# 1931 Tennessee Volunteers football team

The 1931 Tennessee Volunteers football team (variously "Tennessee", "UT" or the "Vols") represented the University of Tennessee in the 1931 Southern Conference football season. Playing as a member of the Southern Conference (SoCon), the team was led by head coach Robert Neyland, in his sixth year, and played their home games at Shields–Watkins Field in Knoxville, Tennessee. The 1931 Vols won nine, lost zero and tied one game (9–0–1 overall, 6–0–1 in the SoCon). On October 17, Tennessee avenged their only loss from the previous season and beat Alabama; this was the only loss for the Crimson Tide in 1931. For the third time in four years, Kentucky spoiled Tennessee's bid for a perfect season with a tie. Tennessee concluded the 1931 season on December 7 with a charity game at Yankee Stadium against NYU. The 1931 Vols outscored their opponents 243 to 15 and posted eight shutouts.

## Schedule

| Date | Opponent | Site | Result | Attendance |
| September 26 | Maryville (TN)* | Shields–Watkins FieldKnoxville, TN | W 33–0 | |
| October 3 | Clemson | Shields–Watkins FieldKnoxville, TN | W 44–0 | |
| October 10 | Ole Miss | Shields–Watkins FieldKnoxville, TN (rivalry) | W 38–0 | |
| October 17 | Alabama | Shields–Watkins FieldKnoxville, TN (rivalry) | W 25–0 | 23,000 |
| October 24 | at North Carolina | Kenan Memorial StadiumChapel Hill, NC | W 7–0 | 12,000 |
| October 31 | Duke | Shields–Watkins FieldKnoxville, TN | W 25–2 | 12,000 |
| November 7 | Carson–Newman* | Shields–Watkins FieldKnoxville, TN | W 31–0 | |
| November 14 | Vanderbilt | Shields–Watkins FieldKnoxville, TN (rivalry) | W 21–7 | 25,000 |
| November 26 | at Kentucky | McLean StadiumLexington, KY (rivalry) | T 6–6 | 18,000 |
| December 5 | at NYU* | Yankee StadiumBronx, NY | W 13–0 | 40,684 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecoming ||||||

## Players
### Line

| Number | Player | Position |
| 62 | Malcolm Aitken | tackle |
| 58 | Bert Bibee | center |
| 51 | Thomas Bounds | tackle |
| 31 | Fritz Brandt | end |
| 33 | James Clemmer | end |
| 61 | Oscar Derryberry | end |
| 60 | James Eldridge | tackle |
| 21 | J. B. Ellis | guard |
| 30 | Milton Frank | guard |
| 37 | John Franklin | guard |
| 57 | G. B. Goodrich | guard |
| 45 | Herman Hickman | guard |
| 25 | Laird Holt | end |
| 26 | Paul Hug | end |
| 34 | Alton Mark | end |
| 46 | Talmadge Maples | center |
| 20 | Eugene S. Mayer | center |
| 35 | C. L. McPherson | end |
| 47 | David K. Mitchell | center |
| 39 | Virgil Rayburn | end |
| 44 | Ben Redman | guard |
| 42 | Ray Saunders | tackle |
| 55 | Francis Shull | end |
| 66 | B. Smith | end |
| 23 | Gordon Smith | guard |
| 64 | Howard Stewart | guard |
| 22 | J. Ralph Still | tackle |
| 17 | Herman Snipes | end |
| 56 | A. H. Voss | guard |
| 26 | Murray Warmath | end |

### Backfield

| Number | Player | Position |
| 41 | John Allen | halfback |
| 32 | Malcolm Anderson | fullback |
| 15 | John D. Bayless | halfback |
| 43 | Deke Brackett | quarterback |
| 40 | William G. Cox | fullback |
| 16 | Theodore Disney | halfback |
| 48 | Beattie Feathers | halfback |
| 18 | Charles Kohlhase | quarterback |
| 53 | James McAuliffe | halfback |
| 36 | Ira McCollister | halfback |
| 52 | Gene McEver | halfback |
| 38 | Leo Petruzze | quarterback |
| 63 | Herman Wynn | fullback |