1931 College Football All-America Team

The 1931 College Football All-America team is composed of college football players who were selected as All-Americans by various organizations and writers that chose College Football All-America Teams in 1931. The organizations that chose the teams included: Associated Press, United Press, Collier's Weekly/Grantland Rice, Newspaper Enterprise Association, Hearst/INS, Central Press Association, and College Humor.

The only unanimous All-American selection in 1931 was Tulane's Gerald “Jerry” Dalrymple.

NCAA consensus All-American team

The following players make up the consensus All-American team recognized in the NCAA All-American guide.

Position Name School Unanimous College Hall of Fame
Ends Jerry Dalrymple
Vernon “Catfish” Smith		 Tulane
Georgia		 Yes
No		 Dalrymple HOF Profile
Smith HOF Profile
Tackles Dallas “Dal” Marvil
Jess Quatse
Jack Riley		 Northwestern
Pittsburgh
Northwestern		 No
No
No		 No
No
Riley HOF Profile
Guards Clarence “Biggie” Munn
John “Johnny” Baker		 Minnesota
Southern California		 No
No		 Munn HOF Profile
Baker HOF Profile
Center Thomas Yarr Notre Dame No Yarr HOF Profile
Quarterback Barry Wood Harvard No Wood HOF Profile
Halfbacks Marchmont "Marchy" Schwartz
Ernest “Pug” Rentner
 Notre Dame
Northwestern		 No
No		 Schwartz HOF Profile
Rentner HOF Profile
Fullback Gaius Shaver Southern California No No
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Proliferation of All-American teams

Damon Runyon described the proliferation of All-American teams as a virulent plague.

In 1931, Damon Runyon wrote a column about the proliferation of “All-America” teams. He noted: “The ‘All’ boys are it, tooth and nail. They are ‘All’-ing North, South East and West. They will wind up ‘All’-Americaing, the most virulent form of the ‘All’ plague that besets us every Winter. The late Walter Camp little realized what he was bringing upon the country . . . At the moment, Mr. Camp probably had no idea that he was sowing the seed of a fearful pestilence.”[1] Runyon noted that Camp’s word was viewed as gospel, but with his passing “the rush to fill his shoes was prodigious,” and the “’All’ business became a national obsession.”[1]

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All-Americans of 1931

Key

Bold - Consensus All-American[2]

Selectors recognized by NCAA in consensus determinations

Other selectors

  • CP = Central Press Association, also known as the Captain's Poll, selected by a poll of the captains of the major football teams[9]
  • WCFF = Walter Camp Football Foundation[10]
  • HSM = All-American team selected by 18,006 fans through nation-wide contest sponsored by clothier Hart, Schaffner and Marx[11]
  • CH = College Humor magazine[12]
  • LP = selected by Lawrence Perry, a former Princetonian who wrote a nationally-syndicated sports colyum called For The Game's Sake[13]

Ends

  • Gerald "Jerry" Dalrymple, Tulane (AP–1; UP–1; COL–1; CP–1; NEA–1; INS–1; WCFF; HSM; CH-1; LP; AAB)
  • Vernon "Catfish" Smith, Georgia (AP-1; COL–1; NEA–2; INS–2; HSM; CP–1; CH-2; LP)
  • Henry Cronkite, Kansas State (AP–2; UP–1; NEA–1; INS-2; CP–3; CH-1)
  • John "Johnny" Orsi, Colgate (AP–2; CP–2; NEA–2; INS-1; WCFF; CH-2; AAB)
  • Paul Moss, Purdue (NEA–3; INS-3l CP–2; )
  • Koontz, Southern Methodist (CP-3)
  • Bill Hewitt, Michigan (NEA-3)
  • Garrett Arbelbide, Southern California (AP-3)
  • Fred Felber, Univ. of North Dakota (AP-3)
  • Barres, Yale (INS-3)

Tackles

  • Dallas "Dal" Marvil, Northwestern (AP–1; NEA–3; INS-1; CP–1; CH-2; HSM)
  • Jesse Quatse, Pittsburgh (UP–1; COL–1; CP-2; WCFF; CH-1; AAB)
  • Jack Riley, Northwestern (NEA–1; INS-2; WCFF; AAB)
  • Paul Schwegler, Washington (AP–1; COL–1; INS-3; CP–2)
  • Joseph Kurth, Notre Dame (AP–2; UP–1; NEA–1; INS–2; CP–3; LP)
  • John "Jack" Price, Army (AP–3; CP–1; NEA–2; INS-1; CH-2)
  • James MacMurdo, Pittsburgh (AP–2; NEA–3; INS-3; HSM)
  • Ira Hardy, Harvard (NEA–2; CH-1; LP)
  • Hugh Rhea, Nebraska (AP-3)
  • Saunders, Tennessee (CP-3)

Guards

  • Clarence "Biggie" Munn, Minnesota (AP–1; UP–1; COL–1; NEA–1; INS–1; CP–1; HSM; CH-1; LP; WCFF; AAB)
  • Johnny Baker, Southern California (AP–2; UP–1; NEA–1; INS–1; CP–2; WCFF; HSM; CH-2; LP; AAB)
  • Herman Hickman, Tennessee (AP–3; COL–1; NEA–3; INS-3; CP–1; CH-1)
  • Frank (Nordy) Hoffman, Notre Dame (AP-1; NEA–2; INS-2)
  • Joe Zeller, Indiana (NEA-2)
  • Ignatius "Jim" Zyntell, Holy Cross (CP-2)
  • James Evans, Northwestern (AP–2; CP-3)
  • Maurice "Mush" Dubofsky, Georgetown (NEA-3)
  • Gregory Kabat, Wisconsin (AP–3; CP-3)
  • Milton "Red" Leathers, Georgia (INS-2)
  • H.R. Myerson, Harvard (INS-3)
  • Corbus, Stanford (CH-2)

Centers

  • Tommy Yarr, Notre Dame (AP–1; NEA–2; INS-1; WCFF; HSM; CH-2; AAB)
  • Maynard Morrison, Michigan (AP–3; COL–1; NEA-1; CP–3)
  • Ralph Daugherty, Pittsburgh (AP–2; NEA–3; INS–3; CP–1; LP)
  • Charles Miller, Purdue (UP-1; CH-1)
  • Pete Gracey, Vanderbilt (CP-2)
  • McDuffie, Columbia (INS-2)

Quarterbacks

  • W. Barry Wood, Jr., Harvard (AP–1; COL–1; NEA–1; INS-1; CP–1; HSM; CH-2)
  • Austin Downes, Georgia (CP-3)
  • William Morton, Dartmouth (AP–2; NEA–2; INS-3; CH-1)
  • Carl Cramer, Ohio State (AP-3)

Halfbacks

  • Marchmont "Marchy" Schwartz, Notre Dame (College Football Hall of Fame) (AP–1; UP–1; COL–1; NEA–1; INS–1; WCFF; HSM; CH-1; LP; AAB)
  • Ernie "Pug" Rentner, Northwestern (College Football Hall of Fame) (AP-1; UP–1; COL–1; NEA–1; INS–1 [named as fullback by Hearst]; CP–1; WCFF; HSM [named as fullback]; CH-1; LP; AAB)
  • Donald Zimmerman, Tulane (AP–2; NEA–2; INS-1; CP–1; CH-2)
  • Bob Monnett, Michigan State (CP-1)
  • Eugene McEver, Tennessee (AP–2; NEA–2; INS-2; CP–2)
  • Francis "Bud" Toscani, St. Marys (NEA-2)
  • Cornelius Murphy, Fordham (CP-3; CH-2) {Murphy died from a ruptured blood vessel in the brain in December 1931}
  • J.W. Crickard, Harvard (NEA-3)
  • Albert J. "Mighty Atom" Booth, Jr., Yale (AP–3; INS-2)
  • Weldon Mason, Southern Methodist (AP-3)
  • Ray Stecker, Army (INS-3)

Fullbacks

  • Gaius "Gus" Shaver, Southern California (COL–1 [selected as fullback]; UP–1 [selected as quarterback]; NEA–3 [selected as quarterback]; INS–2 [selected as quarterback]; CP–1 [selected as fullback]; WCFF [selected as quarterback]; LP [selected as quarterback]; AAB)
  • Erny Pinckert, Southern California (College Football Hall of Fame) (AP–1; NEA–1; INS–3 [picked as halfback]; HSM [named as halfback]; CH-1)
  • Johnny Cain, Alabama (UP–1; NEA–3 [picked as halfback]; INS-3; WCFF; CH-2; AAB)
  • Ralston "Rusty" Gill, California (NEA–3; LP)
  • Orville Mohler, Southern California (AP-3; CP-2 [picked as quarterback])
  • Jack Manders, Minnesota (CP-2)
  • Bart J. Viviano, Cornell (AP-2)
  • Clarke Hinkle, Bucknell (INS-2)
  • Nollie Felts, Tulane (CP-3)
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References

  1. ^ a b Runyon, Damon (1931-12-03). "Runyon Makes One Selection for ‘All’ Eleven". Chester Times. 
  2. ^ Consensus All-American designations based on the NCAA guide to football award winners
  3. ^ "All Sections of Country Represented on Team; National Honors Given 1931 Grid Star". Reno Evening Gazette. 1931-12-05. 
  4. ^ McLemore, Henry (1931-12-04). "United Press Selects Stellar All-American". The Piqua Daily Call (Ohio). 
  5. ^ "Munn Placed on Rice’s All-American Team: Rentner and Morrison Get Honor Posts". The Evening Tribune (Albert Lea, Minn.). 1931-12-18. 
  6. ^ "Dalrymple Highest Vote-Getter In NEA Board’s All-American Team". The Daily News (Frederick, Md.). 1931-12-14. 
  7. ^ Frick, Ford (1931-12-05). "Schwartz and Dalrymple Most Popular Choices on 'Hearst All-American'". Chester Times. 
  8. ^ Christy Walsh (1932-12-11). "ALL-AMERICA BOARD HONORS CAPT. BOB SMITH OF COLGATE". Syracuse Herald. 
  9. ^ Bitt, Bill (Central Sports Editor) (1931-12-09). "Real 1931 All-American Team Selected by College Captains". The Evening Independent (Massillon, Ohio). 
  10. ^ "Walter Camp Football Foundation All-American Selections". Walter Camp Football Foundation. Archived from the original on 18 December 2007. Retrieved 3 January 2008. 
  11. ^ "Mythical Team Nominated by Fans Announced". The Muscatine Journal and News-Tribune. 1931-12-11. 
  12. ^ "All-America Selected by Coll. Humor". The Greeley Daily Tribune (Colo.). 1932-12-31. 
  13. ^ Perry, Lawrence (1931-12-05). "Gill Named on Perry’s U.S. Star Eleven: Baker and Shaver Also Honored by Eastern Grid Expert". Oakland Tribune. 
1931 College Football All-America Team consensus selections
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Last modified on 4 February 2013, at 23:11