1925 Tulane Green Wave football team

The 1925 Tulane Green Wave football team represented the Tulane Green Wave of Tulane University in the sport of American football during the 1925 Southern Conference football season.

1925 Tulane Green Wave football
SoCon co-champion
Conference	Southern Conference
1925 record	9–0–1 (5–0 SoCon)
Head coach	Clark Shaughnessy (10th season)
Offensive scheme	Single wing
Captain	Lester Lautenschlaeger
Home stadium	Second Tulane Stadium (Capacity: 11,000)
Uniform

1925 Southern Conference football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
Alabama +	7	–	0	–	0			10	–	0	–	0
Tulane +	5	–	0	–	0			9	–	0	–	1
North Carolina	4	–	0	–	1			7	–	1	–	1
Washington and Lee	5	–	1	–	0			5	–	5	–	0
Virginia	4	–	1	–	1			7	–	1	–	1
Georgia Tech	4	–	1	–	1			6	–	2	–	1
Kentucky	4	–	2	–	0			6	–	3	–	0
Florida	3	–	2	–	0			8	–	2	–	0
Auburn	3	–	2	–	1			5	–	3	–	1
VPI	3	–	3	–	1			5	–	3	–	2
Vanderbilt	3	–	3	–	0			6	–	3	–	0
Tennessee	2	–	2	–	1			5	–	2	–	1
South Carolina	2	–	2	–	0			7	–	3	–	0
Georgia	2	–	4	–	0			4	–	5	–	0
VMI	2	–	4	–	0			6	–	4	–	0
Sewanee	1	–	4	–	0			4	–	4	–	1
Mississippi A&M	1	–	4	–	0			3	–	4	–	1
LSU	0	–	2	–	1			5	–	3	–	1
NC State	0	–	4	–	1			3	–	5	–	1
Ole Miss	0	–	4	–	0			5	–	5	–	0
Clemson	0	–	4	–	0			1	–	7	–	0
Maryland	0	–	4	–	0			2	–	5	–	1
+ – Conference co-champions

Tulane shut out 6 of its 10 opponents, with its only blemish a tie to Missouri Valley champion Missouri. For the second year in a row, Tulane set a school record for wins in a season.[1] Most notable was the defeat of Northwestern, a game which helped herald the arrival of Southern football.[2]

Peggy Flournoy was the nation's leading scorer with 128 points.[3]

Before the season

Coach Shaughnessy never had such a wealth of material as 1925.[4] The backfield included captain and Hall of Fame quarterback Lester Lautenschlaeger and halfback Peggy Flournoy. Though he was famous for later using the T formation,[5] at Tulane coach Shaughnessy employed the single wing. Assistant Bierman left for the Mississippi A&M job.

1925 saw the south's widespread use of the forward pass.[6]

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 26	2:30 p. m.	Louisiana College*	Tulane Stadium New Orleans, LA	W 77–0	4,500
October 3	2:30 p. m.	Missouri*	Tulane Stadium New Orleans, LA	T 6–6	8,500	[7]
October 10	2:30 p. m.	Ole Miss	Tulane Stadium New Orleans, LA	W 26–7
October 17		Mississippi A&M	Tulane Stadium New Orleans, LA	W 25–3
October 24		at Northwestern*	Stagg Field Chicago, IL	W 18–7	15,000	[8]
October 31		at Auburn	Cramton Bowl Montgomery, AL	W 13–0
November 7		Louisiana Tech*	Tulane Stadium New Orleans, LA	W 37–0
November 14		Sewanee	Tulane Stadium New Orleans, LA	W 14–0	15,000
November 21		at LSU	Tiger Stadium Baton Rouge, LA (rivalry)	W 16–0	21,000
November 26		at Centenary*	Shreveport, LA	W 14–0
*Non-conference game

Season summary

Flournoy

Louisiana College

Louisiana College at Tulane

1 2 3 4 Total Louisiana 0 0 0 0 0 • Tulane 20 6 25 26 77 Date: September 26 Location: New Orleans, LA Game start: 2:30 p. m. Game attendance: 4,500

The season opened on a wet, sloppy field. Tulane beat Louisiana College of Pineville 77–0.[9] Coach Shaughnessy only allowed his regulars to play half of the game.[10] Lester Lautenschlaeger was probably the star of the game.[10]

Missouri

Missouri at Tulane

1 2 3 4 Total Missouri 6 0 0 0 6 Tulane 0 6 0 0 6 Date: October 3 Location: New Orleans, LA Game start: 2:30 p. m. Game attendance: 8,500

The only blemish on the year was a 6–6 tie to Missouri. Missouri scored on a 30-yard pass.[11] Peggy Flournoy plunged over for the tying touchdown.[12]

The starting lineup was Gamble (left end), Wight (left tackle), Levy (left guard), H. Wilson (center), Blackledge (right guard), Talbot (right tackle), Brown (right end), Lautenschlaeger (quarterback), Morgan (left halfback), Flournoy (right halfback), Norman (fullback).[11]

Mississippi

Mississippi at Tulane

1 2 3 4 Total Miss. 0 0 0 7 7 • Tulane 13 7 0 6 26 Date: October 10 Location: New Orleans, LA Game start: 2:30 p. m.

The Green Wave used the forward pass to beat coach Homer Hazel's Ole Miss Rebels 26–7.[13]

The starting lineup was Gamble (left end), Wight (left tackle), Levy (left guard), H. Wilson (center), Blackledge (right guard), Talbot (right tackle), G. Wilson (right end), Lautenschlaeger (quarterback), Morgan (left halfback), Flournoy (right halfback), Lamprecht (fullback).[14]

Mississippi A&M

Mississippi A&M at Tulane

1 2 3 4 Total Miss. A&M 3 0 0 0 3 • Tulane 0 6 13 6 25 Date: October 17 Location: New Orleans, LA

Former assistant Bernie Bierman's Mississippi Aggies took the lead 3–0 in the opening quarter with a drop kick.[15] Harry P. Gamble blocked a couple of kicks and Tulane came back to win 25–3.[15] After the defeat of the Aggies, some Tulane supporters felt the Wave would defeat Alabama.[16]

The starting lineup was Gamble (left end), Wight (left tackle), Levy (left guard), H. Wilson (center), Blackledge (right guard), P. Brown (right tackle), D. Wilson (right end), Lautenschlaeger (quarterback), Flournoy (left halfback), Morgan (right halfback), Lamprecht (fullback).[17][18]

Northwestern

Tulane at Northwestern

1 2 3 4 Total • Tulane 6 6 6 0 18 Northwestern 0 7 0 0 7 Date: November 14 Location: Stagg Field Chicago, IL

In the 18–7 triumph over Northwestern, Flournoy scored three touchdowns and skied his punts.[15] Northwestern's score came in the second period.[19]

The starting lineup was Gamble (left end), Wight (left tackle), Levy (left guard), H. Wilson (center), Blackledge (right guard), Talbot (right tackle), Wilson (right end), Lautenschlaeger (quarterback), Flournoy (left halfback), Morgan (right halfback), Lamprecht (fullback).[20][21]

Auburn

Auburn at Tulane

1 2 3 4 Total Auburn 0 0 0 0 0 • Tulane 0 0 7 6 13 Date: October 30 Location: Montgomery, Alabama

On a field thick with muddy, Alabama clay in Montgomery, the Green Wave won over the Auburn Tigers 13–0,[22] scoring all points in the second half.[23]

Louisiana Tech

Flournoy scored 31 of Tulane's 37 points in the win over Louisiana Polytechnic[24] despite Tulane using mostly reserves.

The starting lineup was Gamble (left end), Browne (left tackle), Levy (left guard), H. Wilson (center), Blackledge (right guard), Wight (right tackle), D. Wilson (right end), Lautenschlaeger (quarterback), Menville (left halfback), Flournoy (right halfback), Lamprecht (fullback).[25]

Sewanee

Sewanee at Tulane

1 2 3 4 Total Sewanee 0 0 0 0 0 • Tulane 0 0 14 0 14 Date: November 14 Location: New Orleans, LA Game attendance: 15,000

Tulane defeated the Sewanee Tigers 14–0. All scores took place in the third quarter.[26] A 32-yard pass from Lautenschlaeger to Brown set up the first score.[27] On the second, Flournoy got loose for a 68-yard run off tackle.[24]

LSU

Tulane at LSU

1 2 3 4 Total • Tulane 0 0 7 9 16 LSU 0 0 0 0 0 Date: November 21 Location: Baton Rouge, LA Game attendance: 21,000 Referee: Ed Finlay

After a scoreless first half, Tulane beat the rival LSU Tigers by a 16–0 score.[24] A pass from Lautenschlaeger to Menville got the first touchdown.[28] The final points were scored by Irish Levy dropping the LSU quarterback for a safety.[29][30]

Centenary

Something of an anticlimax after the LSU game, Tulane beat Centenary 14–0 to cap an undefeated season.[29]

Postseason

Tulane shared the SoCon title with Wallace Wade's Alabama Crimson Tide, which went on to win the Rose Bowl. Tulane's administration declined a Rose Bowl invitation, in order to keep their student-athletes in class.[31]

Lester Lautenschlaeger

One account reads "In the South they call "Peggy" Flournoy of Tulane University, the greatest all-round gridder in that section."[32] Flournoy led the nation in scoring in scoring with 128 points,[3] and was awarded the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award by the Veteran Athletic's Association.[33] He was selected by Billy Evans and Norman E. Brown as a first-team halfback on their 1925 College Football All-America Teams.[34][35] He was also named a second-team All-American by the Associated Press and the All-America Board.[36][37] Flournoy and Irish Levy were All-Southern. Levy was never taken out of a game for an injury during his playing career.[38] Lautenschlaeger made Billy Evans' Southern Honor Roll.

Flournoy's school record of 128 points was not broken until 2007 by Matt Forte.

Personnel

Depth chart

The following chart provides a visual depiction of Tulane's lineup during the 1925 season with games started at the position reflected in parenthesis. The chart mimics a single wing on offense.

LE Harry P. Gamble (5)	LG Irish Levy (5)	C Harvey Wilson (5)	RG Roy Blackledge (5)	LT Benny Wight (4) Pat Brown (1)	RT Hoss Talbot (3) Pat Brown (1) Benny Wight (1)	RE Doc Wilson (5)
				QB Lester Lautenschlaeger (5)			RHB Eddie Morgan (3) Peggy Flournoy (2)
			FB George Lamprecht (4) David Norman (1)
	LHB Peggy Flournoy (2) Eddie Morgan (2) Johnny Menville (1)

Line

Number	Player	Position	Games started	Hometown	Prep school	Height	Weight	Age
27	Roy Blackledge	guard
12	Pat Browne	tackle			Spring Hill College
7	Harry P. Gamble	end		New Orleans	Warren Easton High		165	21
23	Irish Levy	guard		New Orleans				21
19	Virgil Robinson	guard
22	Hoss Talbot	tackle
31	Benny Wight	tackle
6	Doc Wilson	end
24	Harvey Wilson	end

Backfield

Number	Player	Position	Games started	Hometown	Prep school	Height	Weight	Age
15	Peggy Flournoy	halfback			Rugby Academy	6'1"	165	21
11	Ellis Henican	back		New Orleans
1	Lester Lautenschlaeger	quarterback		New Orleans
10	Fred Lamprecht	fullback
3	Cajin Lorio	back
21	Johnny Menville	halfback		New Orleans	Jesuit High
17	Eddie Morgan	halfback
25	David Norman	fullback

Unlisted

Number	Player	Position	Games started	Hometown	Prep school	Height	Weight	Age
2	Thomas Killeen
5	Walter Moss
13	Alfred Stoessel
14	Earl Evans
16	Reginald Watson
18	Bill Duren
26	Rosenhouse
28	Carre
32	Pascal Palermo

[9]

References

1. "Year-By-Year Summaries (1920s) - TulaneGreenWave.com - Tulane Athletics".
2. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-10-12. Retrieved 2017-01-12.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
3. "Charles "Peggy" Flournoy". Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame. Retrieved August 30, 2014.
4. "Tulane University Football Program; Tulane Green Wave vs. Louisiana College :: Tulane University Football Programs". Archived from the original on 2017-01-13. Retrieved 2017-01-12.
5. Huber, Leonard Victor (1 January 1971). New Orleans: A Pictorial History. Pelican Publishing. ISBN 9781455609314 – via Google Books.
6. Schmidt, Raymond (18 June 2007). Shaping College Football. google.com. ISBN 9780815608868.
7. "Missouri Champions Held to Draw Game By Tulane Greenbacks". The Shreveport Times. October 4, 1925. p. 11 – via Newspapers.com.
8. French Lane (October 25, 1925). "Tulane Eleven Too Strong for Northwestern". Chicago Tribune. p. II-1 – via Newspapers.com.
9. "Tulane University Football Program; Tulane Green Wave vs. Missouri Tigers :: Tulane University Football Programs". Archived from the original on 2016-07-01. Retrieved 2016-06-01.
10. "Tulane Piles Up Record Score". The Monroe News-Star. September 28, 1925. p. 8. Retrieved June 1, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
11. Woodruff 1928, pp. 78–79
12. Jambalaya 1926, p. 199
13. Jambalaya 1926, p. 200
14. Woodruff 1928, p. 82
15. Jambalaya 1926, p. 201
16. "Tulane Gridders Striking Hard Pace; Flournoy Wins Praise of Sports Writers". The Monroe News-Star. November 7, 1925. p. 6. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
17. Woodruff 1928, p. 92
18. "Tulane University Football Programs".
19. "Tulane University Beats Northwestern". The Billings Gazette. October 25, 1925. p. 9. Retrieved January 1, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
20. Woodruff 1928, p. 97
21. "TULANE ELEVEN TOO STRONG FOR NORTHWESTERN (October 25, 1925)".
22. Jambalaya 1926, p. 202
23. "Big Green Eleven Downs Plainsmen". The Index Journal. November 1, 1925. Retrieved January 1, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
24. Jambalaya 1926, p. 203
25. "Tulane University Football Program; Tulane Green Wave vs. Louisiana Polytech :: Tulane University Football Programs". Archived from the original on 2017-01-13. Retrieved 2017-01-12.
26. "Tulane Green Romps To Win Over Sewanee". The Anniston Star. November 15, 1925. p. 8. Retrieved January 1, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
27. Woodruff 1928, p. 116
28. Woodruff 1928, p. 118
29. Jambalaya 1926, p. 204
30. "Louisiana Fights Big Green Team". The Index-Journal. November 22, 1925. p. 6. Retrieved January 1, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
31. "Tulane Football History". TulaneGreenWave.com. Archived from the original on 2016-03-31. Retrieved 2012-12-05.
32. ""Peggy" Flournoy Rates High in Southern Grid Circles". Reading Times. December 6, 1925. p. 17. Retrieved June 1, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
33. "Player To Be Honor Guest". The Morning Herald. December 19, 1925. p. 13. Retrieved June 1, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
34. Evans, Billy (1925-12-05). "Here's Billy Evans' All-Americans". The Fitchburg Sentinel.
35. Brown, Norman E. (1925-12-07). "Here Are Brown's All-American Selections: All Sections of Country On Writer's All-American". Galveston County Daily News.
36. "Associated Press Announces All-American Teams". Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune. 1925-12-14.
37. Tad Jones; Knute Rockne & Glenn Warner (1925-12-04). "Red Grange Placed on Second All-American Team: Coaches Keep Star Off First: Rockne, Jones and Warner Claim He Has Two Main Weak Points; Friedman Is Captain; Two Michigan Men Honored; Pacific Coast Stars in the Backfield". The Davenport Democrat.
38. "Claim Tulane's Star Guard Best On Southern Gridiron". November 30, 1925. p. 19. Retrieved March 16, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.

Bibliography

• Jambalaya. 1926.
• Woodruff, Fuzzy (1928). A History of Southern Football 1890–1928. 3.