Henry Wakefield (American football)
Henry Smith "Hek" Wakefield (February 10, 1899 – November 19, 1962) was an American college football player and coach.[11] A trick play which resulted in a touchdown thrown from Doc Kuhn to Lynn Bomar against Sewanee was set up by a 33-yard punt return by Wakefield.Reese had hurt his knee, and during the previous week's game against the Texas Longhorns, Kuhn was hit on the head and had yet to regain his mental composure.Georgia athletic director and former coach Herman Stegeman rated Wakefield as the best player in all of the south.A poll of sportswriters selected the Commodores as the best team in the south, awarding them the Champ Pickens Trophy.Among the stars were Stan Keck, Frank Murrey, Hank Garrity, John P. Gorman, Ralph Gilroy, A. Barr Snively, and Herb Treat.[15] During the game, the one player on Vanderbilt's roster not from the 1923 varsity team was Hek's younger brother, Robert Allen "Jack" Wakefield."[24] Twenty-five years later, Centre head coach Charley Moran called Jack "the greatest football player I ever saw, barring nobody.On December 10, 1924, after a quarrel with his fiancee, Jack went to the house of a friend in Memphis and committed suicide with a pistol.The first came after captain and guard Tuck Kelly blocked a punt, the other on a pass into the end zone from quarterback Nig Waller.A newspaper account describes Vanderbilt's first score: It was Lynn Bomar's gigantic figure that broke up what looked like a Marine cakewalk.After receiving the kickoff, the Marines drove steadily to Vanderbilt's 10-yard line as Goettge repeatedly completed short passes.[5] As an interim team captain following the loss of both Kelly and Bomar to injuries, Wakefield scored twice in the Commodores' 13–0 win over the Auburn Tigers, and defeated the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets 3–0 with a 37-yard drop-kick field goal.His tackling forced the Gophers frequently to take time out, and he repeatedly threw Minnesota back for losses", reported the Nashville Tennessean.[30][31] Wakefield was selected a second-team All-American by Walter Camp of Collier's Weekly, who said, "The south has been entirely overlooked this year on the first eleven.
FullbackPetersburg, TennesseeNashville, TennesseeVanderbiltAll-SouthernAll-AmericanDan McGugincollege footballVanderbilt CommodoresVanderbilt Universitydrop kickersawmillprep schoolTullahoma, TennesseeWallace WadeLynn Bomarkickerextra pointsfield goalsSewanee1922 teamthe scoreless tieMichiganDudley FieldTexas State Fairfield goalKentucky WildcatsDoc KuhnSouthern Conference1923 seasonnational championFielding YostKingsport TimesAustin PeayTulaneGil ReeseTennessee VolunteersGeorgia BulldogsTom RyanHerman StegemanWashington & LeeChamp Pickens TrophyPrincetonStan KeckFrank MurreyHank GarrityJohn P. GormanA. Barr SnivelyHerb Treatall AmericaCentreCharley Moranprofessional baseballSaint Louis Cardinalsbroke his legfianceeMemphissuicidepistolFred RussellVanderbilt footballHenderson-BrownTuck KellyNig WallerQuantico MarinesGoettgeheadgearAuburn TigersGeorgia Tech Yellow JacketsMinnesotaNorthernNashville Tennesseanbroken legInternational News ServiceBilly EvansWalter CampLarry CresonBirmingham, AlabamaList of Vanderbilt University peopleNewspapers.comWayback MachineProQuestFind a Grave1921 Vanderbilt Commodores football—national championsPink WadeOliver KuhnRupert SmithJess NeelyAlvin BellRed RountreeAlf SharpFatty LawrenceMizell WilsonTex BradfordPreston Vaughn OverallPos ElamThomas RyanTot McCulloughFrank GodchauxHugh Mixon1922 Vanderbilt Commodores football—national championsAlf SharpeEverett E. KelleyWalter B. RountreeScotty NeillGarland MorrowLewie HardageTom Zerfoss1923 College Football All-Southern TeamGrant GillisArk NewtonDoug WycoffJoe BennettW. M. RobinsonGoldy GoldsteinClyde Propst1924 College Football All-Southern TeamEdgar C. JonesPooley HubertSmack ThompsonBob RivesJim TaylorJ. D. Lawrence1924 College Football All-America TeamHarry StuhldreherJim Crowley