1911 College Football All-America Team Explained

The 1911 College Football All-America team is composed of college football players who were selected as All-Americans for the 1911 college football season. The only selector for the 1911 season who has been recognized as "official" by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is Walter Camp. Many other sports writers, newspapers, coaches and others also selected All-America teams in 1911. Others who selected All-Americans in 1911 include New York sports writer Wilton S. Farnsworth, The New York Globe, Minnesota coach Henry L. Williams, The Christian Science Monitor, former Yale stars Ted Coy and Charles Chadwick, and Baseball Magazine.

Walter Camp's "official" selections

The only individual who has been recognized as an "official" selector by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for the 1911 season is Walter Camp.^[1] Accordingly, the NCAA's official listing of "Consensus All-America Selections" mirrors Camp's first-team picks.^[1] Nine of Camp's first-team All-Americans in 1911 played on teams from the Ivy League. The only players recognized by Camp from outside the Ivy League were Jim Thorpe from the Carlisle School, Leland Devore of Army and Jack Dalton of Navy.

The dominance of Ivy League players on Camp's All-America teams led to criticism over the years that his selections were biased against players from the leading Western universities, including Chicago, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Notre Dame.^{[2] [3] [4]}

All-Americans of 1911

Ends

• Sanford White, Princeton (WC-1; NYG-1; TC-1; WSF-1; HW-1; CC-1; HL; BM; CSM; SPS; COY)
• Douglas Bomeisler, Yale (College Football Hall of Fame) (WC-1; WSF-2; CC-1; HL; COY)
• Stanfield Wells, Michigan (WC-3 [hb]; NYG-1; HW-1; HL)
• Lawrence Dunlap "Bud" Smith, Harvard (WC-2; TC-1; WSF-1; HL; BM; CSM)
• Dexter Very, Penn. State (College Football Hall of Fame) (WC-2; WSF-3; HL)
• Edward J. Daly, Dartmouth (WSF-2; HL)
• A. Harry Kallett, Syracuse (WC-3; SPS)
• Busty Ashbaugh, Brown (WC-3; WSF-3)
• Frederick L. Conklin, Michigan (HL)
• Chauncey Oliver, Illinois (HL)
• Sampson Burd, Carlisle (HL)

Tackles

• Ed Hart, Princeton (WC-1; NYG-1; TC-1; WSF-1; HW-1; CC-1; HL; BM; CSM; SPS; COY)
• Leland Devore, Army (WC-1; NYG-1)
• Jim Scully, Yale (WC-2; WSF-2; CC-1; BM; SPS)
• Jogger Elcock, Dartmouth (WSF-1)
• Leonard Frank, Minnesota (TC-1; HW-1)
• Robert McGowan Littlejohn, Army (WSF-2)
• John Brown, Navy (College Football Hall of Fame), Navy (WC-3; COY)
• William Edward Munk, Cornell (WC-2; WSF-3; BM [fb])
• Sylvester V. Shonka, Nebraska (HL)
• Charles M. Rademacher, Chicago (HL; CSM)
• Greig, Swarthmore (HL)
• Rudy Probst, Syracuse (HL)
• Oliver M. Kratz, Brown (WSF-3)

Guards

• Bob Fisher, Harvard (College Football Hall of Fame) (WC-1; TC-1; WSF-1; CC-1; BM; CSM; SPS; COY)
• Joseph Duff, Princeton (WC-1; TC-1; WSF-1; CC-1; HL; CSM; COY)
• Alfred L. Buser, Wisconsin (WC-3 [t]; NYG-1; HL [t])
• Charles J. Robinson, Minnesota (HW-1)
• Ray Wakeman, Navy (HW-1)
• George Howe, Navy (NYG-1)
• Horace Scruby, Chicago (WC-2; HL)
• Elmer McDevitt, Yale (WC-2; WSF-2)
• James "Red" Bebout, Penn State (WSF-2)
• Pomeroy T. Francis, Yale (WC-3; BM)
• Archibald Vincent Arnold, Army (WC-3; WSF-3; HL; CSM; SPS)
• Paul Belting, Illinois (HL)
• Ray L. Bennett, Dartmouth (WSF-3)

Centers

• Hank Ketcham, Yale (College Football Hall of Fame) (WC-1; NYG-1; WSF-2; CC-1; HL; SPS; COY)
• Arthur Bluethenthal, Princeton (WC-2; TC-1; WSF-1; HL; BM)
• Franklin C. Sibert, Army (HW-1)
• P. V. H. Weems, Navy (WC-3)
• Willis "Fat" O'Brien, Iowa (HL)
• James A. Ayling, Syracuse (WSF-3)

Quarterbacks

• Art Howe, Yale (College Football Hall of Fame) (WC-1; NYG-1; WSF-1; HW-1; CC-1; HL; COY)
• Earl Sprackling, Brown (College Football Hall of Fame) (WC-2; WSF-2; HL; BM)
• John "Keckie" Moll, Wisconsin (HL; CSM; SPS)^{[5] [6]}
• Ralph Capron, Minnesota (WC-3; TC-1; HL)
• Thomas Andrew Gill, Indiana (HL)^[7]
• Ray Morrison, Vanderbilt (College Football Hall of Fame) (HL; COY [hb])
• Preston Doane Fogg, Syracuse (HL)
• Shorty Miller, Penn State (College Football Hall of Fame) (WSF-3)

Halfbacks

• Percy Wendell, Harvard (College Football Hall of Fame) (WC-1; NYG-1 [fb]; TC-1; WSF-1; HW-1; CC-1; HL; BM; CSM; SPS [fb]; COY [fb])
• Jim Thorpe, Carlisle (College Football Hall of Fame) (WC-1; WSF-2; CC-1; HL; BM; CSM; SPS)
• Reuben Martin Rosenwald, Minnesota (WC-2; NYG-1; HW-1; HL)
• Walter C. Camp, Jr., Yale (WC-2; WSF-2; HL)
• Dave Morey, Dartmouth (WC-2)
• Talbot Pendleton, Princeton (WSF-3)
• Robert Hogsett, Dartmouth (WSF-3)
• James B. Craig, Michigan (HL)
• Clark Sauer, Chicago (HL)
• Elmer Oliphant, Purdue (HL)
• Johnny Spiegel, Lafayette (HL)
• Harry Costello, Georgetown (HL)

Fullbacks

• Jack Dalton, Navy (College Football Hall of Fame) (WC-1; NYG-1 [hb]; TC-1 [hb]; WSF-1 [hb]; CC-1; HL; SPS [hb]; COY [hb])
• F. LeRoy Mercer, Penn (College Football Hall of Fame) (WC-3 [hb]; TC-1; WSF-1; HL; CSM)
• Jesse Philbin, Yale (WSF-1)
• Winthrop J. Snow, Dartmouth (WSF-2)
• Ted Hudson, Trinity (WC-3, WSF-3)
• Stancil "Possum" Powell, Carlisle (HL)
• Wallace De Witt, Princeton (HL)

Key

NCAA recognized selectors for 1911

• WC = Collier's Weekly as selected by Walter Camp^[8]

Other selectors

• NYG = The New York Globe^{[9] [10]}
• HL = Outing magazine published a "Football Honor List for 1911" selected by coaches from the East and West.^[11]
• TC = Tommy Clark^[12]
• WSF = W.S. Farnsworth^[13]
• HW = Dr. Henry L. Williams, longtime coach at the University of Minnesota^{[14] [15]}
• CC = Charles Chadwick, "former famous Yale guard"^[16]
• BM = Baseball Magazine^[17]
• CSM = The Christian Science Monitor^[18]
• SPS = Syracuse Post-Standard^[18]
• COY = Former Yale star Ted Coy^[19]

Bold = Consensus All-American^[1]

• 1 – First-team selection
• 2 – Second-team selection
• 3 – Third-team selection

See also

• 1911 All-Southern college football team
• 1911 All-Western college football team

Notes and References

1. Web site: Football Award Winners. National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). 2016. October 21, 2017. 6.
2. News: All-American Teams of East Are Jokes: Critics Who Never Saw Western Teams Play to Name Best in Country -- Forget About Michigan, Minnesota and Illinois. The Mansfield News. December 8, 1910.
3. News: Ross Tenney. Much Dissatisfaction Over Camp's All-American Team: Football Dean Is Accused of Favoring East; Walter Camp Soundly Scored For 'Poorest Teams Ever Foisted Upon Public'. The Des Moines Capital. December 31, 1922.
4. News: Westerners Missed By Walter Camp: Football Wizard Puts Indian on 'All-American.'. The Decatur Review. December 7, 1911. 5.
5. News: "Keckie" Moll Is Taken By Death: Former Star Wisconsin Quarterback Succumbs to Attack of Typhoid Fever. Detroit Free Press. December 26, 1912. 8.
6. News: Keckie Moll Dies: Coached Purdue And Was Great Quarterback Last Year. The Baltimore Sun . December 26, 1912. 8. https://archive.today/20130216162151/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/baltsun/access/1652987832.html?FMT=CITE&FMTS=CITE:AI&type=historic&date=Dec+26,+1912&author=&pub=The+Sun+(1837-1985)&desc=KECKIE+MOLL+DIES&pqatl=google. dead. February 16, 2013.
7. Web site: Thomas Andrew "Andy" Gill. Indiana Football Hall of Fame.
8. News: Walter Camp Picks All-American Team: Unquestioned Football Authority of Country Selects Best Men. The Lexington Herald. 1911-12-10.
9. News: Three Westernes on All-American Eleven. Sandusky Star Journal. December 2, 1911.
10. News: Three Westerners On This Team. The Toledo News-Bee. December 2, 1911.
11. News: Pick Syracusans for Honor List: Representative Coaches Select Orange Captain-Elect and Retiring Captain. Syracuse Herald. 1911-12-11.
12. News: Tommy Clark. All American Football Team For 1911. The Altoona Mirror. December 8, 1911. 18.
13. News: Latest Sporting News All-American Football Team Selected by W. S. Farnsworth. Fort Worth Star-Telegram. 1911-12-10.
14. News: Dr. Williams' Choice: Minnesota University Coach's Idea of All-American Football Team. The Montgomery Advertiser. December 4, 1911.
15. News: Dr. Williams PIcks An All-American Team. The Gazette Times. December 4, 1911.
16. News: Chadwick's All-American Football Team Lined up for Action: Four Players Selected from Yale. Fort Worth Star-Telegram. 1911-12-11.
17. News: The All-America Football Eleven: The Stars of the Gridiron for 1911. Baseball Magazine. 1912. https://web.archive.org/web/20100810002252/http://www.la84foundation.org/SportsLibrary/BBM/1912/bbm83i.pdf. dead. August 10, 2010.
18. Spalding's Official Football Guide, 1912, p. 19.
19. News: Dopesters Pick American Teams: Ted Coy Makes Known His Choice of Team, But Camp Has Yet to Name One. The Syracuse Herald. December 4, 1911. 12.