1936 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team
Encyclopedia
The 1936 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team was the representative of the University of Nebraska in the 1936 college football season
. The team was coached by Dana X. Bible
and played their home games at Memorial Stadium
in Lincoln, Nebraska
.
Nebraska began 1936 in fine form, easily running all over the field and taking apart Iowa State in Lincoln. Many big plays marked the game, including a 97-yard kickoff return as Nebraska ran off 34 unanswered points in the shutout victory. The final score was punched in by the reserves, and Nebraska extended their longest ever winning streak over any team to 14 straight, advancing the series to 26-4-1 against the Cyclones all time.
Nebraska traveled to Minneapolis for the latest installment of their bitter series with Minnesota, and gave the Golden Gophers all they could handle. The Huskers at one point advanced as close as Minnesota's 14-yard line before being turned away scoreless. Nebraska also held strong in two goal line stands that each ended in interceptions. With just a minute to play and a scoreless tie still on the board, Nebraska was forced to punt. The returner tossed an unexpected lateral to another Gopher player, a move that caused just enough confusion to allow the carrier to run untouched 75 yards for the game winning touchdown. Nebraska was forced to go home in disappointment yet again, with four straight losses to Minnesota and just a 2-14-2 record against them to date. Minnesota went on to finish 7-1-0, with a #1 national ranking in the first season that teams were ranked by the AP Poll
.
Nebraska met Oklahoma in Norman, in front of the largest ever Owen Field audience to date, as Oklahoma was considered one of the main obstacles between the Cornhuskers and another league championship. Nebraska stopped the only serious Sooner threat with an interception while also going up 14-0 before the half. The teams then fought to a standstill for the rest of the game, earning the Cornhuskers their second shutout victory of the season. Nebraska enjoyed their 6th straight win over Oklahoma while advancing the series to 12-2-2. Victory moved the Cornhuskers up to #11 in the AP Poll.
The most-discussed play of this game took place when a Nebraska lineman broke through Missouri's front to intercept a shovel pass. Quickly tackled, the ball ended up in the hands of a Nebraska end who scampered 40 yards for a touchdown. Nebraska contended that their man fumbled the ball while being tackled, while Missouri claimed that the ball had been intentionally passed to the scoring player. In the end, the call didn't matter, as the Tigers were never able to get on the scoreboard while the Cornhuskers made two other uncontested touchdowns that would have resulted in the same outcome. The Missouri-Nebraska Bell remained in Lincoln as the Tigers failed to win in their last nine tries, falling to 6-21-3 against the Cornhuskers. Nebraska's third win in a row moved them up to #8 in the AP Poll.
With eyes on the continuation of their bitter rivalry with Pittsburgh, coach Bible pulled his starters after just one quarter in Lawrence. The entire Cornhusker roster found playing time in this contest as Kansas rolled over with almost no resistance in front of the smallest crowd Nebraska would play in front of all season. By the time the clock expired on the punishment, Kansas remained scoreless to become Nebraska's third shutout victim of the year. Nebraska's all-time longest winning streak against any single team was extended to 13 games, and their record over Kansas was improved to 32-9-2. Again, the Cornhuskers went up in the AP Poll, to #6.
Nebraska had rested its starters with eyes on this game, and gave the visiting Panthers a hard battle. With the game tied at 6-6, hopes were high that the Huskers might yet pull off their first victory since 1921, but the momentum turned against Nebraska when Pittsburgh managed to punch one in. The collapse was complete when Pitt recovered a fumble and converted it into another score in short order. Nebraska had so far dropped four straight games to Pitt, and also remained winless in the last ten attempts, falling to 1-7-3 all time as they tumbled to #13 in the AP Poll. Pittsburgh went on to finish 7-1-1, with a #3 national ranking in the first season that teams were ranked by the AP Poll
.
Stinging over yet another loss to Pittsburgh the week before, the Cornhuskers came out with a vengeance against the Kansas State squad. The Wildcats had been viable opponents in recent years and kept the Nebraska squad winless in the last two meetings, but found themselves with no points and two touchdowns behind at the half. The Huskers went on to roll over Kansas State in the second half, tallying 40 points in the fifth shutout win of the season, locking up another Big 6 title. Kansas State fell to 2-17-2 against the Cornhuskers. Nebraska recovered three spots in the Poll by moving up to #10.
The Cornhuskers set the tone for how they intended to end the season very early, by scoring inside the first three minutes. Both teams traded possessions and collected points to set up a 32-14 Husker advantage by halftime. After the break, both teams were successful in stopping each other from making progress, which resulted in the halftime score carrying through to the finish, Nebraska head coach Bible's 50th win with the Cornhuskers. The Cornhusker domination of the Beavers was extended to 5-0-0. The end of season Nebraska win was good enough to move the team up to #9 in the final AP Poll.
, where he would spend his final ten seasons as a head coach and bring Texas three conference titles. Coach Bible's time at Nebraska was among the most successful in program history up to that point, as his Cornhusker record stood at 50–15–7 (.743). The program's overall record after 1936 was 270-89-27 (.743) and the league performance was now 87-11-9 (.855). Coach Bible assisted in the coaching search for his replacement, and in short order Lawrence Mcceney "Biff" Jones was named as his successor, taking the reins of the program before the 1937 spring training got underway.
1936 college football season
The 1936 college football season was the first in which the Associated Press writers' poll selected a national champion. The first AP poll, taken of 35 writers, was released on October 20, 1936...
. The team was coached by Dana X. Bible
Dana X. Bible
Dana Xenophon Bible was an American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Mississippi College , Louisiana State University , Texas A&M University , the University of Nebraska , and the University of Texas...
and played their home games at Memorial Stadium
Memorial Stadium, Lincoln
Memorial Stadium is located on the campus of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in Lincoln, Nebraska, United States. It is the home of the Nebraska Cornhuskers football team....
in Lincoln, Nebraska
Lincoln, Nebraska
The City of Lincoln is the capital and the second-most populous city of the US state of Nebraska. Lincoln is also the county seat of Lancaster County and the home of the University of Nebraska. Lincoln's 2010 Census population was 258,379....
.
Before the season
Coach Bible extended the longest head coach tenure in Lincoln to eight years when he brought another well-seasoned football team out to bid for still another league championship, as Nebraska had dominated the Big 6 since its inception.Schedule
| Date | Opponent | Rank# | Site | Result | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 3 | Memorial Stadium Memorial Stadium, Lincoln Memorial Stadium is located on the campus of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in Lincoln, Nebraska, United States. It is the home of the Nebraska Cornhuskers football team.... • Lincoln, Nebraska Lincoln, Nebraska The City of Lincoln is the capital and the second-most populous city of the US state of Nebraska. Lincoln is also the county seat of Lancaster County and the home of the University of Nebraska. Lincoln's 2010 Census population was 258,379.... |
W 34-0 | 28,000 | ||
| October 10* | at Minnesota | Memorial Stadium Memorial Stadium (University of Minnesota) Memorial Stadium, also known as the "Brick House," was an outdoor athletic stadium on the campus of the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. It was the home of the Minnesota Golden Gophers football team for 58 seasons, from 1924 until 1981. Before moving to Memorial Stadium in 1924, the Gophers... • Minneapolis, Minnesota |
L 0-7 | 53,000 | |
| October 17* | Memorial Stadium • Lincoln, Nebraska | W 13-9 | - | ||
| October 24 | at Oklahoma | #15 | Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium The Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium is the on-campus football facility for the University of Oklahoma Sooners in Norman, Oklahoma. The official capacity of the stadium, following recent renovations, is 82,112, making it the 16th largest college stadium in the United States and the third... • Norman, Oklahoma Norman, Oklahoma Norman is a city in Cleveland County, Oklahoma, United States, and is located south of downtown Oklahoma City. It is part of the Oklahoma City metropolitan area. As of the 2010 census, Norman was to have 110,925 full-time residents, making it the third-largest city in Oklahoma and the... |
W 14-0 | 25,000 |
| October 31† | #11 | Memorial Stadium • Lincoln, Nebraska | W 20-0 | 27,000 | |
| November 7 | at | #8 | Memorial Stadium • Lawrence, Kansas Lawrence, Kansas Lawrence is the sixth largest city in the U.S. State of Kansas and the county seat of Douglas County. Located in northeastern Kansas, Lawrence is the anchor city of the Lawrence, Kansas, Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Douglas County... |
W 26-0 | - |
| November 14* | #5 Pittsburgh 1936 Pittsburgh Panthers football team The 1936 Pittsburgh Panthers football team represented the University of Pittsburgh in the 1936 college football season. The Panthers won the Rose Bowl and received a share of the National Championship... |
#6 | Memorial Stadium • Lincoln, Nebraska | L 6-19 | - |
| November 21 | #13 | Memorial Stadium • Lincoln, Nebraska | W 40-0 | 26,000 | |
| November 28* | at | #10 | Multnomah Stadium PGE Park Jeld-Wen Field is an outdoor sports stadium located in Portland, Oregon, United States that is used primarily for soccer and American football... • Portland, Oregon Portland, Oregon Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States... |
W 32-14 | - |
| *Non-Conference Game †Homecoming #Rankings from AP | |||||
Roster
Amen, Paul #33 E Andreson, William #32 QB Andrews, Harris #21 HB Ball, Arthur #20 HB Baumann, Paul #39 G Belders, George #41 T Boschult, Rolyne #48 T Brock, Charles #47 C Callihan, William #34 FB Cardwell, Lloyd #24 HB Dohrmann, Elmer #36 E Douglas, Ronald #25 FB Doyle, Theodore #43 T Ellis, John #49 T English, Lowell #30 G Fischer, Richard #60 HB Francis, Sam Sam Francis (American football) -Sources:* Lyons, Robert S. . On Any Given Sunday, A Life of Bert Bell. Philadelphia: Temple University Press. ISBN 978-1-59213-731-2-External links:*... #38 FB Franks, Perry #28 G Grimm, Lloyd #44 E Herrmann, William #29 G Hoffman, Hugo #22 HB |
Howell, John #13 QB Hutcherson, James #40 T McDonald, Lester #35 E McGinnis, Kenneth #37 G Mehring, Robert #11 C Mercier, John #26 E Mills, Robert #46 T Peters, Gus #42 G Phelps, Thurston #17 QB Plock, Marvin #15 HB Ramey, Robert #16 C Ray, Robert #10 C Richardson, John #31 E Sauer, Ed #23 G Seeman, George #14 G Shindo, Kenneth #39 E Shirey, Fred Fred Shirey Charles Frederick Shirey was a professional American football player for the Cleveland Rams and the Green Bay Packers. He was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the 5th round of the 1938 NFL Draft. He attended Washington & Jefferson College and University of Nebraska. He was a native of... #45 T Smith, Bernard #18 E White, Ernest #19 QB Yelkin, Virgil #12 E |
|||||
Coaching staff
| Name | Title | First year in this position |
Years at Nebraska | Alma Mater |
| Dana X. Bible Dana X. Bible Dana Xenophon Bible was an American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Mississippi College , Louisiana State University , Texas A&M University , the University of Nebraska , and the University of Texas... |
|Head Coach | 1929 | 1929–1936 | Carson-Newman Carson-Newman College Carson–Newman College is a historically Baptist liberal arts college located in Jefferson City, Tennessee, United States. Enrollment as of 2006-2007 was about 2,050. The college's students come from 44 U.S. states and 30 other countries. Studies are offered in approximately 90 different academic... |
| Henry Schulte Henry Schulte Henry Frank Schulte was an American football player and coach and also a college track and field coach... |
|Lineman Coach | 1931 | 1919–1924, 1931–1937 | Michigan University of Michigan The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan... |
| Ed Weir Ed Weir Samuel Edwin Weir was an American collegiate and professional football player.He was the first Nebraska Cornhusker football player elected to the College Football Hall of Fame and is known as one of Nebraska's greatest athletes... |
|Freshmen Coach | 1929 | 1926, 1929–1937, 1943 | Nebraska |
| W. Harold Browne | |Assistant Coach | 1930 | 1930–1940 | |
| Roy Lyman | | | 1936 | 1936–1941 | |
| Harold Petz | | | 1936 | 1936, 1938–1940 | |
| John Williams | | | 1936 | 1936 | |
| Cornell | |Trainer | 1936 | 1936 |
Iowa State
|
Nebraska began 1936 in fine form, easily running all over the field and taking apart Iowa State in Lincoln. Many big plays marked the game, including a 97-yard kickoff return as Nebraska ran off 34 unanswered points in the shutout victory. The final score was punched in by the reserves, and Nebraska extended their longest ever winning streak over any team to 14 straight, advancing the series to 26-4-1 against the Cyclones all time.
Minnesota
|
Nebraska traveled to Minneapolis for the latest installment of their bitter series with Minnesota, and gave the Golden Gophers all they could handle. The Huskers at one point advanced as close as Minnesota's 14-yard line before being turned away scoreless. Nebraska also held strong in two goal line stands that each ended in interceptions. With just a minute to play and a scoreless tie still on the board, Nebraska was forced to punt. The returner tossed an unexpected lateral to another Gopher player, a move that caused just enough confusion to allow the carrier to run untouched 75 yards for the game winning touchdown. Nebraska was forced to go home in disappointment yet again, with four straight losses to Minnesota and just a 2-14-2 record against them to date. Minnesota went on to finish 7-1-0, with a #1 national ranking in the first season that teams were ranked by the AP Poll
AP Poll
The Associated Press College Poll refers to weekly rankings of the top 25 NCAA teams in one of three Division I college sports: football, men's basketball and women's basketball. The rankings are compiled by polling sportswriters across the nation...
.
Indiana
This was the first meeting of Indiana and Nebraska, bringing an element of the unknown to the contest. The Hoosiers struck first and managed to shut out the Huskers for the first half, leading 9-0. Following the break, Bible's squad figured out the attack and the defense to turn the tide, running off 13 third quarter points to take the lead, and then held fast for the win. When the AP Poll was released, Nebraska appeared at #15.Oklahoma
|
Nebraska met Oklahoma in Norman, in front of the largest ever Owen Field audience to date, as Oklahoma was considered one of the main obstacles between the Cornhuskers and another league championship. Nebraska stopped the only serious Sooner threat with an interception while also going up 14-0 before the half. The teams then fought to a standstill for the rest of the game, earning the Cornhuskers their second shutout victory of the season. Nebraska enjoyed their 6th straight win over Oklahoma while advancing the series to 12-2-2. Victory moved the Cornhuskers up to #11 in the AP Poll.
Missouri
|
The most-discussed play of this game took place when a Nebraska lineman broke through Missouri's front to intercept a shovel pass. Quickly tackled, the ball ended up in the hands of a Nebraska end who scampered 40 yards for a touchdown. Nebraska contended that their man fumbled the ball while being tackled, while Missouri claimed that the ball had been intentionally passed to the scoring player. In the end, the call didn't matter, as the Tigers were never able to get on the scoreboard while the Cornhuskers made two other uncontested touchdowns that would have resulted in the same outcome. The Missouri-Nebraska Bell remained in Lincoln as the Tigers failed to win in their last nine tries, falling to 6-21-3 against the Cornhuskers. Nebraska's third win in a row moved them up to #8 in the AP Poll.
Kansas
|
With eyes on the continuation of their bitter rivalry with Pittsburgh, coach Bible pulled his starters after just one quarter in Lawrence. The entire Cornhusker roster found playing time in this contest as Kansas rolled over with almost no resistance in front of the smallest crowd Nebraska would play in front of all season. By the time the clock expired on the punishment, Kansas remained scoreless to become Nebraska's third shutout victim of the year. Nebraska's all-time longest winning streak against any single team was extended to 13 games, and their record over Kansas was improved to 32-9-2. Again, the Cornhuskers went up in the AP Poll, to #6.
Pittsburgh
|
Nebraska had rested its starters with eyes on this game, and gave the visiting Panthers a hard battle. With the game tied at 6-6, hopes were high that the Huskers might yet pull off their first victory since 1921, but the momentum turned against Nebraska when Pittsburgh managed to punch one in. The collapse was complete when Pitt recovered a fumble and converted it into another score in short order. Nebraska had so far dropped four straight games to Pitt, and also remained winless in the last ten attempts, falling to 1-7-3 all time as they tumbled to #13 in the AP Poll. Pittsburgh went on to finish 7-1-1, with a #3 national ranking in the first season that teams were ranked by the AP Poll
AP Poll
The Associated Press College Poll refers to weekly rankings of the top 25 NCAA teams in one of three Division I college sports: football, men's basketball and women's basketball. The rankings are compiled by polling sportswriters across the nation...
.
Kansas State
|
Stinging over yet another loss to Pittsburgh the week before, the Cornhuskers came out with a vengeance against the Kansas State squad. The Wildcats had been viable opponents in recent years and kept the Nebraska squad winless in the last two meetings, but found themselves with no points and two touchdowns behind at the half. The Huskers went on to roll over Kansas State in the second half, tallying 40 points in the fifth shutout win of the season, locking up another Big 6 title. Kansas State fell to 2-17-2 against the Cornhuskers. Nebraska recovered three spots in the Poll by moving up to #10.
Oregon State
|
The Cornhuskers set the tone for how they intended to end the season very early, by scoring inside the first three minutes. Both teams traded possessions and collected points to set up a 32-14 Husker advantage by halftime. After the break, both teams were successful in stopping each other from making progress, which resulted in the halftime score carrying through to the finish, Nebraska head coach Bible's 50th win with the Cornhuskers. The Cornhusker domination of the Beavers was extended to 5-0-0. The end of season Nebraska win was good enough to move the team up to #9 in the final AP Poll.
After the season
Coach Bible easily pulled in his sixth league title, the program's seventh in the last nine seasons, and led Nebraska to appear in the AP poll's first ever postseason rankings at #9. However, Bible would announce shortly thereafter his departure from Nebraska to take the head coaching position at TexasTexas Longhorns football
The Texas Longhorns football program is the intercollegiate football team representing The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas. The team currently competes in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision as a member of the Big 12 Conference which is a Division I Bowl Subdivision of the National...
, where he would spend his final ten seasons as a head coach and bring Texas three conference titles. Coach Bible's time at Nebraska was among the most successful in program history up to that point, as his Cornhusker record stood at 50–15–7 (.743). The program's overall record after 1936 was 270-89-27 (.743) and the league performance was now 87-11-9 (.855). Coach Bible assisted in the coaching search for his replacement, and in short order Lawrence Mcceney "Biff" Jones was named as his successor, taking the reins of the program before the 1937 spring training got underway.
Awards
| Award | Name(s) |
|---|---|
| All American | Sam Francis Sam Francis (American football) -Sources:* Lyons, Robert S. . On Any Given Sunday, A Life of Bert Bell. Philadelphia: Temple University Press. ISBN 978-1-59213-731-2-External links:*... |
| All Big 6 team | Charles Brock, Lloyd Cardwell, Ronals Douglas, Sam Francis, Lester McDonald, Kenneth McGinnis, Fred Shirey Fred Shirey Charles Frederick Shirey was a professional American football player for the Cleveland Rams and the Green Bay Packers. He was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the 5th round of the 1938 NFL Draft. He attended Washington & Jefferson College and University of Nebraska. He was a native of... |