Football 1920-1929 College Football

1. Football 1920-1929College Football • By 1920, just over 20 percent of Americans were high school graduates and only 8 percent were college graduates. • College football was enormously popular with the nation's populace. • People attended games and huddled by their radios to follow the action on Saturday afternoons. • By the 1920s, college football was more popular than ever. Many colleges had greatly increased enrollments following WWI and there was a parallel boom in new stadium building on a number of campuses during the decade of the 1920s.

2. Football1920-1929College Football • The top eastern teams were in the Ivy League: Penn, Yale, and Harvard, as well as services teams like Army and Navy. • In the Midwest: Michigan, Illinois, and Ohio State were the top squads in their conference, but Notre Dame moved upward through the decade to take top honors in the region and the country. • Georgia, Alabama, and Tennessee were top squads in the South. • USC did not begin football until 1922, but became one of the top teams in the country during the decade, going undefeated 3 years in a row in the early 1920s. • Other top teams on the West Coast were Stanford University and the University of California.

3. Football1920-1929College Football Georgetown-Navy game, Georgetown bulldog and Navy goat.

4. Football1920-1929College Football • Most college teams played within their own region, because of the time and money needed to play farther from their own campuses. • Beginning in the early 1900s some schools began trying to extend their geographic parameters, but they were still limited by the fact that the only way to travel was by train and this meant more class time would be missed as teams traveled farther than they normally had done. • One school that successfully expanded their schedule and, in the process, became the most popular school in the country, was the University of Notre Dame, led by their dynamic coach, Knute Rockne. • With Notre Dame and the Big Ten schools like Michigan and Illinois, the Midwest became a real rival to the northeastern teams for football supremacy in the college ranks.

5. Football1920-1929College Football • In the battle for better teams, amateur rules were often not followed precisely by many college programs. • Professionals were hired to play, illegally, on some college teams and some students on the football team hardly showed up in their classes, belying the notion of “studentathletes.” • George Gipp, the Notre Dame star, was one such player, but there were many since there was little standard regulation of college football. • The NCAA had been formed in 1910, but it had a small staff and few rules, relying on individual institutions to police themselves honestly. • It was during this decade that football coaches became stars themselves and most no longer had the additional duties of coaching other sports or teaching a class or two.

6. Football1920-1929College Football • Glenn “Pop” Warner, who began his coaching career at the University of Georgia when it had only 248 students, then coached at Cornell and Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Pennsylvania. • Jim Thorpe, of Sac and Fox American Indian descent, who went on to be called one the greatest athletes of the twentieth century, was the star of that squad in the 1910s. • In 1915 Warner went to the University of Pittsburgh, leading them to 33 straight victories before being hired in 1922 to coach at a salary of over $5000 at Stanford University. • His 1926 team went undefeated and he coached one of the all-time great football players in Ernie Nevers. • He moved to Temple University where he coached from 1933 to 1938. Warner won 313 games and lost only 106, with 32 ties. • His greatest contribution was probably the youth football program that bears his name. He began this in 1929.

7. Football 1920-1929College Football Economic’s • Some of the highly paid, well-known coaches were FieldingYost of the University of Michigan, AmosAlonzoStagg of the University of Chicago, BobZuppke of the University of Illinois (often credited with inventing the huddle), AndySmith of the University of California, and HowardJones of the University of Southern California. • Top coaches got from $4000–$7000 a year, and many had no obligations other than coaching the football team. • Tickets for the games might run as high as $3. • Most of the stadiums that were built cost less than $100,000 to complete. • Players were not officially paid, but there were numerous instances where college players were hired by towns to appear in a high school game in order to ensure that the high school would win a game from a bitter rival. • Some of the college players would also get $25–$50 a game to play for semi-professional teams, usually playing under assumed names in order to maintain their amateur eligibility.

8. Football 1920-1929College Football - Geography • Most teams played within their region because of the time and expense of travel. • Ivy League teams played within the league and would play some eastern independents like Army, Navy, or one of the liberal arts colleges that had a strong program, such as Washington and Jefferson College. • Jefferson College, from Washington, Pennsylvania, played in the 1922 Rose Bowl, but by the end of the decade the larger universities dominated college football, forcing smaller schools to lower their expectations and recruitment efforts.

9. Football 1920-1929College Football - Geography • Most of the Big 9 (now Big 10) schools played 6 games against other league squads, then 2 games against non-conference foes from the region. • The same was true in the South, where most of the top football schools were still not affiliated with a league until the Southern Conference formed in 1922. • It consisted of 22 teams, stretching from Virginia to Florida and west to the Mississippi River.

10. Football 1920-1929College Football - Geography • On the West Coast the Pacific Coast Conference (PCC) had 6 members at the beginning of the decade and 10 by 1929. • Leagues were changing almost from year to year, but the core of the PCC remained stable with Oregon, Oregon State, Stanford, California, Washington, and Washington State. • The Missouri Valley Conference was based solely in Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, and Oklahoma with 8 schools, but in 1928 that conference was reconstituted the Big 6 with Iowa State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Missouri, Kansas, and Kansas State forming that league.

11. Football 1920-1929College Football - Geography • One of the biggest exceptions to this regionalism was Notre Dame. • They started their football excellence a bit later than other universities, becoming most prominent under Coach Knute Rockne. • Most leagues were relatively set and Notre Dame did not want to get tied into a weak league so they remained independent. • This scheduling games a challenge and Rockne ended up scheduling games not only in the Midwest, but in the Northeast and Southeast as well. • In 1926 Notre Dame traveled to USC and began one of the most storied of intersectional rivalries, which remains today. Knute Rockne in 1930.

12. Football 1920-1929 – The Media and College Football • No sport received as much of a boost from the media as college football. • Radio became the great communicator for the sport. • Some of the greatest sports announcers were identified with college football broadcasts. • Newspaper sports writing was the most popular way to find out about college football in this era. • GrantlandRice often covered games of the U.S. Military Academy (Army) as well as Ivy League games and, later, Notre Dame. • Rice was responsible for giving the nickname “FourHorsemen” to the 1924 Notre Dame backfield in a Notre Dame victory over Army. • Besides RedGrange, the FourHorsemen, and FrankCarideo of Notre Dame; BennyFriedman and BennieOosterbaan of Michigan; ErnieNevers of Stanford, and BronkoNagurski of Minnesota were among the most colorful of the college stars of the era. • They made for great copy for the eager sportswriters like Rice, RingLardner, WalterEckersley, PaulGallico, ArchWard, ShirleyPovich, and RedSmith.

13. Football 1920-1929 – The Media and College Football • The first national broadcast of a football game was in 1922 when Princeton defeated the University of Chicago. • The Four Horsemen were soon joined by Fordham's “SevenBlocksofGranite,” which referred to their strong linemen. • One of those linemen was VinceLombardi, a future Hall of Fame coach of the Green Bay Packers. Harold “Red” Grange, carrying football in Illinois-Michigan game, 1925.

14. Football 1920-1929 – Law, Ethics, and College Football • Many of the same issues plagued college football that dogged other sports, including gambling, the legality of players, and contract issues. • Player eligibility was difficult to police because many teams operated out of the scrutiny of anyone in the college other than the football coach. • Gambling seemed to be less common on college football games because the point spread had not been developed and “perfected” by this time. • The “spread” was a number of points that seemed to separate two opposing teams. • Gamblers set a point spread and those betting on the favored team would only win if their team “beat the spread.” • In the 1920s the betting was mostly straight up, that is, on one team or another, with no points given and that seemed to make football a less attractive sport to wager on for big-time gamblers.

15. Football 1920-1929 – Law, Ethics, and College Football • The definition of an “eligible” student varied: -Was 1 class enough to be considered a student and what happened if a student failed to pass that class or a number of classes? -Who should determine such eligibility, if not the college's faculty? -Could a school be punished for having professionals on their roster, and who administered such punishment? • A new wrinkle appeared when Red Grange signed with the Chicago Bears immediately after his senior season ended, rather than after graduating from college. • There was a great scare that the professional teams might raid the college ranks, and the fledgling NFL agreed to not sign college players until after their class had graduated. • The NCAA, provided with more enforcement powers by its constituent member colleges, tried to address the concerns of an overemphasis on football and the professional impact on colleges. • 2 of the biggest concerns were illegal recruiting and subsidies to college athletes.

16. Football 1920-1929 – Law, Ethics, and College Football • In 1920 many teams went undefeated, but Notre Dame had the most victories and was 9–0 in the regular season. • The University of California finished 9–0 after defeating Ohio State, who finished 7–1 with this loss, in the Rose Bowl. • In 1921 California and Washington and Jefferson, who had finished at 9–0 and 10–0, respectively, tied 0–0 in the Rose Bowl. • Iowa of the Big Ten, finished at 7–0. • Many teams were undefeated in 1922, among which were Princeton, California, Iowa, and Michigan. • The next year Yale, Illinois, Michigan, and Cal were again among the undefeated teams.

17. Football 1920-1929 – Law, Ethics, and College Football • In 1924 Notre Dame went undefeated, defeated Stanford in the Rose Bowl, and was acclaimed the number 1 team in the nation. • The next season the University of Alabama went undefeated, including a defeat of previously unbeaten Washington, by a single point in the Rose Bowl. • Alabama returned to the Rose Bowl after the 1926 regular season to meet Stanford. Both teams were undefeated, tying 7–7 in the Rose Bowl. • In 1927 Illinois, Minnesota, and Texas A&M all went undefeated, but had ties on their records. • Georgia Tech, undefeated, untied, and victorious in the Rose Bowl, was the top team of 1928. • Notre Dame and Purdue were the only undefeated and untied teams in 1929, with Notre Dame voted number 1. The Fighting Irish refused all bowl invitations because of time away from campus for their students.

18. Football 1920-1929 – Professional Football • At the beginning of the 1920s, professional football was viewed as an inferior game to college football in many ways. • It was seen as rougher, not as well played, and the players were seen as low-life reprobates, not the educated young men that college football claimed to produce. • There was some truth to this, but was also more a stereotype. • The 1920’s began with the birth of the new American Professional Football Association (APFA). • The teams were drawn from the old Ohio League cities, plus Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Michigan, and New York. • 14 teams began the season and the Akron Pros were voted league champion. • After the 1921 season, the league changed its name to the National Football League.

19. Football 1920-1929 – Professional Football • Initially, most of the APFA and NFL games were played on the weekends and players held other jobs. • Practice time was after work and equipment was not great. • Despite the disdain with which some people viewed pro football in comparison to college football, a surprisingly high number of pros had attended college. • The 1920s were economically a time of growth and it was hoped that some of the “discretionary” money that Americans now had would be spent on pro football. • The league had as its first president Jim Thorpe, the Carlisle Indian School football star and Olympic decathlon champion, who was chosen for his name recognition, not necessarily for his administrative ability.

20. Football 1920-1929 – Ethnicity in the 1920s NFL • The 1920 season saw Akron proclaimed league champion and they were led by FritzPollard, the first African American in the league. • Pollard had starred at college at Brown University; the next year he was joined by PaulRobeson, who had starred at Rutgers. • They were a powerful running tandem. In 1923 Robeson played for the Milwaukee franchise, before leaving pro football for endeavors in musical theatre and opera. • Pollard became the co-coach of the Akron Pros for the 1921 season, but remained an active player. • In 1928 Pollard organized and coached an independent all–African American team, the Chicago Black Hawks, a team that played into the 1930s. • Pollard was inducted into the Professional Football Hall of Fame in 2005.

21. Football 1920-1929 – Ethnicity in the 1920s NFL • By 1926 there were 5 African Americans in top pro football leagues. • Pressure from some NFL management, most notably the New York Giants, convinced teams to no longer sign black players because of the fear that they would “disrupt the game.” • There was only one, DukeSlater of the Chicago Cardinals, in 1927, and beginning in 1934 the NFL executed an unofficial ban on black players, which was NOT lifted until 1946.

22. Football 1920-1929 – The Seasons of the 1920s • Overall, pro football had a small but loyal following, which meant that most clubs did not make a profit, but managed to eke out an existence, constantly hoping that things would improve. • That would not happen until after World War II. • The new NFL had 17 teams at the beginning of 1922 and 20 teams in 1923, but the number of league games being played varied. • The Canton Bulldogs won the title in both 1922 and 1923. • The Chicago Bears were one of the few teams to make a profit and, after the 1922 season, the Green Bay Packers were in financial straits. • Their coach and quarterback decided to sell shares to the citizens of Green Bay, who responded eagerly, purchasing shares at $5 and getting a box seat in addition. • The Packers remain the ONLY community-owned professional team today.

23. Football 1920-1929 – The Seasons of the 1920s • In 1924 the Canton squad moved to Cleveland because of money problems and won the championship, once again, as the Cleveland Bulldogs. • At the end of the 1925 college season, the Chicago Bears signed Red Grange of Illinois. • The Bears, were the second-best team in Chicago, as the Cardinals compiled the best record in the league.

24. Football 1920-1929 – The Seasons of the 1920s • In 1927 the league was reduced to 12 teams, because of the continual financial losses, and in 1928 the number of teams was reduced further, to 10. • The circuit increased back to 12 in 1929 and the Packers went 12–0 to secure the league title. • Led by halfback Johnny Blood and defensive lineman Cal Hubbard, the Packer players usually played 60 minutes a game, even though they sometimes played twice a week.