A request before discussion starts: please don't hijack this thread with repetitive negative posting. You know who you are, and the thread here more or less speaks for itself. I'm seeking background and facts for an honest discussion, please, and if things go off the rails then I'll either lock or delete the thread. I hope that doesn't happen, because I'd like to hear the perspective of people who know things that I and most of the board don't know.
I was looking back through historical records to see when things really changed for the worse for Vanderbilt football after World War II, and wanted some feedback.
Here's what I'm seeing (overall winning percentages count ties as a half-win and a half-loss; overall winning percentage is followed by SEC winning percentage):
Red Sanders, 1946-48: 65%, 52.5%
Bill Edwards, 1949-52: 52.4%, 39.7%
Art Guepe, 1953-62: 42.5%, 32.6%
Sanders was a superstar and left for UCLA, where he had fantastic success before dying at 53 of a heart attack.
Edwards resigned under pressure in 1952 after going 3-5-2 and 1-4-2 in the league. That was the first losing season he'd had.
Guepe started with two miserable years (5-14), then had a five-year run where he was above .500 overall, then went 3-7, 2-8 and 1-9 before.
After Guepe came Jack Green in 1963. He had three losing records before he was gone, and for the most part it's been downhill for the last 55 years.
Guepe, of course, had the famous quote, "There is no way you can be Harvard Monday through Friday and try to be Alabama on Saturday," when he retired in 1962.
So, here's what I want to know: What happened around 1960 when things fell off a cliff, basically for good? I know Harvie Branscomb was the chancellor, and that's about all the background I have.
I was looking back through historical records to see when things really changed for the worse for Vanderbilt football after World War II, and wanted some feedback.
Here's what I'm seeing (overall winning percentages count ties as a half-win and a half-loss; overall winning percentage is followed by SEC winning percentage):
Red Sanders, 1946-48: 65%, 52.5%
Bill Edwards, 1949-52: 52.4%, 39.7%
Art Guepe, 1953-62: 42.5%, 32.6%
Sanders was a superstar and left for UCLA, where he had fantastic success before dying at 53 of a heart attack.
Edwards resigned under pressure in 1952 after going 3-5-2 and 1-4-2 in the league. That was the first losing season he'd had.
Guepe started with two miserable years (5-14), then had a five-year run where he was above .500 overall, then went 3-7, 2-8 and 1-9 before.
After Guepe came Jack Green in 1963. He had three losing records before he was gone, and for the most part it's been downhill for the last 55 years.
Guepe, of course, had the famous quote, "There is no way you can be Harvard Monday through Friday and try to be Alabama on Saturday," when he retired in 1962.
So, here's what I want to know: What happened around 1960 when things fell off a cliff, basically for good? I know Harvie Branscomb was the chancellor, and that's about all the background I have.
