1926 Brown Bears football team
Encyclopedia
Brown University
Brown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...
in National Collegiate Athletic Association
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
(NCAA) intercollegiate competition
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
. They were led by first-year head coach DeOrmand "Tuss" McLaughry
Tuss McLaughry
DeOrmond "Tuss" McLaughry was an American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Westminster College in New Wilmington, Pennsylvania , Amherst College , Brown University , and Dartmouth College , compiling a career college...
. The Bears compiled a 9–0–1 record, outscored their opponents 223–36, and recorded seven defensive shutout
Shutout
In team sports, a shutout refers to a game in which one team prevents the opposing team from scoring. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball....
s.
The 1926 Bears were nicknamed the "Iron Men" because of the significant play time the first squad
Starting lineup
A starting lineup in sports is an official list of the set of players who will actively participate in the event when the game begins. The players in the starting lineup are commonly referred to as starters, whereas the others are substitutes or bench players.The starters are commonly the best...
saw in several key games. Against , Brown's starters played every minute of the game without substitution and won, 7–0. The following week, the same eleven played the duration of the 10–0 win over , another period powerhouse. In order to rest his starters, McLaughry fielded the second string the next weekend against , and they won decisively, 27–0. A week later at Harvard Stadium
Harvard Stadium
Harvard Stadium is a horseshoe-shaped football stadium in the Allston neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, in the United States. Built in 1903, the stadium seats 30,323. The stadium seated up to 57,166 in the past, as permanent steel stands were installed in the north end of the stadium in 1929...
, the Iron Men played 58 minutes of the 26–0 shutout of the Crimson, their third and final Ancient Eight
Ivy League
The Ivy League is an athletic conference comprising eight private institutions of higher education in the Northeastern United States. The conference name is also commonly used to refer to those eight schools as a group...
opponent. McLaughry sent in the substitutes for the final two minutes so that they would earn their varsity letters. In the season's finale, held the Iron Men to a tie, 10–10.
The 9–0–1 record remains Brown's only undefeated season to date. Back Roy Randall and end Hal Broda were named first-team All-Americans by the Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
and United Press, respectively. The Iron Men consisted of the following eleven players: Thurston Towle
Thurston Towle
Edward Thurston Towle was a professional football player who spent 1 season in the National Football League with the Boston Bulldogs in 1929. Prior to playing professional football, Towle played college football at Brown University. He was later inducted into the Brown Athletics Hall of Fame...
, , , , , , Hal Broda, , , Ed Lawrence
Ed Lawrence
Edward James Lawrence was a professional football player who spent two seasons in the National Football League with the Boston Bulldogs in 1929 and the Staten Island Stapletons in 1930. Prior to joining the NFL, Fleming played college football at Brown University...
, and Roy Randall.