1928 VPI Gobblers football team

The 1928 VPI Gobblers football team represented Virginia Polytechnic Institute in the 1928 Southern Conference football season. The team was led by their head coach Andy Gustafson and finished with a record of seven wins and two losses (7–2). This was the senior season for the "Pony Express" backfield which included Frank Peake, Herbert McEver, Scotty MacArthur, and Tommy Tomko.[1]

1928 VPI Gobblers football
ConferenceSouthern Conference
Record7–2 (4–1 SoCon)
Head coach
CaptainAlbert Ewell Bailey
Lloyd Broderick Nutter
Home stadiumMiles Stadium
Seasons
← 1927
1929 →
1928 Southern Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 3 Georgia Tech $ 7 0 0 10 0 0
Tennessee 6 0 1 9 0 1
Florida 6 1 0 8 1 0
VPI 4 1 0 7 2 0
Alabama 6 2 0 6 3 0
LSU 3 1 1 6 2 1
Clemson 4 2 0 8 3 0
Vanderbilt 4 2 0 8 2 0
Tulane 3 3 1 6 3 1
Ole Miss 3 3 0 5 4 0
North Carolina 2 2 2 5 3 2
Kentucky 2 2 1 4 3 1
South Carolina 2 2 1 6 2 2
Maryland 2 3 1 6 3 1
VMI 2 3 1 5 3 2
Georgia 2 4 0 4 5 0
NC State 1 3 1 4 5 1
Mississippi A&M 1 4 0 2 4 2
Virginia 1 6 0 2 6 1
Washington and Lee 1 6 0 2 8 0
Sewanee 0 5 0 2 7 0
Auburn 0 7 0 1 8 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from Dickinson System

Schedule edit

DateTimeOpponentSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 29Roanoke*W 34–7[2][3]
October 6Hampden–Sydney*
  • Miles Stadium
  • Blacksburg, VA
W 32–7[4][5]
October 13at Colgate*
L 14-35[6][7]
October 20at North CarolinaW 16-149,000[8][9][10]
October 27King*
  • Miles Stadium
  • Blacksburg, VA
W 54–0[11]
November 32:30 p.m.vs. MarylandW 9–66,000+[12][13][14]
November 10Virginia
  • Miles Stadium
  • Blacksburg, VA (rivalry)
W 20–05,000–7,000[15][16]
November 172:00 p.m.at Washington and Lee
W 13–75,000[17][18][19][20][21]
November 29vs. VMI
L 6-1620,000[22][23][24][25]

Game summaries edit

Roanoke edit

The starting lineup for VPI was: Gray (left end), Ritter (left tackle), Hotchkiss (left guard), Price (center), Dexter Hubbard (right guard), Bailey (right tackle), Mahaney (right end), Hooper (quarterback), Mattox (left halfback), Peake (right halfback), Looney (fullback). The substitutes were: Amole, Baker, Brown, Coffee, Green, Maury Hubbard, MacArthur, Owens, Pattie, Rule, Shafer, Harry Spear, Phil Spear and Wimmer.

Hampden–Sydney edit

The starting lineup for VPI was: Gray (left end), Bailey (left tackle), Hotchkiss (left guard), Price (center), Dexter Hubbard (right guard), Ritter (right tackle), Mahaney (right end), Hooper (quarterback), Mattox (left halfback), Peake (right halfback), Owens (fullback). The substitutes were: Amole, Brown, Green, Jones, Maury Hubbard, MacArthur, Pattie, Rule and Spear.

Colgate edit

The starting lineup for VPI was: Gray (left end), Bailey (left tackle), Hotchkiss (left guard), Brown (center), Dexter Hubbard (right guard), Ritter (right tackle), Pattie (right end), Hooper (quarterback), Mattox (left halfback), Peake (right halfback), Owens (fullback). The substitutes were: Maury Hubbard, Jones, Looney, MacArthur, Mahaney, Rule and Spear.

North Carolina edit

The starting lineup for VPI was: Mahaney (left end), Bailey (left tackle), Hotchkiss (left guard), Brown (center), Dexter Hubbard (right guard), Ritter (right tackle), Gray (right end), Hooper (quarterback), Peake (left halfback), Phil Spears (right halfback), Looney (fullback).

Maryland edit

The starting lineup for VPI was: Gray (left end), Bailey (left tackle), Hotchkiss (left guard), Brown (center), Dexter Hubbard (right guard), Ritter (right tackle), Mahaney (right end), Hooper (quarterback), Peake (left halfback), Phil Spear (right halfback), Looney (fullback). The substitutes were: Davis, Maury Hubbard, Jones, MacArthur and Owens.

Virginia edit

The starting lineup for VPI was: Gray (left end), Bailey (left tackle), Hotchkiss (left guard), Brown (center), Dexter Hubbard (right guard), Ritter (right tackle), Mahaney (right end), Hooper (quarterback), Phil Spear (left halfback), Mattox (right halfback), Owens (fullback). The substitutes were: Peake.

Washington and Lee edit

The starting lineup for VPI was: Gray (left end), Bailey (left tackle), Hotchkiss (left guard), Brown (center), Dexter Hubbard (right guard), Ritter (right tackle), Mahaney (right end), Hooper (quarterback), Mattox (left halfback), Peake (right halfback), Owens (fullback).

VMI edit

The starting lineup for VPI was: Gray (left end), Bailey (left tackle), Hotchkiss (left guard), Brown (center), Dexter Hubbard (right guard), Ritter (right tackle), Mahaney (right end), Hooper (quarterback), Mattox (left halfback), Peake (right halfback), Owens (fullback). The substitutes were: Amole, Maury Hubbard, Looney, Rule, Harry Spear and Phil Spear.

Players edit

The following players were members of the 1928 football team according to the roster published in the 1929 edition of The Bugle, the Virginia Tech yearbook.[26]

VPI 1928 roster
  • Roger Lee Amole
  • Albert Ewell Bailey (Capt.)
  • Joseph Murray Brown
  • John Edward Gray
  • John Buckner Green
  • Henry Virgil "Bird" Hooper
  • Philip Smith Hotchkiss
  • William Coles Hudgins
  • Louis Dexter Hubbard
  • Warner Brooke Jones
  • John Ote Looney
  • Scotty MacArthur
  • Arthur Randolph Mahaney
  • Cloy Mattox
  • Lloyd Broderick Nutter (Capt.)
  • Milton Anthony Owens
  • Walter Wilson Pattie
  • Frank Peake
  • Nelson Osborn Price
  • Marcus Oliver Ritter
  • Eugene Butler Rule
  • Harry Bingham Spear
  • Philip Hitchborn Spear
  • Cyril Method "Tommy" Tomko

References edit

  1. ^ "From The Beginning ... To The Beamer Era".
  2. ^ "Virginia Poly Wins on Backfield Drive". The Sunday Star. Library of Congress. September 30, 1928. p. 85. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
  3. ^ "Maroons are Downed in Opening Encounter by Tech Eleven". Brackety-ack. Roanoke College. October 3, 1928. p. 4. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
  4. ^ "Peake and Owens Stars As Virginia Poly Wins". The Sunday Star. Library of Congress. October 7, 1928. p. 78. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
  5. ^ "V. P. I. Defeats H.-S., 32 to 7". The Southwest Times. Roanoke College. October 7, 1928. p. 5. Retrieved February 18, 2024.
  6. ^ "Maroon Eleven Turns Back V.P.I., 35–14, To Gain Revenge For Last Year's Defeat". Colgate Maroon. Colgate University. October 17, 1928. p. 1. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
  7. ^ "Colgate Extended To Win Over V. P. I." The Sunday Star. Library of Congress. October 14, 1928. p. 92. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
  8. ^ "Tar Heel Line Crumples as Gobblers Win by 16-14 Score". The Tar Heel. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. October 30, 1928. p. 3. Retrieved February 21, 2022.
  9. ^ "Late V. P. I. Score Defeats Tarheels". The Sunday Star. Library of Congress. October 21, 1928. p. 79. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
  10. ^ "9,000 Fans See The Gobblers Win Gridiron Battle Over Chapel Hill in Close Game". Suffolk News-Herald. Library of Virginia. October 21, 1928. p. 2. Retrieved December 2, 2022.
  11. ^ "V. P. I. Has Walkover". The Sunday Star. Library of Congress. October 28, 1928. p. 81. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
  12. ^ "Placement Kick Gives Gobblers Win at Norfolk". Richmond Times-Dispatch. November 4, 1928. p. 1. Retrieved November 16, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "Varsity Grid Team Beaten In Thriller". The Diamondback. University of Maryland, College Park. November 6, 1928. p. 1. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
  14. ^ "Old Liners Lose To Virginia Poly". The Sunday Star. Library of Congress. November 4, 1928. p. 85. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
  15. ^ "V.P.I. Ace Makes Seventy Yard Run". The Daily Progress. University of Virginia. November 12, 1928. p. 6. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
  16. ^ "V. P. I. Is Winner Over Virginia Team". The Sunday Star. Library of Congress. November 11, 1928. p. 79. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
  17. ^ "Gobblers Defeat W. & L. Team" (PDF). The Ring-tum Phi. Washington and Lee University. November 17, 1928. p. 1. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
  18. ^ "Washington & Lee Bows To Gobblers". The Sunday Star. Library of Congress. November 18, 1928. p. 85. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
  19. ^ "Generals' Last Minute Rally Fails And Tech Wins 12-7". The Lexington Gazette. Library of Virginia. November 20, 1928. p. 6. Retrieved December 1, 2022.
  20. ^ "Washington and Lee Defeated 13-7 By V. P. I. Before Homecoming Day Crowd". Rockbridge County News. Library of Virginia. November 22, 1928. p. 2. Retrieved December 1, 2022.
  21. ^ "Washington and Lee Goes Down Before Gobblers By Score 13 To 7". Suffolk News-Herald. Library of Virginia. November 18, 1928. p. 10. Retrieved December 1, 2022.
  22. ^ "V. M. I. Triumphs Over V. P. I." The Cadet. Virginia Military Institute. December 3, 1928. p. 1. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
  23. ^ "Many In Roanoke Today To Witness The Colorful V. M. I. - V. P. I. Game". Suffolk News-Herald. Library of Virginia. November 29, 1928. p. 6. Retrieved December 1, 2022.
  24. ^ "'Ab' Barnes Stars As V. M. I. Wins". The Lexington Gazette. Library of Virginia. December 4, 1928. p. 6. Retrieved December 1, 2022.
  25. ^ "Cadets Defeat Tech and Win State Title". Rockbridge County News. Library of Virginia. December 6, 1928. p. 1. Retrieved December 3, 2022.
  26. ^ "The Bugle 1929" (PDF). Virginia Tech Bugle. 1929. p. 313. Retrieved January 8, 2016.