1917 Auburn Tigers football team

1917 Auburn Tigers football
Conference	Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association
Record	6–2–1 (5–1 SIAA)
Head coach	Mike Donahue (13th season)
Base defense	7–2–2
Captain	Carey Robinson
Home stadium	Drake Field Rickwood Field
Seasons ←  1916 1918  →

1917 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
Georgia Tech $	4	–	0	–	0			9	–	0	–	0
Auburn	5	–	1	–	0			6	–	2	–	1
Clemson	5	–	1	–	0			6	–	2	–	0
Centre	1	–	0	–	0			7	–	1	–	0
Mississippi A&M	3	–	1	–	0			6	–	1	–	0
Alabama	3	–	1	–	1			5	–	2	–	1
Sewanee	4	–	2	–	1			5	–	2	–	1
Tulane	2	–	1	–	0			5	–	3	–	0
Vanderbilt	3	–	2	–	0			5	–	3	–	0
LSU	2	–	3	–	0			3	–	5	–	0
South Carolina	2	–	3	–	0			3	–	5	–	0
Wofford	1	–	2	–	0			5	–	4	–	0
Furman	1	–	3	–	0			3	–	5	–	0
Florida	1	–	3	–	0			2	–	4	–	0
Ole Miss	1	–	4	–	0			1	–	4	–	1
Howard (AL)	0	–	2	–	1			3	–	3	–	1
The Citadel	0	–	2	–	0			3	–	3	–	0
Mississippi College	0	–	4	–	0			0	–	5	–	0
$ – Conference champion There were several SIAA schools that did not field a team due to World War I.

The 1917 Auburn Tigers football team represented Auburn University in the 1917 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association football season. It was the Tigers' 26th season and they competed as a member of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA). The team was led by head coach Mike Donahue, in his 13th year, and played their home games at Drake Field in Auburn, Alabama. They finished with a record of six wins, two losses and one tie (6–2–1 overall, 5–1 in the SIAA).

Led by Walter Camp All-America Honorable Mention Moon Ducote, Auburn lost its two games to Davidson and Georgia Tech, widely regarded as the two best teams in the south. ^[1] Georgia Tech was the south's first national champion. Auburn held undefeated Big Ten champion Ohio State to a scoreless tie.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
October 6	8th Ohio Infantry*	Soldiers Field Montgomery, AL	W 13–0	2,500	[2]
October 13	Howard (AL)	Drake Field Auburn, AL	W 53–0		[3]
October 19	at Clemson	Riggs Field Clemson, SC (rivalry)	W 7–0		[4]
October 27	Mississippi A&M	Rickwood Field Birmingham, AL	W 13–6		[5]
November 3	Florida	Drake Field Auburn, AL (rivalry)	W 68–0		[6]
November 10	vs. Davidson *	Grant Field Atlanta, GA	L 7–21		[7]
November 17	at Vanderbilt	Dudley Field Nashville, TN	W 31–7		[8]
November 24	Ohio State *	Soldiers Field Montgomery, AL	T 0–0	10,000	[9]
November 29	at Georgia Tech	Grant Field Atlanta, GA (rivalry)	L 7–68		[10]
*Non-conference game

Game summaries

8th Ohio Infantry

The season opened with a 13–0 victory over the 8th Ohio Infantry at Montgomery.

Howard (AL)

In the second week of play, the Tigers defeated the Howard Baptists, 53–0.

Clemson

Auburn at Clemson

1 2 3 4 Total •Auburn 7 0 0 0 7 Clemson 0 0 0 0 0 Date: October 19 Location: Clemson, South Carolina Referee: John R. Bender Sources: [11]

Auburn beat Clemson on Riggs Field 7–0, in a close game. Ducote starred for Auburn and Stumpy Banks starred for Clemson. ^[11]

Auburn's starting lineup was Ducote (left end), Caton (left tackle), Samford (left guard), Rogers (center), Warren (right guard), Bonner (right tackle), Styles (right end), Robinson (quarterback), Donahue (left halfback), Creel (right halfback), Revington (fullback). ^[11]

Mississippi A&M

Mississippi A&M at Auburn

1 2 3 4 Total Miss. A&M 6 0 0 0 6 •Auburn 0 7 6 0 13 Date: October 27 Location: Birmingham, Alabama Referee: Thomas (Purdue) Sources: [12]

Auburn won a tough game with the Mississippi Aggies, winning 13–6. The Aggies score when their tackle, Horton, picked up a fumble and ran 95 yards for a touchdown. ^[12]

Auburn's starting lineup was Styles (left end), Caton (left tackle), Sizemore (left guard), Rogers (center), Warren (right guard), Bonner (right tackle), Gibson (right end), Ducote (quarterback), Donahue (left halfback), Trapp (right halfback), Revington (fullback). ^[12]

Florida

Florida at Auburn

1 2 3 4 Total Florida 0 0 0 0 0 •Auburn 14 19 21 14 68 Date: November 6 Location: Auburn, Alabama Referee: Tom Dutton Sources: [13]

Auburn's biggest win was 68–0 over Florida. ^[13]

Auburn's starting lineup was Creel (left end), Styles (left tackle), Sizemore (left guard), Caton (center), Warren (right guard), Bonner (right tackle), Gibson (right end), Ducote (quarterback), Donahue (left halfback), Trapp (right halfback), Revington (fullback). ^[13]

Davidson

Davidson vs. Auburn

1 2 3 4 Total •Davidson 0 7 7 7 21 Auburn 0 0 7 0 7 Date: November 10 Location: Atlanta Game start: 2:30 p.m. Referee: Lewis (Virginia) Sources: [14] [15]

Davidson, led by Buck Flowers, beat the Tigers 21–7 in an upset, one of the greatest in Southern history. ^{[15] [16]} Flowers returned a punt 65 yards for a touchdown, caught a pass for a second touchdown, set up a third touchdown with an 85-yard return to Auburn's two-yard line, and kicked all three extra points for the Wildcats. He also prevented Auburn from scoring with a tackle at the goal line. ^[17]

Auburn's starting lineup was Esslinger (left end), Styles (left tackle), Sizemore (left guard), Caton (center), Warren (right guard), Bonner (right tackle), Gibson (right end), Robinson (quarterback), Donahue (left halfback), Ducote (right halfback), Revington (fullback). ^[15]

Vanderbilt

Auburn at Vanderbilt

1 2 3 4 Total •Auburn 6 6 13 6 31 Vanderbilt 0 0 0 7 7 Date: November 17 Location: Nashville, Tennessee Referee: Bradley Walker Sources: [18]

The Tigers defeated Dan McGugin's Vanderbilt Commodores 31–7. ^[18]

Auburn's starting lineup was Gibson (left end), Styles (left tackle), Sizemore (left guard), Caton (center), Warren (right guard), Bonner (right tackle), Creel (right end), Robinson (quarterback), Donahue (left halfback), Ducote (right halfback), Revington (fullback). ^[18]

Ohio State

Ohio State at Auburn

1 2 3 4 Total Ohio St. 0 0 0 0 0 Auburn 0 0 0 0 0 Date: November 24 Location: Montgomery, Alabama Referee: Bradley Walker Sources: [19]

Auburn held undefeated Big Ten champion Ohio State to a scoreless tie less than a week before the Tech game. ^[20] Ohio State, led by Chic Harley, had been favored 4 or 5 to 1. ^[21] Coach John Heisman (who previously coached at Auburn) and his players were at the game, rooting for the Tigers. ^[22] Auburn stopped Ohio State inside its 10-yard line five times. ^[23]

Auburn's starting lineup was Creel (left end), Styles (left tackle), Sizemore (left guard), Caton (center), Warren (right guard), Bonner (right tackle), Gibson (right end), Robinson (quarterback), Donahue (left halfback), Ducote (right halfback), Revington (fullback). ^[19]

Georgia Tech

Auburn at Georgia Tech

1 2 3 4 Total Auburn 0 0 0 7 7 •Ga. Tech 20 13 21 14 68 Date: November 29 Location: Grant Field Atlanta Game attendance: 20,000 Referee: Jogger Elcock Sources: [24]

In the season's final game, Georgia Tech, for year's considered the South's greatest, Auburn 68–7. Tech piled up 472 yards on the ground in 84 rushes and 145 yards in the air. ^[25] Joe Guyon scored four touchdowns, ^[25] and Everett Strupper had a 65-yard touchdown run. According to the Atlanta Journal,

It was not the length of the run that featured it was the brilliance of it. After getting through the first line, Stroop was tackled squarely by two secondary men, and yet he squirmed and jerked loosed from them, only to face the safety man and another Tiger, coming at him from different angles. Without checking his speed Everett knifed the two men completely, running between them and dashing on to a touchdown. ^[25]

In the second quarter, Moon Ducote broke through the line toward the goal with blocking by Pete Bonner and William Donahue. After Guyon dove at Ducote and missed, Guyon gave chase and tackled him at the 26-yard line. ^[24] For Auburn's only score Ducote circled around end for 17 yards and lateraled to Donahue, who ran down the sideline for a six-yard touchdown. ^[22] Guyon was the star of the game, ^[26] accounting for four touchdowns and having his best day passing. ^[25] Strupper had touchdown runs of 62 and 50 yards. ^[25] Auburn's starting lineup was Gibson (left end), Martin (left tackle), Sizemore (left guard), Caton (center), Warren (right guard), Bonner (right tackle), Styles (right end), Robinson (quarterback), Donahue (left halfback), Ducote (right halfback), Revington (fullback) ^[24]

Postseason

Despite the lopsided loss to Tech, Auburn was considered a strong team. Ducote and Bonner were the only non-Tech, unanimous All-Southern selections. ^[27] Coach Donahue later said that Ducote was "undoubtedly the best ever." ^[28]

References

1. Bernie McCarty (February 1988). "Georgia Tech's 1917 backfield, better than Four Horsemen" (PDF). College Football Historical Society. 1 (3). Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016.
2. "Auburn downs fast team of Ohioans by score of 13 to 0". The Montgomery Advertiser. October 7, 1917. Retrieved May 14, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
3. "Auburn Tigers run wild over Howard Baptists". The Montgomery Advertiser. October 14, 1917. Retrieved May 14, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
4. "Auburn defeats Clemson Tigers". The Columbia Record. October 20, 1917. Retrieved May 14, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
5. "The Plainsmen have tough game". The Atlanta Constitution. October 28, 1917. Retrieved May 14, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
6. "Florida downed by Auburn Tigers by score of 68 to 0". The Montgomery Advertiser. November 4, 1917. Retrieved May 14, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
7. "Davidson defeats Auburn". The Journal and Tribune. November 11, 1917. Retrieved May 14, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
8. "Auburn triumphs over Vanderbilt Commodores in annual tilt". The Birmingham News. November 18, 1917. Retrieved May 14, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
9. "Auburn Tigers play Ohio State to scoreless tie". The Atlanta Constitution. November 25, 1917. Retrieved May 14, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
10. "Passes prove Georgia Techs biggest asset". The News and Observer. November 30, 1917. Retrieved May 14, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
11. "Clemson Tigers Lose To Auburn Plainsmen". The Atlanta Constitution. October 20, 1917. p. 14. Retrieved May 24, 2016.
12. "The Plainsmen Have Tough Game". The Atlanta Constitution. October 28, 1917. p. 3. Retrieved May 24, 2016– via Newspapers.com.
13. "Auburn Had Little Trouble Defeating The Light Gator Eleven". The Florida Alligator. November 7, 1917.
14. Jemison, Dick (November 10, 1917). "Plainsmen Twelve Pounds Heavier Than Davidson". The Atlanta Constitution . Atlanta, Georgia. p. 14. Retrieved April 12, 2022– via Newspapers.com .
15. Dick Jemison (November 11, 1917). "Ralph Flowers, Demon Halfback, Defeats Auburn". Atlanta Constitution– via Newspapers.com. Part 1 Part 2
16. "Wildcat Origin". Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved March 22, 2015.
17. "Renowned Athlete Buck Flowers Dies". Sumter Daily Item. April 11, 1983. p. 3A.
18. "Vady Beaten By Plainsmen; Count 31 to 7". The Atlanta Constitution. November 18, 1917. p. 3. Retrieved May 24, 2016– via Newspapers.com.
19. "Auburn Tigers Play Ohio State To Scoreless Tie". The Atlanta Constitution. November 25, 1917. p. 3. Retrieved July 12, 2015– via Newspapers.com.
20. "1917 Auburn Tigers". Archived from the original on December 10, 2015.
21. Heisman & Schlabach 2012 , p. 160
22. Heisman, John M.; Schlabach, Mark (2012). Heisman: The Man Behind The Trophy. New York: Simon & Schuster. p. 161. ISBN   978-1-4516-8291-5.
23. Phillip Marshall (2005). Stadium Stories: Auburn Tigers. p. 12. ISBN   9780762723119.
24. "Golden Tornado Wins Great Victory" (PDF). The Technique. December 4, 1917. p. 4.
25. McCarty, Bernie (May 1988). "Georgia Tech's 1917 backfield, better than the Four Horsemen: Part 2" (PDF). College Football Historical Society Newsletter. 1 (4): 16–17. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016.
26. "Georgia Tech Defeats Auburn Eleven 68 to 7". Greensboro Daily News. November 30, 1917. p. 13. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved August 4, 2015– via Newspapers.com.
27. Spalding Football Guide. Shawnee Mission, Kansas, NCAA Publishing Service. 1918.
28. see Gridiron Gasps, The Tuscaloosa News, January 10, 1933.