1931 Florida Gators football team

The 1931 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida during the 1931 college football season. The season was the fourth of Charlie Bachman as the head coach of the Florida Gators football team. Bachman's 1931 Florida Gators finished with an overall record of 2–6–2[2] and a Southern Conference record of 2–4–2, placing fifteenth of twenty-three teams in the conference standings—Bachman's second worst conference record in five seasons.[3]

1931 Florida Gators football
Conference	Southern Conference
1931 record	2–6–2 (2–4–2 SoCon)
Head coach	Charlie Bachman (4th season)
Offensive scheme	Notre Dame Box
Captain	Ed N. Parnell
Home stadium	Florida Field (Capacity: 22,000)[1]
Uniform

1931 Southern Conference football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
Tulane $	8	–	0	–	0			11	–	1	–	0
Tennessee	6	–	0	–	1			9	–	0	–	1
Alabama	7	–	1	–	0			9	–	1	–	0
Georgia	6	–	1	–	0			8	–	2	–	0
Maryland	4	–	1	–	1			8	–	1	–	1
Kentucky	4	–	2	–	2			5	–	2	–	2
LSU	3	–	2	–	0			5	–	4	–	0
South Carolina	3	–	3	–	1			5	–	4	–	1
Duke	3	–	3	–	1			5	–	3	–	2
Auburn	3	–	3	–	0			5	–	3	–	0
Sewanee	3	–	3	–	0			6	–	3	–	1
Vanderbilt	3	–	4	–	0			5	–	4	–	0
North Carolina	2	–	3	–	3			4	–	3	–	3
Washington and Lee	2	–	3	–	0			4	–	5	–	1
Florida	2	–	4	–	2			2	–	6	–	2
Georgia Tech	2	–	4	–	1			2	–	7	–	1
VMI	2	–	4	–	0			3	–	6	–	1
NC State	2	–	4	–	0			3	–	6	–	0
VPI	1	–	4	–	1			3	–	4	–	2
Clemson	1	–	4	–	0			1	–	6	–	2
Ole Miss	1	–	5	–	0			2	–	6	–	1
Virginia	0	–	5	–	1			2	–	6	–	1
Mississippi A&M	0	–	5	–	0			2	–	6	–	0
$ – Conference champion

The season's highlights included the Gators' only victories over the North Carolina State (31–0) in Raleigh, North Carolina and the Auburn Tigers (13–12) in Jacksonville, Florida, both of which were fellow Southern Conference members. Tom McEwen relays "The handwriting was on the wall during that dismal 1931 season. The Gators lost five of their last six games, tying the other. During that streak the Florida offense – three years earlier the best in the country—managed only two touchdowns and a safety."[4]

Before the season

Captain-elect Monk Dorsett did not return.[5] The next captain-elect Carlos Proctor was expelled.[6] The team's captain was then end Ed Parnell.[7]

The Gators lost both Ben Clemons and Frank Clark.[8] "Scabby" Pheil was one promising newcomer.[9] Florida was to have a tough schedule.[10]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance
October 3	at NC State	Riddick Stadium Raleigh, NC	W 31–0
October 10	North Carolina	Florida Field Gainesville, FL	T 0–0	8,000
October 17	at Syracuse*	Archbold Stadium Syracuse, NY	L 12–33
October 24	vs. Auburn	Fairfield Stadium Jacksonville, FL (rivalry)	W 13–12	15,000
October 31	Georgia	Florida Field Gainesville, FL (rivalry)	L 6–33	20,000
November 7	at Alabama	Legion Field Birmingham, AL	L 0–41	7,000
November 14	vs. South Carolina	Plant Field Tampa, FL	T 6–6
November 21	at Georgia Tech	Grant Field Atlanta, GA	L 0–23
November 28	at UCLA*	Olympic Stadium Los Angeles, CA	L 0–13	20,000
December 5	vs. Kentucky	Fairfield Stadium Jacksonville, FL	L 2–7
*Non-conference game

Primary source: 2015 Florida Gators Football Media Guide.[2]

Season summary

North Carolina State

The season opened with a 31–0 win over the NC State Wolfpack in Raleigh. The team surprised coach Bachman.[11]

North Carolina

1 2 3 4 Total UNC 0 0 0 0 0 Florida 0 0 0 0 0 Date: October 10 Location: Florida Field Gainesville, Florida Game attendance: 8,000 Source:

In the second week of play, the Gators played the North Carolina Tar Heels to a scoreless tie.[12] The Tar Heels were twice at the 1-yard line.[13]

Syracuse

Florida traveled to Syracuse[14] and lost 33–12.

Auburn

1 2 3 4 Total Auburn 0 6 0 6 12 • Florida 6 0 0 7 13 Date: October 24 Location: Fairfield Stadium Jacksonville, Florida Game attendance: 15,000 Source:[15]

The season's lone highlight after opening week, Florida defeated Auburn by a point, 13–12. Jimmy Hitchcock missed the tying extra point.[15]

Georgia

The rival Georgia Bulldogs beat coach Bachman for the first time, 33–6. Both Florida governor Doyle E. Carlton and Georgia governor Richard B. Russell attended the game.[16] Florida scored when Scabby Phiel blocked a punt.[16]

Alabama

1 2 3 4 Total Florida 0 0 0 0 0 • Alabama 0 14 14 13 41 Date: November 7 Location: Legion Field Birmingham, Alabama Game attendance: 7,000 Source:[17]

Alabama and new head coach Frank Thomas shut out the Gators with a 41–0 victory.[17] After a scoreless first quarter, Alabama scored a pair of second-quarter touchdowns on short runs by Johnny Cain and Leon Long to take a 14–0 halftime lead.[17] The Crimson Tide then scored four second half touchdowns on runs by Long and Hillman Holley in the third and on runs by Howard Chappell and Erskine Walker in the fourth to make the final score 41–0.[17]

South Carolina

1 2 3 4 Total S. Carolina 0 0 0 6 6 Florida 0 6 0 0 6 Date: November 14 Location: Plant Field Tampa, Florida Referee: Darwin (Virginia) Source:[18]

In Tampa, the South Carolina Gamecocks were tied, 6–6.[18]

The starting lineup was Williamson (left end), McClellan (left tackle), Bernhart (left guard), Spiers (Center), Osgood (right guard), Simpson (right tackle), Goodyear (right end), Culler (quarterback), Davis (left halfback), Emmelhainz (right halfback), Silsby (fullback).[18]

Georgia Tech

1 2 3 4 Total Florida 0 0 0 0 0 • Ga. Tech 2 0 14 7 23 Date: November 14 Location: Grant Field Atlanta Source:[19]

Coach Bill Alexander's Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets beat Florida 23–0. The second half opened with an 86-yard kickoff return by Pat Barron, and a subsequent goal line stand.[19]

The starting lineup was Parnell (left end), Phiel (left tackle), Bernhard (left guard), Perrazzi (Center), Osgood (right guard), Jenkins (right tackle), Ball (right end), Culler (quarterback), Davis (left halfback), McClellan (right halfback), Silsby (fullback).[19]

UCLA

The Gators traveled to Los Angeles and lost to the UCLA Bruins 13–0. The Gators stopped in Albuquerque, New Mexico on the way back.[20]

Kentucky

A frustrating season ended with a 7–2 loss to Kentucky.[21]

Postseason

The Gators traveled 6,586 miles.[22] Former Gator end Dutch Stanley was hired to coach the ends next season.

References

1. University of Florida Sports Information Department. "Florida 2006 Media Guide" (PDF). floridagators.com. University Athletic Association, Inc. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
2. 2015 Florida Gators Football Media Guide Archived 2015-12-08 at the Wayback Machine, University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, p. 107 (2015). Retrieved August 16, 2015.
3. 2009 Southern Conference Football Media Guide, Year-by-Year Standings, Southern Conference, Spartanburg, South Carolina, p. 74 (2009). Retrieved August 30, 2010.
4. McEwen 1974, pp. 104–105
5. "Florida Football Captain May Quit State University". The Evening Independent. June 9, 1931.
6. "Tampa Youth Let Out For Exam Frauds". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. March 13, 1931.
7. "Galloping Parnell Given Praise As Greatest End". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. November 19, 1931.
8. Frank S. Wright (August 28, 1931). "Gator Center Line Weakest For Grid Year". Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
9. Frank S. Wright (August 21, 1931). "'Scabby' Pheil Looks Good To Gators' Coach". Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
10. "Syracuse Game Only One of Several Hard Spots On Gator Card". The Evening Independent. July 29, 1931.
11. http://s158.photobucket.com/user/DMEvans_photos/media/Gators%201930-1939/CoachCharlieBachman1931.jpg.html
12. "Florida Game Brings Out Need of A Scoring Punch". The Daily Tar Heel. October 13, 1931. p. 3. Retrieved July 28, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
13. "Florida Battles N. C. To 0-0 Tie". The Anniston Star. October 11, 1931. p. 12. Retrieved July 28, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
14. Frank S. Wright (October 14, 1931). "Gators Start Trek To East For Big Game". Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
15. "Auburn Loses To 'Gators By Single Point". The Anniston Star. October 25, 1931. p. 14. Retrieved July 28, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
16. "Georgia Thumps Florida Gators". Bluefield Daily Telegraph. November 1, 1931. p. 11. Retrieved July 28, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
17. "Tide routes Gators, 41 to 0". The Tuscaloosa News. November 8, 1931. p. 9. Retrieved March 28, 2012 – via Google News Archives.
18. "Semi-Sropical Sun Slows Up Close Affair". Florence Morning News. November 15, 1931. p. 2. Retrieved July 28, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
19. "Tech Employs Line-Smashing Attack To Win". Florence Morning News. November 22, 1931. p. 6. Retrieved July 28, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
20. "Florida Football Team Stops Here". Albuquerque Journal. November 30, 1931. p. 2. Retrieved July 28, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
21. "Dutch Stanley Ready To Take Coaching Job". St. Petersburg Times. July 23, 1933.
22. "Sports Briefs". Reading Eagle. November 28, 1931.

Bibliography

• McEwen, Tom (1974). The Gators: A Story of Florida Football. Huntsville, Alabama: The Strode Publishers. ISBN 0-87397-025-X.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)

External links

• The Fighting Gators in Training - 1931