Robert Franklin Rives (November 12, 1903 – March 1, 1956) 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 ...

tackle. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private university, private research university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provide ...

Early years

Bob Rives was born on November 12, 1903, in

Hopkinsville, Kentucky Hopkinsville is a list of cities in Kentucky, home rule-class city in and the county seat of Christian County, Kentucky, United States. The population at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census was 31,180. History Early years The area of p ...

, to R. H. Rives.

High school

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison gu ...

on the Hopkinsville Tigers's undefeated 1920 team, he "won greater college football fame than probably any other graduate of the

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

." He refereed high school football games throughout

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

for several years prior to his death.

College football

Rives played for

Dan McGugin Daniel Earle McGugin (July 29, 1879 – January 23, 1936) was an American college football player and coach, as well as a lawyer. He served as the head football coach at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee from 1904 to 1917 and a ...

Vanderbilt Commodores football The Vanderbilt Commodores football program represents Vanderbilt University in the sport of American football. The Commodores compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) within the Southe ...

teams from

1923 In Greece, this year contained only 352 days as 13 days was skipped to achieve the calendrical switch from Julian to Gregorian Calendar. It happened there that Wednesday, 15 February ''(Julian Calendar)'' was followed by Thursday, 1 March ' ...

1925 Events January * January 1 – The Syrian Federation is officially dissolved, the State of Aleppo and the State of Damascus having been replaced by the State of Syria (1925–1930), State of Syria. * January 3 – Benito Mussolini m ...

. Bob was a member of the

Alpha Tau Omega Alpha Tau Omega (), commonly known as ATO, is an American social Fraternities and sororities, fraternity founded at the Virginia Military Institute in 1865 by Otis Allan Glazebrook. The fraternity has around 250 active and inactive chapters an ...

fraternity. He was a starter for the 1924 game against

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

, Vanderbilt's first victory over a

Northern Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating ...

school. Rives was deemed an All-Southern tackle in 1924 and 1925.

1923

After two disappointing losses to the

Michigan Wolverines The Michigan Wolverines comprise 29 varsity sports teams at the University of Michigan. These teams compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I and in the Big Ten Conference in all sports except wo ...

and

Texas Longhorns The Texas Longhorns are the athletic teams representing the University of Texas at Austin. The teams are sometimes referred to as the Horns and take their name from Longhorn cattle that were an important part of the development of Texas, and ...

, the Commodores started "back up the slope" with a 17 to 0 victory over

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 ...

. The first score came when Rives, Tom Ryan, Bo Rowland, and

Lynn Bomar Robert Lynn Bomar (January 21, 1901 – June 11, 1964) was an American football End (gridiron football), end in the National Football League (NFL). Bomar played college football, basketball and baseball for Vanderbilt University, following ...

broke through the line on a punt, with Bomar getting the block. Center

Alf Sharpe Alfred D. Sharp (February 6, 1902 – November 1981) was an American football player for the Vanderbilt Commodores of Vanderbilt University. Early years Sharp was born in Nashville on February 6, 1902, to Vernon Hibbett Sharp and Lorene Sele ...

dove to recover the football in the

end zone The end zone is the scoring area on the field, according to gridiron-based codes of football. It is the area between the end line and goal line bounded by the sidelines. There are two end zones, each being on the opposite side of the field ...

for the touchdown. Russell, Fred, and Maxwell Edward Benson. Fifty Years of Vanderbilt Football. Nashville, TN, 1938, p. 42-43 Along with Bomar, surely the star of the game, Rives played well, called "No. 1 gallant in the line." Nine writers voted Rives All-Southern. In the sixth week of play Vanderbilt beat rival

in a dominating 51 to 7 win. Rives, Bomar, and Sharpe on defense helped hold the Volunteers to only 7. With the win Vanderbilt was still a contender for the Southern title. The next week Vanderbilt again won big, over the

Georgia Bulldogs The Georgia Bulldogs are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Georgia. The Bulldogs compete in NCAA Division I and are members of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The offic ...

35 to 7. Again on defense Bomar and Rives shared the credit. Halfback

Gil Reese David Argillus "Gil" Reese (January 14, 1901 – May 30, 1993) nicknamed "the Tupelo Flash" was an American football, basketball, and baseball player for the Vanderbilt Commodores of Vanderbilt University. He was captain of all three his senior ...

scored 9 touchdowns over these two games. In the final week of play on

Thanksgiving Day Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in October and November in the United States, Canada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Germany. It is also observed in the Australian territory ...

, the

Florida Gators The Florida Gators are the College sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Florida, located in Gainesville, Florida, Gainesville. The University of Florida, its athletic program, its alumni an ...

upset the

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 ...

in the rain by a score of 16 to 6, helping ensure Vanderbilt's Southern championship. This is the last conference title for Vanderbilt in football. Then Florida players

Cy Williams Frederick "Cy" Williams (December 21, 1887 – April 23, 1974) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as an outfielder for the Chicago Cubs (1912–17) and Philadelphia Phillies (1918–30). As Major Le ...

, Goldy Goldstein, and Ark Newton would be teammates of Rives's on the

Newark Bears The Newark Bears were an American independent league professional baseball team based in Newark, New Jersey. They were a member of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball and, later, the Canadian American Association of Professional Bas ...

of the first

American Football League The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, AFL–NFL merger, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Foot ...

in 1926.

1924

Rives started every game at tackle during the 1924 season, dubbed by

Fred Russell Fred Russell (August 27, 1906 – January 26, 2003) was an American sportswriter from Tennessee who served as sports editor for the ''Nashville Banner'' newspaper for 68 years (1930–1998). He was a member of the Heisman Trophy Committee, presi ...

"the most eventful season in the history of Vanderbilt football." Vanderbilt avenged last year's scoreless tie against Mississippi A & M with an 18 to 0 victory. Rives was the star of the Commodores' line that game. He was a starter for the 16–0 win over the

Minnesota Golden Gophers The Minnesota Golden Gophers (commonly shortened to Gophers) are the college athletics, college sports teams of the University of Minnesota. The university fields a total of 21 (9 men's, 12 women's) teams in both men's and women's sports and com ...

at Memorial Stadium, Vanderbilt's first victory in it history over a

school. The first touchdown came at the end of a 63-yard drive when Rives opened a hole for Tom Ryan. At year's end, Rives was selected All-Southern.

1925

Rives was the only Vanderbilt player to make All-Southern in 1925.

Professional football

He played professionally for the

of the

in 1926.

Doug Wycoff Stephen Douglas Wycoff (September 16, 1903 – October 27, 1981) was an American football running back for the New York Giants, Staten Island Stapletons, and Boston Redskins in the National Football League (NFL), the Newark Bears (AFL), New ...

, fullback from

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 ...

, was a teammate. The team played only five games before folding in October 1926.

Death

Rives died at his residence in

Old Hickory, Tennessee Old Hickory is a neighborhood of metropolitan Nashville, located in the Hadley Bend section of eastern Davidson County, Tennessee. Old Hickory is governed by the Metropolitan Council of Nashville and Davidson County, because the government of ...

, on March 1, 1956.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rives, Bob 1903 births 1956 deaths Newark Bears (AFL) players Players of American football from Tennessee Vanderbilt Commodores football players American football tackles All-Southern college football players American football guards Players of American football from Kentucky Sportspeople from Hopkinsville, Kentucky People from Old Hickory, Tennessee Sportspeople from Davidson County, Tennessee