tackling of Sam Richardson and Jake Butler was "spasmodically brilliant." All of those teams had gone 3-0-1 in conference play to that point. Vanderbilt starting lineup for the Georgia game: Bomar (left end), Rives (left tackle), Lawrence (left guard), Sharp (center), Kelly (right guard), Walker (right tackle), Wakefield (right end), Kuhn (quarterback), Reese (left halfback), Rountree (right halfback), Ryan (fullback). The rain had fallen for nearly 24 hours. Vanderbilt won the toss and elected to defend the north goal, making it so Sewanee had to kick against the wind to open the game. The short punts from Sewanee's Sanders led to a score. The best players for Sewanee this game were its captain, Litton, on defense, and Gene Harris on offense. Then Florida players Cy Williams, Goldy Goldstein, and Ark Newton later teamed up with Vanderbilt tackle Bob Rives in 1926, on the Newark Bears of the American Football League. Vanderbilt's starting lineup for the Sewanee game: Bomar (left end), Rives (left tackle), Lawrence (left guard), Sharp (center), Kelly (right guard), Walker (right tackle), Wakefield (right end), Kuhn (quarterback), Rountree (right halfback), Barker (left halfback), Ryan (fullback). ==Postseason==

Princeton game • Sources: It was the first showcase of Eastern football in Nashville in many years. The Commodores tied the Ex-Tigers, 7-7. Both scores occurred within five minutes of each other. The one player on Vanderbilt's roster not from the 1923 varsity team was Hek Wakefield's younger brother Robert Allen "Jack" Wakefield. He was a highly renowned back of the freshman team; "One would hardly be wrong in calling Jack Wakefield, Vanderbilt fullback, the greatest player in Southern freshman football for the past season." It was the only game he ever played with a varsity team at Vanderbilt. He soon left to play professional baseball with the Saint Louis Cardinals. Jack twice broke his leg in preliminary work with the Cardinals, leaving him out for the season. On December 10, 1924, after a quarrel with his fiancee, Jack went to the house of a friend in Memphis and committed suicide with a pistol. By all accounts he played an inspired game, "he cut an all Princeton line into shreds of Black and Orange. He threw all America tackles aside as he would throw sacks of straw, and trampled great names into the turf." Then Centre head coach Charley Moran called Jack "the greatest football player I ever saw, barring nobody." Vanderbilt outplayed the Princeton Tigers to start the second quarter, driving to their 18-yard line. Captain Oliver Kuhn threw a pass to Lynn Bomar, who ran across the goal line for the touchdown. Hek Wakefield kicked goal. Princeton seemed to have awaken after the ensuing kickoff. A 33-yard pass from Snively to Gorman got the Tigers to midfield. Then on a pass which did not go so far in the air, Gorman caught it and ran to the end zone. Gorman made the try, and the game ended as a tie. Murrey, who organized the meeting, but it was called back due to an offside penalty. The game raised $6,000 to be divided equally between a home for old ladies and a home for crippled orphan children, the latter known as the Nashville Children's Home. Princeton passed for 134 yards, and made 10 first downs to Vandy's 7. Vanderbilt's starting lineup for the Princeton game: Bomar (left end), Rives (left tackle), Bryan (left guard), Sharp (center), Kelly (right guard), Walker (right tackle), Wakefield (right end), Kuhn (quarterback), Reese (left halfback), Rountree (right halfback), Ryan (fullback). Southern champions Vanderbilt and Washington & Lee finished the season as co-champions of the Southern Conference. A poll of sportswriters elected the Commodores as best team in the south, awarding them the Champ Pickens Trophy. 12 of 14 votes put Vanderbilt in first place, with 1 each for Washington & Lee and VMI. 6 votes had Washington & Lee in second place, and 2 had Florida in second. This was Vanderbilt's third Southern football title in a row. The trophy was presented at the annual football banquet on December 4, held at the Commercial Club, to captain Oliver Kuhn, by brother Jordan Stokes. All-Southern and All-American Both ends of the All-Southern team came from Vanderbilt, Hek Wakefield and Lynn Bomar. Bomar, who was a consensus All-American in 1923, was the only Southern player selected for Walter Camp's All-American team– and one of the first All-Americans selected for his first team from the South, Georgia athletic director Herman Stegeman called Wakefield "the best player in the South." In the polling done by the Atlanta Journal, halfback Gil Reese received the second most votes of any All-Southern player with 25. The most went to Douglas Wycoff, fullback at Georgia Tech, who faced little competition. Guard Tuck Kelly was also selected for the All-Southern squad. Tuck was selected at year's end to captain the team next year. ==Personnel==

Depth chart The following chart provides a visual depiction of Vanderbilt's lineup during the 1923 season with games started at the position reflected in parentheses. The chart mimics a short punt formation while on offense, with the quarterback under center. | | align="right" | |- | | align="center" | |- | | align="right" | |- | | align="center" | |} - Varsity letter winners Line Backfield Scoring leaders Coaching staff • Dan McGugin (Michigan '03), head coach. • Josh Cody (Vanderbilt '19), assistant coach. • Lewie Hardage (Vanderbilt '12), backfield coach. • Tommy Zerfoss (Vanderbilt '19), assistant and freshman coach. • Felix K. Grasty, manager. ==Notes==