The 1920 Tulane Green Wave football team represented the
Tulane Green Wave of the
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 ...
during the
. The 1920 team tied for the SIAA championship with
Georgia and
Georgia Tech, and was the first called the "
Green Wave", after a song titled "The Rolling Green Wave".
Before the season
In the prior year of
1919
Events
January
* January 1
** The Czechoslovak Legions occupy much of the self-proclaimed "free city" of Pressburg (now Bratislava), enforcing its incorporation into the new republic of Czechoslovakia.
** HMY ''Iolaire'' sinks off the c ...
, coach
Clark Shaughnessy
Clark Daniel Shaughnessy (originally O'Shaughnessy) (March 6, 1892 – May 15, 1970) was an American football coach and innovator. He is sometimes called the "father of the T formation" and the original founder of the forward pass, although that ...
guided Tulane to a then-school record of seven consecutive wins,
[Tulane Football History]
, Tulane University, retrieved August 15, 2010. and had transformed Tulane into a competitor among Southern collegiate teams.
[Leonard Victor Huber]
''New Orleans: A Pictorial History''
p. 258, Pelican Publishing, 1991, .
Though he was famous for later using the
T formation
In American football, a T formation (frequently called the full house formation in modern usage, sometimes the Robust T) is a formation used by the offensive team in which three running backs line up in a row about five yards behind the quarterba ...
, at Tulane Shaughnessy employed the
single wing. Shaughnessy also introduced to Tulane the
Minnesota shift
The Minnesota shift is an American football offensive maneuver that was a forerunner of other shifts and pre-snap formation changes in the game. It consists of a sudden switch into a new offensive formation immediately before the ball is snapped w ...
, an innovation created by his former coach
Henry L. Williams
Henry Lane Williams (July 26, 1869 – June 14, 1931) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at the United States Military Academy in 1891 and the University of Minnesota from 1900 to 1921, compiling a care ...
.
Germany Schulz was hired to take over duties as athletic director.
Schedule
Season summary
Southwestern Louisiana
The season opened with a 79–0 victory over Southwestern Louisiana. One full quarter was played by the substitutes.
[
]
Mississippi College
The Mississippi College Choctaws
The Mississippi College Choctaws are the athletic teams of Mississippi College. The Choctaws are full members of the Gulf South Conference. The college sponsors teams in football, basketball (men's and women's), baseball, softball, tennis (men's & ...
and Goat Hale
Edwin Whitfield "Goat" Hale (January 29, 1896 – March 25, 1983) was an American football player for the Mississippi College Collegians who was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame. After playing, he served many years as a coach.
Early ...
fell to Tulane 29–0.[
]
Rice
Sources:[
The Rice Owls fought Tulane to a scoreless tie in a game shifted to ]Heinemann Park Heinemann may refer to:
* Heinemann (surname)
* Heinemann (publisher), a publishing company
* Heinemann Park, a.k.a. Pelican Stadium in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States
See also
* Heineman
* Jamie Hyneman
James Franklin Hyneman (born Se ...
.[
On Oct. 20, 1920, Earl Sparling, the editor of the Tulane Hullabaloo, wrote a football song which was printed in the newspaper. The song was titled "The Rolling Green Wave." Although the name was not immediately adopted, it began to receive acceptance.
]
Mississippi
Tulane beat Mississippi
Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...
32–0. Coach Shaughnessy introduced a new shift in the first half, and the players had trouble implementing it.[ By the second period, Tulane played conventional football instead.][
]
Michigan
The season's first loss was 21–0 to the Michigan Wolverines
The Michigan Wolverines comprise 29 varsity sports teams at the University of Michigan. These teams compete in the NCAA's Division I and in the Big Ten Conference in all sports except women's water polo, which competes in the NCAA inter-divisio ...
in Ann Arbor
Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna (name), Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah (given name), Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie (given name), ...
, succumbing to the northern foes by the second half.[
]
Florida
Sources:[
In ]Tampa
Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough County ...
, Tulane beat the Florida Gators
The Florida Gators are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Florida, located in Gainesville. The University of Florida, its athletic program, its alumni and its sports fans are often collectively referred to as t ...
14–0.[ Florida's Tootie Perry played one of the best games seen in Tampa.][
The starting lineup was Beaulau (left end), Unsworth (left tackle), Fitz (left guard), Reed (center), Killinger (right guard), Payne (right tackle), Wight (right end), Richeson (quarterback), Dwyer (left halfback), Brown (right halfback), McGraw (fullback).
]
Mississippi A&M
Sources:[
In what the yearbook called "the critical game of the season,"][ Tulane won 6–0 over the Mississippi Aggies. Both teams were previously unbeaten. The feature of the contest twas Johnny Wight's punt returns, which set up the game's only score.][ ]
The starting lineup was Weigan (left end), Payne (left tackle), Fit (left guard), Reed (Center), Bellieu (left guard), Palermo (right tackle), Wight (right end), Richeson (quarterback), Dwyer (left halfback), Brown (right halfback), Smith (fullback).[
]
LSU
Tulane triumphed 21–0 over rival LSU
Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...
.[''Jambalaya'', 1921]
/ref> The starting lineup was Wiegand (left end), Payne (left tackle), Fitz (left guard), Reed (center), Unsworth (right guard), Beallieu (right tackle), Wight (right end), Richeson (quarterback), Dwyer (left halfback), Brown (right halfback), Smith (fullback).
Detroit
Sources:[
On a muddy field, the Detroit Titans beat Tulane 7–0. Detroit opened up with passes early, leading to Lauer's off tackle touchdown.][ ] The starting lineup was Smith (left end), Payne (left tackle), Unsworth (left guard), Reed (center), Palermo (right guard), Fitz (right tackle), Wight (right end), Richeson (quarterback), Brown (left halfback), Dwyer (right halfback), Beaullieu (fullback).[
]
Players
Line
Backfield
[
]
References
Additional sources
*
{{SIAA football champions
Tulane
Tulane Green Wave football seasons
Tulane Green Wave football