| 1951 Stanford Indians football | |
PCC Champions | |
|---|---|
| Conference | Pacific Coast Conference |
| Ranking | |
| Coaches | No. 7 |
| AP | No. 7 |
| 1951 record | 9–2 (6–1 PCC) |
| Head coach | Chuck Taylor (1st season) |
| Home stadium | Stanford Stadium |
Seasons | |
| 1951 PCC football standings | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| #7 Stanford † | 6 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 9 | – | 2 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| #17 UCLA | 4 | – | 1 | – | 1 | 5 | – | 3 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| #12 California | 5 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 8 | – | 2 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| USC | 4 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 7 | – | 3 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| #18 Washington State | 4 | – | 3 | – | 0 | 7 | – | 3 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Oregon State | 3 | – | 5 | – | 0 | 4 | – | 6 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Washington | 1 | – | 5 | – | 1 | 3 | – | 6 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Oregon | 1 | – | 6 | – | 0 | 2 | – | 8 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Idaho | 0 | – | 3 | – | 0 | 2 | – | 7 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| † – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The 1951 Stanford Indians football team represented Stanford University in the 1951 college football season. Stanford was led by first-year head coach Chuck Taylor. The team was a member of the Pacific Coast Conference and played their home games at Stanford Stadium in Stanford, California.
Coaching change[]
The 1950 season had ended in disappointing fashion after high expectations and a fast start. Head coach Marchmont Schwartz had resigned following the season,[1] and to replace him, Stanford hired Chuck Taylor, a former Stanford All-American guard and member of Stanford's undefeated 1940 team which defeated Nebraska in the 1941 Rose Bowl.[2]
Season summary[]
Led by the passing attack of senior quarterback Gary Kerkorian and senior end Bill McColl, Stanford ran out to a 9–0 start and took a #3 ranking into the Big Game, where they were 13-point favorites over rival California.[3] Cal upset the Indians 20–7, but as PCC champions, Stanford was invited to the 1952 Rose Bowl against Big 10 champion and 4th-ranked Illinois.[4] The Indians led at halftime 7–6 and trailed only 13–7 to start the fourth quarter, but a 27-point scoring outburst gave the Fighting Illini a convincing 40–7 victory.[4]
Schedule[]
| Date | Opponent# | Rank# | Site | Result | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 23 | vs. Oregon | Multnomah Stadium • Portland, OR | W 27–20 | |||||
| September 29* | San Jose State | Stanford Stadium • Stanford, CA (Rivalry) | W 26–13 | |||||
| October 6* | at Michigan | Michigan Stadium • Ann Arbor, MI | W 23–13 | |||||
| October 13 | UCLA | #19 | Stanford Stadium • Stanford, CA | W 21–7 | ||||
| October 20* | Santa Clara | #13 | Stanford Stadium • Stanford, CA | W 21–14 | ||||
| October 27 | at Washington | #11 | Husky Stadium • Seattle, WA | W 14–7 | ||||
| November 3 | #16 Washington State | #11 | Stanford Stadium • Stanford, CA | W 21–13 | ||||
| November 10 | at #6 USC | #7 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum • Los Angeles, CA | W 27–20 | ||||
| November 17 | Oregon State | #4 | Stanford Stadium • Stanford, CA | W 35–14 | ||||
| November 24 | #19 California | #3 | Stanford Stadium • Stanford, CA (54th Big Game) | L 7–20 | ||||
| January 1, 1952 | vs. #4 Illinois | #8 | Rose Bowl • Pasadena, CA (Rose Bowl) | L 7–40 | ||||
| *Non-Conference Game. #Rankings from AP Poll. | ||||||||
Aftermath[]
Taylor, at 31 the youngest major college football coach, was named AFCA Coach of the Year, the only time a Stanford coach has received the award.[5] In addition to numerous awards, McColl was a Consensus All-American, finished fourth in the voting for the Heisman Trophy, and would go on to a seven-year professional career with the Chicago Bears.[6] Kerkorian was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers and backed up Johnny Unitas with the Baltimore Colts.
Players drafted by the NFL[]
| Player | Position | Round | Pick | NFL Club |
| Bill McColl | End | 3 | 32 | Chicago Bears |
| Bob Meyers | Halfback | 16 | 190 | San Francisco 49ers |
| Dick Horn | Quarterback | 17 | 194 | Dallas Texans |
| Gary Kerkorian | Quarterback | 19 | 222 | Pittsburgh Steelers |
| Harry Hugasian | Halfback | 21 | 242 | Dallas Texans |
References[]
- ↑ "Schwartz out at Stanford". Miami News. December 30, 1950. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=mLsyAAAAIBAJ&sjid=5usFAAAAIBAJ&pg=1453,5037624. Retrieved September 9, 2011.
- ↑ "Chuck Taylor is new grid coach at Stanford U". Modesto Bee. February 3, 1951. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=e_1JAAAAIBAJ&sjid=OB4NAAAAIBAJ&pg=3737,515748. Retrieved October 10, 2011.
- ↑ "Stanford Game-by-Game Results; 1951–1955". College Football Data Warehouse. http://www.cfbdatawarehouse.com/data/div_ia/pac10/stanford/yearly_results.php?year=1951. Retrieved September 9, 2011.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Migdol, Gary (1997). Stanford: Home of Champions. Champaign, Illinois: Sports Publishing LLC. p. 116. ISBN 1-57167-116-1. http://books.google.com/books?id=ntBDmB_fYo8C&pg=PA116.
- ↑ "Matson, Taylor, McColl honored". The Register-Guard. November 19, 1951. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=wy4gAAAAIBAJ&sjid=GfEDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4237,4688818. Retrieved October 10, 2011.
- ↑ "1951 Heisman Trophy Voting". Sports-Reference.com. http://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/awards/heisman-1951.html. Retrieved October 10, 2011.
- ↑ "1952 NFL Draft". http://www.pro-football-reference.com/draft/1952.htm. Retrieved August 4, 2014.