The 1921 Vanderbilt Commodores football team was an American football team representing Vanderbilt University during the 1921 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association football season. It was Dan McGugin's 17th season as head coach, and Wallace Wade's first season as assistant coach. Vanderbilt outscored its opponents 161–21 for a record of 7–0–1 (5–0–1 in conference games) and a share of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA) championship. The team's leading scorer was halfback Rupert Smith and its captain was "Pink" Wade, father of future Vanderbilt star Bill Wade. The Commodores played their home games at Dudley Field.
The season included the first of a seven-game series with the Texas Longhorns at the Texas State Fair. It also featured the first time the Kentucky Wildcats were able to score on the Commodores, and the "muddiest game" in Vanderbilt history against rival Sewanee. Vanderbilt tied the Georgia Bulldogs on an onside kick to win a share of the conference title. Vanderbilt was the only undefeated contender, and selector Clyde Berryman retroactively awarded the Commodores a national championship.
Pre-season
1921 was Wallace Wade's first year as a full-time assistant coach for the Commodores, and the intensity of their practices had increased since his arrival (the first workout on September 12). Wade had played guard on a Brown Bruins football team which represented the Eastern U.S. in the 1916 Rose Bowl. Before coming to Vanderbilt Wade coached at the Fitzgerald & Clarke School in Tullahoma, Tennessee, where he won a state prep-school championship in 1920 with a 16–3 record. Also moving from Fitzgerald & Clarke were Lynn Bomar, Hek Wakefield, Pos Elam, and Red Williams. Other Commodore players debuting on the team included Putty Overall and Rupe Smith, who played for the Middle Tennessee State Normal School in the years surrounding the First World War.
Returning veterans included Neely, Frank Godchaux, Doc Kuhn, Tot McCullough, Pink Wade, Alvin Bell, Alfred Sharp, and Percy Conyers. Godchaux was the first player to follow in his father's footsteps as a Vanderbilt football player. Captain Pink Wade, father of future Vanderbilt quarterback Bill Wade, moved from fullback to guard. Tackle Tex Bradford had played for Texas Christian University for two years; after sitting out a year at Vanderbilt, he was eligible to play for the Commodores.
According to sportswriter Ferguson "Fuzzy" Woodruff, "While prospects seem fair to middling in most of the big southern colleges, there are two notable exceptions. Dan McGugin expects nothing of Vanderbilt this year. Dan has lost Berryhill, his only reliable backfield man, through the matrimonial route." Coach Dan McGugin was elected to the Tennessee state senate, beginning his term in 1921. According to a story on file in the Vanderbilt University Library quoted by Chuck Offenburger, "McGugin didn’t want to get involved in politics, but he 'was drafted into service by a citizens committee.
Schedule
Game summaries
Week 1: Middle Tennessee State Normal
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Vanderbilt opened the season at Old Dudley Field against the Middle Tennessee State Normal of Murfreesboro, winning 34–0. The field was at the northeastern corner of the campus, where Wilson Hall, Kissam Quadrangle, and a portion of the Vanderbilt University Law School now stand, adjacent to today's Twenty-First Avenue South. Normal was coached by Alfred B. Miles. Commodore touchdowns were scored by Tot McCullough, Thomas Ryan, Rupert Smith, Percy Conyers, and Alvin Bell. Two extra points were scored by Smith, and one by Bell. During the game, Vanderbilt began using substitutes. The Commodore, Vanderbilt's yearbook, reported on the passing game: "Practically the only thing of note was the aerial efficiency—Kuhn to Ryan and Kuhn to McCullough". Tex Bradford reportedly had to wear street shoes during the game, because Vanderbilt had not yet received cleats large enough to fit him.
Week 2: Mercer
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In the second week of play Vanderbilt defeated the Mercer Baptists 42–0, Mercer's worst loss of the year. After no first downs in the first quarter Vanderbilt scored four touchdowns in the second quarter on 173 total yards, 91 on two passes. The Baptists were led by second-year head coach Josh Cody. Before the game, Wade told his players "in no uncertain terms that the coaches were disgusted that such ragged material should display no symptoms of fight".