There were shining stars aplenty during southern football’s climb to national prominence in the first two decades of the twentieth century. Josh Cody, a 225-pound, slashing tackler and blocker for Vanderbilt, 1914-1916 and 1919, was one such gridiron star. During Cody’s four years at Vanderbilt, the Commodores posted a record of 23-9-3 and outscored their opponents 1,099 to 226.
In 1915, Vanderbilt’s point-a-minute team registered a 9-1-0 record and scored 514 points to their opponents 38. The 1916 team outscored opposing squads 328 to 25, while posting a 7-1-1 season. After service in World War I, Cody returned to Vanderbilt in 1919 for his final season, helping the Commodores to a 5-1-2 record that included a loss to Georgia Tech and tie games with Tennessee and Kentucky.
From his position at tackle, Josh Cody was considered to be a one-man gang by opposing teams. Opponents instinctively avoided his position and carried the action another way on the field. His aggressive style of play earned Cody All-Southern designation in 1915, 1916, and 1919 and All-American honors in 1915 and 1919. After finishing college, Cody entered coaching and directed teams at Clemson, Mercer, Vanderbilt, Florida, and Temple.
He retired in 1961 at age sixty-seven and passed away on June 19 of the same year at Mt. Laurel, New Jersey. He was honored posthumously with induction into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1970. Josh Cody once challenged the Georgia coach to a chicken eating contest and beat him by eleven chickens. An onlooker said, “He wasn’t satisfied just to win. He just went on to a decisive victory.” This observation is just as applicable to Josh Cody’s career in football, one which will not soon be forgotten by students of Vanderbilt gridiron history.