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1937 California Golden Bears football team

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1937 California Golden Bears football
National champion (Dunkel, Helms)
PCC champion
Rose Bowl champion
Rose Bowl, W 13–0 vs. Alabama
ConferencePacific Coast Conference
Ranking
APNo. 2
Record10–0–1 (6–0–1 PCC)
Head coach
Offensive schemeSingle-wing
Home stadiumMemorial Stadium
Seasons
← 1936
1938 →
1937 Pacific Coast Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 2 California $ 6 – 0 – 1 10 – 0 – 1
Stanford 4 – 2 – 1 4 – 3 – 2
Washington 4 – 2 – 2 7 – 2 – 2
Washington State 3 – 3 – 2 3 – 3 – 3
Idaho 2 – 2 – 0 4 – 3 – 1
Oregon State 2 – 3 – 3 3 – 3 – 3
USC 2 – 3 – 2 4 – 4 – 2
Oregon 2 – 5 – 0 4 – 6 – 0
UCLA 1 – 5 – 1 2 – 6 – 1
Montana 0 – 1 – 0 7 – 1 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1937 California Golden Bears football team, nicknamed the "Thunder Team",[1] was an American football team that represented the University of California (now known as the University of California, Berkeley) in the Pacific Coast Conference (PCC) during the 1937 college football season. In their third year under head coach Stub Allison, the Bears compiled a 10–0–1 record, shut out seven of eleven opponents, and outscored all opponents by a total of 214 to 33.[2][3]

In the final AP Poll released on November 29, California was ranked No. 2 with 277 points, 50 points behind No. 1 Pittsburgh.[4] After the final rankings were posted, California shut out No. 4 Alabama in the 1938 Rose Bowl. The Associated Press did not conduct post-bowl polling at the time, but retroactive rankings by the Helms Athletic Foundation and the Dunkel System declared California as the 1937 national champion.[5]

Three California players received first-team honors on the 1937 All-America college football team: fullback Sam Chapman; guard Vard Stockton; end Perry Schwartz; and center Bob Herwig.

Schedule

[edit]
DateOpponentRankSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 25Saint Mary's
W 30–765,000[6]
October 2Oregon State
  • California Memorial Stadium
  • Berkeley, CA
W 24–625,000[7]
October 9Washington State
  • California Memorial Stadium
  • Berkeley, CA
W 27–040,000[8]
October 16Pacific (CA)
  • California Memorial Stadium
  • Berkeley, CA
W 20–020,000[9]
October 16Cal Aggies
  • California Memorial Stadium
  • Berkeley, CA
W 14–020,000[9]
October 23No. 11 USCNo. 1
  • California Memorial Stadium
  • Berkeley, CA
W 20–673,000[10]
October 30at UCLANo. 1
W 27–1465,000[11]
November 6WashingtonNo. 1
  • California Memorial Stadium
  • Berkeley, CA
T 0–060,000[12]
November 13at OregonNo. 2
W 26–020,000[13]
November 20at No. 13 StanfordNo. 2
W 13–085,000[14][15]
January 1, 1938vs. No. 4 AlabamaNo. 2
W 13–089,650[16][17][18]
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Awards and honors

[edit]

Six California players received honors on the 1937 All-America college football team:

Nine were recognized by the Associated Press (AP), International News Service (INS), or UP on the 1937 All-Pacific Coast football team: quarterback Johnny Meek (AP-1, INS-1, UP-1); halfback Sam Chapman (AP-1, INS-1, UP-1); halfback Vic Bottari (AP-1, INS-1, UP-1); fullback D. Anderson (AP-2); end Perry Schwartz (AP-1, INS-1, UP-1); tackle Stoll (UP-2); guard Vard Stockton (AP-1, INS-1, UP-1); guard Evans (AP-2, UP-2); and center Bob Herwig (AP-1, INS-1, UP-1).[27][28][29][30]

Three were also inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame: Herwig (inducted in 1964),[31] Bottari (inducted in 1981),[32] and Chapman (inducted in 1984).[33]

1938 NFL draft

[edit]

The following players were claimed in the 1938 NFL draft.

Player Position Round Pick NFL club
Sam Chapman Back 3 24 Washington Redskins
John Meek Back 4 27 Philadelphia Eagles
Bob Herwig Center 4 30 Chicago Cardinals
Perry Schwartz End 6 43 Brooklyn Dodgers (NFL)

[34]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Cal's 1937 'Thunder Team' rumbled to Roses". San Francisco Chronicle. November 28, 2004.
  2. ^ "1937 California Golden Bears Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
  3. ^ "California 2015 Football Information Guide" (PDF). CalBears.com. Cal Golden Bears Athletics. p. 163. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 26, 2016. Retrieved October 21, 2016.
  4. ^ "Final AP Poll Ranks Pitt at Top". Clovis News-Journal. November 30, 1937. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ 2020 NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Records (PDF). Indianapolis: The National Collegiate Athletic Association. July 2020. pp. 112–114. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 1, 2020. Retrieved January 12, 2021.
  6. ^ Prescott Sullivan (September 26, 1937). "Bears Crush Gaels, 30-7: U. C. Subs Play All of Second Half But Outscore St. Mary's". San Francisco Examiner. pp. 1SF, 2SF – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Year-By-Year Results". 2017 Oregon State Football Media Guide Football (PDF). Oregon State Athletics. p. 165.
  8. ^ '16 Cougar Football (PDF). Washington State University Athletics. p. 81.
  9. ^ a b Prescott Sullivan (October 17, 1937). "Bears Win Pair: U.C. Doesn't Look Any Too Good Beating Pacific, 20-0". The San Francisco Examiner. p. Sports 1 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ USC Football 2017 Media Guide (PDF). University of Southern California Athletics. p. 70.
  11. ^ Frank Finch (October 31, 1937). "Mighty Bears Overpower Scrappy Bruins, 27-14: Washington Proves Star". The Los Angeles Times. pp. II-13, II-17.
  12. ^ Prescott Sullivan (November 7, 1937). "O-Oh! Huskies Tie Bears, 0-0: Wonder Team Goes Through Test of Fire". The San Francisco Examminer. pp. Sports 1 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ Joseph Pigney (November 14, 1937). "Bears Trample Webfoots to Win 26-0: Score 3 Times Second Period; Nicholson's Kickoff Dash Starts Only Threat of Oregon Gridsters". The Oregon Statesman. p. 7 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ Henry McLemore (November 21, 1937). "Indians Never Had a Chance, Says M'Lemore". Oakland Tribune. p. A9 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ Art Potter (November 21, 1937). "Bears Crusher Blocking Sends Stanford Reeling". Oakland Tribune. p. A9 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ "Bears beat Alabama in Bowl, 13–0". The Los Angeles Times. January 2, 1938. Retrieved February 22, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ^ Henry M'Lemore (January 2, 1938). "Golden Bears Swallow Tide". Los Angeles Times. United Press. p. II-12 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ^ Grantland Rice (January 2, 1938). "Alabama Fumbles Play Big Part in California Victory". The Los Angeles Times. p. II-12 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ^ "Football Award Winners" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). 2016. p. 7. Retrieved October 21, 2017.
  20. ^ a b Stuart Cameron (December 1, 1937). "(UP Sports Editor)". Oshkosh Daily Northwestern.
  21. ^ "INS All-American Grid Selections". Waterloo Daily Courier. December 1, 1937.
  22. ^ a b Harry Grayson (November 24, 1937). "Routt of Texas Aggies Places on All-America Picked by Grid Experts". Brownsville Herald.
  23. ^ Bill Braucher (December 3, 1937). "NATION'S CAPTAINS PICK CENTRAL PRESS ALL-AMERICANS". Hammond Times.
  24. ^ a b c ESPN College Football Encyclopedia. ESPN Books. 2005. p. 1171. ISBN 1401337031.
  25. ^ "Walter Camp Football Foundation". Archived from the original on March 30, 2009.
  26. ^ "Frank, White Unanimous Choices on Collier Team". Daily Capital News. December 10, 1937.
  27. ^ "All Pacific Coast 1937". The Evening Record, Ellensburg, Washington. December 3, 1937. p. 8.
  28. ^ "Associated Press Selects Its All-Coast Eleven". The Bakersfield Californian. December 2, 1937. p. 23.
  29. ^ Harold Heroux (November 23, 1937). "Six Cal Stars On All-Coast". The San Bernardino Daily Sun. p. 17.
  30. ^ James A. Sullivan (December 1, 1937). "Six Golden Bears Named On United Press' All-Coast Team; V. Stockton, Capt.; Poll Is Taken From Sports Editors In Five West States". Santa Cruz Sentinel. p. 4.
  31. ^ "Bob Herwig". National Football Foundation. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
  32. ^ "Vic Bottari". National Football Foundation. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
  33. ^ "Sam Chapman". National Football Foundation. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
  34. ^ "1938 NFL Draft". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved April 2, 2022.


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