1921 Centre Praying Colonels Football Team
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The 1921 Centre Praying Colonels football team represented
Centre College Centre College is a private liberal arts college in Danville, Kentucky. It is an undergraduate college with an enrollment of approximately 1,400 students. Centre was officially chartered by the Kentucky General Assembly in 1819. The college is ...
of
Danville, Kentucky Danville is a home rule-class city in Boyle County, Kentucky, United States. It is the seat of its county. The population was 17,236 at the 2020 Census. Danville is the principal city of the Danville Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes ...
in the
1921 college football season The 1921 college football season had no clear-cut champion, with the ''Official NCAA Division I Football Records Book'' listing California Golden Bears, Cornell Big Red, Iowa Hawkeyes, Lafayette Leopards, Washington & Jefferson Presidents, and V ...
. Led by coach
Charley Moran Charles Barthell Moran (February 22, 1878 – June 14, 1949), nicknamed "Uncle Charley", was an American sportsman who gained renown as both a catcher and umpire (baseball), umpire in Major League Baseball and as a college football, collegiate an ...
, the Praying Colonels compiled a 10–1 record, scoring 334 points while allowing 28 points (282 and 6 in regular season play). The Colonels' victory in its game versus Harvard is regarded as one of the greatest upsets in
college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...
history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...
. Centre also played in two postseason
bowl game In North America, a bowl game is one of a number of post-season college football games that are primarily played by teams belonging to the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). For most of its history, the Division I Bowl Subdivis ...
s after the season. The Colonels defeated
Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
38–0 in the
San Diego East-West Christmas Classic The San Diego East-West Christmas Classic was an annual series of two post-season college American football bowl games played at Balboa Stadium in San Diego, California, in 1921 and 1922.Foldesy, Jody. "Bowls burgeon as big business", ''The Washingt ...
before losing to
Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...
in an upset at the Dixie Classic (a precursor to the modern
Cotton Bowl Classic The Cotton Bowl Classic (also known as the Cotton Bowl) is an American college football bowl game that has been held annually in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex since January 1, 1937. The game was originally played at its namesake stadium i ...
), the game which originated the Aggies' " 12th Man" tradition. The Colonels'
team captain In team sport, captain is a title given to a member of the team. The title is frequently honorary, but in some cases the captain may have significant responsibility for strategy and teamwork while the game is in progress on the field. In eithe ...
was Norris Armstrong. Several Centre players received postseason recognition.
End End, END, Ending, or variation, may refer to: End *In mathematics: ** End (category theory) ** End (topology) **End (graph theory) ** End (group theory) (a subcase of the previous) **End (endomorphism) *In sports and games **End (gridiron footbal ...
Red Roberts :''This is an article about the baseball player. For the college football coach, see Red Roberts (American football).'' Charles Emory "Red" Roberts (August 8, 1918 – December 2, 1998) was a Major League Baseball player. Roberts played for ...
was a first-team
Walter Camp Walter Chauncey Camp (April 7, 1859 – March 14, 1925) was an American football player, coach, and sports writer known as the "Father of American Football". Among a long list of inventions, he created the sport's line of scrimmage and the system ...
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 ...
selection, a rarity for a player in the South, and
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 ...
Bo McMillin Alvin Nugent "Bo" McMillin (January 12, 1895 – March 31, 1952) was an American football player and coach at the collegiate and professional level. He played college football at Centre College in Danville, Kentucky, where he was a three-tim ...
made Camp's second team and was recognized as a consensus All-American. McMillin was an inaugural inductee 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 ...
.


Before the season

Centre College was a small college in
Danville, Kentucky Danville is a home rule-class city in Boyle County, Kentucky, United States. It is the seat of its county. The population was 17,236 at the 2020 Census. Danville is the principal city of the Danville Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes ...
. From 1917 to 1924, Centre compiled a 57–8 record while playing against some of the best teams in the nation. The 1919 team first brought the Praying Colonels to national attention. In 1921, the school's student body numbered just 274. The Colonels had closed the 1920 season by convincingly routing Texas Christian (TCU) in the
Fort Worth Classic The Fort Worth Classic was a postseason college football bowl game played only once, on January 1, 1921, at Panther Park in Fort Worth, Texas, between Centre Praying Colonels of Centre College and the TCU Horned Frogs of Texas Christian Universi ...
, 63–7. This season they started their schedule with much stronger competition than the previous year. Several publications relay: "In 1920, the slogan of Centre College was "Score"...In 1921 Centre changed the "Score" slogan to "Hold 'Em". Coach
Charley Moran Charles Barthell Moran (February 22, 1878 – June 14, 1949), nicknamed "Uncle Charley", was an American sportsman who gained renown as both a catcher and umpire (baseball), umpire in Major League Baseball and as a college football, collegiate an ...
used a
single wing In American football, American and Canadian football, a single-wing formation was a precursor to the modern Spread offense, spread or shotgun formation. The term usually connotes formations in which the snap (football), snap is tossed rather th ...
system like his former mentor
Pop Warner Glenn Scobey Warner (April 5, 1871 – September 7, 1954), most commonly known as Pop Warner, was an American college football coach at various institutions who is responsible for several key aspects of the modern game. Included among his inn ...
. Tiny Thornill, a former Pitt star under Warner, and future
Stanford Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is considere ...
head coach, assisted as line coach. In 1921, football used a
one-platoon system The one-platoon system, also known as iron man football, is a platoon system in American football where players play on both offense and defense. It was the result of smaller roster sizes in the early days of the game and rules that limited player ...
, with players featuring on both offense,
defense Defense or defence may refer to: Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups * Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare * Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks * Defense industr ...
, and
special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...
.
Center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...
Red Weaver Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a seconda ...
, who had posted record numbers for placekicking
extra point The conversion, try (American football, also known as a point(s) after touchdown, PAT, or (depending on the number of points) extra point/2-point conversion), or convert (Canadian football) occurs immediately after a touchdown during which the sc ...
s, graduated and was replaced with
Ed Kubale Edwin C. Kubale (November 22, 1899 – February 4, 1971) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Centre College in Danville, Kentucky from 1928 to 1937 and Southwestern Presbyterian University—now know ...
.


Schedule


Season summary


Week 1: Clemson

Sources: Centre opened the season with a 14–0 victory over the
Clemson Tigers The Clemson Tigers are the athletic teams that represent Clemson University, located in Clemson, South Carolina. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level (Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) ...
. A 7-yard run behind left tackle from Tom Bartlett got the first
touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Ameri ...
. McMillin skirted right end for the game's other score. The starting lineup was: Bradley (left end), Roberts (left tackle), Jones (left guard), Kubale (center), Cregor (right guard), James (right tackle), Gordy (right end), McMillin (quarterback), Bartlett (left halfback), Armstrong (right halfback), and Tanner (fullback).


Week 2: VPI

Sources: The next week was a 14–0 victory over VPI. Centre scored both touchdowns in the final quarter. They were scored in rapid succession by Tanner and Armstrong. The starting lineup was: Bradley (left end), Roberts (left tackle), Jones (left guard), Kubale (center), Cregor (right guard), James (right tackle), Gordy (right end), McMillin (quarterback), Bartlett (left halfback), Armstrong (right halfback), and Tanner (fullback).


Week 3: at St. Xavier

Sources: Next was a 28–6 victory over St. Xavier of
Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
. This game marked the only time during the regular season that Centre gave up any points to an opponent. The Saints outplayed the Colonels in the first half. Herb Davis recovered a fumble for a touchdown. "Trembling from excitement, Noppenerger missed the goal." "McMillin, Covington and Armstrong carried the ball 46 yards to the one-foot line on three plays" before Tanner went over and kicked goal for the lead. In the third quarter, Thomasson bucked it over on runs of 9 and 1 yard. Davis once broke free, and with only Tanner to pass, had Tanner knife through three blockers to push him out of bounds. "The Colonels then showed their greatest offense when in five plays they took the ball 72 yards for a touchdown." Later, McMillin got the last touchdown. The starting lineup was: Gordy (left end), Roberts (left tackle), Gibson (left guard), Kubale (center), Cregor (right guard), James (right tackle), Snoddy (right end), McMillin (quarterback), Bartlett (left halfback), Armstrong (right halfback), and Tanner (fullback).


Week 4: at Transylvania

Sources: In the fourth week of play, Centre easily defeated
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 ...
by the score of 98–0. According to ''Spalding's Football Guide'', McMillin ran back a
kickoff Kickoff or kick-off may refer to * Kick-off (association football) * Kickoff (gridiron football) * ''Kick Off'' (series), a series of computer association football games * ''Kick Off'' (album), a 1985 album by Onyanko Club * ''Kick Off'' (magaz ...
95 yards for a touchdown. The starting lineup was: Roberts (left end), Gordy (left tackle), Jones (left guard), Kubale (center), Shedoan (right guard), Cregor (right tackle), James (right end), McMillin (quarterback), Snoddy (left halfback), Armstrong (right halfback), and Thomasson (fullback).


Week 5: at Harvard

Sources: On October 29, 1921 Centre met
Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
, a team that had never lost to a team outside the
East East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fa ...
, and had not lost a game since 1918. It was coming off a victory in the
1920 Rose Bowl The 1920 Rose Bowl, known at the time as the Tournament East-West Football Game, was a college football bowl game in Pasadena, California, played on January 1, 1920. In the sixth Rose Bowl, the once-tied Harvard Crimson met the once-defeated Ore ...
after an undefeated national championship season in 1919 - the school's fourth national championship in the prior ten years. Coming into the Centre game, Harvard was also undefeated and unscored upon in the 1920 season. Some reports recall the players wearing work clothes to cultivate the image of the underdog. Coach Moran had
Happy Chandler Albert Benjamin "Happy" Chandler Sr. (July 14, 1898 – June 15, 1991) was an American politician from Kentucky. He represented Kentucky in the U.S. Senate and served as its 44th and 49th governor. Aside from his political positions, he also se ...
, who was at
Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...
, scout the Harvard team and take copious notes.Flaherty, p. 121 After a scoreless half, early in the third quarter
Red Roberts :''This is an article about the baseball player. For the college football coach, see Red Roberts (American football).'' Charles Emory "Red" Roberts (August 8, 1918 – December 2, 1998) was a Major League Baseball player. Roberts played for ...
told
Bo McMillin Alvin Nugent "Bo" McMillin (January 12, 1895 – March 31, 1952) was an American football player and coach at the collegiate and professional level. He played college football at Centre College in Danville, Kentucky, where he was a three-tim ...
"it's time to score, ride my hump" and McMillin ran for a 32-yard touchdown. He dodged three of Harvard's
secondary Secondary may refer to: Science and nature * Secondary emission, of particles ** Secondary electrons, electrons generated as ionization products * The secondary winding, or the electrical or electronic circuit connected to the secondary winding i ...
. Harvard coach Bob Fisher said after the game: "In Bo McMillin Centre has a man who is probably the hardest in the country to stop." All around Danville students painted the "impossible
formula In science, a formula is a concise way of expressing information symbolically, as in a mathematical formula or a ''chemical formula''. The informal use of the term ''formula'' in science refers to the general construct of a relationship betwee ...
" of C6H0. The campus post office has the last vestige of this on a side wall.
Tulane 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 ...
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 ...
later wrote the win "first awoke the nation to the possibilities of Southern football." In 1950, the
Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...
named C6H0 the greatest sports upset of the first half of the 20th century. In 2005, ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' called it "arguably the upset of the century in college football." In 2006,
ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
named it the third-biggest upset in the 138-year history of college football. On the return celebration in Danville on Monday, Governor Edwin P. Morrow remarked "I'd rather be Bo McMillin this moment than the Governor of Kentucky." The starting lineup against Harvard was: James (left end), Moody (left tackle), Shadown (left guard), Kubale (center), Jones (right guard), Cregor (right tackle), Roberts (right end), McMillin (quarterback), Armstrong (left halfback), Snoddy (right halfback), and Bartlett (fullback)


Week 6: Kentucky

Sources: Centre then defeated
Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...
55–0. McMillin had three touchdowns. In the middle of the second quarter, up 7–0, McMillin skirted left end and cut back across the field for a 49-yard touchdown.
Herb Covington Herbert Hunt "Flash" Covington (October 16, 1902 – January 1, 1990), also called "the Mayfield Flash", was an American football, basketball, and baseball player for the Centre Praying Colonels of Centre College in Danville, Kentucky. Early ...
next had a 39-yard touchdown. In the fourth, a 30-yard pass to Roberts was followed shortly by a 35-yard
pass Pass, PASS, The Pass or Passed may refer to: Places * Pass, County Meath, a townland in Ireland * Pass, Poland, a village in Poland * Pass, an alternate term for a number of straits: see List of straits * Mountain pass, a lower place in a moun ...
to Hennie Lemon for the touchdown. Bobby Lavin starred for the Wildcats. The starting lineup was: Roberts (left end), Gordy (left tackle), Jones (left guard), Kubale (center), Shadoan (right guard), Cregor (right tackle), James (right end), McMillin (quarterback), Snoddy (left halfback), Armstrong (right halfback), and Bartlett (fullback).


Week 7: at Auburn

Sources: In the seventh week of play Centre defeated
Auburn Auburn may refer to: Places Australia * Auburn, New South Wales * City of Auburn, the local government area *Electoral district of Auburn *Auburn, Queensland, a locality in the Western Downs Region *Auburn, South Australia *Auburn, Tasmania *Aub ...
21–0. Roberts scored the first two touchdowns. Ed Sherling had Auburn's best run of the day around left tackle for 15 yards, but McMillin tackled him and forced a
fumble A fumble in gridiron football occurs when a player who has possession and control of the ball loses it before being downed (tackled), scoring, or going out of bounds. By rule, it is any act other than passing, kicking, punting, or successful ...
, recovered by Armstrong putting Centre in striking distance for the second touchdown. McMillin scored the third touchdown in the fourth quarter. "There is no doubt that we were outclassed" said Auburn coach
Mike Donahue Michael Joseph "Iron Mike" Donahue (June 14, 1876 – December 11, 1960) was an American football player, coach of football, basketball, baseball, tennis, track, soccer, and golf, and a college athletics administrator. He served as the head fo ...
. The starting lineup was: Roberts (left end), Gordy (left tackle), Jones (left guard), Kubale (Center), Shadoan (right guard), Cregor (right tackle), James (right end), McMillin (quarterback), Snoddy (left halfback), Armstrong (right halfback), and Tanner (fullback).


Week 8: vs. Washington & Lee

Sources:
Washington & Lee , mottoeng = "Not Unmindful of the Future" , established = , type = Private liberal arts university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.092 billion (2021) , president = William C. Dudley , provost = Lena Hill , city = Lexingto ...
was then defeated 25–0 in the mud in
Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...
. McMillin threw a 25-yard pass to Armstrong for the last touchdown. Judge
Robert Worth Bingham Robert Worth Bingham (November 8, 1871 – December 18, 1937) was a politician, judge, newspaper publisher and the United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom from 1933 to 1937. Background Bingham attended the University of North Carolina an ...
hosted a dinner dance in honor of the two football teams. The starting lineup was: Roberts (left end), Gordy (left tackle), Jones (left guard), Kubale (Center), Shadoan (right guard), Cregor (right tackle), James (right end), McMillin (quarterback), Snoddy (left halfback), Armstrong (right halfback), and Bartlett (fullback).


Week 9: at Tulane

Sources: The season closed with the defeat of
Tulane 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 ...
by a score of 21–0. The Colonels were favored, and McMillin played a part in all of the scoring plays. He threw touchdown passes to Bartlett and to Snoddy, and ran one score in himself. He also kicked all the extra points. Centre finished the regular season undefeated at 9–0 having given up only 6 points all season. The starting lineup was: Roberts (left end), Gordy (left tackle), Jones (left guard), Kubale (Center), Shadoan (right guard), Cregor (right tackle), James (right end), McMillin (quarterback), Snoddy (left halfback), Armstrong (right halfback), and Tanner (fullback).


Post season

Centre then played in two bowl games to close the season.


Bowls


Arizona

Sources: In the
San Diego East-West Christmas Classic The San Diego East-West Christmas Classic was an annual series of two post-season college American football bowl games played at Balboa Stadium in San Diego, California, in 1921 and 1922.Foldesy, Jody. "Bowls burgeon as big business", ''The Washingt ...
, Centre defeated
Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
38–0 as rain fell throughout the game.
Red Roberts :''This is an article about the baseball player. For the college football coach, see Red Roberts (American football).'' Charles Emory "Red" Roberts (August 8, 1918 – December 2, 1998) was a Major League Baseball player. Roberts played for ...
scored the first touchdown five minutes into the match. Bo McMillin went over the right tackle for another score. Centre led 18–0 at the half as Arizona was held to no first downs in two quarters of play. Arizona later made an attempt to drive towards a score, but Centre intercepted an Arizona pass to keep the game scoreless. Herb Covington scored on a punt return and a sweep to seal the victory. The starting lineup was: Roberts (left end), Gordy (left tackle), Jones (left guard), Kubale (center), Shadoan (right guard), Cregor (right tackle), James (right end), McMillin (quarterback), Snoddy (left halfback), Armstrong (right halfback), and Tanner (fullback).


Texas A&M

Sources: After a long trip back, the Colonels played in the Dixie Classic in
Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
, a precursor to the modern
Cotton Bowl Classic The Cotton Bowl Classic (also known as the Cotton Bowl) is an American college football bowl game that has been held annually in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex since January 1, 1937. The game was originally played at its namesake stadium i ...
. The day before the game, McMillin was married. Centre was upset by coach
Dana X. Bible Dana Xenophon Bible (October 8, 1891 – January 19, 1980) was an American football player, coach of football, basketball, and baseball, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at Mississippi College (1913–1 ...
's
Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...
14–22. It is the game in which Texas A&M's 12th man tradition originated. The Aggies scored first and early by catching Tom Bartlett behind his goal for a safety. Centre went up 7–2 in the third quarter,
Terry Snoddy Hall Terry Snoddy (March 18, 1899 – ?) also known as Terry Snowday was a college football player. Early years Hall Terry Snoddy was born on March 18, 1899, in Owensboro, Kentucky, to Carey Snoddy and Ruth Hall. Centre College Snoddy was a ...
running in the score after an A&M fumble. The Colonels fumbled the ensuing kickoff. The Aggies got the ball and a pass from Puny Wilson to Jack Evans got the touchdown. Centre fumbled again on the next possession. Wilson scored this time. Centre got the ball back, but Ted Winn intercepted the ball and ran 45 yards for the A&M touchdown. Centre's Snoddy scored again later, but the game ended soon afterwards, 22–14. The starting lineup was: Roberts (left end), Gordy (left tackle), Jones (left guard), Kubale (Center), Shadoan (right guard), Cregor (right tackle), James (right end), McMillin (quarterback), Snoddy (left halfback), Armstrong (right halfback), and Bartlett (fullback).


Legacy


Awards and honors

The 1921 team produced the most stars for Centre's all-time team.
Red Roberts :''This is an article about the baseball player. For the college football coach, see Red Roberts (American football).'' Charles Emory "Red" Roberts (August 8, 1918 – December 2, 1998) was a Major League Baseball player. Roberts played for ...
was a first-team
Walter Camp Walter Chauncey Camp (April 7, 1859 – March 14, 1925) was an American football player, coach, and sports writer known as the "Father of American Football". Among a long list of inventions, he created the sport's line of scrimmage and the system ...
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 ...
selection, just the fourth in Southern history.
Bo McMillin Alvin Nugent "Bo" McMillin (January 12, 1895 – March 31, 1952) was an American football player and coach at the collegiate and professional level. He played college football at Centre College in Danville, Kentucky, where he was a three-tim ...
made Camp's second team and is recognized as a consensus All-American. McMillin was a unanimous All-Southern selection. Red Roberts made composite All-Southern, and Kubale and Snoddy made some selections.


Championships

The Colonels were recognized by writers generally as champions of the South.
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 Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...
, and Vanderbilt split the SIAA championship. Centre was arguably the strongest of the four, for as one publication reads: "Out of eleven games against eastern teams, Centre and Georgia Tech furnished the only two victories and Tech was later trounced by
Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campu ...
." For Georgia coach
Herman Stegeman Herman James Stegeman (January 21, 1891 – October 22, 1939) was a player and coach of American football, basketball, baseball, and track and field athletics, and a college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at Beloit C ...
, the contest for the theoretical title of greatest Southern team was between Centre, Georgia Tech, and Georgia.
Fuzzy Woodruff Lorenzo Ferguson "Fuzzy" Woodruff (May 27, 1884 – December 7, 1929) was an early 20th-century American sportswriter known throughout most of the southeast for his vivid writing. He was also a music and drama critic. He began his newspaper c ...
explains that Centre "belonged to no governing association" with several players thereby accused of professionalism, and Tech was picked as champion "through force of habit".


Personnel


Depth chart

The following chart provides a visual depiction of Centre's lineup during the 1921 season with games started at the position reflected in parenthesis. The chart mimics a
single wing In American football, American and Canadian football, a single-wing formation was a precursor to the modern Spread offense, spread or shotgun formation. The term usually connotes formations in which the snap (football), snap is tossed rather th ...
on offense.


Starters


Line


Backfield


Subs


Line


Backfield


Unlisted


Scoring leaders

The following is an incomplete list of statistics and scores, largely dependent on newspaper summaries.


Coaching staff

*
Charley Moran Charles Barthell Moran (February 22, 1878 – June 14, 1949), nicknamed "Uncle Charley", was an American sportsman who gained renown as both a catcher and umpire (baseball), umpire in Major League Baseball and as a college football, collegiate an ...
, head coach * Chief Myers, assistant coach * Tiny Thornhill, line coach *John B. McGee, Manager


References


Bibliography

* * * * {{SIAA football champions
Centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...
Centre Colonels football seasons
Centre Praying Colonels football The Centre Colonels football team, historically also known as the Praying Colonels, represents Centre College in NCAA Division III competition. The Colonels currently play in the Southern Athletic Association (SAA), which was established in 2011. ...