Thomas Francis Ryan was a

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 ...

and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player.

Vanderbilt University

Ryan was a prominent

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 ...

and fullback and punter for

Dan McGugin Daniel Earle McGugin (July 29, 1879 – January 23, 1936) was an American football player and coach, as well as a lawyer. He served as the head football coach at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee from 1904 to 1917 and again from ...

Vanderbilt Commodores football The Vanderbilt Commodores football program represents Vanderbilt University in the sport of American football. The Commodores compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the East Divis ...

team of the

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...

from

1920 Events January * January 1 ** Polish–Soviet War in 1920: The Russian Red Army increases its troops along the Polish border from 4 divisions to 20. ** Kauniainen, completely surrounded by the city of Espoo, secedes from Espoo as its own ma ...

1921 Events January * January 2 ** The Association football club Cruzeiro Esporte Clube, from Belo Horizonte, is founded as the multi-sports club Palestra Italia by Italian expatriates in First Brazilian Republic, Brazil. ** The Spanish lin ...

and 1923 to

1924 Events January * January 12 – Gopinath Saha shoots Ernest Day, whom he has mistaken for Sir Charles Tegart, the police commissioner of Calcutta, and is arrested soon after. * January 20– 30 – Kuomintang in China hol ...

. He was also a guard on the

team, selected All-Southern by some writers in 1922.

1921

In a 34–0 victory over Middle Tennessee State Normal, ''The Commodore'', Vanderbilt's

yearbook A yearbook, also known as an annual, is a type of a book published annually. One use is to record, highlight, and commemorate the past year of a school. The term also refers to a book of statistics or facts published annually. A yearbook often ...

, reported the lone plus of the passing game, stating "Practically the only thing of note was the aerial efficiency— Kuhn to Ryan and Kuhn to

McCullough McCullough is a Northern Irish surname. It is a variation of the Scottish McCulloch. In Irish Gaelic it's “''Mac Cú Uladh''”, which means ''“Son of Ulster”.'' People with the surname McCullough: * Alfred McCullough (born 1989), America ...

." The Commodores upset the

Texas Longhorns The Texas Longhorns are the athletic teams representing the University of Texas at Austin. The teams are sometimes referred to as the Horns and take their name from Longhorn cattle that were an important part of the development of Texas, and a ...

20–0. On a third down, at some point near the middle of the second quarter, Texas' Ivan Robertson, with the Commodores' Tom Ryan and

Tex Bradford Cecil Rhodes "Tex" Bradford (August 15, 1899 – January 27, 1975) was a college football player and a medical doctor. Early years Bradford was born on August 15, 1899, in Mansfield, Texas, to James Frederick Bradford and Susan Virginia Ho ...

running after him, threw a pass not near a single Longhorn; which was intercepted by Vanderbilt's captain

Pink Wade William James "Pink" Wade (August 18, 1899 – March 1, 1966) was an American football player for the Vanderbilt Commodores of Vanderbilt University. Wade was the captain of the 1921 SIAA champion Vanderbilt football team. He was the father ...

. Wade returned the interception for 65 yards and the first touchdown of the game. In the effective

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) championship game, Vanderbilt tied the favored

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 the final quarter using a trick onside punt kicked by Ryan. Ryan lined up to punt.

Rupert Smith General Sir Rupert Anthony Smith, (born 13 December 1943) is a retired British Army officer and author of '' The Utility of Force''. He was a senior commander during the Gulf War, for which he was recognised with the award of the Distinguished ...

sneaked in behind Ryan, and rushed to recover the 25-yard

onside kick In gridiron football, an onside kick is a kickoff deliberately kicked short in an attempt by the kicking team to regain possession of the ball. This is in contrast with a typical kickoff, in which the kicking team intends to give the ball to the o ...

. Smith jumped up to get the ball off the bounce among a hoard of Bulldogs, after they had let it bounce, including the outstretched arms of the Bulldogs' Hartley, and raced for a 15-yard touchdown. Vanderbilt therefore tied for a conference title. Ryan was on

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 ...

's list of all players worthy of mention.Camp, Walter, ed
National Collegiate Athletic Association Football Rules: Official Intercollegiate Football Guide.
45 Rose St, New York: American Sports, 1922. Print. Spalding's Athletic Library.

1922

Ryan did not return for the 1922 season, preferring to stay an adjunct of the

oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturated ...

industry in

Tampico, Mexico Tampico is a city and port in the southeastern part of the state of Tamaulipas, Mexico. It is located on the north bank of the Pánuco River, about inland from the Gulf of Mexico, and directly north of the state of Veracruz. Tampico is the fifth ...

1923

The school's last football conference title to date came in 1923. In the 3–0 loss to national champion

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

, Ryan had a fine game, out- punting the famed

Harry Kipke Harry George Kipke (; March 26, 1899 – September 14, 1972) was an American football, basketball, and baseball player and coach. He was the head football coach at Michigan State College in 1928 and at the University of Michigan from 1929 to 1937 ...

.Russell, Fred, and Maxwell Edward Benson. ''Fifty Years of Vanderbilt Football''. Nashville, TN, 1938, p. 42

1924

Vanderbilt beat

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 ...

in Atlanta for the first time since

1906 Events January–February * January 12 – Persian Constitutional Revolution: A nationalistic coalition of merchants, religious leaders and intellectuals in Persia forces the shah Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar to grant a constitution, ...

on a

Hek Wakefield Henry Smith "Hek" Wakefield (February 10, 1899 – November 19, 1962) was an American college football player and coach. He played fullback and end for the Vanderbilt Commodores of Vanderbilt University from 1921 to 1924, receiving the honor ...

drop kick. The punting battle between

Doug Wycoff Stephen Douglas Wycoff (September 16, 1903 – October 27, 1981) was an American football running back for the New York Giants, Staten Island Stapletons, and Boston Redskins in the National Football League (NFL), the Newark Bears in the fir ...

and Ryan was one of the few noted features of the game. The first touchdown drive of the 16–0 win over

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

ended when Ryan broke through a hole created by

Bob Rives Robert Franklin Rives (November 12, 1903 – March 1, 1956) was an American football tackle. He played college football for Vanderbilt University. Early years Bob Rives was born on November 12, 1903, in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, to R. H. Rives. H ...

, finishing a 63-yard march. Ryan was selected All-Southern by his teammates.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ryan, Thomas Year of birth missing Year of death missing American football ends American football fullbacks American football punters Guards (basketball) Vanderbilt Commodores football players Vanderbilt Commodores men's basketball players All-Southern college football players Players of American football from Houston Basketball players from Houston