Stetson Hatters football, 1920–1929

The Stetson Hatters football program, 1920–1929 represented John B. Stetson University—now known as Stetson University—during the 1920s in college football as an independent until 1925 and then as a member of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA) from 1926 onward. The team was led by two different head coaches: Horace Allen who held the position from 1919 to 1923 and Herb McQuillan who held the position from 1924 to 1934. During the 1920s, the Hatters compiled a 44–19–3 record, finished undefeated twice, and recorded seven winning seasons in ten years of competition. Highlights of the decade include:

• The 1924 Stetson Hatters football team compiled an undefeated 6–0 season, a then-record of wins in a season.
• The 1926 team compiled a 5–1–1 record, went 3–1 in Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA) play, and finished tied for fourth in the team's first season in the conference.
• The 1927 team compiled an undefeated 6–0–1 season.

The team played its home games at Cummings Field and Hulley Field in DeLand, Florida.

Year	Head coach	Overall record	Conf. record	Conf. rank	Points scored	Points allowed	Delta[1]
1920	Horace Allen	2–4			33	88	-55
1921	Horace Allen	1–4			25	114	-89
1922	Horace Allen	4–2			185	41	+144
1923	Horace Allen	5–2			186	53	+132
1924	Herb McQuillan	6–0			194	22	+172
1925	Herb McQuillan	6–2–1			110	89	+21
1926	Herb McQuillan	5–1–1	3–1	T–4th	152	26	+126
1927	Herb McQuillan	6–0–1	4–0–1	6th	193	13	+180
1928	Herb McQuillan	4–3	2–3	T–18th	72	72	0
1929	Herb McQuillan	5–1	3–1	T–9th	123	33	+90
Total		44–19–3	12–5–1		1,274	551	+723

The 1920 Stetson Hatters football team represented John B. Stetson University—now known as Stetson University—as an independent during the 1920 college football season. In their second year under head coach Horace Allen, the Hatters compiled a 2–4 record and were outscored by opponents by a total of 88 to 33.

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
		at Jacksonville American Legion	Jacksonville, FL	W 7–0
October 30		vs. Southern College	Sutherland, FL	L 0–14		[2]
November 5		Mercer	DeLand, FL	L 6–21		[3]
November 11		vs. Florida	Palatka, FL	L 0–26	3,000+	[4]
November 20		at Florida	Fleming Field Gainesville, FL	L 0–20		[5]
November 25	3:45 p.m.	Southern College	DeLand, FL	W 20–7		[6]

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The 1921 Stetson Hatters football team represented John B. Stetson University—now known as Stetson University—as an independent during the 1921 college football season. In their third year under head coach Horace Allen, the Hatters compiled a 1–4 record and were outscored by opponents by a total of 114 to 25.

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Source
October 22	Rollins	DeLand, FL	L 0–13	[8]
October 28	at Mercer	Alumni Field Macon, GA	L 0–41	[9]
November 4	Oglethorpe	DeLand, FL	L 0–41	[10]
	Bartlow Aviators		L 0–19
	Orlando American Legion		W 25–0

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The 1922 Stetson Hatters football team represented John B. Stetson University—now known as Stetson University—as an independent during the 1922 college football season. In their fourth year under head coach Horace Allen, the Hatters compiled a 4–2 record and outscored opponents by a total of 185 to 41.

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
October 21	3:00 p.m.	at Southern College	Adair Park Lakeland, FL	W 52–0		[11]
October 28		at Palatka All-Stars	Pals Field Palatka, FL	W 45–0		[12]
November 4		Lauderdale American Legion	DeLand, FL	W 53–0
November 11		vs. Tampa American Legion	Tavares, FL	L 0–16	1,500	[13][14]
November 18		Southern College	DeLand, FL	W 35–0
November 23		at Rollins	Winter Park, FL	L 0–25		[15]

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The 1923 Stetson Hatters football team represented John B. Stetson University—now known as Stetson University—as an independent during the 1923 college football season. In their fifth and final year under head coach Horace Allen, the Hatters compiled a 5–2 record and outscored opponents by a total of 186 to 53.

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Source
October 6	Springfield Athletic Club		W 33–0
October 13	at Southern College	Adair Field Lakeland, FL	L 13–14	[16]
	St. Augustine American Legion		W 53–0
November 3	Southern College	DeLand, FL	W 27–6	[17]
November 10	Florida	DeLand, FL	L 0–27	[18]
	Seabreeze		W 44–0
November 29	Rollins	DeLand, FL	W 15–7	[19]

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The 1924 Stetson Hatters football team represented John B. Stetson University—now known as Stetson University—as an independent during the 1924 college football season. In their first year under head coach Herb McQuillan, the Hatters compiled a perfect 6–0 record and outscored opponents by a total of 194 to 22.

Stetson was a member of the Florida State University and College Athletic Association, but refused to abide by the association's policy of not having migrant players, which caused at least three games against fellow Florida opponents to be canceled.^[20]

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Source
October 4	Florida	Cummings Field DeLand, FL	Canceled	[21]
October 11	at Pensacola NAS	Gifford Field Pensacola, FL	W 16–0	[22]
October 25	Southern College		Canceled	[23]
October 25	Piedmont	Cummings Field DeLand, FL	W 43–0	[24]
November 1	Louisiana College	Cummings Field DeLand, FL	W 32–0	[25]
November 8	Newberry	Cummings Field DeLand, FL	W 26–2	[26]
November 17	Mississippi State Teachers	Cummings Field DeLand, FL	W 46–6	[27]
November 27	at Rollins	Winter Park, FL	Canceled	[20]
November 27	Cumberland (TN)	Cummings Field DeLand, FL	W 31–14	[28]

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The 1925 Stetson Hatters football team represented John B. Stetson University—now known as Stetson University—as an independent during the 1925 college football season. In their second year under head coach Herb McQuillan, the Hatters compiled a 6–2–1 record and outscored opponents by a total of 117 to 89.

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Source
September 26	at Fort Benning	Doughboys Stadium Columbus, GA	L 7–51	[30]
October 3	Palmer	Cummings Field DeLand, FL	W 34–13	[31][32]
October 10	Norman	Cummings Field DeLand, FL	W 16–0	[33]
October 17	at Fulford-by-the-Sea	Miami, FL	Canceled	[34]
October 24	at South Georgia A&M	Tifton, GA	Postponed	[35]
October 26	at South Georgia A&M	Tifton, GA	W 18–0
October 31	at Spring Hill	Monroe Park Mobile, AL	W 6–5	[36]
November 7	Carson–Newman	Cummings Field DeLand, FL	T 0–0	[37][38]
November 14	at Mississippi State Teachers	Kamper Park Hattiesburg, MS	Canceled
November 14	at Newberry	Newberry, SC	L 0–20	[39][40]
November 26	Middle Tennessee State Teachers	Cummings Field DeLand, FL	W 10–0	[41]
	Daytona Athletic Club		W 26–0
Homecoming

^[7][42]

The 1926 Stetson Hatters football team represented John B. Stetson University—now known as Stetson University—as a member of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA) during the 1926 college football season. In their third year under head coach Herb McQuillan, the Hatters compiled a 5–1–1 record (3–1 in conference) and outscored opponents by a total of 153 to 26.

Former captain Kirk Gunby returned to Stetson as the line coach.^[43]

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 25	at The Citadel	College Park Stadium Charleston, SC	L 7–14		[44]
October 9	Newberry	Cummings Field DeLand, FL	W 18–0
October 16	vs. Spring Hill*	Plant Field Tampa, FL	T 0–0		[45]
October 30	at Rollins	Winter Park, FL	W 34–0		[46]
November 6	Southern College	Cummings Field DeLand, FL	W 17–0	2,300	[47]
November 19	South Georgia A&M*	Cummings Field DeLand, FL	W 63–0
November 25	vs. Maryville (TN)*	Municipal Athletic Field Sanford, FL	W 14–12	3,000	[48]
*Non-conference game Homecoming

^[7]

The 1927 Stetson Hatters football team represented John B. Stetson University—now known as Stetson University—as a member of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA) during the 1927 college football season. In their fourth year under head coach Herb McQuillan, the Hatters compiled a perfect 6–0–1 record (4–0–1 in conference) and outscored opponents by a total of 193 to 13.

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	Result	Source
September 24		at Auburn*	Drake Field Auburn, AL	W 6–0	[49]
October 15		Newberry	Cummings Field DeLand, FL	W 24–0	[50][51]
October 29		at Southern College	Lakeland, FL	T 6–6	[52]
November 5		Rollins	Cummings Field DeLand, FL	W 75–0	[53]
November 11		vs. Louisiana Tech	Jacksonville, FL	W 19–7	[54]
November 19	2:30 p.m.	at Miami (FL)*	Miami, FL Tamiami Park	W 36–0	[55]
November 26		Centre	Cummings Field DeLand, FL	W 27–0	[56]
*Non-conference game Homecoming

^[7]

The 1928 Stetson Hatters football team represented John B. Stetson University—now known as Stetson University—as a member of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA) during the 1928 college football season. In their fifth year under head coach Herb McQuillan, the Hatters compiled a 4–3 record (2–3 in conference). The team finished with a point differential of 0, with 72 points for and 72 points against.

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
October 6		at The Citadel	Johnson Hagood Stadium Charleston, SC	L 0–39		[57]
October 20	3:00 p.m.	at Rollins	Winter Park, FL	W 19–6	500+	[58]
November 3		Southern College	Cummings Field DeLand, FL	L 0–13		[59]
November 10		vs. Newberry	Daytona Beach, FL	W 19–0		[60]
November 17		at Miami (FL)*	Tamiami Park Miami, FL	W 15–6		[61]
		Tampa Independents*		W 13–0
December 1		Howard (AL)	Cummings Field DeLand, FL	L 6–8		[62]
*Non-conference game

^[7]

The 1929 Stetson Hatters football team represented John B. Stetson University—now known as Stetson University—as a member of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA) during the 1929 college football season. In their sixth year under head coach Herb McQuillan, the Hatters compiled a 5–1 record (3–1 in conference) and outscored opponents by a total of 123 to 33.

On October 10, Stetson debuted on their new football field, Hulley Field, against Rollins.^[63] The field was dedicated to the university's president, Lincoln Hulley.

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
	at	Norman*	Norman Park, GA	W 12–0
October 10		Rollins	Hulley Field DeLand, FL	W 20–0		[63]
November 2		at Southern College	Lakeland, FL	W 45–19		[64]
November 9	3:00 p.m.	at St. Petersburg*	St. Petersburg High School Field St. Petersburg, FL	W 19–0		[65][66][67]
November 16	3:00 p.m.	at Miami (FL)	Miami High School Field Miami, FL	W 12–0	4,000	[68][69][70]
November 30		vs. Howard (AL)	Burgoyne Isle Daytona Beach, FL	L 13–14		[71]
*Non-conference game All times are in Eastern time

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