1931 College Football All-Southern Team Explained

The 1931 College Football All-Southern Team consists of American football players selected to the College Football All-Southern Teams selected by various organizations for the 1931 Southern Conference football season. Tulane won the Southern Conference championship. In December 2008, Sports Illustrated undertook to identify the individuals who would have been awarded the Heisman Trophy in college football's early years, before the trophy was established. Tulane's Jerry Dalrymple was selected as the would-be Heisman winner for the 1931 season.^[1]

Composite eleven

The All-Southern eleven compiled by the Associated Press included:

• Johnny Cain, fullback for Alabama, All-American and later a coach. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1973.
• Jerry Dalrymple, end for Tulane. One article which attempts to retroactively name Heisman Trophy winners before 1934 named Dalrymple as the recipient for 1931.^[2] He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame as a player in 1954.^[3]
• Austin Downes, quarterback and captain for Georgia.
• Pete Gracey, center for Vanderbilt.
• Herman Hickman, guard for Tennessee, All-American. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1959.
• Tex Leyendecker, tackle for Vanderbilt, later played for the inaugural Philadelphia Eagles season.
• Gene McEver, halfback for Tennessee, inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1954.
• John Scafide, guard for Tulane
• Vernon "Catfish" Smith, end for Georgia, made an all-time Georgia Bulldogs football team picked in 1935.^[4]
• Ray Saunders, tackle for Tennessee, third-team All-American.
• Don Zimmerman, halfback for Tulane. He threw a touchdown to Vernon Haynes in the Rose Bowl.

Composite overview

Overview of the Associated Press composite.^[5] "Votes" were tallied as 2 points for a first-team selection and 1 for a second-team selection.

Name	Position	School	Votes
		Tulane	180
		Tulane	172
	End		171
	Halfback		168
		Georgia	145
		Tennessee	126
			122
		Vanderbilt	111
	Tackle	Tennessee	98
		Vanderbilt	76
John Scafide	Guard	Tulane	69

All-Southerns of 1931

Ends

• Jerry Dalrymple
• , Tulane (College Football Hall of Fame) (AP-1, CP, TUL, CO, WA-1, SH)
• Vernon "Catfish" Smith
• , Georgia (College Football Hall of Fame) (AP-1, CP, CO, WA-1)
• Vernon Haynes, Tulane (AP-2, TUL, WA-3, SH)
• Ben Smith, Alabama (AP-2, WA-2)
• George Koontz, SMU (WA-2)
• Russell Grant, Auburn (WA-3)

Tackles

• Tex Leyendecker, Vanderbilt (AP-1, CP, TUL, CO, WA-1, SH)
• Ray Saunders, Tennessee (AP-1, CP, WA-2, SH)
• Jay Dee Patton, Sewanee (AP-2, CO, WA-3)
• Ralph Wright, Kentucky (AP-2)
• Calvert "Foots" DeColigny, Tulane (TUL)
• J. D. Bush, Auburn (WA-1)
• Carl Moulden, Texas A&M (WA-2)
• Marion Hammon, SMU (WA-3)

Guards

• Herman Hickman, Tennessee (College Football Hall of Fame) (AP-1, CP, TUL, CO, WA-1, SH)
• John Scafide, Tulane (AP-1, TUL, CO, WA-2)
• Milton Leathers, Georgia (AP-2, CP)
• Ralph Maddox, Georgia (AP-2, WA-1, SH)
• Johnny Vaught, TCU (WA-2)
• Jess Krajcovic, Maryland (WA-3)

Centers

• Pete Gracey, Vanderbilt (AP-1, CP, CO, WA-3 [as g])
• Winnie Lodrigues, Tulane (AP-2, WA-3)
• Howard Neblett, Georgia Tech (WA-1)
• Joe Sharp, Alabama (TUL, WA-2)
• Jack Torrance, LSU (SH)

Quarterbacks

• Austin Downes, Georgia (AP-1, CP, WA-2)
• Lowell "Red" Dawson, Tulane (AP-2, TUL, CO, WA-1, SH)
• Tommy Henderson, Vanderbilt (WA-3)

Halfbacks

• Gene McEver, Tennessee (College Football Hall of Fame) (AP-1, CP, TUL, CO, WA-1, SH)
• Don Zimmerman, Tulane (AP-1, CP, TUL, CO, WA-1, SH)
• Shipwreck Kelly, Kentucky (AP-2, WA-2)
• Jimmy Hitchcock, Auburn (College Football Hall of Fame) (AP-2, WA-3)
• Dixie Roberts, Vanderbilt (WA-2)
• Buster Mott, Georgia (WA-3)

Fullbacks

• John Lewis Cain, Alabama (College Football Hall of Fame) (AP-1, TUL, CO, WA-1, SH)
• Nollie Felts, Tulane (AP-2, CP, WA-2)
• Ernie Koy, Texas (WA-3)

Key

Bold = Composite selection

* = Consensus All-American

AP = selected by coaches and sports writers, compiled by the Associated Press. It had a first and second team.^[6]

CP = selected by captains of the football team of the south, compiled by Central Press newspapers.^[7]

TUL = the "All Players All-Southern", selected by the players of the Tulane team.^[8]

CO = selected by the coaches of the Southern Conference.^[9]

WA = selected by William Alexander, coach at Georgia Institute of Technology.^[10] It had a first, second, and third team.

SH = selected by Clark Shaughnessy, coach at Tulane University.^[11]

Notes and References

1. News: Mike Beacom. Who would have won the Heisman from 1900-1934. Sports Illustrated. 2008-12-12.
2. Web site: Who would have won the Heisman from 1900-1934. Mike Beacom.
3. Web site: [{{College Football HoF/url|id=1539}} Jerry Dalrymple]. National Football Foundation.
4. All-Time All-Star Team. George Trevor. Tulane University Football Program-The Greenie; Georgia vs. Tulane.
5. News: All-Southern Team. The Monroe News Star. March 11, 2015. December 2, 1931. 6. Newspapers.com.
6. News: Fitchburg Sentinel. Three Tulane Stars Picked for All-Southern Team. Dillon Graham. December 2, 1931.
7. News: South Boasts Classy Talent. The San Bernardino County Sun. December 9, 1931. 18. March 11, 2015. Newspapers.com.
8. News: Tulane Leads Players' Own All-Southern. San Bernardino County Sun. December 24, 1931. 14. March 11, 2015. Newspapers.com.
9. News: The Lincoln Evening Journal. Jerry Dalrymple Is Unanimous Seletion As All Southern End. November 27, 1931. 11. Newspapers.com. Dan McGugin. Dan McGugin.
10. News: Salt Lake Tribune. December 2, 1931. South Produces Numerous Great Football Players. W. A. Alexander.
11. News: Greenies Called One Of South's Greatest Teams. The Monroe News Star. Clark D. Shaughnessy. 7. November 16, 1931. March 11, 2015. Newspapers.com.