# 1912 VPI Gobblers football team

The 1912 VPI Gobblers football team represented Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College and Polytechnic Institute in the 1912 college football season. The team was led by their head coach Branch Bocock and finished with a record of five wins and four losses (5–4).

## Rules

The 1912 college football season was the first season of the modern era of college football, as the NCAA implemented changes to increase scoring:
* Teams were given 4 downs instead of 3 downs to gain ten yards.
* The value of a touchdown was increased from 5 points to 6 points.
* The length of the playing field was reduced from 110 yards to 100 yards, and end zones of ten yards were added.
* Kickoff was made from the 40 yard line rather than at midfield.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | Result | Attendance |
| September 28 | | Roanoke* | Miles FieldBlacksburg, VA | W 40–0 | |
| October 5 | | Hampden–Sydney* | Miles FieldBlacksburg, VA | W 42–7 | |
| October 12 | 3:00 p.m. | at Princeton* | University FieldPrinceton, NJ | L 0–31 | |
| October 19 | | Western Maryland* | Miles FieldBlacksburg, VA | W 44–0 | |
| October 26 | | vs. North Carolina | State Fair GroundsRaleigh, NC | W 26–0 | 2,000 |
| November 2 | | Medical College of Virginia* | Miles FieldBlacksburg, VA | L 0–10 | |
| November 9 | 3:00 p.m. | vs. Washington and Lee | Fair GroundsRoanoke, VA | L 6–20 | 3,500 |
| November 16 | | West Virginia* | Miles FieldBlacksburg, VA (rivalry) | W 41–0 | |
| November 28 | | at Georgetown | Georgetown FieldWashington, DC | L 3–24 | |
| *Non-conference gameAll times are in Eastern time |||||||

## Before the season

The 1911 VPI football team compiled a 6–1–2 record and were led by Lew Riess in his only season as head coach.

## Game summaries
### Roanoke

VPI's first game of the season was a victory over Roanoke at Miles Field.
The starting lineup for VPI was: Hodgson (left end), Pick (left tackle), Breckenridge (left guard), Evans (center), Whitney (right guard), Burruss (right tackle), Lefebre (right end), Legge (quarterback), Vawter (left halfback), Magill (right halfback), Rogers (fullback). The substitutes were: Saunders and Schultz.
The starting lineup for Roanoke was: Goodnight (left end), Hoeletz (left tackle), Bawker (left guard), Reitzel (center), Harr (right guard), Barnhardt (right tackle), Doeb (right end), Harmon (quarterback), Bevlin (left halfback), Moore (right halfback), Kime (fullback).

### Hampden–Sydney

After their victory over Roanoke, VPI played Hampden–Sydney College at Miles Field.
The starting lineup for VPI was: Hodgson (left end), Burruss (left tackle), Moore (left guard), Evans (center), Whitney (right guard), Pick (right tackle), Lefebre (right end), Legge (quarterback), Huddle (left halfback), Parrish (right halfback), Magill (fullback).
The starting lineup for Hampden–Sydney was: G. W. Jones (left end), Robert Guthrie (left tackle), John Moore (left guard), Marvin Bowling (center), S. B. Forbus (right guard), Loyal Benedict (right tackle), Frank Ebel (right end), Alexander Carrington (quarterback), Bernard Driver (left halfback), Carroll McClung (right halfback), Donald Corke (fullback).

### Princeton

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| VPI | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| • Princeton | 14 | 7 | 10 | 0 | 31 |
The starting lineup for VPI was: Hughes (left end), Burruss (left tackle), Anderson (left guard), Evans (center), Breckenridge (right guard), Pick (right tackle), Lefebre (right end), Legge (quarterback), Saunders (left halfback), Hodgson (right halfback), Parrish (fullback). The substitutes were: Moore.
The starting lineup for Princeton was: Andrews (left end), Phillips (left tackle), Wilber "Rip" Shenk (left guard), Arthur Bluethenthal (center), William John Logan (right guard), Edward Trenkmann (right tackle), F. Trenkman (right end), S. Baker (quarterback), Talbot Pendleton (left halfback), E. Waller (right halfback), Wallace "Butch" DeWitt (fullback). The substitutes were: Hobey Baker, Harold Ballin, Doolittle, Emmons, Longstrieth, Wilder Penfield, Bradley Streit, I. Swart, W. Swart, H. Waller, Wight.

### Western Maryland

The starting lineup for VPI was: Hodgson (left end), Burruss (left tackle), Breckenridge (left guard), Evans (center), Lefebre (right guard), Schultz (right tackle), Legge (right end), Rogers (quarterback), Hughes (left halfback), Vawter (right halfback), Magill (fullback).
The starting lineup for Western Maryland was: William Hook (left end), Pritchett (left tackle), M. Twigg (left guard), William Husung (center), Leon Cooper (right guard), John Billingslea (right tackle), Edward Weaver (right end), Frank Bowers (quarterback), Julian Numbers (left halfback), Warren Taylor (right halfback), Twigg (fullback).

### North Carolina

The starting lineup for VPI was: Hodgson (left end), Burruss (left tackle), Breckenridge (left guard), Evans (center), Lefebre (right guard), Schultz (right tackle), Hughes (right end), Rogers (quarterback), Parrish (left halfback), Legge (right halfback), Vawter (fullback). The substitutes were: Anderson, Mackan, Magill, Pick, Rogers and Whitehead.
The starting lineup for North Carolina was: Foust (left end), Lonnie Abernethy (left tackle), John Johnson (left guard), Jones (center), Olin Jennings (right guard), Ralph Stevens (right tackle), Long (right end), William Tillett (quarterback), William Wakeley (left halfback), Charles Moore (right halfback), Richard Abernethy (fullback). The substitutes were: Blake Applewhite, Bagwell, Gaston Dortch, Erwin, William Huske and Robert Strange.

### Medical College of Virginia

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • MCV | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 10 |
| VPI | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
The starting lineup for VPI was: Taylor (left end), Burruss (left tackle), Pick (left guard), Evans (center), Lefebre (right guard), Schultz (right tackle), Mackan (right end), Hodgson (quarterback), Anderson (left halfback), Vawter (right halfback), Legge (fullback).
The starting lineup for Medical College of Virginia was: Foster (left end), James Walker (left tackle), Raymond Brockwell (left guard), John Cofer (center), Norman Roblee (right guard), Hedgepeth (right tackle), Arnold (right end), George Schenck (quarterback), Johns (left halfback), Elder (right halfback), Hardy (fullback).

### Washington and Lee

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • W&L | 3 | 0 | 7 | 10 | 20 |
| VPI | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
The starting lineup for VPI was: Hughes (left end), Burruss (left tackle), Moore (left guard), Schultz (center), Lefebre (right guard), Pick (right tackle), Magill (right end), Rogers (quarterback), Parrish (left halfback), Legge (right halfback), Vawter (fullback). The substitutes were: Anderson, Evans, Hodgson, Taylor and Whitehead.
The starting lineup for Washington and Lee was: J. P. Hieatt (left end), Ted Shultz (left tackle), James Miller (left guard), Carl Moore (center), Paul Rogers (right guard), Buck Miles (right tackle), Kelly Francis (right end), W. C. Raftery (quarterback), Walter Terry (left halfback), Edmond Burk (right halfback), Raymond Beuhring (fullback). The substitutes were: Henry Barker, M. S. Barrow, David Bone, Carson, Edward Donahue, Edmonds, W. H. Neblett, Henry Peeples, James Rothrock, Mark Stewart and W. R. Walton.

### West Virginia

The starting lineup for VPI was: Magill (left end), Burruss (left tackle), Moore (left guard), Evans (center), Lefebre (right guard), Pick (right tackle), Whitehead (right end), Rogers (quarterback), Hughes (left halfback), Vawter (right halfback), Hodgson (fullback).
The starting lineup for West Virginia was: Harrison (left end), Robinson (left tackle), Melville Boyles (left guard), Davis (center), Truman Martin (right guard), Musgrove (right tackle), Lackman (right end), Wilkerson (quarterback), Carden (left halfback), Race (right halfback), Carl Bachmann (fullback).

### Georgetown

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| VPI | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| • Georgetown | 0 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 24 |
The starting lineup for VPI was: Magill (left end), Burruss (left tackle), Moore (left guard), Evans (center), Pick (right guard), Whitehead (right tackle), Huddle (right end), Rogers (quarterback), Hodgson (left halfback), Legge (right halfback), Vawter (fullback). The substitutes were: Anderson, Hughes, Mackan, Magill, Parrish, Peake, Saunders, Schultz and Taylor.
The starting lineup for Georgetown was: Charles Bergen (left end), Jack Hegarty (left tackle), Eddie Mullaney (left guard), Marvin Ritch (center), Tom Moriarty (right guard), David White (right tackle), Bill Martin (right end), Harry Costello (quarterback), Harry Kelly (left halfback), James Fury (right halfback), Jim Dunn (fullback). The substitutes were: Earl Campazzi, Sam Foley, Ed Heiskell, John Petritz and George Van Duyne.

## Players

The following players were members of the 1912 football team according to the roster published in the 1913 edition of The Bugle, the Virginia Tech yearbook.

## Coaching and training staff

* Head coach: Branch Bocock
* Manager: C. M. Hobart