1909 College Football All-Southern Team Explained

The 1909 College Football All-Southern Team consists of American football players selected to the College Football All-Southern Teams selected by various organizations for the 1909 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association football season. Sewanee won the SIAA championship. VPI, an independent school, also claims a Southern championship.

Heisman's eleven

The eleven selected by John Heisman included:

• Eric Cheape, guard for Sewanee.
• Harry Esslinger, tackle for Auburn. He was a pioneer coach at Huntsville High School. He served in that capacity from 1920 to 1932.^[1]
• Doc Fenton, quarterback for LSU, inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1971.
• Ewing Y. Freeland, end for Vanderbilt, known as "Big 'un," later coached at various institutions in Texas.
• Malvern Griffin, tackle for Vanderbilt.
• Aubrey Lanier, halfback for Sewanee. Grantland Rice called him "the noblest Tiger of them all."^[2] The Kappa Alpha Journal gives similar praise that year, calling Lanier "The greatest performer of the college game on the Southern field.^[3]
• T. C. Locke, guard for Auburn.
• J. E. Lucas, center for Georgia. His defense drew praise in the losses to Alabama^[4] and Georgia Tech.^[5]
• Will Metzger, guard for Vanderbilt, known as "Frog," selected for an Associated Press Southeast Area All-Time football team 1869-1919 era.
• Ray Morrison, quarterback for Vanderbilt, selected as the quarterback and kick returner for an Associated Press Southeast Area All-Time football team 1869-1919 era. He was later a coach at various institutions including SMU and Vanderbilt after McGugin. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 1954.
• Silas Williams, end for Sewanee. He later played for Harvard Law School.

All-Southerns of 1909

Ends

• Silas Williams†, Sewanee (H-1, GR, NB, NTC, NTL, NTM)
• Ewing Y. Freeland, Vanderbilt (H-1, NB, NTL)
• Bill Neely, Vanderbilt (GR, NB [as qb], NTC, NTL [as qb], NTM [as qb])
• Carlton Elliott, Virginia (WG)
• Joe Luttrell, VPI (WG)
• Armstrong Hill, Auburn (H-2)
• Herbert Hatcher, Georgia (H-2)

Tackles

• Malvern Griffin, Vanderbilt (H-1, NB, NTL, NTM)
• Harry Esslinger, Auburn (H-1)
• Lionel Moise, Sewanee (GR, NB [as fb], NTC, NTL)
• Frank Faulkinberry, Sewanee (H-2, NB [as g], NTC, NTM)
• Homer Cogdell, Auburn (GR, NB)
• B. R. Cecil, Virginia (WG)
• Horace Geyer Jr., Virginia (WG)

Guards

• Eric Cheape, Sewanee (H-1, GR, NTC)
• T. C. Locke, Auburn (H-1, NTL)
• Ted Ross, Vanderbilt (GR, NTC, NTL, NTM)
• Willie Hillman, LSU (NB [as c], NTM)
• Stanley Phillip, Arkansas (NB)
• Bruce, Washington & Lee (WG)
• Hoss Hodgson, VPI (WG)
• Burton Gray Allen, Auburn (H-2)
• Leslie Covington, Vanderbilt (H-2)

Centers

• J. E. Lucas, Georgia (H-1)
• Robert "Strauss" Stovall, LSU (GR, NTL, NTM)
• Frank Juhan, Sewanee (NTC)
• Archibald Deans, North Carolina (WG)
• J. J. Beaver, Auburn (H-2)

Quarterbacks

• Doc Fenton, LSU (College Football Hall of Fame) (H-1)
• Chigger Browne, Sewanee (GR, H-2, NTC)
• S. F. Stevens, North Carolina A&M (WG)

Halfbacks

• Aubrey Lanier, Sewanee (H-1, GR, NB, NTC, NTL)
• Ray Morrison, Vanderbilt (College Football Hall of Fame) (H-1, NTL, NTM [as e])
• Lew Hardage, Auburn (GR, H-2, NB, NTC, NTM)
• Forest Stanton, Virginia (WG)
• Tom Moseley, VMI (WG)
• Del Pratt, Alabama (H-2)

Fullbacks

• Will Metzger, Vanderbilt (H-1, NTL, NTM)
• John Seip, LSU (GR, H-2 [as t], NTC)
• Kemper Yancey, Virginia (WG)
• George Penton, Auburn (H-2)

Key

† = Unanimous selection

Bold = Heisman's pick

H = selected by John Heisman, coach at Georgia Institute of Technology.^[6] Dick Jemison picked a second team from the players Heisman left off his first.^[7]

GR = selected by Grantland Rice.^{[8] [9]}

NB = selected by Nash Buckingham.^[10]

NTC = published in the Nashville Tennessean, by a writer from Columbia.^[11]

NTL = published in the Nashville Tennessean, by a writer from Lynnville.^[12]

NTM = published in the Nashville Tennessean, by a writer from McMinnville.^[13]

WG = selected by William C. Gloth, coach at Virginia Military Institute.^[14]

See also

• 1909 College Football All-America Team

Notes and References

1. Web site: Huntsville Football Team History. ahsfhs.org.
2. Sports at Sewanee. Sewanee Alumni News. 1949. 5. James Gregg.
3. Kappa Alpha Journal. 27. 2. Alpha-Alpha, University of the South. 1909. 200.
4. News: Alabama Wins Over Georgia In Hard Game. The Atlanta Constitution. 3. October 31, 1909. April 14, 2015. Newspapers.com.
5. News: Georgia Springs Big Surprise on Jackets. November 21, 1909. 4. Newspapers.com. April 14, 2015. Atlanta Constitution.
6. News: Atlanta Constitution. The All-Southern Eleven Picked By Coach Heisman. November 28, 1909. March 4, 2015. Newspapers.com. 3.
7. News: Second Choice Eleven Chosen By Dick Jemison. November 28, 1909. March 14, 2015. 3. Newspapers.com. Atlanta Constitution.
8. News: All-Southern Selection. Charlotte Observer. November 29, 1909.
9. Book: Cap and Gown. 143.
10. News: All-Southern Star Cast Is Selected. 9. November 28, 1909. The Tennessean. November 14, 2017. Newspapers.com.
11. News: A Fan's Selection For All-Southern. 10. November 14, 2017. Newspapers.com. December 4, 1909. The Tennessean.
12. News: More Selections For All-Southern. The Tennessean. 10. December 8, 1909. April 24, 2016. Newspapers.com.
13. News: An All-Southern. The Tennessean. 6. December 14, 1909. April 24, 2016. Newspapers.com.
14. News: Mr. Gloth Picks Team. The Cadet. December 14, 1909.