Pooley Hubert
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Biographical details | |
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Born | Meridian, Mississippi | April 6, 1901
Died | February 26, 1978 Waynesboro, Georgia | (aged 76)
Playing career | |
1922–1925 | Alabama |
Position(s) | Fullback, quarterback |
Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
Football | |
1931–1936 | Southern Miss |
1937–1946 | VMI |
Basketball | |
1932–1936 | Southern Miss |
1936–1937 | VMI |
1942–1943 | VMI |
Baseball | |
1934–1935 | Southern Miss |
Head coaching record | |
Overall | 69–69–13 (football) 35–49 (basketball) 3–12 (baseball) |
Accomplishments and honors | |
Championships | |
2 SoCon (as player, 1924, 1925) | |
Awards | |
2x All-Southern (1924, 1925) | |
College Football Hall of Fame Inducted in 1964 (profile) |
Allison Thomas Stanislaus "Pooley" Hubert (April 6, 1901 – February 26, 1978) was one of the South's greatest American football players. He played quarterback at the University of Alabama coach Wallace Wade's football teams from 1922 to 1925, leading Alabama to its first Rose Bowl victory in 1925, known as "the game that changed the South." Coach Wade called him "undoubtedly one of the greatest football players of all time." He later became the head football and basketball coach at the University of Southern Mississippi and the Virginia Military Institute. He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1964.
Early years
Pooley dropped out of high school to fight in World War I. He earned a scholarship to play football at Princeton University but arrived too late for the entrance exams. He tried a few other schools including Georgia Tech (for which he was one day late)[1] before ultimately enrolling at the University of Alabama as a 20-year-old freshman.[n 1]
University of Alabama
Pooley initially played tackle in college, but was eventually put in the backfield where he excelled at fullback and quarterback. In those days of one-platoon football, players played on both offense, defense, and special teams. Not only was Hubert his team's best passer; he was also called the "greatest defensive back of all time."[2] In six different games he scored at least three touchdowns, and had 35 in all.[3] He wore number 10.
1924
Pooley was captain of the 1924 team which netted Alabama's first conference championship, as members of the Southern Conference. It suffered a lone upset to Herb Covington-led Centre. Hubert scored in the 14–0 win over Sewanee. In the 20–0 win over Furman, Hubert scored twice, once on a 4-yard run and next on a 35-yard off-tackle run.[4] He threw two touchdowns in the win over Georgia to secure the conference.[5] At year's end Hubert was chosen for the composite All-Southern team.[6]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a9/HubertRoseBowlTD.jpg/260px-HubertRoseBowlTD.jpg)
1925
Hubert played a key role in helping Alabama win the 1925 national championship. In the 7–0 win over Georgia Tech, the alumni recalled "Hubert played the greatest game of his career and was called the greatest defensive back ever to appear on Grant Field".[7] Johnny Mack Brown returned a punt for the deciding touchdown, and Hubert cleared two Tech players out of the way.[8] Hubert also passed for two touchdowns and ran for another in a 34–0 win against Florida.[7] At year's end he was selected All-Southern.[9]
The climax of his college career was the final game, defeating Wildcat Wilson-led Washington, 20–19, in the 1926 Rose Bowl. Hubert scored the first touchdown. He hit Brown on a 59-yard touchdown pass next to take the lead. He connected with Brown for yet another after a fumble. It is known as "the game that changed the South."
Coaching career
He was a college football coach at Southern Miss, and VMI. From 1931 to 1936, he coached at Southern Miss, where he compiled a 26–24–5 record. From 1937 to 1946, he coached at VMI, where he compiled a 43–45–8 record. His 1938 squad set a school record with four ties. His best season came in 1940, when he went 7–2–1. He then coached at Waynesboro, Georgia High School, where he owned a small business.
Head coaching record
Football
Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Southern Miss Eagles (Independent) (1931–1936) | |||||||||
1931 | Southern Miss | 2–5 | |||||||
1932 | Southern Miss | 5–4 | |||||||
1933 | Southern Miss | 3–5–2 | |||||||
1934 | Southern Miss | 3–4–2 | |||||||
1935 | Southern Miss | 6–4 | |||||||
1936 | Southern Miss | 7–2–1 | |||||||
Southern Miss: | 26–24–5 | ||||||||
VMI Keydets (Southern Conference) (1937–1946) | |||||||||
1937 | VMI | 5–5 | 5–2 | 5th | |||||
1938 | VMI | 6–1–4 | 4–0–3 | 4th | |||||
1939 | VMI | 6–3–1 | 3–1–1 | 6th | |||||
1940 | VMI | 7–2–1 | 3–2–1 | 7th | |||||
1941 | VMI | 4–6 | 4–2 | 6th | |||||
1942 | VMI | 3–5–1 | 2–4–1 | 10th | |||||
1943 | VMI | 2–6 | 1–3 | 8th | |||||
1944 | VMI | 1–8 | 1–5 | 8th | |||||
1945 | VMI | 5–4 | 3–2 | 6th | |||||
1946 | VMI | 4–5–1 | 3–3–1 | 8th | |||||
VMI: | 43–45–8 | 29–24–7 | |||||||
Total: | 69–69–13 | ||||||||
|
Basketball
Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Southern Miss Golden Eagles (Independent) (1932–1936) | |||||||||
1932–33 | Southern Miss | 4–10 | |||||||
1933–34 | Southern Miss | 7–6 | |||||||
1934–35 | Southern Miss | 3–9 | |||||||
1935–36 | Southern Miss | 7–5 | |||||||
Southern Miss: | 21–30 | ||||||||
VMI Keydets (Southern Conference) (1936–1937, 1942–1943) | |||||||||
1936–37 | VMI | 6–11 | 5–11 | 13th | |||||
1942–43 | VMI | 8–8 | 7–5 | 7th | |||||
VMI: | 14–19 | 12–16 | |||||||
Total: | 35–49 |
Notes
- ^ By the time he was a 24-year-old senior, his teammates had begun calling him "Papa Pooley" because he was so much older than them.
References
- ^ http://www.vmi.edu/uploadedFiles/Archives/Records/Faculty/PooleyHubertobit.pdf
- ^ "POOLEY".
- ^ "National Football Foundation".
- ^ http://grfx.cstv.com/schools/alab/graphics/docs/24-m-footbl-recaps.pdf
- ^ "Alabama Football - Bryant Museum".
- ^
"Atlanta Journals Picks S. I. C. All Star Team". Times-Picayune. December 8, 1924.
- ^ a b http://grfx.cstv.com/schools/alab/graphics/docs/25-m-footbl-recaps.pdf
- ^ "Legends of Alabama Football".
- ^ Norman E. Brown (December 5, 1925). "Flournoy Best Kicker; Hubert The Cleverest Field General". The Daily News. p. 3. Retrieved March 3, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "All-Time Coaching Records by Year".
- ^ 2013–14 VMI Basketball Fact Book
- ^ "USM Men's Basketball 2013-14".
External links
- 1901 births
- 1978 deaths
- American football fullbacks
- American football quarterbacks
- Alabama Crimson Tide football players
- Southern Miss Golden Eagles baseball coaches
- Southern Miss Golden Eagles football coaches
- Southern Miss Golden Eagles basketball coaches
- VMI Keydets football coaches
- VMI Keydets basketball coaches
- High school football coaches in the United States
- All-Southern college football players
- College Football Hall of Fame inductees
- American military personnel of World War I
- People from Meridian, Mississippi
- People from Waynesboro, Georgia
- American football tackles
- Players of American football from Mississippi