The 1929 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 (SoCon) during the

1929 college football season The 1929 college football season saw a number of unbeaten and untied teams. Purdue, Tulane, Notre Dame, Western Maryland, and Pittsburgh all finished the regular season with wins over all their opponents. Notre Dame was recognized as national cha ...

. In its third year under head coach

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 ...

, who used 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 ...

, Tulane compiled a perfect 9–0 record (6–0 in conference games), won the SoCon championship, shut out five of nine opponents, and outscored all opponents by a total of 297 to 45. Halfback and team captain

Bill Banker Willis Burton "Bill" Banker (April 4, 1907 – September 25, 1985) was an American college football player and one-time vice president of Pinnacle Oil Co. His younger brother Buddy Banker was also an athlete. Tulane University Banker was a prom ...

, known as the "Blonde Blizzard", was selected as a first-team All-American by the All-America Board of Football, consisting of coaches

Knute Rockne Knute Kenneth Rockne (; March 4, 1888 – March 31, 1931) was an American football player and coach at the University of Notre Dame. Leading Notre Dame for 13 seasons, Rockne accumulated over 100 wins and three national championships. Rockne is ...

"Pop" Warner Glenn Scobey Warner (April 5, 1871 – September 7, 1954), most commonly known as Pop Warner, was an American college football coach at various institutions who is responsible for several key aspects of the modern game. Included among his inn ...

, Tad Jones and Bill Alexander. Four Tulane players received All-Southern honors from the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

(AP): Banker and center

Loyd Roberts Loyd Thomas "Preacher" Roberts (1907 – July 4, 1989) was an American college football and college basketball player and coach. He played football and basketball at Tulane University. Roberts served as the head football coach at Arkansas State T ...

were first team; end Jerry Dalrymple and guard Maury Bodenger were second team. The team played its home games at

Tulane Stadium Tulane Stadium was an outdoor American football, football stadium in the Southern United States on the campus of Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana. It stood from 1926 to 1980 and was officially the Third Tulane Stadium, followin ...

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

Schedule

Game summaries

Louisiana Normal

In the season opener against Louisiana Normal (today Northwestern State), Tulane won 40–6. The starting lineup was Holland (left end), McCanse (left tackle), Bodenger (left guard), Upton (center), Roberts (right guard), Rucker (right tackle), Dalrymple (right end), Baumbach (quarterback), Armstrong (left halfback), Banker (right halfback), Seeuws (fullback).

Texas A&M

After leading at the half 7–2, Tulane allowed the

Texas A&M Aggies The Texas A&M Aggies are the students, graduates, and sports teams of Texas A&M University. The nickname "wikt:aggie#Etymology 2, Aggie" was once common at land-grant or "ag" (agriculture) schools in many states. The teams are also simply referr ...

to take the lead 8–7. A pass from Ike Armstrong to Wop Glover in the last quarter got the win. After a safety, Tulane won 13–10. The starting lineup was Holland (left end), McCanse (left tackle), Bodenger (left guard), Upton (center), Roberts (right guard), Rucker (right tackle), Dalrymple (right end), Baumbach (quarterback), Armstrong (left halfback), Banker (right halfback), Seeuws (fullback).

Mississippi A&M

In the third week of play, Tulane defeated the Mississippi Aggies 34–0. The starting lineup was Holland (left end), McCanse (left tackle), Bodenger (left guard), Roberts (center), Upton (right guard), Rucker (right tackle), Dalrymple (right end), Baumbach (quarterback), Armstrong (left halfback), Banker (right halfback), Seeuws (fullback).

Southwestern Louisiana

Sources: The Green Wave romped 60–0 over Southwestern Louisiana. The starting lineup was Holland (left end), McCanse (left tackle), Bodenger (left guard), Roberts (center), Upton (right guard), Rucker (right tackle), Dalrymple (right end), Baumbach (quarterback), Armstrong (left halfback), Banker (right halfback), Seeuws (fullback).

Georgia Tech

During the game with

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology (commonly referred to as Georgia Tech, GT, and simply Tech or the Institute) is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Established in 1885, it has the lar ...

, Banker wore a helmet onto the field because coach

threatened to yank him out of the game. But the helmet slipped over his eyes as the Yellow Jackets were preparing to kickoff, so Banker tossed it to the sideline, and was never taken out, calling Bierman's bluff. Tulane went on to win 20–14. The starting lineup was Holland (left end), McCanse (left tackle), Bodenger (left guard), Roberts (center), Upton (right guard), Rucker (right tackle), Dalrymple (right end), Baumbach (quarterback), Armstrong (left halfback), Banker (right halfback), Seeuws (fullback).

Georgia

Sources: The Green Wave defeated

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

, conquerors of

Yale Yale University is a private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, and one of the nine colonial colleges ch ...

, in

Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451–1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, the capital city of the U.S. state of Ohio * Columbus, Georgia, a city i ...

21–15, twice coming from behind. For the first score, end Vernon "Catfish" Smith nailed

behind the line for a safety. After Tulane blocked a punt, Banker put in a touchdown for the lead. Tulane's second touchdown came on a 62-yard run from Ike Armstrong. Georgia's Smith next caught a pass and went 20 yards to the goal. Georgia went ahead 15–14 after Ripper Roberts intercepted a pass and ran 60 yards for the touchdown. Tulane won on an ensuing 80-yard drive, in a 2-yard run from Banker. The starting lineup was Holland (left end), McCanse (left tackle), Boenger (left guard), Robert (center), McCormick (right guard), Luker (right tackle), Dalrymple (right end), Baumbach (quarterback), Armstrong (left halfback), Banker (right halfback), Seeuws (fullback).

Auburn

All of the reserves got to play in the 52–0 romp over Auburn. The starting lineup was Holland (left end), McCanse (left tackle), Bodenger (left guard), Roberts (center), Upton (right guard), Rucker (right tackle), Dalrymple (right end), Baumbach (quarterback), Armstrong (left halfback), Banker (right halfback), Seeuws (fullback).

Sewanee

Tulane defeated the Sewanee Tigers 18–0. The starting lineup was Holland (left end), McCanse (left tackle), Bodenger (left guard), Roberts (center), McCormick (right guard), Rucker (right tackle), Dalrymple (right end), Baumbach (quarterback), Banker (left halfback), Armstrong (right halfback), Seeuws (fullback).

LSU

The Green Wave won 21–0 over rival

LSU Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

. The first touchdown came on a pass from backer to Armstrong. Jerry Dalrymple scored the next touchdown, snatching a pass from Armstrong and running more than half the field for a score. Preacher Roberts returned an interception for the final score.

Postseason

Roberts' performance in the LSU game netted him next year's captaincy. Roberts was selected All-Southern. Tulane won the SoCon, and was invited to the Rose Bowl.

Players

Depth chart

The following chart provides a visual depiction of Tulane's lineup during the 1929 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 ...

Southern Conference football champion seasons Tulane Green Wave football 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 ...