1955 Washington State Cougars football team

The 1955 Washington State Cougars football team was an American football team that represented Washington State College during the 1955 college football season. In his fourth and final year, head coach Al Kircher led the team to a 1–7–2 record, 1–5–1 in the Pacific Coast Conference (PCC).[1] They played their three home games on campus at Rogers Field in Pullman.

1955 Washington State Cougars football
ConferencePacific Coast Conference
1955 record1–7–2 (1–5–1 PCC)
Head coachAl Kircher (4th season)
Home stadiumRogers Field
1955 Pacific Coast Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
No. 4 UCLA $ 6 –0 –0  9 –2 –0
Oregon State 5 –2 –0  6 –3 –0
No. 16 Stanford 3 –2 –1  6 –3 –1
Oregon 4 –3 –0  6 –4 –0
Washington 4 –3 –1  5 –4 –1
No. 13 USC 3 –3 –0  6 –4 –0
California 1 –5 –1  2 –7 –1
Washington State 1 –5 –1  1 –7 –2
Idaho 0 –4 –0  2 –7 –0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The Cougars' sole victory was in the Battle of the Palouse over neighbor Idaho in Moscow;[2][3][4] the Vandals had won the previous year in Pullman,[5] which was their first win in the series in 29 years.[6]

Days after the season ended, Kircher was relieved of his duties with a year remaining on his five-year contract, at $12,500 per year.[7][8][9] He opted to stay in Pullman and acquired a motel-restaurant, the Hilltop Lodge, in early 1956.[10][11][12] His successor was Jim Sutherland,[13][14] the Cougars' head coach for eight seasons, through 1963.[15][16][17]

Schedule
DateOpponentSiteResultAttendance
September 17at No. 13 USC
L 12–50 35,051
September 24at Kansas*
L 0–13 19,000
October 1No. 7 UCLA
L 0–55 20,000
October 8at California
T 20–20 33,000
October 15at Idaho
W 9–0 13,000
October 22at Oregon State
L 6–14 17,000
October 29at Pacific*
L 0–30 12,000
November 5Oregon
  • Rogers Field
  • Pullman, WA
L 0–35   9,000
November 12San Jose State*
  • Rogers Field
  • Pullman, WA [18]
T 13–13   1,600
November 19at Washington
L 7–27 30,000
  • *Non-conference game
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

NFL Draft

Two Cougars were selected in the 1956 NFL Draft, which was thirty rounds (360 selections).

Player Position Round Overall Franchise
Arnie Pelluer End 16 192 Los Angeles Rams
Al Paulson Back 23 276 Los Angeles Rams
Source:[19]

References
  1. "2016 Media Guide" (PDF). WSUCougars.com. Washington State Cougars Athletics. p. 74. Retrieved October 24, 2016.
  2. "Cougars beat Idaho 9–0 in bruising Palouse battle". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. October 16, 1955. p. 10.
  3. Boni, Bill (October 16, 1955). "Sarno sparks Cougars to 9–0 win". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. 1, sports.
  4. "WSC to face Oregon State next, Vandals blanked 9–0 at Moscow". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). October 17, 1955. p. 31.
  5. Boni, Bill (October 24, 1954). "Idaho thumps WSC, 10 to 0". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. 1, sports.
  6. ""Win made us ball club", says Skip Stahley". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). October 25, 1954. p. 17.
  7. "WSC may revise policy on gridiron contracts". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). November 22, 1955. p. 19.
  8. Boni, Bill (November 23, 1955). "WSC opens coach hunt". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. 15.
  9. "Cougars fire Kircher after miserable year". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. November 22, 1955. p. 3B.
  10. Boni, Bill (August 2, 1960). "When Kircher scored all the points". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. 2.
  11. "Kircher to run Pullman motel". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). Associated Press. January 26, 1956. p. 17.
  12. "Kircher has more at 'steak' now". Milwaukee Sentinel. Associated Press. March 13, 1956. p. 4, part 2.
  13. "Sutherland named WSC coach". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). January 18, 1956. p. 21.
  14. "WSC hires Sutherland". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. January 18, 1956. p. 2B.
  15. Johnson, Bob (December 6, 1963). "WSU in market for new coach". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). p. 16.
  16. "Sutherland out as grid coach". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. December 6, 1963. p. 2B.
  17. "Sutherland out as football coach at Washington State". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). December 6, 1963. p. 14.
  18. Boni, Bill (November 13, 1955). "Cougars get tie in freezer". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. 1, sports.
  19. "Al Paulson is picked by Rams in draft". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). January 18, 1956. p. 15.


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