1936 VPI Gobblers football team

The 1936 VPI Gobblers football team represented Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College and Polytechnic Institute, now known as Virginia Tech, in the 1936 college football season. The team was led by their head coach Henry Redd and finished with a record of five wins and five losses (5–5). It finished with a 3–5 record in the Southern Conference. The Gobblers were shut out in all five of the games they lost. The team was 3-0 on its home field, Miles Stadium. It won three of its last four games, finishing the year beating arch-rival Virginia 7–6 at home, and winning the annual Thanksgiving Day contest against VMI at Maher Field in Roanoke.

1936 VPI Gobblers football
Conference	Southern Conference
Record	5–5 (3–5 SoCon)
Head coach	Henry Redd (5th season)
Home stadium	Miles Stadium
Seasons ← 1935 1937 →

1936 Southern Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 11 Duke $	7	–	0	–	0			9	–	1	–	0
North Carolina	6	–	1	–	0			8	–	2	–	0
Furman	4	–	1	–	0			7	–	2	–	0
VMI	4	–	2	–	0			6	–	4	–	0
Maryland	3	–	2	–	0			5	–	5	–	0
Clemson	3	–	3	–	0			5	–	5	–	0
Davidson	4	–	3	–	0			5	–	4	–	0
Washington and Lee	2	–	2	–	0			4	–	5	–	0
Wake Forest	2	–	2	–	0			5	–	4	–	0
NC State	2	–	4	–	0			3	–	7	–	0
VPI	4	–	5	–	0			5	–	5	–	0
South Carolina	2	–	5	–	0			5	–	7	–	0
Richmond	1	–	3	–	0			4	–	4	–	2
Virginia	1	–	5	–	0			2	–	7	–	0
The Citadel	0	–	4	–	0			4	–	6	–	0
William & Mary	0	–	5	–	0			1	–	8	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 19		Roanoke*	Miles Stadium Blacksburg, VA	W 16–7		[1][2][3]
September 26	3:00 p.m.	at Clemson	Riggs Field Calhoun, SC	L 0–20	5,000–6,000	[4][5][6]
October 3		vs. Maryland	Maher Field Roanoke, VA	L 0–6	2,500	[7][8]
October 10		vs. William & Mary	City Stadium Richmond, VA	W 14–0	8,000	[9][10]
October 17		at South Carolina	Columbia Municipal Stadium Columbia, SC	L 0–14	6,000	[11][12]
October 24	2:30 p.m.	at NC State	Riddick Stadium Raleigh, NC	L 0–13	7,000–7,500	[13][14][15]
October 31		Richmond	Miles Stadium Blacksburg, VA	W 20–7		[16][17]
November 7		at Washington and Lee	Wilson Field Lexington, VA	L 0–27	5,000	[18][19][20]
November 14		Virginia*	Miles Stadium Blacksburg, VA (rivalry)	W 7–6		[21][22]
November 26	2:15 p.m.	vs. VMI	Maher Field Roanoke, VA (rivalry)	W 6–0	17,000	[23][24]
*Non-conference game Homecoming All times are in Eastern time

Before the season

The 1935 VPI Gobblers football team compiled a 4–3–2 record and were led by Henry Redd in his fourth season as head coach.

Game summaries

Roanoke

Roanoke at VPI

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Roanoke	0	0	0	7	7
• VPI	10	6	0	0	16

• Date: September 19, 1936
• Location: Miles Stadium
  Blacksburg, VA
• Game weather: "boiling Mid-September sun"
• Referee: Henry Gerard (Illinois)

See also: 1936 Roanoke Maroons football team

VPI's first game of the season was a victory over Roanoke at Miles Stadium.

The starting lineup for VPI was: Shockey (left end), Vecellio (left tackle), Ingles (left guard), Murray (center), Piland (right guard), A. Robison (right tackle), Doxey (right end), Jones (quarterback), Henry (left halfback), Sodaro (right halfback), A. Miller (fullback). The substitutes were: Cregger and Dickerson.

The starting lineup for Roanoke was: Paul Miller (left end), George Pitzer (left tackle), Vic Cotter (left guard), Alex Schwartz (center), Larry Larson (right guard), Carey Brewbaker (right tackle), Conley Snidow (right end), John Pitzer (quarterback), Charles Myrtle (left halfback), Gregory Wroniewicz (right halfback), Bernard Pedneau (fullback). The substitutes were: Curry, Kenneth Moore and Stanley Snidow.

Clemson

VPI at Clemson

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
VPI	0	0	0	0	0
• Clemson	0	0	13	7	20

• Date: September 26, 1936
• Location: Riggs Field
  Calhoun, SC
• Game start: 3:00 p.m.
• Game attendance: 5,000–6,000

See also: 1936 Clemson Tigers football team

After their victory over Roanoke, VPI played Clemson College at Riggs Field in Calhoun, South Carolina.

The starting lineup for VPI was: Shockey (left end), A. Robison (left tackle), Ingles (left guard), Murray (center), Piland (right guard), Vecellio (right tackle), Doxey (right end), Jones (quarterback), Brown (left halfback), Henry (right halfback), Miller (fullback). The substitutes were: Cregger and Dickerson.

The starting lineup for Clemson was: Donald Shufford (left end), Manuel Black (left tackle), William Bryant (left guard), Harold Lewis (center), Lawrence Buscher (right guard), Wyser (right tackle), Samuel McConnell (right end), Joseph Berry (quarterback), Al Sanders (left halfback), Rudy Orban (right halfback), Mac Folger (fullback). The substitutes were: Boland and Winston Lawton.

Maryland

Maryland vs. VPI

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
• Maryland	0	0	6	0	6
VPI	0	0	0	0	0

• Date: October 3, 1936
• Location: Maher Field
  Roanoke, VA
• Game attendance: 2,500
• Referee: Dixon Foster

See also: 1936 Maryland Terrapins football team

The starting lineup for VPI was: Shockey (left end), Vecellio (left tackle), Worthington (left guard), Jones (center), Piland (right guard), A. Robison (right tackle), Pierce (right end), Brown (quarterback), Henry (left halfback), Cregger (right halfback), Dickerson (fullback). The substitutes were: Banks, Devlin and Ingles.

The starting lineup for Maryland was: Victor G. Willis (left end), Edward Fletcher (left tackle), Michael Surgent (left guard), John DeArmey (center), William Wolfe (right guard), John Birkland (right tackle), Blair Smith (right end), Charles F. Ellinger (quarterback), Jim Meade (left halfback), Coleman Headley (right halfback), John Gormley (fullback). The substitutes were: Nick Budkoff, Edmond Daly, John Page, Robert Walton, Charles Weidinger and Waverly Wheeler.

William & Mary

William & Mary vs. VPI

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
W&M	0	0	0	0	0
• VPI	0	0	14	0	14

• Date: October 10, 1936
• Location: City Stadium
  Richmond, VA
• Game attendance: 8,000
• Referee: Richard Carrington (UVA)

See also: 1936 William & Mary Indians football team

The starting lineup for VPI was: Shockey (left end), Banks (left tackle), Piland (left guard), Jones (center), Worthington (right guard), A. Robison (right tackle), Doxey (right end), Brown (quarterback), Henry (left halfback), Cregger (right halfback), Dickerson (fullback). The substitutes were: Gaugler, Gee, Hearn, Ingles, Pierce and Sodaro.

The starting lineup for VPI was: Walter J. Zable (left end), Michael Hook (left tackle), Bill Davies (left guard), Hugh McGowan (center), Joe Marino (right guard), Samuel Walker (right tackle), John Coiner (right end), John Truehart (quarterback), Otis Bunch (left halfback), Arthur Woodward (right halfback), Herbert Krueger (fullback). The substitutes were: G. Bunch, Tommy Della Torre, Dick Dozier, Joe Flickenger, Walter Hadtke, Oscar Harper, Stan Kamen, Koss, Frank Livesay, Leo Mitkievicz, O'Hare, Smeltzer, Arthur Tanner, Alfred Tirelis and Joseph Zanghi.

South Carolina

VPI at South Carolina

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
VPI	0	0	0	0	0
• South Carolina	0	0	7	7	14

• Date: October 17, 1936
• Location: Columbia Municipal Stadium
  Columbia, SC
• Game attendance: 6,000

See also: 1936 South Carolina Gamecocks football team

The starting lineup for VPI was: Doxey (left end), Banks (left tackle), Ingles (left guard), Jones (center), Piland (right guard), A. Robison (right tackle), Shockey (right end), Brown (quarterback), Henry (left halfback), Sodaro (right halfback), Dickerson (fullback).

The starting lineup for South Carolina was: Glen Myers (left end), Osgood Bramlet (left tackle), Ashley "Pat" Tobias (left guard), Frank Kiss (center), George Mackovic (right guard), Paul Robelot (right tackle), Larry Craig (right end), Burl Durham (quarterback), Jerry Hughes (left halfback), Jack Lyons (right halfback), Arthur Urbanyi (fullback). The substitutes were: Ed Clary, Ralph Dearth, Bob Johnson and Frank Urban.

NC State

VPI at NC State

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
VPI	0	0	0	0	0
• NC State	0	6	7	0	13

• Date: October 24, 1936
• Location: Riddick Stadium
  Raleigh, NC
• Game start: 2:30 p.m.
• Game attendance: 7,000–7,500

See also: 1936 NC State Wolfpack football team

The starting lineup for VPI was: Pierce (left end), Vecellio (left tackle), Piland (left guard), Jones (center), Worthington (right guard), A. Robison (right tackle), Doxey (right end), Brown (quarterback), Henry (left halfback), Sodaro (right halfback), Dickerson (fullback).

The starting lineup for NC State was: Dom Cara (left end), Mason Bugg (left tackle), Alex Regdon (left guard), Lou Mark (center), Daniel Piloseno (right guard), George Fry (right tackle), Jess Tatum (right end), Charles Gadd (quarterback), Everett Robinson (left halfback), Edward Entwistle (right halfback), Joseph Ryneska (fullback). The substitutes were: Howard Bardes, Davis and Nick Hayden.

Richmond

Richmond at VPI

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Richmond	0	7	0	0	7
• VPI	0	7	6	7	20

• Date: October 31, 1936
• Location: Miles Stadium
  Blacksburg, VA
• Referee: Paul Magoffin

See also: 1936 Richmond Spiders football team

The starting lineup for VPI was: Shockey (left end), A. Robison (left tackle), Piland (left guard), Jones (center), Worthington (right guard), Vecellio (right tackle), Doxey (right end), Henry (quarterback), Sodaro (left halfback), Brown (right halfback), J. Robison (fullback). The substitutes were: Cregger.

The starting lineup for Richmond was: Gore (left end), Charles Siddall (left tackle), Mike West (left guard), Ed Schaaf (center), J. Cornelius Godsey (right guard), Ames Harrington (right tackle), Lawless (right end), Leonard Kielpinski (quarterback), George Spears (left halfback), William Robertson (right halfback), Clyde Pendleton (fullback). The substitutes were: Avalon Marchant and Chalmers Walton.

Washington and Lee

VPI at Washington and Lee

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
VPI	0	0	0	0	0
• W&L	6	14	7	0	27

• Date: November 7, 1936
• Location: Wilson Field
  Lexington, VA
• Game attendance: 5,000
• Game weather: "a warm sun"

See also: 1936 Washington and Lee Generals football team

The starting lineup for VPI was: Shockey (left end), A. Robison (left tackle), Piland (left guard), Murray (center), Worthington (right guard), Davis (right tackle), Doxey (right end), Sodaro (quarterback), Henry (left halfback), Cregger (right halfback), Brown (fullback). The substitutes were: Dickerson.

The starting lineup for Washington and Lee was: Frank Jones (left end), Syzmanski (left tackle), William Brown (left guard), William Rogers (center), Berry (right guard), Joseph Ochsie (right tackle), Bob Spessard (right end), Dunlap (quarterback), L. E. Long (left halfback), Moore (right halfback), Sample (fullback). The substitutes were: Bill Borries and Charles Lykes.

Virginia

Virginia at VPI

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Virginia	0	0	0	6	6
• VPI	0	0	7	0	7

• Date: November 14, 1936
• Location: Miles Stadium
  Blacksburg, VA

See also: 1936 Virginia Cavaliers football team

VPI's 1936 homecoming game was a victory over rival Virginia.

The starting lineup for VPI was: Pierce (left end), A. Robison (left tackle), Piland (left guard), Jones (center), Ingles (right guard), Banks (right tackle), Doxey (right end), Sodaro (quarterback), Henry (left halfback), Brown (right halfback), Dickerson (fullback). The substitutes were: Cregger, Gaugler, Murray and Vecellio.

The starting lineup for Virginia was: James Sargeant (left end), William Weeks (left tackle), Albert Reutlinger (left guard), Alfred Berkeley (center), Leonard Trell (right guard), Sanford Haskell (right tackle), Knox Turnbill (right end), Evan Male (quarterback), A. B. Connor (left halfback), John Acree (right halfback), Peter Nistad (fullback). The substitutes were: Harry Dinwiddie, Woody George, John Kegler, Thomas McCartin and Conway Moncure.

VMI

VMI vs. VPI

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
VMI	0	0	0	0	0
• VPI	6	0	0	0	6

• Date: November 26, 1936
• Location: Maher Field
  Roanoke, VA
• Game start: 2:15 p.m.
• Game attendance: 17,000
• Game weather: Cold

See also: 1936 VMI Keydets football team

After the season

In December 1936, the VPI players chose Carol Leo Shockey as captain of the 1937 VPI Gobblers football team.^[25]

NFL draft selections

NFL draft Selections
Year Round Pick Overall Name Team Position 1937 7 3 63 Herman E. "Foots" Dickerson Chicago Cardinals End

Players

Roster

VPI 1936 roster
	Mac Banks Wilson Brown Pete Cregger Junior Davis Herman "Foots" Dickerson Lloyd Doxey Jim Gaugler Gee Mel Henry Bud Ingles Dave Jones		R. P. Murray M. L. O'Neale Frank Pierce Oscar "Flinky" Piland Arthur Robison J. Robison Carol Shockey George Sodaro Leo Vecellio George Worthington

Varsity letter winners

Nineteen players received varsity letters for their participation on the 1936 VPI team.^[26]

Player	Hometown	Notes
F. M. "Mac" Banks
Wilson Brown
Marvin Andrew "Pete" Cregger
James Blackwell "Junior" Davis
Herman Edward "Foots" Dickerson	Reidsville, North Carolina	World War II veteran (Major, Army). First Virginia Tech player to chosen in the NFL Draft.
Lloyd Gibbs Doxey	Halifax, North Carolina	World War II veteran (Army). Awarded the Bronze Star Medal and Purple Heart.
James Anthony Gaugler
Melvin Henry	Cumberland, Maryland
Bud Ingles
David Jones
Ruffner Page Murray
M. L. O'Neale
Frank Marion Pierce		World War II veteran (Lieutenant Colonel, Army).
Oscar Glazier "Flinky" Piland
Arthur Stephen Robison	Richmond, Virginia	World War II veteran (Army).
Carol Leo Shockey	Shockeysville, Virginia
George Edward Sodaro
Leo Arthur Vecellio	Beckley, West Virginia	World War II veteran (Army). Awarded the Legion of Merit.
George Yellott Worthington

Coaching and training staff

• Head coach: Henry Redd
• Assistant coaches
  • Backfield coach: Herbert McEver
  • Line coach: Sumner D. Tilson
• Manager: Campbell
• Freshman coaches
  • Freshman head coach: C. E. Tilson
  • Assistant freshman coach: P. S. Hotchkiss
  • Assistant freshman coach: W. B. Porterfield