1953 VPI Gobblers football team

The 1953 VPI Gobblers football team represented the Virginia Polytechnic Institute or VPI (now known as Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University or Virginia Tech) as a member of the Southern Conference (SoCon) during the 1953 college football season. Led by third-year head coach Frank Moseley the Gobblers compiled an overall record of 5–5 with a mark of 3–3 in conference play, and finished ted for fifth in the SoCon. VPI played home games at Miles Stadium in Blacksburg, Virginia.

1953 VPI Gobblers football
Conference	Southern Conference
Record	5–5 (3–3 SoCon)
Head coach	Frank Moseley (3rd season)
Home stadium	Miles Stadium
Seasons ← 1952 1954 →

1953 Southern Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 10 West Virginia $	4	–	0	–	0			8	–	2	–	0
Furman	2	–	0	–	0			7	–	2	–	0
George Washington	4	–	2	–	0			5	–	4	–	0
William & Mary	3	–	2	–	0			5	–	4	–	1
Richmond	3	–	3	–	0			5	–	3	–	1
VPI	3	–	3	–	0			5	–	5	–	0
VMI	3	–	3	–	0			5	–	5	–	0
Washington and Lee	2	–	4	–	0			4	–	6	–	0
The Citadel	1	–	3	–	0			2	–	7	–	0
Davidson	0	–	5	–	0			0	–	9	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 19	8:00 p.m.	vs. Marshall*	Bluefield Municipal Stadium Bluefield, WV	W 7–0		^[1]
September 26		at Virginia*	Scott Stadium Charlottesville, VA (rivalry)	W 20–6	20,000	^[2]
October 3		at Rutgers*	Rutgers Stadium Piscataway, NJ	L 13–20	10,000	^[3]
October 10		Richmond	Miles Stadium Blacksburg, VA	W 21–7		^[4]
October 17		at William & Mary	Cary Field Williamsburg, VA	L 7–13	12,500	^[5]
October 24		Washington and Lee	Miles Stadium Blacksburg, VA	W 32–12	11,000	^[6]^[7]
October 30		vs. The Citadel	Victory Stadium Roanoke, VA	W 22–0	4,000	^[8]
November 7	1:45 p.m.	vs. West Virginia	Bluefield Municipal Stadium Bluefield, WV (rivalry)	L 7–12	12,300	^[9]
November 13		at Miami (FL)*	Burdine Stadium Miami, FL (rivalry)	L 0–26	17,000	^[10]
November 26	1:00 p.m.	vs. VMI	Victory Stadium Roanoke, VA (rivalry)	L 13–28	26,000	^[11]^[12]
*Non-conference game Homecoming All times are in Eastern time

^[13]

Roster

The following players were members of the 1953 football team according to the roster published in the 1954 edition of The Bugle, the Virginia Tech yearbook.^[6]

VPI 1953 roster
	Bob Allen William R. Anderson Richard VanMetre "Dickie" Beard Donald C. Booth Gordon Derwood "Sonny" Bowman II Franklin Dewey Brown Leo Burke Hayes Howell Burleson Doug Creger Johnny Dean Hugh David Ebert James Glen Fleenor Harold Byrd Grizzard		James H. Haren James Lupton Hedrick Charles Donald Herb Tom Hughes William Edward Jamerson Edward Houston Kavanaugh William Duncan Kerfoot Julian Neville King Robert Stevens Luttrell Don Mitchell John Stewart Moody Thomas R. Petty George Preas Jim Randall		Robert Earl Scruggs Roger Winfield Simmons Donald Gaylon Sink Hunter E. Swink Thompson A.E. Trapp A. Turlington Phillip William Unger Joseph Franklin Wells Don "Ducky" Welsh Jack Williams Ernie Wolfe Bobby Wolfenden Howard Irving Wright

References

1. "VPI nudges Marshall on 4th period tally; Losers prove tough". Daily Press. September 20, 1953. Retrieved January 4, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
2. "Gobblers whip favored Cavaliers in hard fought thriller". The Staunten News-Leader. September 27, 1953. Retrieved January 4, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
3. Capaldo, Chuck (October 4, 1953). "Rutgers' Splurge Upends VPI". Daily Press. Newport News, Va. p. C1 – via Newspapers.com.
4. "Virginia Tech shatters Richmond's victory streak 21–7". The Bristol Herald Courier. October 11, 1953. Retrieved November 6, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "Big Green Silences Squawking Gobblers in Thriller" (PDF). The Flat Hat. College of William & Mary. October 20, 1953. p. 5. Retrieved July 24, 2017.
6. "The Bugle 1954" (PDF). Virginia Tech Bugle. 1954. p. 259. Retrieved July 2, 2017.
7. "Gobblers dump Generals; Old grads on hand". The Staunton News-Leader. October 25, 1953. Retrieved August 21, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
8. "Virginia Tech scores easy 22 to 0 triumph over Citadel". The Roanoke Times. October 31, 1953. Retrieved January 4, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
9. "WVU forced to spurt in nudging VPI by 12–7". The Knoxville Journal. November 8, 1953. Retrieved January 4, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
10. "Florida Minded UM Nabs Third Win, Whips Outclassed Virginia Tech 26-0". The Miami Hurricane. University of Miami. November 20, 1953. p. 20. Retrieved July 24, 2017.
11. "VMI Plays Host To Gobblers at Victory Stadium on Thursday". The Cadet. Virginia Military Institute. November 23, 1953. p. 1. Retrieved July 21, 2017.
12. "Flying Squadron Wallops V.P.I. Hokies 28-to-13". The Cadet. Virginia Military Institute. November 30, 1953. p. 1. Retrieved July 21, 2017.
13. "1952 Virginia Tech Hokies Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved January 4, 2023.