The 1917 College Football All-Southern Team consists of

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

players selected to the

College Football All-Southern Team The College Football All-Southern Team was an all-star team of college football players from the Southern United States. The honor was given annually to the best players at their respective positions. It is analogous to the All-America Team and w ...

s selected by various organizations for the 1917 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association football season.

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 ...

won the SIAA and the south's first

national championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...

Walker Carpenter Walker Glenn "Bill" "Big Six" Carpenter (June 3, 1893 – September 24, 1956) was an American football Tackle (American football), tackle for John Heisman's Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football, Georgia Tech Golden Tornado of the Georgia Inst ...

and

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 ...

were the first two players from the

Deep South The Deep South or the Lower South is a cultural and geographic subregion in the Southern United States. The term was first used to describe the states most dependent on plantations and slavery prior to the American Civil War. Following the war ...

selected first-team

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

Composite eleven

The composite All-Southern eleven formed by the selection of 7 coaches and sporting writers included: *

Alf Adams Alfred ("Alf") Rodney Adams, FRS (born 1939) is a British physicist who invented the strained-layer quantum-well laser. Most modern homes will have several of these devices in their homes in all types of electronic equipment. He served as a D ...

, end for Vanderbilt. Adams was also a basketball star and later a prominent attorney. *

Pete Bonner Madison LeRoy "Pete" Bonner (September 24, 1894 – December 1, 1972) was a college football player. Auburn University Bonner was a prominent tackle for Mike Donahue's Auburn Tigers of Auburn University from 1916 to 1919. He was a member of an ...

, guard for Auburn. Bonner is selected at guard for various all-time Auburn teams. *

, tackle and captain for Georgia Tech' championship team. He and Strupper were the first two players from the

selected first-team All-American. *

Moon Ducote Richard Joseph "Moon" "Duke" DuCôté ( ; August 28, 1897 – March 26, 1937) was an American baseball, football, and basketball coach, football and baseball player, football official, and businessman. He first attended Spring Hill College and ...

, end for Auburn. Ducote is often considered Auburn's greatest player of its early years. He also kicked and later coached. *

Bill Fincher William Enoch Fincher (November 12, 1896 – July 17, 1978) was an American college football player and coach. He played the end and tackle positions for the Georgia Tech Golden Tornado football team of the Georgia Institute of Technology. ...

, tackle for Georgia Tech, inducted into the

College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive attraction devoted to college football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players and coaches of college football that were vote ...

in 1974. He was also an all-time great as a

placekicker Placekicker, or simply kicker (PK or K), is the player in gridiron football who is responsible for the kicking duties of field goals and extra points. In many cases, the placekicker also serves as the team's kickoff specialist or punter. Spe ...

. *

Buck Flowers Allen Ralph "Buck" Flowers, Jr. (March 26, 1899 – April 8, 1983) was an American college football player who was a halfback for the Davidson Wildcats football team of Davidson College in 1917 and for the Georgia Tech Golden Tornado footbal ...

, halfback for Davidson, inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1955. He was selected for the ''Associated Press'' Southeast Area All-Time football team 1869-1919 era. He was just 17 years old when the season started, and also kicked. *

Joe Guyon Joseph Napoleon "Big Chief" Guyon (Anishinaabe: ''O-Gee-Chidah'', translated as "Big Brave"; November 26, 1892 – November 27, 1971) was an American Indian from the Ojibwa tribe (Chippewa) who was an American football and baseball player and co ...

, back for Georgia Tech, inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1971 and the

Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, , the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football, including players, coach ...

in 1966. He was unanimously selected for the ''Associated Press'' Southeast Area All-Time football team 1869-1919 era. * Albert Hill, quarterback for Georgia Tech, received the most carries on Tech's championship team and was the nation's high scorer. *

Pup Phillips George Marshall "Pup" Phillips (September 24, 1895May 1, 1953) was an American football player and coach. Early years George Marshall Phillips was born on September 24, 1895 in Carnesville, Georgia to George Sullivan Phillips and Elizabeth Wit ...

, center for Georgia Tech. Phillips received the Hal Nowell trophy for the most efficient play during the season, and left to join the American effort in the

First World War 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 ...

as a marine just a week after celebrating the title *

Tram Sessions Tram Sessions (November 11, 1898 – January 24, 1984) was an American football center for the Alabama Crimson Tide of the University of Alabama. Sessions was selected All-Southern thrice. Sessions was the first secretary-treasurer of the Alabam ...

, guard for Alabama. He was later involved in politics and attempted to pass a resolution to re-establish the Auburn–Alabama rivalry. *

, halfback for Georgia Tech, inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1972. He was deaf and produced the most yards for Tech's championship team.

Composite overview

Seven players were unanimous All-Southern.

All-Southerns of 1917

Ends

†, Auburn (C, DJ, MB, FD

s hb S, or s, is the nineteenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''ess'' (pronounced ), plural ''esses''. Histor ...

ZN, HB

s fb S, or s, is the nineteenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''ess'' (pronounced ), plural ''esses''. Histor ...

NT-1, CM, HW, GT s u HS

, Vanderbilt (C, DJ, H, FB, NT-1, GT, HS) * Dan Boone, Alabama (C, ZN, FB, HW) *

Shorty Guill Marshall Franklin "Shorty" Guill (September 20, 1897 – May 11, 1931) was an American football and baseball player for the Georgia Tech Golden Tornado of the Georgia Institute of Technology. He was a member of the ANAK Society. He graduate ...

, Georgia Tech (C, MB s u FD, HB, HW s u GT s u HS) * Georgie King, Davidson (C, MB, H, NT-2, GT) *

Si Bell Robert Strickland "Si" Bell (April 18, 1894 – March 12, 1972) was a college football player. Georgia Tech Bell was prominent end for the Georgia Tech Golden Tornado of the Georgia Institute of Technology. He was twice selected All-So ...

, Georgia Tech (HB) *Woodson, Sewanee (NT-2)

Tackles

†, Georgia Tech (C, DJ, MB, FD, ZN, HB, H, FB, NT-1, CM s e HW, GT, HS s g *

†, Georgia Tech (College Football Hall of Fame) (C, DJ s g MB, FD s g ZN s g HB s g H, FB s g NT-1, CM, HW, GT, HS s g *

Dan Whelchel Dan Whelchel (August 26, 1894 – March 1, 1988) was a college football player and fruit horticulturalist. Early years Dan Whelchel was born in Dawson County, Georgia on August 26, 1894 to Jordan Davis Whelchel and Amanda Jane Palmour. At ...

, Georgia Tech (NT-2) *

Jack Hovater Jack Hovater (August 31, 1897 – April 9, 1965) was an American college football player and high school football coach. He was also once president of the Alabama State League. Hovater was a prominent running back and tackle for the Alabama Cr ...

, Alabama (NT-2, HS)

Guards

†, Auburn (C, DJ s t MB, FD s t ZN s t HB, H, FB s t NT-1, CM s t HW, GT) *

, Alabama (C, ZN, FB, NT-1, HW) * Wooly Grey, Davidson (C, DJ, H, NT-2, CM, GT) * Mutt Gee, Clemson (C, CM) * Carey Robinson, Auburn (C, MB, NT-2 s c HS s c * Otto Colee, Tulane (C, FD s t HB s t *

Ham Dowling James Hamilton "Ham" Dowling (November 12, 1895 – January 28, 1986) was a college football player and once chief engineer of the Florida State Highway Commission. University of Florida Dowling played for the Florida Gators of the University o ...

, Georgia Tech (NT-2)

Centers

†, Georgia Tech (C, DJ, MB, FD, ZN, HB, H, FB, NT-1, CM, HW, GT)

Quarterbacks

* Albert Hill, Georgia Tech (C, DJ, MB, FD, ZN, H, NT-1, CM, HW, GT

HS) *

Gene Davidson Gene "Sodie" Davidson (February 19, 1896 – September 12, 1960) was an American football and baseball player for the Arkansas Razorbacks of the University of Arkansas. He was inducted into the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame in 1968. Davidson was n ...

, Arkansas (HB) *

William Herschel Bobo William Herschel Bobo (January 16, 1896 – February 18, 1975) was a minor league baseball player and an American football, basketball, and baseball coach. He served as the head football coach at Mississippi State Teachers College—now known as ...

, Mississippi A&M (NT-2)

Halfbacks

*†, Georgia Tech (College Football Hall of Fame) (C, DJ, MB, FD, ZN, HB, H, FB s qb NT-1, CM, HW, GT, HS) *

, Davidson (College Football Hall of Fame) (C, DJ, MB, NT-1, CM, HW, GT s qb *Donohue, Sewanee (NT-2)

Fullbacks

†, Georgia Tech (College Football Hall of Fame) (C, DJ s e MB, FD, ZN, HB, H

NT-1, CM, HW, GT

* Eben Wortham, Sewanee (DJ, FD s end ZN

NT-2

*Revington, Auburn (NT-2)

Key

Bold = Composite selection * = Consensus All-American † = Unanimous selection C = composite selection picked by seven football writers in the South. The seven were

Dick Jemison Richard Stubbs Jemison (September 19, 1886 – January 9, 1965) was an early 20th-century American sportswriter in the South who was for eleven years the sporting editor of the ''Atlanta Constitution''. He wrote extensively on baseball and f ...

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 ...

Morgan Blake William Morgan Blake (February, 1889 – July 26, 1953) was an early 20th-century American sportswriter in the South who in his 24 years on the job covered seven Rose Bowl games. He also taught the south's largest Sunday School class. Early ye ...

, Fred Bodeker, George Watkins, Fred Digby, and Blinkey Horn. DJ = selected by

, sporting editor for the ''Atlanta Constitution''. MB = selected by

, sporting editor for the ''Atlanta Georgian''. FD = selected by Fred Digby, sporting editor for the ''New Orleans Item''. ZN = selected by

Zipp Newman Henry Hardin "Zipp" Newman (May 24, 1894 – March 3, 1977) was an early 20th-century American sportswriter. In 1919 he became the South's youngest sports editor at the '' Birmingham News'' and was to become the Dean of Southern sports write ...

, assistant sporting editor for the '' Birmingham News''. HB = selected by "Happy" Barnes of

Tulane University Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private university, private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into ...

, in the ''New Orleans Item''. H = selected by

, coach of

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 ...

. FB = selected by Fred Bodeker of the ''Birmingham Age-Herald''. NT = selected by the ''

Nashville Tennessean ''The Tennessean'' (known until 1972 as ''The Nashville Tennessean'') is a daily newspaper in Nashville, Tennessee. Its circulation area covers 39 counties in Middle Tennessee and eight counties in southern Kentucky. It is owned by Gannett, ...

''. CM = selected by "Country" Morris, assistant coach at

Clemson College Clemson University () is a public land-grant research university in Clemson, South Carolina. Founded in 1889, Clemson is the second-largest university in the student population in South Carolina. For the fall 2019 semester, the university enro ...

. HW = selected by former Sewanee player Henry Watkins. GT = selected by the ''Technique'', Georgia Tech's student newspaper. It had two players selected as "utility", denoted with a u. HS = selected by Hugh Sparrow of the ''Nashville Banner''.

References

{{College Football All-Southern Teams 1917 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association football season College Football All-Southern Teams