About ten years ago, I first found out about this great Colgate team while reading The Ultimate Book of Sports Lists. Over the hundreds of pages, thousands of facts and trivia were grouped by catergory, but this accomplishment stood by itself. Because under the list, "Undefeated, untied, unscored upon, and uninvited" the Colgate 1932 football team was the only item listed. In that memorable season, the Colgate Maroons, would win every single game by shutout. Back then, Colgate was near the top of the football world. We had All- American's on our team routinely, and in 1916, Colgate stood alone as national champions. In 1932, Colgate was in it's 4th year of coaching under Andy Kerr, who was regarded by many as the best coach in the country. Kerr's motivation and success was so legendary, that Colgate still plays in a stadium that boasts his name.
The 1932 season was also the start of another tradition. In 1924, journalist and sports writter, Dexter "Dex" Teed graduated from Colgate, and in 1932 he returned to oversee journalistic activities at his alma mater. In that same year, new uniforms also arrived for the team. They were in a slightly different style than the old uniforms, with bright maroon pants, a white and maroon shirt, and the traditional white helmet. It was these new uniforms, the relentless attack of the Colgate team, and our fans tendancy to travel to away games, that led Teed to first call Colgate, "The Red Raiders of the Chenango Valley". While the name "Red Raiders" was used as a nickname within the team and it's followers at first, after that memorable season, the name became the official nickname of all our sports teams. The purpose of these pages are not to argue about nickname or mascots, but to show to everyone who reads this that the team, and the name, is something to have great pride in. And it is with great pride that the Red Raider Sports fan site presents...
REMEMBER THE RED
RAIDERS
In a few moments, you will begin your journey back to 1932. Hoover is the President of the nation, while George B Cutten is the President of Colgate. The nation is in the midst of the Great Depression, and everyone is struggling to survive. Colgate has felt the depression too, in 1932 we had about 1,000 undergraduate students, and many were forced to leave the school due to the depression. Colgate was a somewhat different place, Cutten was the President and not a dorm. The president lived in the building that now houses alumni affairs, women were 40 years away from being admitted to the University. But for all the differences, the Colgate spirit remained the same. The student's still loved their alma mater, and they still enjoyed a wide variety of excellent academic, athletic, and social options.
This is the story of the 1932 football team, the team that would rise out of the pack and go on to one of the greatest football seasons ever. But, you will not see the whole story at once. Instead of reading about the team, you will be experiencing the season. Every few days, a new article will be posted, and you will be following the season the way it actually unfolded in 1932. This, is the story of the Red Raiders.
Colgate, 1932
Notes and acknowledgments: I would like to thank Carl Peterson from the Colgate archives for his help in tracking down sources and answering questions. I would also like to thank Bob Cornell and the sports information department for their help. The majority of my information comes from the Colgate Maroon. Other sources include, The Utica Observer-Dispatch, A Roar from the Valley, by Brad Pearson, Fifty Years of Colgate Football, edited by Ellery Huntington, "1932, A Very Good Year", by Noel Rubinton, and the Salmagundi.