The 1915 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team represented the Georgia Tech Golden Tornado of the

Georgia Institute of Technology The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...

during the

1915 college football season The 1915 college football season had no clear-cut champion, with the ''Official NCAA Division I Football Records Book'' listing Cornell, Minnesota, Oklahoma, and Pittsburgh as having been selected national champions in later years. Only Cornell ...

. The Tornado was coached by

John Heisman John William Heisman (October 23, 1869 – October 3, 1936) was a player and coach of American football, baseball, and basketball, as well as a sportswriter and actor. He served as the head football coach at Oberlin College, Buchtel College ...

in his 12th year as head coach, compiling a record of 7–0–1 and outscoring opponents 233 to 24. Georgia Tech played its home games at

Grant Field Bobby Dodd Stadium at Historic Grant Field is the football stadium located at the corner of North Avenue at Techwood Drive on the campus of the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta. It has been home to the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets foo ...

. The Tech team claims a Southern championship, and had what was then the greatest season in its history.

Before the season

Coach

's backfield used the pre-snap movement of his "

jump shift The jump shift or Heisman shift, was an American football shift maneuver utilized by John Heisman. In this system, only the center was on the line of scrimmage, and the backfield would be in a line, as one would in an I-formation with an extra ...

" offense. The team's captain was Froggie Morrison, Tech's first great

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

. Fullback

Tommy Spence Thomas Louis Spence (April 17, 1896 – November 27, 1918) was an American college football player. Spence also played on the baseball, basketball, and track teams. Georgia Tech Football Spence was a prominent fullback for John Heisman's Ge ...

was a future

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

casualty, and halfback Wooch Fielder was later a prominent figure in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. New halfback

Everett Strupper George Everett Strupper Jr. (July 26, 1896 – February 4, 1950), known variously as "Ev" or "Strup" or "Stroop" was an American football player. He played halfback for Georgia Tech from 1915 to 1917. Strupper overcame deafness resulting from ...

was partially deaf; because of his deafness, he called the signals when he played, instead of the team's quarterback. When "Strupe" tried out for the team, he noticed that the quarterback shouted the signals every time he was to carry the ball. Realizing that the loud signals would be a tip-off to the opposition, Strupper told Heisman: "Coach, those loud signals are absolutely unnecessary. You see when sickness in my kid days brought on this deafness my folks gave me the best instructors obtainable to teach me lip-reading." Heisman recalled how Strupper overcame his deafness: "He couldn't hear anything but a regular shout. But he could read your lips like a flash. No lad that ever stepped on a football field had keener eyes than Everett had. The enemy found this out the minute he began looking for openings through which to run the ball."

Schedule

Season summary

Week 1: Mercer

Tech opened the season with a 52–0 defeat of the Mercer Baptists. The Tech backs plunged through the Baptists line almost at will.

Week 2: Davidson

In the second week of play,

Davidson Davidson may refer to: * Davidson (name) * Clan Davidson, a Highland Scottish clan * Davidson Media Group * Davidson Seamount, undersea mountain southwest of Monterey, California, USA * Tyler Davidson Fountain, monument in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA * ...

had the upper hand for three quarters, but Tech managed to pull ahead in the third quarter, and won 21–7. In the first quarter, Davidson scored on a punt fumbled by

. Froggie Morrison hit Jim Senter with a 35-yard pass for a touchdown in the third quarter. Tech managed to score again, and the third quarter ended with the Yellow Jackets at the 1-yard line.

carried over on the first play of the fourth quarter. The starting lineup for Tech against Davidson: Goree (left end), Alexander (left tackle), Reynolds (left guard), Phillips (center), Lang (right guard), Carpenter (right tackle), Senter (right end), Morrison (quarter), Johnston (left halfback), Fielder (right halfback), Spence (fullback).

Week 3: Transylvania

Sources: The Yellow Jackets romped over

Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Ap ...

57–0. Tech made 333 yards on

end run In gridiron football, an end run is a running play in which the player carrying the ball tries to avoid being tackled by running outside the end (or flank) of the offensive line. It is distinct from a dive, which is a run "up the middle", or an o ...

s to 7 for Transy, and 31 first downs to 5. Heisman used most of his subs.

was the star of the game, scoring four touchdowns. Duncan also played well. Everett Strupper

The starting lineup for Tech: Goree (left end), Bell (left tackle), Preas (left guard), Phillips (center), Lang (right guard), Carpenter (right tackle), Senter (right end), Morrison (quarterback), Johnston (left halfback), Fielder (right halfback), Spence (fullback).

Week 4: LSU

The season's lone road game was in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

. Georgia Tech handily defeated the

LSU Tigers The LSU Tigers and Lady Tigers are the athletic teams representing Louisiana State University (LSU), a state university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. LSU competes in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as a ...

36–7 using conventional football, at the expense of Heisman being ejected from the game for arguing with an official. Tech repeatedly hammered LSU's left end. "Except for a brief period in the second quarter, when Louisiana executed three consecutive passes for average gains of 25 yards, the Tigers practically were helpless". Just before the game ended,

returned an

interception In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team b ...

85 yards.

was injured, blaming

Phillip Cooper Phillip "Chief" Cooper was a college football player. College football Cooper was a prominent tackle for the LSU Tigers football team, and captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme l ...

. The starting lineup was Goree (left end), Bell (left tackle), Reynolds (left guard), Phillips (center), Lang (right guard), Carpenter (right tacle), Senter (right end), Morrison (quarterback), Johnston (left halfback), Fielder (right halfback), Spence (fullback).

Week 5: North Carolina

Sources: Tech beat the

North Carolina Tar Heels The North Carolina Tar Heels are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The name Tar Heel is a nickname used to refer to individuals from the state of North Carolina, the ''Tar Heel ...

23–3. Early in the first quarter, Wooch Fielder circled end for 40 yards and a touchdown. Next, two forward passes set up a

run for a touchdown. Conventional football got the last touchdown, a score by Mathias. The last score was a 40-yard drop kick

field goal A field goal (FG) is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. The entire ba ...

by Spence. Only Yank Tandy and Roy Homewood played well for the Tar Heels. Tandy's field goal was Carolina's only score. He was injured in the third quarter. The starting lineup was Bell (left end), Duncan (left tackle), Reynolds (left guard), Phillips (center), Lang (right guard), Carpenter (right tackle), Senter (right end), Morrison (quarterback), Johnston (left halfback), Fielder (right halfback), Spence (fullback).

Week 6: Alabama

Sources: Tech beat Alabama 21–7. Wooch Fielder scored first. In the second period,

had a 7-yard touchdown run.

scored on a 5-yard run in the third. Alabama's lone score came on the first play of the fourth quarter on an elaborate trick play, a 30-yard

forward pass In several forms of football, a forward pass is the throwing of the ball in the direction in which the offensive team is trying to move, towards the defensive team's goal line. The forward pass is one of the main distinguishers between gridiron ...

from

Bully Van de Graaff William Travis "Bully" Van de Graaff (October 25, 1895 – April 26, 1977) was an American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He attended Tuscaloosa High School. He played college football at the University of Alabama, w ...

, Alabama's first All-American, to Stevenson. The starting lineup against Alabama: Goree (left end), Bell (left tackle), Reynolds (left guard), Phillips (center), Lang (right guard), Carpenter (right tackle), Senter (right end), Morrison (quarter), Mathias (left halfback), Fielder (right halfback), Spence (fullback).

Week 7: Georgia

The year's only blemish was a scoreless tie against the rival

Georgia Bulldogs The Georgia Bulldogs are the athletic teams that represent the University of Georgia. The female athletic teams are sometimes referred to as Lady Bulldogs. The Bulldogs compete in NCAA Division I and are members of the Southeastern Conference ( ...

in inches of mud. John G. Henderson headed a group of three men, one behind the other with his hands upon the shoulders of the one in front, to counter Heisman's

offense. Georgia outplayed Tech throughout. Georgia was once on Tech's 8-yard line, in the first quarter, but

Walter Neville Walter Edward "Buck" Neville was a college football player. College football "Buck" was a prominent fullback for the Georgia Bulldogs of the University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things."" ...

fumbled and

recovered. The starting lineup against Georgia: Goree (left end), Mauck (left tackle), Reynolds (left guard), Phillips (center), Lang (right guard), Barnwell (right tackle), Senter (right end), Johnston (quarter), Mathias (left halfback), Fielder (right halfback), Spence (fullback).

Week 8: Auburn

Partial view of the crowd at the 1915 Auburn vs

Tech closed what was then the greatest season in its history with a 7–0 defeat of the Auburn Plainsmen. To begin the second quarter,

had two key plays, the last of which was the game-deciding touchdown. First he made 20 yards around with a pass from Morrison before being forced out of bounds. Next was the 19-yard touchdown. Strupper started around left end, then cut back into the center of the field, away from his blockers. He juked and eluded "every man on the Auburn team." On the last move Strupper faked right and then dove left underneath the outstretched arms of

Baby Taylor George Ellis "Baby" Taylor (March 6, 1892 – March 24, 1926) was an American college football player and coach. He assisted the 1916 Spring Hill Badgers football team. Auburn University Football Taylor was a prominent tackle for Mike Don ...

into the endzone. The starting lineup against Auburn: Goree (left end), Mauck (left tackle), Reynolds (left guard), Phillips (center), Lang (right guard), Barnwell (right tackle), Senter (right end), Morrison (quarter), Johnston (left halfback), Fielder (right halfback), Spence (fullback).

Post season

Tech claimed the right to dispute the

Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association The Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA) was one of the first collegiate athletic conferences in the United States. Twenty-seven of the current Division I FBS (formerly Division I-A) football programs were members of this conferen ...

(SIAA) title with Vanderbilt, despite no longer being a member. The ''

Atlanta Constitution ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the only major daily newspaper in the Atlanta metropolitan area, metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The ''Atlanta Journal-Con ...

''declared it a tie between Vanderbilt and Tech. The Tech team was awarded a 17 x 45 foot pennant as Southern champion. Wooch Fielder and

Bob Lang Robert McDonnell "Bob" Lang (October 1, 1892 – September 19, 1966) was a college football player. Early years Before attending Tech Lang went to the old South Georgia College in McRae. Georgia Tech Lang was a prominent guard for John Heis ...

made composite All-Southern. Jim Senter, Froggie Morrison and

also made some All-Southern teams.

Personnel

Depth chart

The following chart provides a visual depiction of Tech's lineup during the 1915 season with games started at the position reflected in parenthesis. The chart mimics the offense after the

has taken place.

Notes

References

Bibliography

* {{Independent southern football champions

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football seasons

Georgia Tech Football The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Football Program represents the Georgia Institute of Technology in the NCAA Division 1 Collegiate Competitors in the sport of American football. The Yellow Jackets college football team competes in the Football ...