# 1928 VPI Gobblers football team

The 1928 VPI Gobblers football team represented Virginia Polytechnic Institute in the 1928 Southern Conference football season. The team was led by their head coach Andy Gustafson and finished with a record of seven wins and two losses (7–2). This was the senior season for the "Pony Express" backfield which included Frank Peake, Herbert McEver, Scotty MacArthur, and Tommy Tomko.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | Result | Attendance |
| September 29 | | Roanoke* | Miles StadiumBlacksburg, VA | W 34–7 | |
| October 6 | | Hampden–Sydney* | Miles StadiumBlacksburg, VA | W 32–7 | |
| October 13 | | at Colgate* | Whitnall FieldHamilton, NY | L 14-35 | 3,000 |
| October 20 | | at North Carolina | Kenan Memorial StadiumChapel Hill, NC | W 16-14 | 9,000 |
| October 27 | | King* | Miles StadiumBlacksburg, VA | W 54–0 | |
| November 3 | 2:30 p.m. | vs. Maryland | League ParkNorfolk, VA | W 9–6 | 6,000+ |
| November 10 | | Virginia | Miles StadiumBlacksburg, VA (rivalry) | W 20–0 | 5,000–7,000 |
| November 17 | 2:00 p.m. | at Washington and Lee | Wilson FieldLexington, VA | W 13–7 | 5,000 |
| November 29 | | vs. VMI | Maher FieldRoanoke, VA (rivalry) | L 6-16 | 20,000 |
| *Non-conference gameAll times are in Eastern time |||||||

## Before the season

The 1927 VPI Gobblers football team compiled a 5–4 record and were led by Andy Gustafson in his second season as head coach.

## Game summaries
### Roanoke

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Roanoke | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
| • VPI | 7 | 20 | 0 | 7 | 34 |
VPI's first game of the season was a victory over Roanoke at Miles Stadium.
The starting lineup for VPI was: Gray (left end), Ritter (left tackle), Hotchkiss (left guard), Price (center), Dexter Hubbard (right guard), Bailey (right tackle), Mahaney (right end), Hooper (quarterback), Mattox (left halfback), Peake (right halfback), Looney (fullback). The substitutes were: Amole, Baker, Brown, Coffee, Green, Maury Hubbard, MacArthur, Owens, Pattie, Rule, Shafer, Harry Spear, Phil Spear and Wimmer.
The starting lineup for Roanoke was: Ed I. Bell (left end), Lloyd "Buzzy" Goode (left tackle), D. C. Lionberger (left guard), Harold Nank (center), Beare (right guard), Thomas Fryer (right tackle), Stanley Rutherford (right end), J. H. "Deana" Gilbert (quarterback), Billy O. Williams (left halfback), Pleas Ramsey (right halfback), J. "Dutch" Dietrich (fullback). The substitutes were: William Altizer, Roy Boyle, W. T. "Ted" Fix and Lewis Lionberger.

### Hampden–Sydney

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| HS | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| • VPI | 7 | 6 | 12 | 7 | 32 |
After their victory over Roanoke, VPI played Hampden–Sydney College at Miles Stadium.
The starting lineup for VPI was: Gray (left end), Bailey (left tackle), Hotchkiss (left guard), Price (center), Dexter Hubbard (right guard), Ritter (right tackle), Mahaney (right end), Hooper (quarterback), Mattox (left halfback), Peake (right halfback), Owens (fullback). The substitutes were: Amole, Brown, Green, Jones, Maury Hubbard, MacArthur, Pattie, Rule and Spear.
The starting lineup for Hampden–Sydney was: Ellis Allen (left end), Henry McLaughlin (left tackle), Charles Jett (left guard), John Hunt (center), Hugh Blanton (right guard), Hughes Reverley (right tackle), Stuart Worden (right end), Robert Lawson (quarterback), Ralph Willis (left halfback), Thomas Peach (right halfback), John Montgomery (fullback). The substitutes were: Carl Arehart, S. B. Carter, Charles Gatewood, Henry Harris, William Jefferson, Cecil Jones, Wellford Reed and George Woodworth.

### Colgate

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| VPI | 0 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 14 |
| • Colgate | 0 | 6 | 22 | 7 | 35 |
The starting lineup for VPI was: Gray (left end), Bailey (left tackle), Hotchkiss (left guard), Brown (center), Dexter Hubbard (right guard), Ritter (right tackle), Pattie (right end), Hooper (quarterback), Mattox (left halfback), Peake (right halfback), Owens (fullback). The substitutes were: Maury Hubbard, Jones, Looney, MacArthur, Mahaney, Rule and Spear.
The starting lineup for Colgate was: Mike Stramiello (left end), Arthur Huntington (left tackle), Bob Gillson (left guard), John Cox (center), Bruce DuMont (right guard), Ralph Lockwood (right tackle), Frank Abruzzino (right end), Izzy Yablok (quarterback), Thomas Dowler (left halfback), John Galloway (right halfback), Edward Herb (fullback). The substitutes were: Joseph Barclay, Thatcher Cottrell, Thomas Doyle, Joseph Franklin, Richard Gasper, Hoot Haines, Leslie Hart, Leonard Macaluso and Salvatore Maggio.

### North Carolina

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • VPI | 3 | 0 | 6 | 7 | 16 |
| UNC | 0 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 14 |
The starting lineup for VPI was: Mahaney (left end), Bailey (left tackle), Hotchkiss (left guard), Brown (center), Dexter Hubbard (right guard), Ritter (right tackle), Gray (right end), Hooper (quarterback), Peake (left halfback), Phil Spears (right halfback), Looney (fullback).
The starting lineup for North Carolina was: O'Dell Sapp (left end), Nelson Howard (left tackle), Ray Farris (left guard), Harry Schwartz (center), Bud Shuler (right guard), M. E. Donahoe (right tackle), Samuel Presson (right end), Albert Whisnant (quarterback), James Ward (left halfback), Leon Spaulding (right halfback), Edison Foard (fullback). The substitutes were: J. Thomas Greshham, J. E. Magner, Maus, E. Strudwick Nash and Charles Wyrick.

### Maryland

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Maryland | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| • VPI | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
The starting lineup for VPI was: Gray (left end), Bailey (left tackle), Hotchkiss (left guard), Brown (center), Dexter Hubbard (right guard), Ritter (right tackle), Mahaney (right end), Hooper (quarterback), Peake (left halfback), Phil Spear (right halfback), Looney (fullback). The substitutes were: Davis, Maury Hubbard, Jones, MacArthur and Owens.
The starting lineup for Maryland was: Charles Dodson (left end), William Fisher (left tackle), Arthur Wondrack (left guard), George Madigan (center), Omar D. Crothers Jr. (right guard), John McDonald (right tackle), Herman Lombard (right end), Blackistone (quarterback), Roberts (left halfback), John Parsons (right halfback), Gerald Snyder (fullback). The substitutes were: Dix, William W. Evans, William Heintz, Gordon Kessler, Julius J. Radice and Warcholy.

### Virginia

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| UVA | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| • VPI | 7 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 20 |
The starting lineup for VPI was: Gray (left end), Bailey (left tackle), Hotchkiss (left guard), Brown (center), Dexter Hubbard (right guard), Ritter (right tackle), Mahaney (right end), Hooper (quarterback), Phil Spear (left halfback), Mattox (right halfback), Owens (fullback). The substitutes were: Peake.
The starting lineup for Virginia was: Harry Flippen (left end), William Luke (left tackle), Harris (left guard), George Taylor (center), Vernon Austin (right guard), Richard DeButts (right tackle), Howard Turner (right end), John Sloan (quarterback), Gus Kaminer (left halfback), Albert Lewy (right halfback), Bledsoe Pinkerton (fullback). The substitutes were: William Paxton.

### Washington and Lee

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • VPI | 0 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 13 |
| W&L | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
The starting lineup for VPI was: Gray (left end), Bailey (left tackle), Hotchkiss (left guard), Brown (center), Dexter Hubbard (right guard), Ritter (right tackle), Mahaney (right end), Hooper (quarterback), Mattox (left halfback), Peake (right halfback), Owens (fullback).
The starting lineup for Washington and Lee was: Charles Day (left end), Earl Fitzpatrick (left tackle), Thomas Taylor (left guard), Howell Snodgrass (center), Henry Groop (right guard), William Hawkins (right tackle), Mason Sproul (right end), William Lott (quarterback), John Faulkner (left halfback), Morton Thibodeau (right halfback), Eugene White (fullback). The substitutes were: David Eberhart, John Jacob, Albert Jones and Myer Seligman.

### VMI

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • VMI | 0 | 7 | 9 | 0 | 16 |
| VPI | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
The starting lineup for VPI was: Gray (left end), Bailey (left tackle), Hotchkiss (left guard), Brown (center), Dexter Hubbard (right guard), Ritter (right tackle), Mahaney (right end), Hooper (quarterback), Mattox (left halfback), Peake (right halfback), Owens (fullback). The substitutes were: Amole, Maury Hubbard, Looney, Rule, Harry Spear and Phil Spear.
The starting lineup for VMI was: William Moss (left end), Aubrey Grow (left tackle), Louis Chadwick (left guard), Virgil Grow (center), Philip Willard (right guard), Luther Hewlett (right tackle), Tommy Scott (right end), Albert Hawkins (quarterback), Albert Barnes (left halfback), Frank Harner (right halfback), McCray (fullback). The substitutes were: Roy Dunn, William Haase, Ernest Laughorn, Joel Moody, James Smith and Gordon Walker.

## Players
### Monogram Club members

Nineteen players received monograms for their participation on the 1928 VPI team.
| Player | Hometown |
| Albert Ewell Bailey (Capt.) | Roanoke, Virginia |
| Joseph Murray Brown | Staunton, Virginia |
| John Edward Gray | |
| Henry Virgil "Bird" Hooper | |
| Philip Smith Hotchkiss | |
| Louis Dexter Hubbard | |
| William Coles Hudgins | |
| John Ote Looney | |
| J. B. "Scotty" MacArthur | |
| Arthur Randolph Mahaney | |
| Cloy Mattox | Leesville, Virginia |
| Lloyd Broderick Nutter (Capt.) | |
| Milton Anthony Owens | |
| Walter Wilson Pattie | |
| Frank Peake | |
| Marcus Oliver Ritter | |
| Eugene Butler Rule | |
| Philip Hitchborn Spear | |
| Cyril Method "Tommy" Tomko | |