1926 VPI Gobblers football team

1926 VPI Gobblers football
Conference	Southern Conference
Record	5–3–1 (3–2–1 SoCon)
Head coach	Andy Gustafson (1st season)
Captain	Vernon Edward Miles Joseph Henry Moran
Home stadium	Miles Stadium
Seasons ← 1925 1927 →

1926 Southern Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 7 Alabama $	8	–	0	–	0			9	–	0	–	1
Tennessee	5	–	1	–	0			8	–	1	–	0
Vanderbilt	4	–	1	–	0			8	–	1	–	0
South Carolina	4	–	2	–	0			6	–	4	–	0
Georgia	4	–	2	–	0			5	–	4	–	0
Virginia	4	–	2	–	1			6	–	2	–	2
VPI	3	–	2	–	1			5	–	3	–	1
Washington and Lee	3	–	2	–	1			4	–	3	–	2
Georgia Tech	4	–	3	–	0			4	–	5	–	0
North Carolina	3	–	3	–	0			4	–	5	–	0
Auburn	3	–	3	–	0			5	–	4	–	0
LSU	3	–	3	–	0			6	–	3	–	0
Ole Miss	2	–	2	–	0			5	–	4	–	0
Mississippi A&M	2	–	3	–	0			5	–	4	–	0
VMI	2	–	4	–	0			5	–	5	–	0
Tulane	2	–	4	–	0			3	–	5	–	1
Maryland	1	–	3	–	1			5	–	4	–	1
Clemson	1	–	3	–	0			2	–	7	–	0
Florida	1	–	4	–	1			2	–	6	–	2
Kentucky	1	–	4	–	1			2	–	6	–	1
NC State	0	–	4	–	0			4	–	6	–	0
Sewanee	0	–	5	–	0			2	–	6	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from Dickinson System

The 1926 VPI Gobblers football team represented Virginia Polytechnic Institute in the 1926 college football season. The team was led by their head coach Andy Gustafson and finished with a record of five wins, three losses and one tie (5–3–1). This was the first season played in Miles Stadium.

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 25		Roanoke*	Miles Stadium Blacksburg, VA	W 47–0		[1][2]
October 2		Hampden–Sydney*	Miles Stadium Blacksburg, VA	W 30–0		[3]
October 9		at Dartmouth*	Memorial Field Hanover, NH	L 0–21		[4]
October 16		vs. Maryland	League Park Norfolk, VA	W 24–8	11,000	[5][6]
October 23		Virginia	Miles Stadium Blacksburg, VA (rivalry)	W 6–0	7,000	[7]
October 30	2:00 p.m.	at Kentucky	McLean Stadium Lexington, KY	T 13–13	5,000	[8][9]
November 6		vs. South Carolina	Tate Field Richmond, VA	L 0–19		[10][11][12]
November 13	2:30 p.m.	vs. Washington and Lee	Municipal Stadium Lynchburg, VA	L 0–13	8,000-10,000	[13][14][15]
November 25		vs. VMI	Maher Field Roanoke, VA (rivalry)	W 14–7	15,000	[16][17]
*Non-conference game All times are in Eastern time

The starting lineup for VPI was: Nutter (left end), Moss (left tackle), Jones (left guard), Moran (center), Miles (right guard), Bailey (right tackle), Petty (right end), MacArthur (quarterback), Peake (left halfback), Tomko (right halfback), McEver (fullback). The substitutes were: Brown, Erickson, Esleeck, Fussell, Gray, Hotchkiss, Hudgins, Jacobs, Looney and Rice.

The starting lineup for Roanoke was: Charles Wilson (left end), George Marsh (left tackle), Maurice Givens (left guard), Harold Nank (center), Claudius Mitchell (right guard), Roland Sturdevant (right tackle), Milton Etris (right end), John Dietrich (quarterback), Merrill Jones (left halfback), John Miller (right halfback), Lloyd Seay (fullback). The substitutes were: W. T. "Ted" Fix, Raymond Haislip, William Logan, James Shannon and G. E. Sheppard.

Hampden–Sydney vs. VPI

1 2 3 4 Total HS 0 0 0 0 0 • VPI 9 7 7 7 30 Date: October 2, 1926 Location: Miles Stadium Blacksburg, VA Referee: Richard Carrington (UVA)

The starting lineup for VPI was: Nutter (left end), Moss (left tackle), Jones (left guard), Moran (center), Miles (right guard), Bailey (right tackle), Petty (right end), MacArthur (quarterback), Peake (left halfback), Esleeck (right halfback), McEver (fullback). The substitutes were: Mattox and Rice.

The starting lineup for Hampden–Sydney was: Charles Turley (left end), Stuart Worden (left tackle), Robert Nance (left guard), Alfred Dudley (center), Hugh Blanton (right guard), Harry Myles (right tackle), Roberts (right end), John Brinser (quarterback), Ward Palmer (left halfback), Alfred Adkins (right halfback), William Richardson (fullback).

VPI at Dartmouth

1 2 3 4 Total VPI 0 0 0 0 0 • Dartmouth 0 14 0 7 21 Date: October 9, 1926 Location: Memorial Field Hanover, NH Referee: W. R. Crowley (Bowdoin)

The starting lineup for VPI was: Petty (left end), Moss (left tackle), Miles (left guard), Moran (center), Jones (right guard), Bailey (right tackle), Nutter (right end), MacArthur (quarterback), Esleeck (left halfback), Peake (right halfback), McEver (fullback).

The starting lineup for Dartmouth was: Jim Picken (left end), Hardy (left tackle), Phillips (left guard), Davis (center), Rubin (right guard), Langdell (right tackle), Cole (right end), Edwin B. Dooley (quarterback), Myles Lane (left halfback), MacPhail (right halfback), Horton (fullback). The substitutes were: Black, Breihut and John C. McAvoy.

Maryland vs. VPI

1 2 3 4 Total Maryland 2 0 0 6 8 • VPI 7 10 7 0 24 Date: October 16, 1926 Location: League Park Norfolk, VA Game attendance: 11,000 Referee: Ernest C. Quigley

The starting lineup for VPI was: Petty (left end), Brown (left tackle), Miles (left guard), Moran (center), Jones (right guard), Bailey (right tackle), Nutter (right end), MacArthur (quarterback), Esleeck (left halfback), Peake (right halfback), McEver (fullback). The substitutes were: Anderson, Handy, Jacobs, Looney, Mattox, Moss and Rice.

The starting lineup for Maryland was: Donald Adams (left end), Earl Zulick (left tackle), Arthur Wondrack (left guard), Harold Bafford (center), Omar D. Crothers Jr. (right guard), John Leatherman (right tackle), Jack Keenan (right end), Gordon Kessler (quarterback), Fred Linkous (left halfback), Myron Stevens (right halfback), Lewis "Knocky" Thomas (fullback). The substitutes were: Arthur Boyd, Gil Dent, Frederick Herzog, John Parson, Pugh, Edwin Rothgeb, Floyd Schrader, Gerald Snyder and Winterberg.

Virginia vs. VPI

1 2 3 4 Total UVA 0 0 0 0 0 • VPI 6 0 0 0 6 Date: October 23, 1926 Location: Miles Stadium Blacksburg, VA Game attendance: 7,000

VPI at Kentucky

1 2 3 4 Total VPI 0 7 6 0 13 Kentucky 7 0 0 6 13 Date: October 30, 1926 Location: McLean Stadium Lexington, KY Game start: 2:00 p.m. Game attendance: 5,000 Game weather: Drizzling rain Referee: Fonsa "F.A." Lambert

The starting lineup for VPI was: Nutter (left end), Miles (left tackle), Jones (left guard), Moran (center), Bailey (right guard), Brown (right tackle), Petty (right end), MacArthur (quarterback), Peake (left halfback), Esleeck (right halfback), Looney (fullback). The substitutes were: Handy, Jacobs, Mahaney, Mattox, Moss and Rice.

The starting lineup for Kentucky was: Gilb (left end), Phipps (left tackle), Belt (left guard), Pence (center), Charles Wert (right guard), Henry Portwood (right tackle), Schulte (right end), Jenkins (quarterback), Frank Smith (left halfback), Ellis (right halfback), Ross (fullback). The substitutes were: Ted Creech, Denver DeHaven, Edwards, Franklin, James Kirkendall and Mohney.

South Carolina vs. VPI

1 2 3 4 Total South Carolina 0 0 0 0 0 • VPI 0 13 0 6 19 Date: November 6, 1926 Location: Tate Field Richmond, VA Game weather: "Balmy" Referee: Foster (Hampden-Sydney)

The starting lineup for VPI was: Petty (left end), Brown (left tackle), Miles (left guard), Moran (center), Jones (right guard), Bailey (right tackle), Nutter (right end), MacArthur (quarterback), Peake (left halfback), Esleeck (right halfback), Looney (fullback). The substitutes were: Handy, Jeffries, Mahaney, Mattox and Rice.

The starting lineup for South Carolina was: Samuel Burke (left end), E. Power Rogers (left tackle), Ralph Guarino (left guard), William Boyd (center), W. R. Price (right guard), Floyd Thomas (right tackle), George Keels (right end), Bill Rogers (quarterback), J. F. Cooper (left halfback), Eli Wingfield (right halfback), Robert Wimberly (fullback). The substitutes were: W. W. "Red" Swink, James Verner, Mike Windus and Harry Wolf.

Washington & Lee vs. VPI

1 2 3 4 Total • W&L 0 6 0 7 13 VPI 0 0 0 0 0 Date: November 13, 1926 Location: Municipal Stadium Lynchburg, VA Game start: 2:30 p.m. Game attendance: 8,000-10,000

The starting lineup for VPI was: Nutter (left end), Miles (left tackle), Jones (left guard), Moran (center), Bailey (right guard), Brown (right tackle), Petty (right end), MacArthur (quarterback), Esleeck (left halfback), Peake (right halfback), Looney (fullback). The substitutes were: Handy, Hotchkiss, Jeffries, Mattox and McEver.

The starting lineup for Washington and Lee was: J. E. Bailey (left end), Robert Holt (left tackle), Burnell Tips (left guard), Ira Rector (center), Henry Groop (right guard), Earl Fitzpatrick (right tackle), John Towill (right end), Eugene White (quarterback), Perry Whitlock (left halfback), William Palmer (right halfback), Ty Rauber (fullback). The substitutes were: Charles Eigelbach.

VMI vs. VPI

1 2 3 4 Total VMI 7 0 0 0 7 • VPI 14 0 0 0 14 Date: November 25, 1926 Location: Maher Field Roanoke, VA Game attendance: 15,000 Game weather: "steady downpour" Referee: Ed Thorpe (De LaSalle)

The starting lineup for VPI was: Nutter (left end), Miles (left tackle), Jones (left guard), Moran (center), Handy (right guard), Bailey (right tackle), Petty (right end), McEver (quarterback), Peake (left halfback), Mattox (right halfback), Looney (fullback). The substitutes were: Brown, Esleeck, Jeffries and MacArthur.

The starting lineup for VMI was: John Fain (left end), Herman Kulp (left tackle), Ralph Smith (left guard), Joseph Mondy (center), Luther Hewlett (right guard), J. C. Smith (right tackle), Luther Thornhill (right end), Al Barnes (quarterback), Frank Harner (left halfback), Frank Nabers (right halfback), Carlton Walker (fullback). The substitutes were: Ferdinand Harrington, Theodric Moor, Claude Moorman, Karlyle O'Berry and Kenneth Rugh.

VPI 1926 roster
	George Claiborne "Speck" Anderson Albert Ewell Bailey Joseph Murray Brown Karl Esleeck Fussell John Gray Edward Malvern Handy Philip Smith Hotchkiss William Coles Hudgins J. R. Jacobs John Mercer Jeffries J. B. Jones John Ote Looney Scotty MacArthur		Arthur Randolph Mahaney Cloy Mattox Herbert McEver Vernon Edward Miles (Capt.) Joseph Henry Moran (Capt.) Jack Wellford Moss Lloyd Broderick Nutter Frank Peake Douglas Cooper Petty J. H. Rice Spear Cyril Method "Tommy" Tomko Von Erickson

• Head coach: Andy Gustafson
• Assistant coaches
  • Line coach: Zeke Wissinger
• Manager: S. M. Martin
• Freshman head coach: Henry Redd
• Freshman Manager: J. E. Tankard