1938 VPI Gobblers football team

1938 VPI Gobblers football
Conference	Southern Conference
Record	3–5–2 (2–3–2 SoCon)
Head coach	Henry Redd (7th season)
Captain	Frank Marion Pierce
Home stadium	Miles Stadium

1938 Southern Conference football standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 3 Duke $	5	–	0	–	0			9	–	1	–	0
Clemson	3	–	0	–	1			7	–	1	–	1
VMI	4	–	0	–	3			6	–	1	–	4
North Carolina	4	–	1	–	0			6	–	2	–	1
Richmond	3	–	2	–	1			6	–	3	–	1
Washington and Lee	2	–	2	–	0			4	–	4	–	1
NC State	3	–	3	–	1			3	–	7	–	1
South Carolina	2	–	2	–	0			6	–	4	–	1
Wake Forest	3	–	4	–	1			4	–	5	–	1
VPI	2	–	3	–	2			3	–	5	–	2
The Citadel	2	–	3	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
Maryland	1	–	2	–	0			2	–	7	–	0
Davidson	2	–	6	–	0			4	–	6	–	0
Furman	0	–	4	–	1			2	–	7	–	1
William & Mary	0	–	4	–	0			3	–	7	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 1938 VPI Gobblers football team represented Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College and Polytechnic Institute in the 1938 college football season. The team was led by their head coach Henry Redd and finished with a record of three wins, five losses and two ties (3–5–2).

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 17		Emory and Henry*	Miles Stadium Blacksburg, VA	W 33–0
September 24	8:00 p.m.	vs. Duke	World War Memorial Stadium Greensboro, NC	L 0–18	13,000
October 1		at Army*	Michie Stadium West Point, NY	L 0–39
October 8		vs. William & Mary	City Stadium Richmond, VA	W 27–0	4,500
October 15		Virginia*	Miles Stadium Blacksburg, VA (rivalry)	L 6–14	7,000
October 22	2:30 p.m.	at Washington and Lee	Wilson Field Lexington, VA	L 0–6	9,000
October 29		NC State	Miles Stadium Blacksburg, VA	W 7–0	3,500
November 5	2:00 p.m.	at North Carolina	Kenan Memorial Stadium Chapel Hill, NC	L 0–7	18,000
November 11		at Richmond	City Stadium Richmond, VA	T 0–0	9,000
November 24		vs. VMI	Maher Field Roanoke, VA (rivalry)	T 2–2	15,000-17,000
*Non-conference game Homecoming

Game summaries

Emory and Henry

Emory and Henry at VPI

1 2 3 4 Total E&H 0 0 0 0 0 • VPI 20 0 6 7 33 Date: September 17, 1938 Location: Miles Stadium Blacksburg, VA Referee: Buck Cuddy (UVA)

The starting lineup for VPI was: Pierce (left end), Pitts (left tackle), Worthington (left guard), Dunn (center), Devlin (right guard), Gaugler (right tackle), Cameron (right end), Fixx (quarterback), Miller (left halfback), Belcher (right halfback), Warriner (fullback). The substitutes were: Boswell, Buchanan, Coleman, DeMuro, Gosney, Graves, King, Markle, McMillan, Oliver, Powers, Rose, Shawhan, Smith, Taylor, Thomas, Traynham, Wood and Woolwine.

Duke

Duke vs. VPI

1 2 3 4 Total • Duke 6 0 6 6 18 VPI 0 0 0 0 0 Date: September 24, 1938 Location: World War Memorial Stadium Greensboro, NC Game start: 8:00 p.m. Game attendance: 13,000

See also: 1938 Duke Blue Devils football team

Army

VPI at Army

1 2 3 4 Total VPI 0 0 0 0 0 • Army 26 0 7 6 39 Date: October 1, 1938 Location: Michie Stadium West Point, NY

See also: 1938 Army Cadets football team

The starting lineup for VPI was: Cameron (left end), Pitts (left tackle), Worthington (left guard), Wood (center), Devlin (right guard), Gaugler (right tackle), Pierce (right end), DeMuro (quarterback), Belcher (left halfback), Miller (right halfback), Warriner (fullback). The substitutes were: Boswell, Buchanan, Coleman, Dunn, Ellison, Fixx, Gosney, Henderson, Hudson, King, Markle, Oliver, Powers, Shawhan, Traynham, Waugh and Woolwine.

The starting lineup for Army was: F. J. Yeager (left end), Harry Stella (left tackle), Melvin Verner Engstrom (left guard), J. Maxwell (center), Robert Roy Little (right guard), J. Lotozo (right tackle), Henry Riggs Sullivan (right end), Ken O. Due (quarterback), Woodrow William Wilson (left halfback), W. H. H. Mullin (right halfback), W. P. Kelleher (fullback). The substitutes were: Benjamin Mart Bailey, Coontz, John William "Jack" Dobson, J. G. Dubuisson, William G. Gillis, Harris, C. S. Jobes, G. T. Larkin, W. M. Lauterbach, E. DeW. Light, Mansfield, Sidney Taylor Martin, James Elmer Mather, John Arthur McDavid, Maurice Myron Miller, J. W. Milner, Muzyk, John Spoor Samuel, John Robert Schrader and Thompson.

William & Mary

William & Mary vs. VPI

1 2 3 4 Total W&M 0 0 0 0 0 • VPI 7 0 14 6 27 Date: October 8, 1938 Location: City Stadium Richmond, VA Game attendance: 4,500 Referee: Causey (South Carolina)

See also: 1938 William & Mary Indians football team

The starting lineup for VPI was: Pierce (left end), Pitts (left tackle), Worthington (left guard), Wood (center), Devlin (right guard), Coleman (right tackle), Cameron (right end), DeMuro (quarterback), Belcher (left halfback), Powers (right halfback), Ellison (fullback). The substitutes were: Boswell, Fixx and Miller.

The starting lineup for William & Mary was: Charles Gondak (left end), Dillard (left tackle), Michael Hook (left guard), Herbert Krueger (center), John Davidson (right guard), John Dillard (right tackle), Stan Kamen (right end), William Seamans (quarterback), Lloyd Phillips (left halfback), Tommy Della Torre (right halfback), William Byrne (fullback). The substitutes were: Gordon Hanna.

Virginia

Virginia at VPI

1 2 3 4 Total • UVA 0 7 7 0 14 VPI 0 0 0 6 6 Date: October 15, 1938 Location: Miles Stadium Blacksburg, VA Game attendance: 7,000 Game weather: "Indian summer weather" Referee: Dixon Foster (Hampden-Sydney)

See also: 1938 Virginia Cavaliers football team

The starting lineup for VPI was: Pierce (left end), Pitts (left tackle), Worthington (left guard), Wood (center), Devlin (right guard), Coleman (right tackle), Henderson (right end), DeMuro (quarterback), Belcher (left halfback), Powers (right halfback), Ellison (fullback). The substitutes were: Boswell, Fixx, Gaugler, Gosney, Gray, King, Miller, Oliver and Shawhan.

The starting lineup for Virginia was: James Sargeant (left end), Lee McLaughlin (left tackle), Herbert Winokur (left guard), W. Oscar Willett (center), John Acree (right guard), Arthur Bryant (right tackle), Woodruff George (right end), James Beveridge (quarterback), Jim Gillette (left halfback), Mosby Cardozo (right halfback), Harry McClaugherty (fullback). The substitutes were: Dickey, Harry Dinwiddie, C. Tabb George, Nick Gianakos, Luther Gosney, Gravatt, L. Peyton Harris, Lewis, H. Cabell Maddux, Maines, Morse, Peter Nistad, Sylvester O'Grince, Rinehart, Phillip Rothar, Walter Smith and John Swank.

Washington and Lee

VPI at Washington & Lee

1 2 3 4 Total VPI 0 0 0 0 0 • W&L 0 0 6 0 6 Date: October 22, 1938 Location: Wilson Field Lexington, VA Game start: 2:30 p.m. Game attendance: 9,000 Game weather: "Perfect" Referee: Henry Gerard (Illinois)

See also: 1938 Washington and Lee Generals football team

The starting lineup for VPI was: Pierce (left end), Pitts (left tackle), Worthington (left guard), Wood (center), Devlin (right guard), Coleman (right tackle), Henderson (right end), DeMuro (quarterback), Miller (left halfback), Belcher (right halfback), Ellison (fullback). The substitutes were: Gaugler, Gosney, King, Oliver, Powers and Thomas.

The starting lineup for Washington and Lee was: Taylor Simmons Truehart (left end), Richard Winfield "Dick" Boisseau (left tackle), William W. Brown (left guard), John Joseph "Jack" Mangan (center), James Edward Lindsey (right guard), Joseph H. Ochsie (right tackle), S. Bernard Harper (right end), Dan Ray Justice (quarterback), Ray Craft (left halfback), Courtney Young Wadlington (right halfback), Alfred Thomas "Junie" Bishop (fullback). The substitutes were: Robert Blanding, Howard Wesley Dobbins, Stephen Edward Hanasik, C. Harrison Hogan, W. Roy Hogan, William Keland, Kelley Litteral, Charles P. Lykes, R. Shack Parrish, Richard Pinck, Francis Joseph Sugrue, Ronnie Thompson, Walker and J. Dorsey Wilson.

NC State

NC State at VPI

1 2 3 4 Total NC State 0 0 0 0 0 • VPI 0 0 7 0 7 Date: October 29, 1938 Location: Miles Stadium Blacksburg, VA Game attendance: 3,500

See also: 1938 NC State Wolfpack football team

The starting lineup for VPI was: Pierce (left end), Pitts (left tackle), Worthington (left guard), Wood (center), Devlin (right guard), Coleman (right tackle), Henderson (right end), Fixx (quarterback), Thomas (left halfback), Belcher (right halfback), Hudson (fullback). The substitutes were: Miller.

The starting lineup for NC State was: William Retter (left end), Ty Coon (left tackle), Acai (left guard), Howell Stroup (center), Wooden (right guard), George Fry (right tackle), Mickey Sullivan (right end), Arthur Rooney (quarterback), Andrew Pavlovsky (left halfback), Robert Sabolyk (right halfback), Sands (fullback).

North Carolina

North Carolina vs. VPI

1 2 3 4 Total VPI 0 0 0 0 0 • UNC 0 0 7 0 7 Date: November 5, 1938 Location: Kenan Memorial Stadium Chapel Hill, NC Game start: 2:00 p.m. Game attendance: 18,000 Game weather: Rainy

See also: 1938 North Carolina Tar Heels football team

The starting lineup for VPI was: Pierce (left end), Gosney (left tackle), Worthington (left guard), Wood (center), Devlin (right guard), Coleman (right tackle), Oliver (right end), Fixx (quarterback), Thomas (left halfback), Ellison (right halfback), Hudson (fullback). The substitutes were: Belcher, Gaugler, Graves, Henderson, Markle, Miller, Pitts, Powers, Rose, Warriner and Woolwine.

The starting lineup for North Carolina was: Horace Palmer (left end), Steve Maronic (left tackle), James Woodson (left guard), Robert Adam (center), Dan Desich (right guard), Claud Kimball (right tackle), James Mallory (right end), Snuffy Stirnweiss (quarterback), George Radman (left halfback), George Watson (right halfback), Jack Kraynick (fullback). The substitutes were: Don Baker, Mike Bobbitt, Julian Brantley, Tony Cernugle, Ellis Fields, Charles Kline, Jim Lalanne, Ed Megson, Walt Palanske, Pieffer, Sydney Sadoff, Paul Severin, Christian Siewers, Leo Slotnick, Smith and Winborne.

Richmond

VPI at Richmond

1 2 3 4 Total VPI 0 0 0 0 0 Richmond 0 0 0 0 0 Date: November 11, 1938 Location: City Stadium Richmond, VA Game attendance: 9,000 Referee: Richard Carrington (UVA)

See also: 1938 Richmond Spiders football team

The starting lineup for VPI was: Henderson (left end), Pitts (left tackle), Worthington (left guard), Wood (center), Declin (right guard), Coleman (right tackle), Oliver (right end), Fixx (quarterback), Ellison (left halfback), Thomas (right halfback), Hudson (fullback). The substitutes were: Belcher, DeMuro, Gaugler, Graves, King, Pierce, Rose, Shawman, Traynham and Warriner.

The starting lineup for Richmond was: Bill Burge (left end), Andy Fronczek (left tackle), William Fitzhugh (left guard), Ed Merrick (center), Forrest Norvell (right guard), Harold McVay (right tackle), Avalon Marchant (right end), Bruce Van Buskirk (quarterback), Art Jones (left halfback), Stuart Hoskins (right halfback), George Spears (fullback). The substitutes were: William Cash, Edners Dickinson, Wilson Faris, Dick Humbert, John Kennedy, Wilfred Lawless, William Morrison and Edward Sinar.

VMI

VMI vs. VPI

1 2 3 4 Total VMI 2 0 0 0 2 VPI 2 0 0 0 2 Date: November 24, 1938 Location: Maher Field Roanoke, VA Game attendance: 15,000-17,000 Game weather: Snowstorm Referee: Richard Carrington (UVA)

See also: 1938 VMI Keydets football team

The starting lineup for VPI was: Pierce (left end), Pitts (left tackle), Worthington (left guard), Wood (center), Devlin (right guard), Coleman (right tackle), Oliver (right end), Fixx (quarterback), Ellison (left halfback), Rose (right halfback), Hudson (fullback). The substitutes were: Belcher, DeMuro, Gaugler, Gosney, Henderson, King and Thomas.

The starting lineup for VMI was: Ray Brittingham (left end), Rip Walker (left tackle), Ray Reutt (left guard), Richard Irby (center), Thomas Thrasher (right guard), Richard Strickler (right tackle), E. Ray Taylor (right end), James "Son" Shelby (quarterback), Vendel "Bud" Kovar (left halfback), Paul Shu (right halfback), Andy Trzeciak (fullback). The substitutes were: G. V. Atkinson, Brown, Carney, Phil Chapman, William "Red" Echols, Thomas Gray, Luther Huyett, Marshall, Langhorne Meem, Nelson, Luther Sexton and Tipton.

Players

Roster

VPI 1938 roster
	Quarterback Phil DeMuro Guards Bill Chisholm Bill Devlin Robert Preston Graves Irving Gray Ernie King Joseph Franklin Smith Buddy Waugh George Worthington Tackles Robson Coiner Jim Coleman Jim Gaugler Edward Gisburne Woodrow Gosney Dave Pitts Frank Remorenko Claude Simpson Andrew Wellington Todd		Centers Samuel Bascom Dunn Herbert Andrews Markle Neil Wood Ends Archie Cameron John Henderson Ernest Luke Frank Oliver Frank Pierce (Capt.) Sonny Powers Bascom Pribble Daniel Green Shawhan		Halfbacks Bill Barnes Graham Buchanan Sonny Ellison Jimmy Fixx Rankin Hudson Billy McMillan Al Miller Samuel B. Rose, Jr. Garrett Taylor Herbert Joseph Thomas Albert Traynham James Walter Woolwine Fullbacks Jim Belcher Irving Ward Boswell Sidney Gordon Campbell George Warriner

Varsity letter winners

Twenty-one players received varsity letters for their participation on the 1938 VPI team.

Player	Hometown	Notes
James Raymond Belcher	Petersburg, Virginia
Archibald Branks Cameron	Cranford, New Jersey	World War II veteran (Army). Awarded the Silver Star Medal and Purple Heart.
James Emory Coleman	Fayetteville, West Virginia
Philip Galliano DeMuro	Passaic, New Jersey
William Harper Devlin	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Mathew Leslie "Sonny" Ellison	Beckley, West Virginia
James Stuart Fixx	Arlington, Virginia
James Anthony Gaugler	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
H. Woodrow Gosney	Clarksburg, West Virginia
John L. Henderson	Sevierville, Tennessee
Rankin McGuire Hudson	Sweetwater, Tennessee
Ernest Stuart King	Disputanta, Virginia
Albert Sanford Miller	Hampton, Virginia
Frank Lovitt Oliver	Lynnhaven, Virginia	World War II veteran (Lieutenant Colonel, Army).
Frank Marion Pierce (Capt.)	Suffolk, Virginia	World War II veteran (Lieutenant Colonel, Army).
David Marion Pitts	Manassas, Virginia
Stanley Covington "Sonny" Powers	Kingston, West Virginia	World War II veteran
Herbert Joseph Thomas	South Charleston, West Virginia	World War II veteran (Sergeant, Marines). Awarded the Medal of Honor.
George Daniel Warriner	Montgomery County, Virginia	World War II veteran (Captain, Army). Awarded the Bronze Star Medal and Purple Heart.
Neil Saunders Wood	Hampton, Virginia
George Yellott Worthington	Washington, DC

Coaching and training staff

• Head coach: Henry Redd
• Assistant coaches
  • Backfield coach: Herbert McEver
  • Line coach: Sumner D. Tilson
• Manager: Marvin E. Inge, Jr.
• Freshman coaches
  • Freshman head coach: C. E. Tilson
  • Assistant freshman coach and trainer: Thomas A. Slusser