1931 All-America college football team


The 1931 All-America college football team is composed of college football players who were selected as All-Americans by various organizations and writers who chose All-America college football teams in 1931. The seven selectors recognized by the NCAA as "official" for the 1931 season are Collier's Weekly, as selected by Grantland Rice, the Associated Press, the United Press, the All-America Board, the International News Service, Liberty magazine, and the Newspaper Enterprise Association.

Consensus All-Americans

Following the death of Walter Camp in 1925, there was a proliferation of All-American teams in the late 1920s. For the year 1931, the NCAA recognizes seven published All-American teams as "official" designations for purposes of its consensus determinations. The following chart identifies the NCAA-recognized consensus All-Americans and displays which first-team designations they received. The only unanimous All-America selections in 1931 were Tulane's Gerald "Jerry" Dalrymple and Notre Dame's Marchmont Schwartz.
NamePositionSchoolNumberSelectors
Jerry DalrympleEndTulane7/7AAB, AP, COL, INS, LIB, NEA, UP
Marchmont SchwartzHalfbackNotre Dame7/7AAB, AP, COL, INS, LIB, NEA, UP
Biggie MunnGuardMinnesota6/7AAB, AP, COL, INS, NEA, UP
Pug RentnerHalfbackNorthwestern6/7AAB, AP, COL, INS, NEA, UP
Johnny BakerGuardUSC5/7AAB, INS, LIB, NEA, UP
Barry WoodQuarterbackHarvard4/7AP, COL, INS, NEA
Gaius ShaverFullbackUSC4/7AAB, COL, LIB, UP
Jess QuatseTacklePittsburgh3/7AAB, COL, UP
Jack RileyTackleNorthwestern3/7AAB, LIB, NEA
Tommy YarrCenterNotre Dame3/7AAB, AP, INS
Vernon SmithEndGeorgia2/7AP, COL
Dallas MarvilTackleNorthwestern2/7AP, INS

Proliferation of All-American teams

In 1931, Damon Runyon wrote a column about the proliferation of "All-America" teams. He noted: "The 'All' boys are it, tooth and nail. They are 'All'-ing North, South East, and West. They will wind up 'All'-Americaing, the most virulent form of the 'All' plague that besets us every Winter. The late Walter Camp little realized what he was bringing upon the country.... At the moment, Mr. Camp probably had no idea that he was sowing the seed of a fearful pestilence." Runyon noted that Camp's word was viewed as gospel. Still, with his passing "the rush to fill his shoes was prodigious," and the "'All' business became a national obsession."

All-Americans of 1931

Ends

Jerry Dalrymple, Tulane Vernon Smith, Georgia

Tackles

Dallas Marvil, Northwestern Jesse Quatse, Pittsburgh Jack Riley, Northwestern

Guards

Biggie Munn, Minnesota Johnny Baker, USC

Centers

Tommy Yarr, Notre Dame

Quarterbacks

Barry Wood, Harvard

Halfbacks

Marchmont Schwartz, Notre Dame Ernie Rentner, Northwestern

Fullbacks

Gaius Shaver, USC

Key

Bold – Consensus All-American

Selectors recognized by the NCAA in consensus determinations

Other selectors