1937 Big Ten Conference football season
The 1937 Big Ten Conference football season was the 42nd season of college football played by the member schools of the Big Ten Conference (also known as the Western Conference) and was a part of the 1937 college football season.
| 1937 Big Ten Conference football season | |
|---|---|
| Sport | Football |
| Number of teams | 10 |
| Top draft pick | Corbett Davis |
| Champion | Minnesota |
| Runners-up | Ohio State |
| Season MVP | Corbett Davis |
| 1937 Big Ten Conference football standings | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 5 Minnesota $ | 5 | – | 0 | – | 0 | 6 | – | 2 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 13 Ohio State | 5 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 6 | – | 2 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Indiana | 3 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 5 | – | 3 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Michigan | 3 | – | 3 | – | 0 | 4 | – | 4 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Northwestern | 3 | – | 3 | – | 0 | 4 | – | 4 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Purdue | 2 | – | 2 | – | 1 | 4 | – | 3 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wisconsin | 2 | – | 2 | – | 1 | 4 | – | 3 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Illinois | 2 | – | 3 | – | 0 | 3 | – | 3 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chicago | 0 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 1 | – | 6 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Iowa | 0 | – | 5 | – | 0 | 1 | – | 7 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 1937 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team, under head coach Bernie Bierman, won the Big Ten championship, led the conference in scoring offense (23.0 points per game), compiled a 6–2 record, and was ranked No. 5 in the final AP poll. End Ray King was named a first-team All-American by two selectors, and fullback Andy Uram was received first-team honors from the Associated Press. Halfback Rudy Gmitro was awarded the team's most valuable player award.
The 1937 Ohio State Buckeyes football team, under head coach Francis Schmidt finished in second place with a 6–2 record, shut out six of eight opponents, led the Big Ten in scoring defense (2.9 points allowed per game), and was ranked No. 8 in the final AP poll. Guard Gust Zarnas was selected as a first-team All-American by three selectors. Back Jim McDonald was the second player selected in the 1938 NFL Draft.
Corbett Davis of Indiana won the Chicago Tribune Silver Football trophy as the Big Ten's most valuable player. He was also the first player selected in the 1938 NFL Draft.
Season overview
Results and team statistics
| Conf. Rank | Team | Head coach | AP final | AP high | Overall record | Conf. record | PPG | PAG | MVP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Minnesota | Bernie Bierman | #5 | #4 | 6-2 | 5-0 | 23.0 | 6.3 | Rudy Gmitro |
| 2 | Ohio State | Francis Schmidt | #13 | #8 | 6–2 | 5–1 | 15.6 | 2.9 | Ralph Wolf |
| 3 | Indiana | Bo McMillin | NR | #17 | 5–3 | 3–2 | 9.0 | 4.0 | Corbett Davis |
| 4 (tie) | Purdue | Allen Elward | NR | NR | 4–3–1 | 2–2–1 | 10.4 | 8.6 | Cecil Isbell |
| 4 (tie) | Wisconsin | Harry Stuhldreher | NR | #16 | 4–3–1 | 2–2–1 | 12.9 | 7.6 | Howard Weiss |
| 6 (tie) | Michigan | Harry Kipke | NR | NR | 4–4 | 3–3 | 6.8 | 13.8 | Ralph Heikkinen |
| 6 (tie) | Northwestern | Pappy Waldorf | NR | #7 | 4–4 | 3–3 | 8.5 | 5.0 | Don Heap |
| 8 | Illinois | Robert Zuppke | NR | NR | 3–3–2 | 2–3 | 7.4 | 5.6 | Jack Berner |
| 9 (tie) | Chicago | Clark Shaughnessy | NR | NR | 1–6 | 0–4 | 6.4 | 20.4 | Kendall Peterson |
| 9 (tie) | Iowa | Irl Tubbs | NR | NR | 1–7 | 0–5 | 4.5 | 15.0 | Bob Lannon |
Key
PPG = Average of points scored per game[1]
PAG = Average of points allowed per game[1]
MVP = Most valuable player as voted by players on each team as part of the voting process to determine the winner of the Chicago Tribune Silver Football trophy[2]
Regular season
September 25
- Minnesota 69, North Dakota State 7.
- Ohio State 14, TCU 0
- Indiana 12, Centre 0.
- Northwestern 33, Iowa State 0.
- Purdue 33, Butler 7.
- Wisconsin 32, South Dakota State 0.
- Illinois 20, Ohio 6.
- Vanderbilt 18, Chicago 0.
- Washington 14, Iowa 0.
October 2
- Nebraska 14, Minnesota 9.
- Ohio State 13, Purdue 0.
- Michigan State 19, Michigan 14.
- Wisconsin 12, Marquette 0.
- Illinois 0, DePaul 0.
October 9
- Minnesota 6, Indiana 0.
- USC 13, Ohio State 12.
- Northwestern 7, Michigan 0.
- Wisconsin 27, Chicago 0.
- Iowa 14, Bradley Tech 7.
- Purdue 7, Carnegie Mellon 0.
- Illinois 0, Notre Dame 0.
October 16
- Indiana 13, Illinois 6.
- Minnesota 39, Michigan 6.
- Northwestern 14, Purdue 7.
- Wisconsin 13, Iowa 6.
October 23
- Michigan 7, Iowa 6.
- Ohio State 7, Northwestern 0.
- Indiana 27, Cincinnati 0.
- Pittsburgh 21, Wisconsin 0.
October 30
- Notre Dame 7, Minnesota 6.
- Michigan 7, Illinois 6.
- Northwestern 14, Wisconsin 6.
- Ohio State 39, Chicago 0.
- Purdue 13, Iowa 0.
- Nebraska 7, Indiana 0.
November 6
- Illinois 6, Northwestern 0.
- Indiana 10, Ohio State 0.
- Michigan 13, Chicago 12.
- Minnesota 35, Iowa 10.
- Fordham 21, Purdue 3.
November 13
- Indiana 3, Iowa 0.
- Minnesota 7, Northwestern 0.
- Ohio State 19, Illinois 0.
- Purdue 7, Wisconsin 7.
- Michigan 7, Penn 0.
- Chicago 26, Beloit 9.
November 20
- Illinois 21, Chicago 0.
- Minnesota 13, Wisconsin 6.
- Ohio State 21, Michigan 0.
- Purdue 13, Indiana 7.
- Notre Dame 7, Northwestern 0.
- Nebraska 28, Iowa 0.
Bowl games
No Big Ten teams participated in any bowl games during the 1937 season.
All-Big Ten players
The following players were picked by the Associated Press (AP) and/or the United Press (UP) as first-team players on the 1937 All-Big Ten Conference football team.[3][4]
| Position | Name | Team | Selectors |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quarterback | Jim McDonald | Ohio State | AP, UP |
| Halfback | Cecil Isbell | Purdue | AP |
| Halfback | Don Heap | Northwestern | AP |
| Halfback | Nile Kinnick | Iowa | UP |
| Halfback | Rudy Gmitro | Minnesota | UP |
| Fullback | Corbett Davis | Indiana | AP, UP |
| End | Ray King | Minnesota | AP, UP |
| End | Bob Lannon | Iowa | AP |
| End | Jim Zachary | Purdue | UP |
| Tackle | Lou Midler | Minnesota | AP |
| Tackle | Marty Schreyer | Purdue | AP |
| Tackle | Bob Haak | Indiana | UP |
| Tackle | Carl Kaplanoff | Ohio State | UP |
| Guard | Francis Twedell | Minnesota | AP, UP |
| Guard | Gust Zarnas | Ohio State | AP |
| Guard | Ralph Heikkinen | Michigan | UP |
| Center | Ralph Wolf | Ohio State | AP |
| Center | George Miller | Indiana | UP |
All-Americans
No Big Ten players were selected as consensus first-team players on the 1937 College Football All-America Team. However, three Big Ten players received first-team honors from at least one selector. They were:
| Position | Name | Team | Selectors |
|---|---|---|---|
| Halfback | Corbett Davis | Indiana | CP, WCFF, AAB, LIB, NANA, NW |
| End | Ray King | Minnesota | INS, CE, WCFF, AAB, NW |
| Guard | Gust Zarnas | Ohio State | WCFF, AAB, NW |
1938 NFL Draft
The following Big Ten players were selected in the first seven rounds of the 1938 NFL Draft:[5]
| Name | Position | Team | Round | Overall pick |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Corbett Davis | Back | Indiana | 1 | 1 |
| Jim McDonald | Back | Ohio State | 1 | 2 |
| Cecil Isbell | Back | Purdue | 1 | 7 |
| Frank Filchock | Back | Indiana | 2 | 14 |
| Marty Schreyer | Tackle | Purdue | 3 | 22 |
| Fred Vanzo | Back | Northwestern | 3 | 23 |
| Lou Midler | Tackle | Minnesota | 5 | 34 |
| Gust Zarnas | Guard | Ohio State | 5 | 40 |
| Andy Uram | Back | Minnesota | 6 | 47 |
| Bob Lannon | End | Iowa | 7 | 52 |
| Ray King | End | Minnesota | 7 | 54 |
| Johnny Kovatch | End | Northwestern | 7 | 57 |
References
- "1937 Big Ten Conference Year Summary". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 7, 2017.
- Wilfrid Smith (December 19, 1937). "Davis Is Voted Most Valuable In Big Ten: Indiana Star Defeats Isbell by One Point; Heap Third; Gmitro Fourth". Chicago Tribune. p. 2-1.
- "Six Schools Get Places on Big Ten Selection". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (AP story). November 23, 1937. p. 20.
- "Big Ten Team Named by United Press". The San Bernardino County Sun. November 21, 1937. p. 18.
- "1938 NFL Draft: Full Draft". NFL.com. National Football League. Retrieved February 7, 2017.