# 1926 VPI Gobblers football team

The 1926 VPI Gobblers football team represented Virginia Polytechnic Institute in the 1926 college football season. The team was led by their head coach Andy Gustafson and finished with a record of five wins, three losses and one tie (5–3–1). This was the first season played in Miles Stadium.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | Result | Attendance |
| September 25 | | Roanoke* | Miles StadiumBlacksburg, VA | W 47–0 | |
| October 2 | | Hampden–Sydney* | Miles StadiumBlacksburg, VA | W 30–0 | |
| October 9 | | at Dartmouth* | Memorial FieldHanover, NH | L 0–21 | |
| October 16 | | vs. Maryland | League ParkNorfolk, VA | W 24–8 | 11,000 |
| October 23 | | Virginia | Miles StadiumBlacksburg, VA (rivalry) | W 6–0 | 7,000 |
| October 30 | 2:00 p.m. | at Kentucky | McLean StadiumLexington, KY | T 13–13 | 5,000 |
| November 6 | 2:30 p.m. | vs. South Carolina | Tate FieldRichmond, VA | L 0–19 | |
| November 13 | 2:30 p.m. | vs. Washington and Lee | Municipal StadiumLynchburg, VA | L 0–13 | 8,000-10,000 |
| November 25 | | vs. VMI | Maher FieldRoanoke, VA (rivalry) | W 14–7 | 15,000 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingAll times are in Eastern time |||||||

## Before the season

The 1925 VPI Gobblers football team compiled a 5–3–2 record and were led by B. C. Cubbage in his fifth season as head coach.

## Game summaries
### Roanoke

VPI's first game of the season was a victory over Roanoke at Miles Stadium.
The starting lineup for VPI was: Nutter (left end), Moss (left tackle), Jones (left guard), Moran (center), Miles (right guard), Bailey (right tackle), Petty (right end), MacArthur (quarterback), Peake (left halfback), Tomko (right halfback), McEver (fullback). The substitutes were: Brown, Erickson, Esleeck, Fussell, Gray, Hotchkiss, Hudgins, Jacobs, Looney and Rice.
The starting lineup for Roanoke was: Charles Wilson (left end), George Marsh (left tackle), Maurice Givens (left guard), Harold Nank (center), Claudius Mitchell (right guard), Roland Sturdevant (right tackle), Milton Etris (right end), John Dietrich (quarterback), Merrill Jones (left halfback), John Miller (right halfback), Lloyd Seay (fullback). The substitutes were: W. T. "Ted" Fix, Raymond Haislip, William Logan, James Shannon and G. E. Sheppard.

### Hampden–Sydney

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| HS | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| • VPI | 9 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 30 |
After their victory over Roanoke, VPI played Hampden–Sydney College at Miles Stadium.
The starting lineup for VPI was: Nutter (left end), Moss (left tackle), Jones (left guard), Moran (center), Miles (right guard), Bailey (right tackle), Petty (right end), MacArthur (quarterback), Peake (left halfback), Esleeck (right halfback), McEver (fullback). The substitutes were: Mattox and Rice.
The starting lineup for Hampden–Sydney was: Charles Turley (left end), Stuart Worden (left tackle), Robert Nance (left guard), Alfred Dudley (center), Hugh Blanton (right guard), Harry Myles (right tackle), Roberts (right end), John Brinser (quarterback), Ward Palmer (left halfback), Alfred Adkins (right halfback), William Richardson (fullback).

### Dartmouth

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| VPI | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| • Dartmouth | 0 | 14 | 0 | 7 | 21 |
The starting lineup for VPI was: Petty (left end), Moss (left tackle), Miles (left guard), Moran (center), Jones (right guard), Bailey (right tackle), Nutter (right end), MacArthur (quarterback), Esleeck (left halfback), Peake (right halfback), McEver (fullback).
The starting lineup for Dartmouth was: Jim Picken (left end), Hardy (left tackle), Phillips (left guard), Davis (center), Rubin (right guard), Langdell (right tackle), Cole (right end), Edwin B. Dooley (quarterback), Myles Lane (left halfback), MacPhail (right halfback), Horton (fullback). The substitutes were: Black, Breihut and John C. McAvoy.

### Maryland

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Maryland | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 8 |
| • VPI | 7 | 10 | 7 | 0 | 24 |
The starting lineup for VPI was: Petty (left end), Brown (left tackle), Miles (left guard), Moran (center), Jones (right guard), Bailey (right tackle), Nutter (right end), MacArthur (quarterback), Esleeck (left halfback), Peake (right halfback), McEver (fullback). The substitutes were: Anderson, Handy, Jacobs, Looney, Mattox, Moss and Rice.
The starting lineup for Maryland was: Donald Adams (left end), Earl Zulick (left tackle), Arthur Wondrack (left guard), Harold Bafford (center), Omar D. Crothers Jr. (right guard), John Leatherman (right tackle), Jack Keenan (right end), Gordon Kessler (quarterback), Fred Linkous (left halfback), Myron Stevens (right halfback), Lewis "Knocky" Thomas (fullback). The substitutes were: Arthur Boyd, Gil Dent, Frederick Herzog, John Parson, Pugh, Edwin Rothgeb, Floyd Schrader, Gerald Snyder and Winterberg.

### Virginia

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| UVA | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| • VPI | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |

### Kentucky

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| VPI | 0 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 13 |
| Kentucky | 7 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 13 |
The starting lineup for VPI was: Nutter (left end), Miles (left tackle), Jones (left guard), Moran (center), Bailey (right guard), Brown (right tackle), Petty (right end), MacArthur (quarterback), Peake (left halfback), Esleeck (right halfback), Looney (fullback). The substitutes were: Handy, Jacobs, Mahaney, Mattox, Moss and Rice.
The starting lineup for Kentucky was: Gilb (left end), Phipps (left tackle), Belt (left guard), Pence (center), Charles Wert (right guard), Henry Portwood (right tackle), Schulte (right end), Jenkins (quarterback), Frank Smith (left halfback), Ellis (right halfback), Ross (fullback). The substitutes were: Ted Creech, Denver DeHaven, Edwards, Franklin, James Kirkendall and Mohney.

### South Carolina

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| South Carolina | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| • VPI | 0 | 13 | 0 | 6 | 19 |
The starting lineup for VPI was: Petty (left end), Brown (left tackle), Miles (left guard), Moran (center), Jones (right guard), Bailey (right tackle), Nutter (right end), MacArthur (quarterback), Peake (left halfback), Esleeck (right halfback), Looney (fullback). The substitutes were: Handy, Jeffries, Mahaney, Mattox and Rice.
The starting lineup for South Carolina was: Samuel Burke (left end), E. Power Rogers (left tackle), Ralph Guarino (left guard), William Boyd (center), W. R. Price (right guard), Floyd Thomas (right tackle), George Keels (right end), Bill Rogers (quarterback), J. F. Cooper (left halfback), Eli Wingfield (right halfback), Robert Wimberly (fullback). The substitutes were: W. W. "Red" Swink, James Verner, Mike Windus and Harry Wolf.

### Washington and Lee

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • W&L | 0 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 13 |
| VPI | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
The starting lineup for VPI was: Nutter (left end), Miles (left tackle), Jones (left guard), Moran (center), Bailey (right guard), Brown (right tackle), Petty (right end), MacArthur (quarterback), Esleeck (left halfback), Peake (right halfback), Looney (fullback). The substitutes were: Handy, Hotchkiss, Jeffries, Mattox and McEver.
The starting lineup for Washington and Lee was: J. E. Bailey (left end), Robert Holt (left tackle), Burnell Tips (left guard), Ira Rector (center), Henry Groop (right guard), Earl Fitzpatrick (right tackle), John Towill (right end), Eugene White (quarterback), Perry Whitlock (left halfback), William Palmer (right halfback), Ty Rauber (fullback). The substitutes were: Charles Eigelbach.

### VMI

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| VMI | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| • VPI | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
The starting lineup for VPI was: Nutter (left end), Miles (left tackle), Jones (left guard), Moran (center), Handy (right guard), Bailey (right tackle), Petty (right end), McEver (quarterback), Peake (left halfback), Mattox (right halfback), Looney (fullback). The substitutes were: Brown, Esleeck, Jeffries and MacArthur.
The starting lineup for VMI was: John Fain (left end), Herman Kulp (left tackle), Ralph Smith (left guard), Joseph Mondy (center), Luther Hewlett (right guard), J. C. Smith (right tackle), Luther Thornhill (right end), Al Barnes (quarterback), Frank Harner (left halfback), Frank Nabers (right halfback), Carlton Walker (fullback). The substitutes were: Ferdinand Harrington, Theodric Moor, Claude Moorman, Karlyle O'Berry and Kenneth Rugh.

## After the season

In December 1926, the VPI players elected V. E. Miles as captain of the 1927 VPI Gobblers football team.

## Players
### Monogram Club members

Fourteen players received monograms for their participation on the 1926 VPI team.
| Player | Hometown | Notes |
| Albert Ewell Bailey (Capt.) | Roanoke, Virginia | |
| Joseph Murray Brown | Staunton, Virginia | |
| Karl Esleeck | Portsmouth, Virginia | |
| Edward Malvern Handy | Hilton Village, Virginia | |
| Alfred Owens Jones | Richmond, Virginia | |
| John Ote Looney | Roanoke, Virginia | |
| J. B. "Scotty" MacArthur | Newport News, Virginia | |
| Cloy Mattox | Leesville, Virginia | Major League Baseball catcher for the Philadelphia Athletics during the 1929 season. |
| Herbert McEver | Bristol, Virginia | |
| Vernon Edward Miles | Norfolk, Virginia | |
| Joseph Henry Moran | Radford, Virginia | |
| Lloyd Broderick Nutter | Blacksburg, Virginia | |
| Frank Peake | Hampton, Virginia | |
| Douglas Cooper Petty | Hilton Village, Virginia | |

## Coaching and training staff

* Head coach: Andy Gustafson
* Assistant coaches
** Line coach: Zeke Wissinger
* Manager: S. M. Martin
* Freshman head coach: Henry Redd
* Freshman Manager: J. E. Tankard