The 1931 College Football All-America team is composed of

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football in the United States, American football rules first gained populari ...

players who were selected as

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

ns by various organizations and writers that chose

College Football All-America Team The College Football All-America Team is an honor given annually to the best college football players in the United States at their respective positions. The original use of the term ''All-America'' seems to have been to the 1889 College Football ...

s in 1931. The seven selectors recognized by the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges ...

as "official" for the 1931 season are (1) ''

Collier's Weekly ''Collier's'' was an American general interest magazine founded in 1888 by Peter Fenelon Collier. It was launched as ''Collier's Once a Week'', then renamed in 1895 as ''Collier's Weekly: An Illustrated Journal'', shortened in 1905 to ''Colli ...

'', as selected by

Grantland Rice Henry Grantland "Granny" Rice (November 1, 1880July 13, 1954) was an early 20th-century American sportswriter known for his elegant prose. His writing was published in newspapers around the country and broadcast on the radio. Early years Rice wa ...

, (2) the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. new ...

, (3) the

United Press United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20t ...

, (4) the All-America Board, (5) the

International News Service The International News Service (INS) was a U.S.-based news agency (newswire) founded by newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst in 1909.

(INS), (6) ''

Liberty Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom. In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...

'' magazine, and (7) the

Newspaper Enterprise Association The Newspaper Enterprise Association (NEA) is an editorial column and comic strip newspaper syndication service based in the United States and established in 1902. The oldest syndicate still in operation, the NEA was originally a secondary news ...

(NEA).

Consensus All-Americans

Following the death of Walter Camp in 1925, there was a proliferation of All-American teams in the late 1920s. For the year 1931, the NCAA recognizes seven published All-American teams as "official" designations for purposes of its consensus determinations. The following chart identifies the NCAA-recognized consensus All-Americans and displays which first-team designations they received. The only unanimous All-America selections in 1931 were Tulane's Gerald "Jerry" Dalrymple and Notre Dame's

Marchmont Schwartz Marchmont H. "Marchy" Schwartz (March 20, 1909 – April 18, 1991) was an American college football player and coach. He played football at the University of Notre Dame from 1929 to 1931, and was a two-time College Football All-America Team, All-A ...

Proliferation of All-American teams

In 1931,

Damon Runyon Alfred Damon Runyon (October 4, 1880 – December 10, 1946) was an American newspaperman and short-story writer. He was best known for his short stories celebrating the world of Broadway in New York City that grew out of the Prohibition era. To ...

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." 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."

All-Americans of 1931

Ends

Jerry Dalrymple Gerald Richard Dalrymple (August 6, 1906 – September 25, 1962) was an American football and basketball player and coach. Dalrymple worked odd jobs at Ouachita Junior College in Arkadelphia for three years. He was a prominent end for coach Bern ...

, Tulane (AP–1; UP–1; COL–1; CP–1; NEA–1; INS–1; WCFF; LIB; HSM; CH-1; LP; AAB) * Vernon 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 Orsi, Colgate (AP–2; CP–2; NEA–2; INS-1; WCFF; CH-2; AAB) * Paul Moss, Purdue (NEA–3; INS-3l CP–2; LIB) * George Koontz, SMU (CP-3) * Bill Hewitt, Michigan (NEA-3) *

Garrett Arbelbide Garrett W. Arbelbide (September 5, 1909 – July 24, 1983) was an American football and baseball player and football coach. A native of San Bernardino County, California, he grew up in Redlands and played college football at the end position ...

, USC (AP-3) * Fred Felber, North Dakota (AP-3) * Herster Barres, Yale (INS-3)

Tackles

* Dallas 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; LIB) * Paul Schwegler, Washington (AP–1; COL–1; INS-3; CP–2) *

Joe Kurth Joe Kurth (January 23, 1907 – January 16, 1987, in Richardson, Texas) was a tackle for the Green Bay Packers. He was listed as 6'1" tall and weighed 202 pounds during his playing days. He was born in Springfield, Wisconsin. He went to Notre D ...

, Notre Dame (AP–2; UP–1; NEA–1; INS–2; CP–3; LIB; LP) * John "Jack" Price, Army (AP–3; CP–1; NEA–2; INS-1; CH-2) * Jim MacMurdo, Pittsburgh (AP–2; NEA–3; INS-3; HSM) * Ira Hardy, Harvard (NEA–2; CH-1; LP) *

Hugh Rhea Hugh McCall Rhea (September 9, 1909 – October 18, 1973) was an American football player and track and field athlete. A native of Arlington, Nebraska, Rhea attended Arlington High School and the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. He played c ...

, Nebraska (AP-3) * Ray Saunders, Tennessee (CP-3)

Guards

Biggie Munn Clarence Lester "Biggie" Munn (September 11, 1908 – March 18, 1975) was an American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He was the head football coach at Albright College (1935–1936), Syracuse University (1946), and mo ...

, Minnesota (AP–1; UP–1; COL–1; NEA–1; INS–1; CP–1; HSM; CH-1; LP; WCFF; AAB) * Johnny Baker, USC (AP–2; UP–1; NEA–1; INS–1; CP–2; WCFF; LIB; HSM; CH-2; LP; AAB) *

Herman Hickman Herman Michael Hickman (October 1, 1911 – April 25, 1958) was an American football player and coach. He played college football at the University of Tennessee and professionally in the National Football League (NFL) for the Brooklyn Dodgers. ...

, Tennessee (AP–3; COL–1; NEA–3; INS-3; CP–1; CH-1) * Frank "Nordy" Hoffman, Notre Dame (AP-1; NEA–2; INS-2; LIB) *

Joe Zeller Joseph Thomas Zeller (May 2, 1908 – September 23, 1983) was an American football player. He played professional in the National Football League (NFL) with the Green Bay Packers for one season and the Chicago Bears for six seasons. College sp ...

, Indiana (NEA-2) * Jim Zyntell, Holy Cross (CP-2) * James Evans, Northwestern (AP–2; CP-3) * Maurice Dubofsky, Georgetown (NEA-3) * Greg Kabat, Wisconsin (AP–3; CP-3) * Milton Leathers, Georgia (INS-2) * H. R. Myerson, Harvard (INS-3) *

Bill Corbus William Corbus (October 5, 1911 – January 8, 1998) was an American football guard who played for Stanford University. College career Nicknamed ''The Baby-Faced Assassin'' due to his youthful appearance and athletic ferocity, Corbus, who acted ...

, 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) * Stan Williamson, USC (LIB) *

Clarence Gracey Clarence "Pete" Gracey (December 18, 1910 – December 5, 2000) was an American football player who was an All-American center for the Vanderbilt Commodores football team of Vanderbilt University. Early years Gracey was born in Franklin, Tenn ...

, Vanderbilt (CP-2) * McDuffie, Columbia (INS-2)

Quarterbacks

* Barry Wood, 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

, Notre Dame (College Football Hall of Fame) (AP–1; UP–1; COL–1; NEA–1; INS–1; WCFF; LIB; HSM; CH-1; LP; AAB) * Ernie Rentner, Northwestern (College Football Hall of Fame) (AP-1; UP–1; COL–1; NEA–1; INS–1 amed as fullback by Hearst CP–1; WCFF; HSM amed as fullback CH-1; LP; AAB) * Don Zimmerman, Tulane (AP–2; NEA–2; INS-1; CP–1; CH-2) *

Bob Monnett Robert C. Monnett (February 27, 1910 – August 2, 1978) was a professional American football player who played halfback for six seasons for the Green Bay Packers. He was inducted into the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame in 1973. Monnett ret ...

, Michigan State (CP-1) * Eugene McEver, Tennessee (AP–2; NEA–2; INS-2; CP–2) * Bud Toscani, St. Marys (NEA-2) * Cornelius Murphy, Fordham (CP-3; CH-2) * J. W. Crickard, Harvard (NEA-3) * Albert J. "Mighty Atom" Booth, Jr., Yale (AP–3; INS-2) * Weldon Mason, SMU (AP-3) * Ray Stecker, Army (INS-3)

Fullbacks

* Gaius Shaver, USC (COL–1 elected as fullback UP–1 elected as quarterback NEA–3 elected as quarterback INS–2 elected as quarterback CP–1 elected as fullback WCFF elected as quarterback LIB; LP elected as quarterback AAB) *

Erny Pinckert William Ernest Pinckert (May 1, 1907 – August 30, 1977) was an American football halfback. He played college football at the University of Southern California (USC) under head coach Howard Jones. Pinckert played professionally in the Nationa ...

, USC (College Football Hall of Fame) (AP–1; NEA–1; INS–3 icked as halfback LIB; HSM amed as halfback CH-1) *

Johnny Cain John Lewis "Hurri" "Sugar" Cain (November 17, 1908 – August 18, 1977) was an American football player, coach of football, baseball, and tennis, and college athletics administrator. He played college football at the University of Alabama, where ...

, Alabama (UP–1; NEA–3 icked as halfback INS-3; WCFF; CH-2; AAB) * Ralston "Rusty" Gill, California (NEA–3; LIB; LP) *

Orville Mohler Orville Ernest Mohler (May 29, 1909 – November 26, 1949), sometimes referred to as Orv Mohler, was an American football and baseball player. He grew up in Alhambra, California, and attended the University of Southern California (USC). His fath ...

, USC (AP-3; CP-2 icked as quarterback * Jack Manders, Minnesota (CP-2) * Bart Viviano, Cornell (AP-2) * Clarke Hinkle, Bucknell (INS-2) * Nollie Felts, Tulane (CP-3)

Key

Bold – Consensus All-American

Selectors recognized by NCAA in consensus determinations

* AAB = All America Board * AP =

* COL = ''

'' as selected by

* INS =

International News Service The International News Service (INS) was a U.S.-based news agency (newswire) founded by newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst in 1909.

, the wire service of the Hearst newspapers * LIB = ''Liberty'' magazine * NEA =

* UP =

Other selectors

* CP =

Central Press Association The Central Press Association was American newspaper syndication company based in Cleveland, Ohio. It was in business from 1910 to 1971. Originally independent, it was a subsidiary of King Features Syndicate from 1930 onwards. At its peak, the ...

, also known as the Captain's Poll, selected by a poll of the captains of the major football teams * WCFF =

Walter Camp Football Foundation The Walter Camp Football Foundation (WCFF) is one of the organizations whose College Football All-America Team is recognized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association. The organization also presents various awards. It is named in honor of fo ...

* HSM = All-American team selected by 18,006 fans through nationwide contest sponsored by clothier Hart, Schaffner and Marx * CH = '' College Humor'' magazine * LP = selected by Lawrence Perry, a former Princetonian who wrote a nationally syndicated sports colyum called ''For The Game's Sake''

References

{{College Football All-America Teams

All-America Team The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

College Football All-America Teams