Year-By-Year Summaries (1930s)
 |  While the 1931 team (pictured) was arguably the best in school history, it was not the first Green Wave squad to earn a bid to the Rose Bowl. The 1925 Greenies also were selected but turned down the offer due to the amount of time the student-athletes would be away from their studies. |
1930 (8-1)
Head Coach: Bernie Bierman
When the 1930 team lost the second game of the season to Northwestern on a chilly October afternoon in Chicago, it snapped a school-record 10-game winning streak. When the team roared back to beat Texas A&M the next weekend, a new streak was started and it stretched to the current school record of 18 wins in a row.
In fashioning an 8-1 record, Tulane outscored the opposition 263-30 in 1930, shutting out six of its nine opponents behind the end play of All-American Jerry Dalrymple. Sophomore Don Zimmerman replaced Bill Banker as Tulane's top offensive threat and would go on to All-America recognition himself.
Date Opponent Location Score ResultS27 UL-Lafayette New Orleans, La. 84-0 WO4 at Northwestern Evanston, Ill. 0-14 LO11 at Texas A&M College Station, Texas 19-9 WO18 Birmingham Southern New Orleans, La. 21-0 WO25 at Georgia Tech Atlanta, Ga. 28-0 WN1 Mississippi State New Orleans, La. 53-0 WN8 Auburn New Orleans, La. 21-0 WN15 Georgia New Orleans, La. 25-0 WN27 LSU New Orleans, La. 12-7 W
1931 (11-1)
Head Coach: Bernie Bierman
Arguably the best team in Tulane history, the 1931 team shut out eight of its regular season opponents, set a school record for wins, finished the regular season unbeaten at 11-0 and earned a Rose Bowl bid. Outscoring the opposition by an awesome 338-35, the team allowed only one regular season opponent within 14 points. Future Tulane Hall of Famers Lefty Haynes, John Scafide, Jerry Dalrymple, Red Dawson, Wop Glover, Don Zimmerman and Nollie Felts all started on offense in the Rose Bowl.
The unquestioned leader of this great team was Dalrymple, Tulane's first consensus All-American. Dalrymple's aggressive end play helped Tulane shut out eight of its first nine opponents in 1931, and 13 of 15 over a stretch dating back to the middle of the 1930 season. Offensively, Zimmerman's rushing and passing established an individual total offense record (1,459 yards) that endured 48 years.
The Rose Bowl encounter saw USC grab a 21-0 third quarter lead, only to have Tulane roar back on a Zimmerman-to-Haynes TD pass and a TD run by Glover that closed it to 21-12 before the Green Wave rally fell short.
Date Opponent Location Score ResultS26 Ole Miss New Orleans, La. 31-0 WO3 Texas A&M New Orleans, La. 7-0 WO10 Spring Hill New Orleans, La. 40-0 WO17 at Vanderbilt Nashville, Tenn. 19-0 WO24 Georgia Tech New Orleans, La. 33-0 WO31 Mississippi State New Orleans, La. 59-7 WN7 at Auburn Montgomery, Ala. 27-0 WN14 at Georgia Athens, Ga. 20-0 WN21 Sewanee New Orleans, La. 40-0 WN28 LSU New Orleans, La. 34-7 WD5 Washington State New Orleans, La. 28-14 W ROSE BOWLJ1 Southern California Pasadena, Calif. 12-21 L Att: 75,562
1932 (6-2-1)
Head Coach: Ted Cox
Ted Cox, an assistant to Bernie Bierman since 1927, took over the head coaching reins and the winning tradition continued. All-American Don Zimmerman was a leader on both sides of the ball as he ended his career as Tulane's all-time leader in total offense and passes intercepted, setting records that lasted until the 1970s.
The Green Wave beat some big-time football teams in spite of being hard hit by graduation, but finishing 6-2-1 was considered a definite "rebuilding" effort for the Tulane program of that day. The Green Wave lost to LSU for the first time since 1926.
Date Opponent Location Score ResultO1 Texas A&M New Orleans, La. 26-14 WO8 Georgia New Orleans, La. 34-25 WO15 Vanderbilt New Orleans, La. 6-6 TO22 Auburn New Orleans, La. 7-19 LO29 South Carolina New Orleans, La. 6-0 WN5 at Georgia Tech Atlanta, Ga. 20-14 WN12 at Kentucky Lexington, Ky. 6-3 WN19 Sewanee New Orleans, La. 26-9 WN26 at LSU Baton Rouge, La. 0-14 L
1933 (6-3-1, 4-2-1 SEC)
Head Coach: Ted Cox
As Tulane began its charter membership in the Southeastern Conference, Coach Ted Cox rallied his team to a 6-3-1 finish. The 1933 team lost its first two games, the first time Tulane was beaten in consecutive games since 1928, but the team lost only once more the rest of the year.
On Oct. 21, Howard "Bucky" Bryan returned a kickoff 100 yards on a muddy field to beat Georgia Tech 7-0.
Date Opponent Location Score ResultS29 Texas A&M New Orleans, La. 6-13 LO7 at Georgia* Athens, Ga. 13-26 LO14 Maryland New Orleans, La. 20-0 WO21 at Georgia Tech* Atlanta, Ga. 7-0 WO28 Auburn* New Orleans, La. 7-13 LN4 at Colgate Hamilton, N.Y. 7-0 WN11 Mississippi State* New Orleans, La. 33-0 WN18 Kentucky* New Orleans, La. 34-0 WN25 Sewanee* New Orleans, La. 26-9 WD2 LSU* New Orleans, La. 7-7 T
1934 (10-1, 8-0 SEC)
Head Coach: Ted Cox
 The legendary Claude Simons led the 1934 Greenies to a 10-1 season, an SEC Championship and a victory in the inaugural Sugar Bowl. | |
Coach Ted Cox's finest Tulane team's only loss was to Colgate before 50,000 fans in Yankee Stadium. Tulane and Alabama tied for the SEC Championship that fall with 7-0 conference records.
Simons took a lateral from Bucky Bryan on a punt and returned it 45 yards for a fourth quarter TD to beat LSU, 13-12, to earn the bowl bid.
In the Sugar Bowl game, Simons took a lateral from John McDaniel on a kickoff and brought it 85 yards for Tulane's first score to cut the Temple lead to 14-7. End Red Hardy caught second half TD passes from Bryan and Barney Mintz to give the Green Wave a 20-14 win and its first bowl victory.
SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS
Date Opponent Location Score ResultS29 Chattanooga New Orleans, La. 41-0 WO6 Auburn* New Orleans, La. 13-0 WO13 at Florida* Gainesville, Fla. 28-12 WO20 Georgia* New Orleans, La. 7-6 WO27 Georgia Tech* New Orleans, La. 20-12 WN3 Ole Miss* New Orleans, La. 15-0 WN10 at Colgate Hamilton, N.Y. 6-20 LN17 at Kentucky* Lexington, Ky. 20-7 WN24 Sewanee* New Orleans, La. 32-0 WD1 at LSU* Baton Rouge, La. 13-12 W SUGAR BOWL ? Att. 22,026J1 Temple New Orleans, La. 20-14 W
1935 (6-4, 3-3 SEC)
Head Coach: Ted Cox
The Green Wave posted its eighth consecutive winning season, but a 6-4 record was not enough to save Coach Ted Cox's job. Tulane got revenge on the Colgate team that dealt the Wave its only loss of 1934 when Barney Mintz's 90-yard interception return sparked a 14-6 win.
A 41-0 loss to LSU in the season finale was the final straw, however, and Cox became the only Tulane coach with a winning record ever to be fired. He stands as the only Tulane football coach of more than two seasons who never failed to field a winning team. Cox was replaced as head coach by Lowell "Red" Dawson, quarterback of the 1931 Rose Bowl team.
Date Opponent Location Score ResultS28 VMI New Orleans, La. 44-0 W05 Auburn* New Orleans, La. 0-10 L012 Florida* New Orleans, La. 19-7 W019 at Minnesota Minneapolis, Minn. 0-20 L026 Sewanee* New Orleans, La. 33-0 WN2 Colgate New Orleans, La. 14-6 WN9 Georgia* New Orleans, La. 13-26 LN16 Kentucky* New Orleans, La. 20-13 WN23 Northwestern State New Orleans, La. 13-0 WN30 LSU* New Orleans, La. 0-41 L
1936 (6-3-1, 2-3-1 SEC)
Head Coach: Red Dawson
Red Dawson's first Tulane team finished 6-3-1 and started the tradition of strong defense that was the hallmark of his tenure. Six of the 1936 opponents were held to less than 10 points, including Auburn, who Tulane tied 0-0. A four-game winning streak at mid-year was the season highlight, but the team took another thumping (33-0) from LSU at the end.
Dawson went national in his recruiting and began to bring in players that would lead Tulane football back to national prominence.
RankingDate Opponent Location Tul/Opp Score ResultS26 Ole Miss* New Orleans, La. 7-6 WO3 Auburn* New Orleans, La. 0-0 TO10 Centenary New Orleans, La. 19-0 WO17 at Colgate Hamilton, N.Y. 28-6 WO24 North Carolina New Orleans, La. 18/NR 21-7 WO31 Louisiana Tech New Orleans, La. 9/NR 22-13 WN7 at Alabama* Birmingham, Ala. 10/14 7-34 LN14 Georgia* New Orleans, La. 6-12 LN21 Sewanee* New Orleans, La. 53-6 WN28 at LSU* Baton Rouge, La. 19/2 0-33 L
1937 (5-4-1, 2-3-1 SEC)
Head Coach: Red Dawson
The 1937 Tulane team finished 5-4-1, the program's 10th consecutive winning season. Eight of the 10 opponents scored less than 10 points and the team featured the running attack expected of a Red Dawson-coached squad. The highlight of the season was an 84-0 thrashing of Mississippi College, which saw Tulane rush for a school-record 638 yards, while the opposition gained only seven.
RankingDate Opponent Location Tul/Opp Score ResultS25 Clemson New Orleans, La. 7-0 WO2 Auburn* New Orleans, La. 0-0 TO9 Mississippi College New Orleans, La. 84-0 WO16 at Colgate Hamilton, N.Y. 7-6 WO23 at North Carolina Chapel Hill, N.C. 0-13 LO30 Ole Miss* New Orleans, La. 14-7 WN6 Alabama* New Orleans, La. 19/2 6-9 LN13 at Georgia* Athens, Ga. 6-7 LN20 Sewanee* New Orleans, La. 13-7 WN27 LSU* New Orleans, La. NR/8 7-20 L
1938 (7-2-1, 4-1-1 SEC)
Head Coach: Red Dawson
Coach Red Dawson's program began to take hold in 1938 as Tulane won seven of its last eight games to finish 7-2-1. The only losses were by three points each to Clemson and Alabama. All-America end Ralph Wenzel and All-SEC running back Warren Brunner led the charge, but good football players walked the Tulane campus in numbers. Five opponents failed to cross the Tulane goal line that fall.
The Green Wave beat LSU for the first time since 1934, but the game was marred by a massive brawl that spilled over into the cane fields that surrounded Tiger Stadium in those days. The battle would stop momentarily when the band played the national anthem, only to resume when the last note sounded.
FINAL RANKING: 19th AP
RankingDate Opponent Location Tul/Opp Score ResultS24 Clemson New Orleans, La. 10-13 LO1 Auburn* New Orleans, La. 0-0 TO8 at North Carolina Chapel Hill, N.C. 17-14 WO15 Rice New Orleans, La. 26-17 WO22 Mercer New Orleans, La. 51-0 WO29 Mississippi State* New Orleans, La. 27-0 WN5 at Alabama* Birmingham, Ala. NR/15 0-3 LN12 Georgia* New Orleans, La. 28-6 WN19 Sewanee* New Orleans, La. 38-0 WN26 LSU* New Orleans, La. 14-0 W
1939 (8-1-1, 5-0 SEC)
Head Coach: Red Dawson
 Paul Krueger captained a blue-collar Tulane team which earned a bid to Sugar Bowl following the 1939 season. | |
Coach Red Dawson assembled this team from 13 states and the Panama Canal Zone. Five of nine regular season opponents were shut out and two others scored only once. At one point, the Dawson juggernaut shut out three consecutive opponents by a combined score of 90-0.
End Ralph Wenzel and tackle Harley McCollum earned All-America recognition and guard Tommy O'Boyle and back Bobby "Jitterbug" Kellogg were named All-SEC.
When the regular season ended 8-0-1, Tulane was matched with unbeaten Texas A&M in the Sugar Bowl, and the game was a great one. A&M led 7-0 at the half, but Kellogg returned a punt 75 yards to tie it in the third period. Tough running by Fred Cassibry set up a TD rush by Monette Butler that staked Tulane to a 13-7 lead after the conversion was blocked. The Aggies struck back through the air, scoring the winning TD on a pass and lateral that Tulane hotly-contested was an illegal "pick" play. The TD stood, and one of Tulane's great football teams had suffered its only loss.
FINAL RANKING: 5th AP
Southeastern Conference Champions
RankingDate Opponent Location Tul/Opp Score Result AttendanceS30 Clemson New Orleans, La. 7-6 WO7 Auburn* New Orleans, La. 12-0 WO14 Fordham New Orleans, La. 7-0 WO21 North Carolina New Orleans, La. 14-14 TO28 Ole Miss* New Orleans, La. 9/14 18-6 WN11 Alabama* New Orleans, La. 7/20 13-0 WN18 at Columbia New York, N.Y. 6/NR 25-0 WN25 Sewanee* New Orleans, La. 5/NR 52-0 WD2 LSU* New Orleans, La. 5/NR 33-20 W 41,531 SUGAR BOWLJ1 Texas A&M New Orleans, La. 5/1 13-14 L 73,000
