1923 Georgia Tech Golden Tornado football team

The 1923 Georgia Tech Golden Tornado football team[note 1] represented the Georgia Tech Golden Tornado of the Georgia Institute of Technology during the 1923 college football season. Tech had ties in every one of its conference games.

1923 Georgia Tech Golden Tornado football
Conference	Southern Conference
1923 record	3–2–4 (0–0–4 SoCon)
Head coach	William Alexander (4th season)
Offensive scheme	Jump shift
Home stadium	Grant Field
Uniform

1923 Southern Conference football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
Washington & Lee +	4	–	0	–	1			6	–	3	–	1
Vanderbilt * +	3	–	0	–	1			5	–	2	–	1
VPI	4	–	1	–	0			6	–	3	–	0
Alabama	4	–	1	–	1			7	–	2	–	1
Maryland	2	–	1	–	0			7	–	2	–	1
Florida	1	–	0	–	2			6	–	1	–	2
North Carolina	2	–	1	–	1			5	–	3	–	1
Georgia	3	–	2	–	0			5	–	3	–	1
Mississippi A&M	2	–	1	–	2			5	–	2	–	2
Tennessee	4	–	3	–	0			5	–	4	–	1
Tulane	2	–	2	–	1			6	–	3	–	1
Clemson	1	–	1	–	1			5	–	2	–	1
Georgia Tech	0	–	0	–	4			3	–	2	–	4
NC State	1	–	4	–	0			3	–	7	–	0
Auburn	0	–	1	–	3			3	–	3	–	3
Kentucky	0	–	2	–	2			4	–	3	–	2
Virginia	0	–	3	–	1			3	–	5	–	1
LSU	0	–	3	–	0			3	–	5	–	1
Ole Miss	0	–	4	–	0			4	–	6	–	0
South Carolina	0	–	4	–	0			4	–	6	–	0
+ – Conference co-champions * co-member of SIAA

Before the season

Tech used a starting backfield, including sophomore Doug Wycoff, and a "pony backfield" full of smaller, fast substitutes such as Jerry Albright and Frank Harris.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance
September 29		Oglethorpe*	Grant Field Atlanta, GA	W 28–13
October 6		VMI*	Grant Field Atlanta, GA	W 10–7
October 13		Florida	Grant Field Atlanta, GA	T 7–7	12,000
October 20		Georgetown*	Grant Field Atlanta, GA	W 20–10
October 27		at Notre Dame*	Cartier Field South Bend, IN	L 7–35	20,000+
November 3		Alabama	Grant Field Atlanta, GA	T 0–0	10,000
November 10	2:30 p. m.	at Penn State*	New Beaver Field State College, PA	L 0–7
November 17		Kentucky	Grant Field Atlanta, GA	T 3–3
November 29		Auburn	Grant Field Atlanta, GA (rivalry)	T 0–0
*Non-conference game

[3]

Season summary

Week 1: Oglethorpe

Week 1: Oglethorpe at Georgia Tech

1 2 3 4 Total Oglethorpe 7 6 0 0 13 • Ga. Tech 7 0 14 7 28 Date: October 13 Location: Grant Field Atlanta, GA

Oglethorpe led at the half on Tech, but Tech came back to win 28–13.[4]

The starting lineup was: Staton (left end), Carpenter (left tackle), McIntyre (left guard), Frye (center), McConnell (right guard), Usry (right tackle), Gardner (right end), Carter (quarterback), Hunt (left halfback), Reeves (right halfback), Wycoff (fullback).[5]

Week 2: VMI

Tech beat VMI 10–7. Both teams touchdowns came on interceptions. The starting lineup was: Staton (left end), Merkle (left tackle), McConnell (left guard), Frye (center), McIntyre (right guard), Usry (right tackle), Gardner (right end), I. Williams (quarterback), Hunt (left halfback), Reeves (right halfback), Wycoff (fullback).[6]

Week 3: Florida

Week 3: Florida at Georgia Tech

1 2 3 4 Total Florida 7 0 0 0 7 Ga. Tech 0 0 0 7 7 Date: October 13 Location: Grant Field Atlanta, GA Game attendance: 12,000

The game with the Florida Gators brought considerable interest.[7] In front of 12,000 at Grant Field, the Gators were up 7 to 0 until a rush of substitutes in the fourth quarter got the Yellow Jackets the tying score.

The starting lineup was: Staton (left end), Merkle (left tackle), McIntyre (left guard), Frye (center), McConnell (right guard), Usry (right tackle), Gardner (right end), Carter (quarterback), Hunt (left halfback), Farnsworth (right halfback), Wycoff (fullback).[8]

Week 4: Georgetown

Week 4: Georgetown at Georgia Tech

1 2 3 4 Total Georgetown 7 3 0 0 10 • Ga. Tech 0 0 14 6 20 Date: October 20 Location: Grant Field Atlanta, GA

Georgetown led 10–0 at the half, but Tech won 20–10.[9] The starting lineup was: Staton (left end), Merkle (left tackle), McIntyre (left guard), Frye (center), McConnell (right guard), Huffines (right tackle), Gardner (right end), Hunt (quarterback), Williams (left halfback), Reeves (right halfback), Wycoff (fullback).[9]

Week 5: at Notre Dame

Week 5: Georgia Tech at Notre Dame

1 2 3 4 Total Ga. Tech 0 0 7 0 7 • Notre Dame 7 7 14 7 35 Location: South Bend, IN Game attendance: 20,000+

Rockne's Notre Dame Fighting Irish subs ran up a 35–7 score.[10] Over 20,000 fans were in attendance.[11] The starting lineup was: Staton (left end), Merrin (left tackle), McIntyre (left guard), Frye (center), McConnell (right guard), Huffines (right tackle), Gardner (right end), Hunt (quarterback), Albright (left halfback), Reeves (right halfback), Wycoff (fullback)[12]

Week 6: Alabama

Week 6: Alabama at Georgia Tech

1 2 3 4 Total Alabama 0 0 0 0 0 Ga. Tech 0 0 0 0 0 Location: Grant Field Atlanta, GA Game attendance: 10,000

In a driving rain, Tech and Alabama under first year coach Wallace Wade played to a scoreless tie.[13]

Week 7: at Penn State

Week 7: Georgia Tech at Penn State

1 2 3 4 Total Ga. Tech 0 0 0 0 0 • Penn State 7 0 0 0 7 Date: November 10 Location: State College, PA Game start: 2:30 p. m.

Penn State beat Georgia Tech 7–0.[14] The Atlanta Constitution's Paul Warwick protested "these eastern and western invasions."[15]

The starting lineup was: Staton (left end), Usry (left tackle), McIntyre (left guard), Frye (center), McConnell (right guard), Huffines (right tackle), Gardner (right end), Davis (quarterback), Williams (left halfback), Reeves (right halfback), Wycoff (fullback).[16]

Week 8: Kentucky

Tech used every backfield man in a 3–3 tie to Kentucky.[17]

Week 9: Auburn

Week 9: Auburn at Georgia Tech

1 2 3 4 Total Auburn 0 0 0 0 0 Ga. Tech 0 0 0 0 0 Location: Grant Field Atlanta, GA

In awfully muddy conditions, Auburn and Tech fought to a scoreless tie.[18]

Postseason

Tech had its worst season in years.[19]

Personnel

Depth chart

The following chart provides a visual depiction of Tech's lineup during the 1923 season with games started at the position reflected in parenthesis. The chart mimics the offense after the jump shift has taken place.

LE John Staton (6)   LT LG C RG RT Gus Merkle (3) John McIntyre (5) Claire Frye (6) F. McConnell (5) Usry (3) Merrin (1) F. McConnell (1) John McIntyre (1) Huffines(3) Six Carpenter (1) Usry (1) RE Gardner (6) QB Pinkey Hunt (2) Carter (2) Davis (1) Ike Williams (1) RHB Reeves (5) Bip Farnsworth (1) FB Doug Wycoff (6) LHB Pinkey Hunt (3) Ike Williams (2) Jerry Albright (1)

Notes

1. Although Georgia Tech's teams are officially known as the "Yellow Jackets", northern writers called the team the "Golden Tornado" in 1917; the name was commonly used until 1928 and for many years afterwards as an alternate nickname.[1] It may have been coined by Morgan Blake.[2]

Endnotes

1. Van Brimmer & Rice 2011, p. 147
2. "Golden Tornadoes". Archived from the original on April 30, 2016. Retrieved January 28, 2015.
3. "1923 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Schedule and Results". Archived from the original on 2018-12-11. Retrieved 2019-10-15.
4. Woodruff 1928, pp. 232–233
5. Woodruff 1928, p. 234
6. Woodruff 1928, p. 238
7. Lawrence Perry (October 12, 1934). "Game's For The Sake". Harrisburg Telegraph. p. 19. Archived from the original on August 19, 2016. Retrieved September 8, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
8. Woodruff 1928, p. 243
9. Woodruff 1928, pp. 246–247
10. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2015-10-18. Retrieved 2016-05-05.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
11. Heisler, Karen Croake (1 January 2006). Fighting Irish: Legends, Lists, and Lore. Sports Publishing LLC. p. 66 – via Internet Archive.
12. "How the Irish Whipped the South". The Fort Wayne Sentinel. October 29, 1923. p. 10. Archived from the original on January 3, 2017. Retrieved January 2, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
13. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2017-02-22. Retrieved 2016-05-05.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
14. "1923-11-10 – Georgia Tech at Penn State - Georgia Tech Ticket Stubs". Archived from the original on 2017-01-03. Retrieved 2017-01-02.
15. Oriard, Michael (15 December 2005). King Football: Sport and Spectacle in the Golden Age of Radio and Newsreels, Movies and Magazines, the Weekly and the Daily Press. Univ of North Carolina Press. ISBN 9780807864036 – via Google Books.
16. "Penn State Grid Teams Wins Over Georgia, 7 to 0". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. November 11, 1923. p. 44. Archived from the original on January 3, 2017. Retrieved January 2, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
17. Woodruff 1928, pp. 266–267
18. "1923-11-29 – Georgia Tech vs. Auburn - Georgia Tech Ticket Stubs". Archived from the original on 2016-06-09. Retrieved 2016-05-06.
19. "Georgia Tech Suffers Worst Season In Years". The Ogden Standard-Examiner. December 3, 1923. p. 7. Archived from the original on January 3, 2017. Retrieved January 2, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.

References

• Van Brimmer, Adam; Rice, Homer (2011). 100 Things Yellow Jackets Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die. Chicago: Triumph Books. ISBN 978-1-61749-703-2.
• Woodruff, Fuzzy (1928). A History of Southern Football 1890–1928. 2.