1921 Penn State Nittany Lions football team

1921 Penn State Nittany Lions football
1921 Penn State Nittany Lions football
Conference	Independent
Record	8–0–2
Head coach	Hugo Bezdek (4th season);
Captain	George Snell
Home stadium	New Beaver Field
	Seasons ← 1920 1922 →

Last updated January 17, 2025

1921 Eastern college football independents records
v t e	Conf			Overall
Team	W	L	T	W		L		T
Washington & Jefferson		–		10	–	0	–	1
Lafayette		–		9	–	0	–	0
Cornell		–		8	–	0	–	0
Penn State		–		8	–	0	–	2
Yale		–		8	–	1	–	0
New Hampshire		–		8	–	1	–	1
Franklin & Marshall		–		6	–	1	–	2
Villanova		–		6	–	1	–	2
Carnegie Tech		–		7	–	2	–	0
Syracuse		–		7	–	2	–	0
Harvard		–		7	–	2	–	1
Boston University		–		6	–	2	–	0
Dartmouth		–		6	–	2	–	1
Brown		–		5	–	3	–	1
Bucknell		–		5	–	3	–	1
Geneva		–		5	–	3	–	1
Pittsburgh		–		5	–	3	–	1
Holy Cross		–		5	–	3	–	0
Army		–		6	–	4	–	0
Princeton		–		4	–	3	–	0
Boston College		–		4	–	3	–	1
Fordham		–		4	–	3	–	2
Penn		–		4	–	3	–	2
Colgate		–		4	–	4	–	2
Lehigh		–		4	–	4	–	0
Springfield		–		4	–	5	–	2
Vermont		–		3	–	4	–	0
NYU		–		2	–	3	–	3
Buffalo		–		2	–	3	–	2
Drexel		–		2	–	3	–	1
Rutgers		–		4	–	6	–	0
Rhode Island State		–		3	–	5	–	0
Columbia		–		2	–	6	–	0
Tufts		–		1	–	5	–	2
Duquesne		–		0	–	4	–	1

The 1921 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented the Pennsylvania State College in the 1921 college football season. Known as the "Mystery Team", they were coached by Hugo Bezdek and played their home games in New Beaver Field in State College, Pennsylvania.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 24	Lebanon Valley	New Beaver Field State College, PA	W 53–0	2,500
October 1	Gettysburg	New Beaver Field State College, PA	W 24–0	2,500
October 8	NC State	New Beaver Field State College, PA	W 35–0	3,000	^[3]
October 15	Lehigh	New Beaver Field State College, PA	W 28–7	4,000
October 22	at Harvard	Harvard Stadium Boston, MA	T 21–21	30,000
October 29	vs. Georgia Tech	Polo Grounds New York, NY	W 28–7	30,000	^[4]
November 5	Carnegie Tech	New Beaver Field State College, PA	W 28–7	6,000
November 12	vs. Navy	Franklin Field Philadelphia, PA	W 13–7	25,000
November 24	at Pittsburgh	Forbes Field Pittsburgh, PA (rivalry)	T 0–0	34,000	^[1]^[5]
December 3	at Washington	University Stadium Seattle, WA	W 21–7	13,827	^[2]
Homecoming

Players

Line

Number	Player	Position	Hometown	Weight
9	Ray Baer	guard	Toledo, Ohio	200
7	Joe Bedenk	guard	Williamsport	185
8	Newsh Bentz	center		190
10	Hills	tackle		180
5	Hufford	end		170
6	McMahan	tackle		215
11	Stan McCollum	end		178

Backfield

Number	Player	Position	Hometown	Prep school	Height	Weight	Age
2	Glenn Killinger	quarterback	Harrisburg	Tech HS	5' 9"	160	23
25	Knabb	fullback				175
4	Joe Lightner	halfback	Marysville			178
15	Harry Wilson	halfback	Mingo Junction, OH		165

Source:^[6]

Substitutes

Number	Player	Position	Games started	Hometown	Prep school	Height	Weight	Age
	Smozinski
	Frank
	Crowther
	Rugh
	Reinhard
	Logue
	Hamilton
	Ritner
	Redinger	Halfback
	Palm
	Cornwall

Related Research Articles

Hugo Francis Bezdek was a Czech American athlete who played American football and was a coach of football, basketball, and baseball. He was the head football coach at the University of Oregon, the University of Arkansas (1908–1912), Pennsylvania State University (1918–1929), and Delaware Valley College (1949). Bezdek also coached the Mare Island Marines in the 1918 Rose Bowl and the Cleveland Rams of the National Football League (NFL) in 1937 and part of the 1938 season. In addition, Bezdek coached basketball at Oregon and Penn State (1919), coached baseball at Arkansas (1909–1913), Oregon (1914–1917) and Penn State (1920–1930), and served as the manager of Major League Baseball's Pittsburgh Pirates (1917–1919). He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 1954.

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References

1 2 "Pitt men rejoice over "moral victory" by Panthers". Pittsburgh Press. November 25, 1921. p. 32.
1 2 "Penn States attack dazzles U. of W., and Bezdek's Lions triumph, 21-7". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). December 4, 1921. p. 1, part 2.
↑ "Penn State rolls over Southerners". The Boston Globe. October 9, 1921. Retrieved June 9, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
↑ "Penn State Tears Georgia Techites' Line Into Shreds". Pittsburgh Daily Post. October 30, 1921. p. 20. Retrieved May 6, 2016– via Newspapers.com.
↑ Keck, Harry (November 13, 1920). "Forward Pass Scores Only Touchdown of Hard-Fought Contest". The Gazette Times. p. 24 – via Newspapers.com.
↑ Penn State in the Polo Grounds – Part 2 « JoePa's Doghouse

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[pmrej-1] 1 2 "Pitt men rejoice over "moral victory" by Panthers". Pittsburgh Press. November 25, 1921. p. 32.

[psdzzuw-2] 1 2 "Penn States attack dazzles U. of W., and Bezdek's Lions triumph, 21-7". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). December 4, 1921. p. 1, part 2.

[3] "Penn State rolls over Southerners". The Boston Globe. October 9, 1921. Retrieved June 9, 2024– via Newspapers.com.

[4] "Penn State Tears Georgia Techites' Line Into Shreds". Pittsburgh Daily Post. October 30, 1921. p. 20. Retrieved May 6, 2016– via Newspapers.com.

[5] Keck, Harry (November 13, 1920). "Forward Pass Scores Only Touchdown of Hard-Fought Contest". The Gazette Times. p. 24 – via Newspapers.com.

[6] Penn State in the Polo Grounds – Part 2 « JoePa's Doghouse

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v t e Penn State Nittany Lions football
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National championship seasons in bold