The 1925 Tulane Green Wave football team was an

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

team that represented

Tulane University The Tulane University of Louisiana (commonly referred to as Tulane University) is a private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by a cohort of medical doctors, it b ...

as a member of the

Southern Conference The Southern Conference (SoCon) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I. Southern Conference College football, football teams c ...

(SoCon) during the

1925 Southern Conference football season The 1925 Southern Conference football season was the college football games played by the member schools of the Southern Conference as part of the 1925 college football season. The season began on September 19. 1925 saw the south's widespread us ...

. In its tenth year under head coach

Clark Shaughnessy Clark Daniel Shaughnessy (born Clark Daniel O'Shaughnessy; March 6, 1892 – May 15, 1970) was an American football coach and innovator. He is sometimes called the "father of the T formation" and the original founder of the forward pass, althou ...

, Tulane compiled a 9–0–1 record (5–0 in conference games), tied for the SoCon championship, shut out five opponents, and outscored all opponents by a total of 246 to 32. The team's only setback was a tie with Missouri Valley champion

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

. For the second year in a row, Tulane set a school record for wins in a season. Most notable was the defeat of Northwestern, a game which helped herald the arrival of Southern football. Tulane was ranked No. 6 nationally in the

Dickinson System The Dickinson System was a mathematical point formula that awarded national championships in college football. Devised by University of Illinois economics professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at u ...

ratings released in January 1926.

Peggy Flournoy Charles Priestley "Peggy" Flournoy (January 17, 1904 – October 7, 1972) was an American football and baseball player and coach. He was the first Tulane football player selected as a first-team All-American. In 1925, he led the nation in scorin ...

was the nation's leading scorer with 128 points.

Before the season

Coach Shaughnessy never had such a wealth of material as 1925. The

backfield The offensive backfield is the area of an American football field behind the line of scrimmage, and players positioned there on offense who begin plays behind the line, typically including the quarterback and running backs ( halfbacks and full ...

included captain and Hall of Fame quarterback

Lester Lautenschlaeger Lester Joseph Lautenschlaeger (May 27, 1904 – August 5, 1986) was an American football player and coach and politician. He played at the quarterback position at Tulane University from 1922 to 1925, served as an assistant football coach at ...

and halfback Peggy Flournoy. Though he was famous for later using the

T formation In American football, a T formation (frequently called the full house formation in modern usage, sometimes the Robust T) is a formation used by the offensive team in which three running backs line up in a row about five yards behind the quarter ...

, at Tulane coach Shaughnessy employed the

single wing In American and Canadian football, a single-wing formation was a precursor to the modern shotgun formation. The term usually connotes formations in which the snap is tossed rather than handed. Formations with one wingback and a handed snap ar ...

. Assistant Bierman left for the Mississippi A&M job. 1925 saw the south's widespread use of the

forward pass In several forms of football, a forward pass is the throwing of the ball in the direction in which the offensive team is trying to move, towards the defensive team's goal line. The legal and widespread use of the forward pass distinguishes grid ...

Schedule

Game summaries

Louisiana College

The season opened on a wet, sloppy field. Tulane beat Louisiana College of Pineville 77–0. Coach Shaughnessy only allowed his regulars to play half of the game.

was probably the star of the game.

Missouri

The only blemish on the year was a 6–6 tie to

. Missouri scored on a 30-yard pass.

plunged over for the tying touchdown. The starting lineup was Gamble (left end), Wight (left tackle), Levy (left guard), H. Wilson (center), Blackledge (right guard), Talbot (right tackle), Brown (right end), Lautenschlaeger (quarterback), Morgan (left halfback), Flournoy (right halfback), Norman (fullback).

Ole Miss

The Green Wave used the forward pass to beat coach

Homer Hazel Homer Howard "Pop" Hazel (June 2, 1895 – February 3, 1968) was an American football player and coach. He played college football at Rutgers University in 1916 and again from 1923 to 1924. Considered an outstanding punter, kicker, and passer, h ...

Ole Miss Rebels The Ole Miss Rebels are the 18 men's and women's College sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that are funded by and represent the University of Mississippi, located in Oxford, Mississippi, Oxford. The first was the Ole ...

26–7. The starting lineup was Gamble (left end), Wight (left tackle), Levy (left guard), H. Wilson (center), Blackledge (right guard), Talbot (right tackle), G. Wilson (right end), Lautenschlaeger (quarterback), Morgan (left halfback), Flournoy (right halfback), Lamprecht (fullback).

Mississippi A&M

Former assistant

Bernie Bierman Bernard W. Bierman (March 11, 1894 – March 7, 1977) was an American college football coach best known for his years as head coach of the Minnesota Golden Gophers football program. Between 1934-41, his Minnesota teams won five national champio ...

's Mississippi Aggies took the lead 3–0 in the opening quarter with a

drop kick A drop kick is a type of kick in various codes of football. It involves a player intentionally dropping the ball onto the ground and then kicking it either (different sports have different definitions) 'as it rises from the first bounce' ( rugby ...

. Harry P. Gamble blocked a couple of kicks and Tulane came back to win 25–3. After the defeat of the Aggies, some Tulane supporters felt the Wave would defeat Alabama. The starting lineup was Gamble (left end), Wight (left tackle), Levy (left guard), H. Wilson (center), Blackledge (right guard), P. Brown (right tackle), D. Wilson (right end), Lautenschlaeger (quarterback), Flournoy (left halfback), Morgan (right halfback), Lamprecht (fullback).

Northwestern

In the 18–7 triumph over Northwestern, Flournoy scored three touchdowns and skied his punts. Northwestern's score came in the second period. The starting lineup was Gamble (left end), Wight (left tackle), Levy (left guard), H. Wilson (center), Blackledge (right guard), Talbot (right tackle), Wilson (right end), Lautenschlaeger (quarterback), Flournoy (left halfback), Morgan (right halfback), Lamprecht (fullback).

Auburn

On a field thick with muddy, Alabama clay in Montgomery, the Green Wave won over the

Auburn Tigers The Auburn Tigers are the athletic teams representing Auburn University, a public four-year university located in Auburn, Alabama, United States. The Auburn Tigers compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) a ...

13–0, scoring all points in the second half.

Louisiana Tech

Flournoy scored 31 of Tulane's 37 points in the win over Louisiana Polytechnic despite Tulane using mostly reserves. The starting lineup was Gamble (left end), Browne (left tackle), Levy (left guard), H. Wilson (center), Blackledge (right guard), Wight (right tackle), D. Wilson (right end), Lautenschlaeger (quarterback), Menville (left halfback), Flournoy (right halfback), Lamprecht (fullback).

Sewanee

Tulane defeated the

Sewanee Tigers The University of the South, familiarly known as Sewanee (), is a private Episcopal liberal arts college in Sewanee, Tennessee, United States. It is owned by 28 southern dioceses of the Episcopal Church, and its School of Theology is an off ...

14–0. All scores took place in the third quarter. A 32-yard pass from Lautenschlaeger to Brown set up the first score. On the second, Flournoy got loose for a 68-yard run off tackle.

LSU

After a scoreless first half, Tulane beat the rival

LSU Tigers The LSU Tigers and Lady Tigers (also known as the Fighting Tigers) are the athletic teams representing Louisiana State University (LSU), a state university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. LSU competes in Division I of the National Collegiat ...

by a 16–0 score. A pass from Lautenschlaeger to Menville got the first touchdown. The final points were scored by Irish Levy dropping the LSU quarterback for a safety.

Centenary

Something of an anticlimax after the LSU game, Tulane beat

Centenary A centennial, or centenary in British English, is a 100th anniversary or otherwise relates to a century. Notable events Notable centennial events at a national or world-level include: * Centennial Exhibition, 1876, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. ...

14–0 to cap an undefeated season.

Postseason

Tulane shared the SoCon title with

Wallace Wade William Wallace Wade (June 15, 1892 – October 6, 1986) was an American football player and coach of football, basketball, and baseball, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at the University of Alabama fr ...

Alabama Crimson Tide The Alabama Crimson Tide refers to the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic varsity teams that represent the University of Alabama, located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Tuscaloosa. The Crimson Tide teams compete in the Na ...

, which went on to win the Rose Bowl. Tulane's administration declined a Rose Bowl invitation, in order to keep their student-athletes in class. Lester Lautenschlaeger

One account reads "In the South they call "Peggy" Flournoy of Tulane University, the greatest all-round gridder in that section." Flournoy led the nation in scoring in scoring with 128 points, and was awarded the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award by the Veteran Athletic's Association. He was selected by

Billy Evans William George Evans (February 10, 1884 – January 23, 1956), nicknamed "the Boy Umpire", was an American umpire in Major League Baseball (MLB) who worked in the American League from 1906 to 1927. He became, at age 22, the youngest umpir ...

and Norman E. Brown as a first-team halfback on their

1925 College Football All-America Team The 1925 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 1925. Walter Camp died in March 1925, mar ...

s. He was also named a second-team All-American by the Associated Press and the All-America Board. Flournoy and Irish Levy were All-Southern. Levy was never taken out of a game for an injury during his playing career. Lautenschlaeger made Billy Evans' Southern Honor Roll. Flournoy's school record of 128 points was not broken until 2007 by Matt Forte.

Personnel

Depth chart

The following chart provides a visual depiction of Tulane's lineup during the 1925 season with games started at the position reflected in parentheses. The chart mimics a

on offense.

Line

Backfield

Unlisted

References

Bibliography

* * {{Southern Conference football champions

Tulane The Tulane University of Louisiana (commonly referred to as Tulane University) is a private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by a cohort of medical doctors, it be ...

Tulane Green Wave football seasons Southern Conference football champion seasons College football undefeated seasons

Tulane Green Wave football The Tulane Green Wave football team represents Tulane University in the sport of American football. The Tulane Green Wave, Green Wave compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as a memb ...