The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1919-10-26
Commodores Triumph Ouer Auburn
In One of the Bitterest Fights
Ever Recorded in Football Annals
Pnsme Oupay Vanderbilt Every Stage of the Came tumble
When Victory Seemed Imminent Bonner Failure Kick Goal
Prevented Te-Adams Blocks Kicks and Cody Runs Is
Yards for Touchdown-The Best Team Los
BY bon McDAyID

Nashville, October 25,-(Special)
The colors of the Commodore flaunt
triumphantly over the lowered banner
Of the Plainsmen from Alabama. Crash
ing through the Donohue defense for
the lone touchdown of the vandy of
fensive, Big Josh Cody carried the ball
to the goal line in the second quar-
the crossbars of the south goal for
the winning point. When the whistle
blew at the end of the game the score
board showed that the Gold and Black
had won by the count of to g.
1t was a great game from the spec
tors point of view. while rival coache-
on the si5elines watched numerous ad
vantages slip away from their men, or.
posing backs and plunging linemel
splitting play after play, which startc
we'll but fell by the wayside, victims
a lost cause.
Vanderbilt's defense proved adequatt
to the severe task imposed upon it, and
the burden was heavy indeed. The Au-
burn backs had charge of the ball at
least three-fourths of the time and
Commodore resistance was taxed to its
utmost in hondling back the onward
@oal. But it held and
held superbly in the big crisis of the
game, when but n few minutes Of play
separated the verdict from the final
tick Of the timekeeper's watch.
CRIPPLES USED
Rushing men from the ailing list into
the line of combat, even taking Frank
Goar from civilian clothes to gain the
benefit of his far-famed punting toe
and sending the huge Tom Lipscomb
hobbliTg into the fray when darken-
ing clouds lowered over the hopes of
The Commodores, Coach McGugin re-
quired every ounce of strategy avail
able to check the onrush of the Plains
men. That last quarter will long re-
main fresh ia the minds of those who
saw the ball aushed to within six yards
Of the Commodore goal, with the fiery
topped Howard hueking the line unsuc-
cessfully for the needed advantage
then to have Auburn tumble on the
fourth side aud see Goar send the oval
in a long spiral back to midfield
The last ii minutes of play fur
nished enough excitement TO satisfy
even the ve+oaV fms who had followed
the destir # The Commodores fol
decades VIII only one point separat.
ing the Pl insner from tie and any
kind Of SEQ enough to keen them in
the runnira sar southern championship
nonorS, tAA NetnuN dFieHSe was given Its
supreme test and victory drowned its
efforts.
Looking throush the maze of prob
abilities aud misht-have- beens. the
thought uppermost in the minds of the
onlookers was the fact that the Com
modores We're having their greatest
trouble in getting through the Auburn
defense. There seemed to be shadow
from the Alabamians causing the back
field men to repeatedly tumble the ball
during the game, but after the Vandy
runners would gain possession they held
It but a short time.
TIGERS MADE II FIRSTS
The outstanding feature of the COM
narrative statistics is the fact that the
Plainsmen made II first downs during
the game, while the Commodores held
possession OF the ball only long enough
TO make a lone trio. This alone serves
to demonstrate in whose possession the
ball remained for the greater part OF
the fray. In fact, during the first
quarter the Commodores never got the
ball past the Auburn 45-yard line, while