Quantico Marines Devil Dogs football
{{short description|Football program that represented the Quantico Marine Base}}
{{Infobox NCAA football school
| TeamName = Quantico Marines Devil Dogs football
| FirstYear = 1919
| LastYear = 1972
| AthlDirectorDisp =
| Image = Seal of Marine Corps Base Quantico.png
| ImageSize = 150
| Helmet =
| ImageSize2 =
| Stadium = Butler Stadium
| FieldName =
| StadiumBuilt = c. 1923{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/44147424/quantico_marines_looking_to_future/ |title=Quantico Marines Looking To Future |newspaper=The Baltimore Sun |page=9 |date=February 26, 1923 |access-date=February 12, 2020 |via=newspapers.com}}
| StadCapacity =
| StadSurface =
| Location = Quantico, Virginia
| NCAAdivision =
| PastAffiliations =
| ATWins = 339
| ATLosses = 134
| ATTies = 15
| BowlWins = 4
| BowlLosses = 2
| BowlTies =
| NatlTitles = 5 (National Service champions: 1921, 1922, 1953, 1959, 1963)
| UnNatlTitles =
| ConfTitles =
| DivTitles =
| Heismans =
| AllAmericans =
| uniform =
| Color1 = Scarlet
| Color1Hex = A30133
| Color2 = Gold
| Color2Hex = C7C69F
}}
The Quantico Marines Devil Dogs football team represented the Quantico Marine Base in the sport of American football, playing 51 seasons between 1919 and 1972. Composed of United States Marine Corps personnel, many of whom had college football experience, the team competed primarily against other military teams and college teams, along with an annual game against the Baltimore City Fire Department from 1929 to 1942. The Devil Dogs registered wins against college programs such as Virginia Tech, Georgetown, Rutgers, and Villanova, and were the only team to score a touchdown against the undefeated 1923 Michigan Wolverines.
History
The "Devil Dogs" football program began after World War I, encouraged by Marine Corps General Smedley Butler, for whom the team's stadium was later named.{{cite book |title=Maverick Marine: General Smedley D. Butler and the Contradictions of American Military History |first=Hans |last=Schmidt |publisher=University Press of Kentucky |date=1987 |pages=129–143 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GeHWAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA129 |via=Google Books |isbn=0-8131-0957-4 |access-date=February 7, 2020}} Head coach Lt. John Beckett led the team to back-to-back undefeated seasons in 1921 and 1922. Before a crowd of 16,000 in Baltimore in 1921, the Marines defeated the Third Army Corps, who were coached by Major Dwight D. Eisenhower,{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/43802693/distinguished_assemblage_will_see/ |title=Distinguished Assemblage Will See Army-Marine Tilt |newspaper=The Baltimore Sun |page=11 |date=November 17, 1921 |access-date=February 7, 2020 |via=newspapers.com}} by a score of 20–0.{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/43802829/quantico_marines_win_from_third_army/ |title=Quantico Marines Win From Third Army, 20-0 |agency=AP |newspaper=Richmond Times-Dispatch |location=Richmond, Virginia |page=19 |date=December 4, 1921 |access-date=February 7, 2020 |via=newspapers.com}} Frank Goettge was the backfield star of the 1921 team.{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/43803069/goettge_may_play_tomorrow_against/ |title=Goettge May Play Tomorrow Against Washington Pros |first=Leo |last=Doyle |newspaper=The Evening Sun |location=Baltimore |page=31 |date=December 9, 1921 |access-date=February 7, 2020 |via=newspapers.com}} Walter Camp, after seeing Goettge play against the Third Army Corps one year,{{efn|Apparently 1924, per a January 1935 newspaper account.{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/43803577/captain_goettge_appointed_coach/ |title=Captain Goettge Appointed Coach |newspaper=The Honolulu Advertiser |page=11 |date=January 13, 1935 |access-date=February 7, 2020 |via=newspapers.com}}}} wrote: "Today, for today at least, I saw my greatest all-time football player; for today at least greater than Jim Thorpe on a good day. The big fellow's name is Frank Goettge. He is a young Marine Lieutenant from Ohio." Goettge, who rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel, would die on Guadalcanal in 1942.{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/43803906/remember_frank_goettge/ |title=Remember Frank Goettge? |first=Fred |last=Russell |newspaper=Nashville Banner |page=30 |date=September 18, 1942 |access-date=February 7, 2020 |via=newspapers.com}} The major highlights of the 1922 season were a 9–6 victory over Georgetown,{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/43796687/quantico_marines_win_from_georgetown_9/ |title=Quantico Marines Win From Georgetown, 9 to 6 |agency=AP |newspaper=The Gazette Times |publication-place=Pittsburgh |page=27 |date=October 29, 1922 |access-date=February 7, 2020 |via=newspapers.com}} an Eastern power at the time, and a 13–12 victory over Third Army Corps.{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/43787886/quantico_marines_defeat_army_corps/ |title=Quantico Marines Defeat Army Corps |newspaper=Wilmington Morning Star |location=Wilmington, North Carolina |page=8 |date=December 3, 1922 |access-date=February 7, 2020 |via=newspapers.com}} The game with Third Army Corps was held in Baltimore before 50,000 fans including 12,000 Marines, the Secretaries of War and the Navy, Governors of Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia and 100 members of Congress.{{efn|Contemporary news reports estimate the crowd at 40,000 and noted in attendance John W. Weeks (Secretary of War), Edwin Denby (Secretary of the Navy), Elbert Lee Trinkle (Governor of Virginia), and Albert Ritchie (Governor of Maryland).{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/43797298/quantico_marines_down_army_team/ |title=Quantico Marines Down Army Team |newspaper=The Arizona Republican |page=13 |date=December 3, 1922 |access-date=February 7, 2020 |via=newspapers.com}}}}
The Marines saw their winning streak end with a 6–0 loss to VMI in the 1923 season opener.{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/43726097/v_m_i_takes_first_game_of_football/ |title=V. M. I. Takes First Game of Football Season from Quantico Marines, 6 to 0 |newspaper=The Greenville News |location=Greenville, South Carolina |page=13 |date=September 23, 1923 |access-date=February 6, 2020 |via=newspapers.com}} Quantico would only lose one other game during the season, a 26–6 defeat at Michigan.{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/43726267/yosts_team_scampers_to_266_victory/ |title=Yost's Team Scampers to 26-6 Victory |newspaper=The Minneapolis Sunday Tribune |location=Minneapolis, Minnesota |page=35 |date=November 11, 1923 |access-date=February 6, 2020 |via=newspapers.com}} "Support for the team reached an all-time high during a game against the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, during the Corps’ anniversary in 1923. Thousands of Marines and fans traveled from Quantico on special trains to attend the game. Many of the Marines spent their entire month's paycheck and more just to pay for the venture."{{cite web|url=http://www.quantico.usmc.mil/Sentry/StoryView.aspx?SID=776|title=Base Football Dominant in Its Heyday}}{{Dead link|date=February 2020}} A "mixup in the official timekeeper's record" resulted in the first quarter lasting 33 minutes, thus the first half was 48 minutes long rather than a regulation 30 minutes. Despite the two losses, the 1923 team shutout six teams during the season, including a 39–0 victory over Villanova.{{efn|Reported as 40–0 in contemporary newspapers.{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/43798476/yesterdays_football_results/ |title=Yesterday's Football Results |newspaper=The Gazette Times |publication-place=Pittsburgh |page=28 |date=November 4, 1923 |access-date=February 7, 2020 |via=newspapers.com}}}}
File:Tom Keady - Lehigh.jpg, head coach 1925–1930]]
The Marines improved in 1924, winning each of their games except for a 13–13 tie with Vanderbilt.{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/43798971/quantico_marines_tie_vanderbilt/ |title=Quantico Marines Tie Vanderbilt |agency=AP |newspaper=Miami Herald |page=31 |date=October 12, 1924 |access-date=February 7, 2020 |via=newspapers.com}} This would prove to be Beckett's last year coaching the Marines. In four seasons, they were 30–2–2 for a {{winpct|30|2|2}} winning percentage. Tom Keady took over the head coaching duties for the 1925 season,{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/43799476/keady_will_coach_quantico_marines/ |title=Keady Will Coach Quantico Marines |newspaper=Miami Tribune |page=12 |date=April 8, 1925 |access-date=February 7, 2020 |via=newspapers.com}} but Quantico didn't fare as well, finishing with a 6–3–1 record. But Keady would return the Marines to the ranks of the undefeated,{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/44131753/consistent_football/ |title=Consistent Football |newspaper=The Times |location=Munster, Indiana |page=20 |date=December 30, 1927 |access-date=February 12, 2020 |via=newspapers.com}} coaching the team to a 10–0 record in 1927. Keady compiled a 45–12–3 record ({{winpct|45|12|3}} winning percentage) as head coach from 1925 to 1930.
From 1931 through 1942, the team had multiple head coaches, with only Bill Beatty serving as head coach for more than a single season, in 1935 and 1936. Statistically, the best season of this era was 1934, when the team was 7–1, losing only to the Sewanee Athletic Club. Due to World War II, no team was fielded during 1943–1945. When competition resumed in 1946, the team went 3–8 while playing mainly against other military teams. In 1947, the team improved to 12–1 while again playing mostly against military teams, losing only to Washington and Lee in the first game of the season.{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/44133187/wl_eleven_beats_quantico_marines/ |title=W.&L. Eleven Beats Quantico Marines, 13-0 |agency=AP |newspaper=The Baltimore Sun |page=31 |date=September 21, 1947 |access-date=February 12, 2020 |via=newspapers.com}}
The Marines had another undefeated season in 1948 (13–0), including shutouts over eight teams. A 27-game winning streak would end in 1949, with a 29–7 loss to Xavier.{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/43711588/xavier_ends_quantico_mark/ |title=Xavier Ends Quantico Mark |agency=AP |newspaper=The Courier-Journal |location=Louisville, Kentucky |page=15 |date=October 3, 1949 |access-date=February 6, 2020 |via=newspapers.com}} Xavier would win a 34–13 rematch in 1950,{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/44133584/quantico_marines_halted_by_xavier/ |title=Quantico Marines Halted By Xavier |agency=INS |newspaper=Cumberland Evening Times |location=Cumberland, Maryland |page=10 |date=September 18, 1950 |access-date=February 12, 2020 |via=newspapers.com}} but one highlight of the season was a 61–21 win over the VPI Gobblers (now known as the Virginia Tech Hokies) with the Devil Dogs led by Eddie LeBaron at quarterback.{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/44133771/leathernecks_trounce_vpi_lebaron_star/ |title=Leathernecks Trounce VPI; LeBaron Star |agency=AP |newspaper=Daily Press |location=Newport News, Virginia |page=55 |date=October 1, 1950 |access-date=February 12, 2020 |via=newspapers.com}} The 1956 squad would not only beat Xavier (27–13),{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/44135069/quantico_too_strong_for_xavier_2713/ |title=Quantico Too Strong For Xavier, 27-13 |first=Bill |last=Ford |newspaper=The Cincinnati Enquirer |page=64 |date=October 21, 1956 |access-date=February 12, 2020 |via=newspapers.com}} but also Boston College (20–6),{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/44134643/quantico_marines_trounce_boston_college/ |title=Quantico Marines Trounce Boston College By 20-6 |agency=UP |newspaper=Hartford Courant |location=Hartford, Connecticut |page=85 |date=November 11, 1956 |access-date=February 12, 2020 |via=newspapers.com}} en route to a 9–3 record. The 1958 Marines pulled off an upset of 9–0 Rutgers (ranked No. 19), 13–12.{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/44135245/quantico_marines_defeat_rutgers/ |title=Quantico Marines Defeat Rutgers |agency=AP |newspaper=The Minneapolis Sunday Tribune |location=Minneapolis, Minnesota |page=47 |date=November 16, 1958 |access-date=February 12, 2020 |via=newspapers.com}} Coach Capt. Will Overgaard led the Marines to an 11–0 record in 1959, the last undefeated season for Quantico. The 1962 season would see five games canceled because of the Cuban Missile Crisis, and two games were canceled in 1963 because of the assassination of President Kennedy. In the 1965 season finale at Butler Stadium, Quantico (a two-touchdown underdog) pulled off an upset of Memphis State, 20–14.{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/43711650/quantico_marines_upset_favored_memphis/ |title=Quantico Marines Upset Favored Memphis State |agency=UPI |newspaper=Anderson Herald |location=Anderson, Indiana |page=29 |date=November 28, 1965 |access-date=February 6, 2020 |via=newspapers.com}}
In 1972, Quantico would play their last season of football, under head coach Ron Eckert. The Marines beat Akron (24–0) late in the season,{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/43711539/akron_coach_stepping_down/ |title=Akron Coach Stepping Down |agency=AP |newspaper=Dayton Daily News |location=Dayton, Ohio |page=4-D |date=November 12, 1972 |access-date=February 6, 2020 |via=newspapers.com}} and Xavier (34–0) in the season finale to finish with an 8–4 record.{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/43711504/quantico_marines_capture_their_final/ |title=Quantico Marines Capture Their Final Outing, 34-0 |newspaper=Florida Today |location=Cocoa, Florida |page=3C |date=November 24, 1972 |access-date=February 6, 2020 |via=newspapers.com}} The program was discontinued by General Robert E. Cushman, Commandant of the Marine Corps, who stated that "continued personnel and financial support for football could not be justified" due to rising costs.{{cite news |last=Minot Jr. |first=George |title=Taps About to Sound for Quantico Football |work=The New York Times |date=1972-11-16 |page=D1}}
Yearly records
File:John Beckett 1916.jpeg, head coach 1921–1924]]
File:Bauer HW USMC.jpg, 1937 head coach; Medal of Honor recipient]]
File:Frank Reagan - 1948 Bowman.jpg, 1942 co-head coach]]
File:Austin C. Shofner.jpg, 1946 head coach]]
File:MajGen William Charles Chip-A702124.jpg, 1949-1950 Assistant head coach]]
| class="wikitable" | ||||
| style="background:#A30133; color:#ffffff; border: 2px solid #C7C69F;"|Season
!style="background:#A30133; color:#ffffff; border: 2px solid #C7C69F;"|Won !style="background:#A30133; color:#ffffff; border: 2px solid #C7C69F;"|Lost !style="background:#A30133; color:#ffffff; border: 2px solid #C7C69F;"|Tied !style="background:#A30133; color:#ffffff; border: 2px solid #C7C69F;"|Head coach | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1919 | 2 | 0 | – | Dutch Moulthen |
| 1920 | 1 | 1 | – | unknown |
| 1921 | 8 | 0 | – | rowspan=4|John Beckett |
| 1922 | 8 | 0 | – | |
| 1923 | 7 | 2 | 1 | |
| 1924 | 7 | 0 | 1 | |
| 1925 | 6 | 3 | 1 | rowspan=6|Tom Keady |
| 1926 | 10 | 3 | – | |
| 1927 | 10 | 0 | – | |
| 1928 | 8 | 1 | 1 | |
| 1929 | 5 | 3 | – | |
| 1930 | 6 | 2 | 1 | |
| 1931 | 8 | 3 | 1 | George McHenry |
| 1932 | 7 | 3 | 1 | Horace Palmer |
| 1933 | 1 | 0 | – | unknown |
| 1934 | 7 | 1 | – | O. K. Pressley & E. B. Camey |
| 1935 | 5 | 2 | 1 | rowspan=2|Bill Beatty |
| 1936 | 5 | 5 | 2 | |
| 1937 | 0 | 1 | – | Harold W. Bauer |
| 1938 | 3 | 3 | – | Mark Boswell |
| 1939 | 5 | 1 | – | C. E. Emrich |
| 1940 | 7 | 2 | – | Alvin Sanders & Milton Rogers |
| 1941 | 4 | 3 | – | Joe Missar |
| 1942 | 4 | 0 | – | M. J. Kelly & Frank Reagan |
| 1943 | colspan=4 align=center|cancelled | |||
| 1944 | colspan=4 align=center|cancelled | |||
| 1945 | colspan=4 align=center|cancelled | |||
| 1946 | 3 | 8 | – | Austin Shofner |
| 1947 | 12 | 1 | – | Marvin Stewart |
| 1948 | 13 | 0 | – | rowspan=3|Hal Harwood |
| 1949 | 11 | 3 | – | |
| 1950 | 9 | 2 | – | |
| 1951 | 5 | 6 | – | Bill Justice |
| 1952 | 8 | 3 | – | rowspan=2|Charles Walker |
| 1953 | 10 | 3 | – | |
| 1954 | 10 | 2 | – | rowspan=2|J. T. Hill |
| 1955 | 8 | 3 | – | |
| 1956 | 9 | 3 | – | rowspan=3|Hal Harwood |
| 1957 | 3 | 9 | 1 | |
| 1958 | 9 | 3 | 1 | |
| 1959 | 11 | 0 | – | rowspan=3|Will Overgaard |
| 1960 | 9 | 2 | – | |
| 1961 | 9 | 4 | – | |
| 1962 | 5 | 2 | – | rowspan=2|Jim Quinn |
| 1963 | 10 | 1 | – | |
| 1964 | 2 | 6 | 1 | Vern Ellison |
| 1965 | 6 | 4 | – | Joe Caprara |
| 1966 | 5 | 2 | 2 | Ron Cherubini |
| 1967 | 2 | 8 | – | Frank Marcus |
| 1968 | 4 | 7 | – | King Dixon |
| 1969 | 9 | 2 | – | rowspan=2|Ed Heuring |
| 1970 | 6 | 4 | – | |
| 1971 | 9 | 3 | – | rowspan=2|Ron Eckert |
| 1972 | 8 | 4 | – | |
| Total || 339 || 134 || 15 || |
Source:{{cite web |url=http://jarheadjocks.com/doc/Football-Teams-1943-72-2011.pdf |title=Quantico Football 1918 thru 1942 ROSTERS |website=jarheadjocks.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190219043317/http://jarheadjocks.com/doc/Football-Teams-1943-72-2011.pdf |archive-date=February 19, 2019 |via=Wayback Machine}}{{cite web |url=http://jarheadjocks.com/doc/Football%201943-63-2013.pdf |title=Quantico Football 1943 thru 1963 |website=jarheadjocks.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190219092056/http://jarheadjocks.com/doc/Football%201943-63-2013.pdf |archive-date=February 19, 2019 |via=Wayback Machine}}{{cite web |url=http://jarheadjocks.com/doc/Football%201964-72-2013.pdf |title=QUANTICO FOOTBALL 1964 thru 1972 |website=jarheadjocks.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190209124852/http://jarheadjocks.com/doc/Football%201964-72-2013.pdf |archive-date=February 9, 2019 |via=Wayback Machine}}
Military titles
| class="wikitable" | |||
| style="background:#A30133; color:#ffffff; border: 2px solid #C7C69F;"|Season
!style="background:#A30133; color:#ffffff; border: 2px solid #C7C69F;"|Record !style="background:#A30133; color:#ffffff; border: 2px solid #C7C69F;"|Head coach !style="background:#A30133; color:#ffffff; border: 2px solid #C7C69F;"|Title(s) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1921 | 8–0 | rowspan=2|John Beckett | National Service champions |
| 1922 | 8–0 | National Service champions | |
| 1947 | 12–1 | Marvin Stewart | All-Navy title; Middle Eastern Service Conference title |
| 1948 | 13–0 | rowspan=2|Hal Harwood | All-Navy title |
| 1949 | 11–3 | All-Navy title | |
| 1953 | 10–3 | Charles Walker | All-Marine title; National Service champions |
| 1959 | 11–0 | Will Overgaard | National Service champions |
| 1963 | 10–1 | Jim Quinn | National Service champions |
Military bowl games
The Devil Dogs are known to have participated in six military bowl games, with a record of 4–2.
Notable personnel
Multiple players and coaches with the team ultimately became general officers in the Marine Corps, including:
- Chester R. Allen (tackle 1930)
- Caleb Bailey (center 1923–1926; assistant coach 1928–1929)
- Joseph C. Burger (tackle 1925–1926, 1931; assistant coach 1928, 1931–1932)
- William S. Fellers (back 1922–1923)
- Mike Giddings (guard 1955)
- Harry B. Liversedge (end 1920; tackle 1921–1924; assistant coach 1925–1926, 1929)
- J. D. Roberts (guard 1955, assistant coach 1956)
- George R. E. Shell (end 1932; athletic officer 1937)
- Austin Shofner (head coach 1946)
- William J. Whaling (end 1922–1923)
- Frederick L. Wieseman (assistant coach 1936)
Source:{{cite news |last1=Jones |first1=Elwood R. |title=Football Forecast |work=Leatherneck |date=September 1956}}
{{more|:Category:Quantico Marines Devil Dogs football players|:Category:Quantico Marines Devil Dogs football coaches}}
Notes
{{notelist}}
References
{{reflist|30em}}
{{Quantico Marines Devil Dogs football navbox}}
Category:American football teams established in 1919
Category:American football teams disestablished in 1972