1952 Big Ten Conference football season

August 2023 1952 Big Ten Conference football season American football 9 Bernie Flowers Wisconsin, Purdue Co-champions Paul Giel Football 1951 1953 The 1952 Big Ten Conference football season was the 57th season of college football played by the member schools of the Big Ten Conference (also known as the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) and was a part of the 1952 college football season. The 1952 Wisconsin Badgers football team, under head coach Ivy Williamson, compiled a 6–3–1 record, tied for the Big Ten championship, was ranked No. 10 in the final UP poll and No. 11 in the final AP poll, and lost to USC in the 1953 Rose Bowl. Tackle Dave Suminski was the team's only first-team All-American and was selected as the team's most valuable player. Sophomore Alan Ameche was a first-team All-Big Ten player, set a Wisconsin record with 946 rushing yards, and went on to win the 1954 Heisman Trophy. The 1952 Purdue Boilermakers football team, under head coach Stu Holcomb, was the Big Ten co-champion and ranked No. 12 in the final UP poll and No. 18 in the final AP poll. Purdue end Bernie Flowers was the Big Ten's only consensus first-team All-American in 1952 and was the first Big Ten player selected in the 1953 NFL draft. Dale Samuels was the first Purdue quarterback to pass for over 1,000 yards in a season. The conference's statistical leaders included Illinois quarterback Tommy O'Connell with 1,761 passing yards and 1,724 yards of total offense,Needs Last Fling The Kansas City Times November 26, 1952 17 https://www.newspapers.com/clip/8786953/needs_last_fling/ Alan Ameche with 946 rushing yards, and Indiana's Gene Gedman with 54 points scored.Gedman Chosen Most Valuable at Indiana Muncie Evening Press November 26, 1952 9 https://www.newspapers.com/clip/8786990/gedman_chosen_most_valuable_at_indiana/ Season overview Results and team statistics Conf. RankTeamHead coachAP finalAP highOverall recordConf. recordPPGPAGMVP1 (tie)WisconsinIvy Williamson#11#16–3–14–1–122.815.0Dave Suminski1 (tie)PurdueStu Holcomb#18#84–3–24–1–120.916.8Earl Heninger3Ohio StateWoody Hayes#17#146–35–221.913.2Fred Bruney4MichiganBennie OosterbaanNR#125–44–223.014.9Ted Topor5MinnesotaWes FeslerNRNR4–3–23–1–214.619.0Paul Giel6IllinoisRay EliotNR#24–52–521.619.4Al Brosky7 (tie)NorthwesternBob VoigtsNRNR2-6-12-518.428.0Chuck Hren7 (tie)IowaForest EvashevskiNRNR2–72–513.424.4Bill Fenton9IndianaBernie CrimminsNRNR2–71–515.924.9Gene Gedman Key AP final = Team's rank in the final AP Poll of the 1952 season AP high = Team's highest rank in the AP Poll throughout the 1952 season PPG = Average of points scored per game; conference leader's average displayed in bold PAG = Average of points allowed per game; conference leader's average displayed in bold1952 Big Ten Conference Year Summary Sports Reference LLC SR/College Football January 26, 2017 https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/conferences/big-ten/1952.htmlFebruary 2021 InternetArchiveBot yes 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; trophy winner in boldPaul Giel Voted Big 10's Most Valuable: Gophers' Back Gets 14 First Place Ballots Chicago Tribune Wilfrid Smith December 14, 1952 2-1 https://www.newspapers.com/clip/8785758/paul_giel_voted_big_10s_most_valuable/ Preseason Regular season September 27 Wisconsin 42, Marquette 19. Ohio State 33, Indiana 13. Purdue 20, Penn State 20. Michigan State 27, Michigan 13. October 4 Wisconsin 20, Illinois 6. Purdue 21, Ohio State 14. Stanford 14, Michigan 7. October 11 Ohio State 23, Wisconsin 14. Purdue 41, Iowa 14. Michigan 28, Indiana 13. October 18 Wisconsin 42, Iowa 13. Ohio State 35, Washington State 7. Notre Dame 26, Purdue 14. Michigan 48, Northwestern 14. October 25 UCLA 20, Wisconsin 7. Iowa 8, Ohio State 0. Purdue 40, Illinois 12. Michigan 21, Minnesota 0. November 1 Wisconsin 21, Rice 7. Ohio State 24, Northwestern 21. Michigan State 14, Purdue 7. Illinois 22, Michigan 13. November 8 Wisconsin 24, Northwestern 20. Pittsburgh 21, Ohio State 14. Minnesota 14, Purdue 14. Michigan 49, Cornell 7. November 15 Wisconsin 37, Indiana 14. Ohio State 27, Illinois 7. Michigan 21, Purdue 10. November 22 Minnesota 21, Wisconsin 21. Ohio State 27, Michigan 7. Purdue 21, Indiana 16. Bowl games 1953 Rose Bowl Post-season developments Awards and honors All-Big Ten honors the complete All-Big Ten selections 1952 All-Big Ten Conference football team The following players were picked by the Associated Press (AP)as first-team players on the 1952 All-Big Ten Conference football team. The AP picked separate offensive and defensive units, whereas the UP selected a single, eleven man unit. AP offense and UP overall selections PositionNameTeamSelectorsBackAlan AmecheWisconsinAP, UPBackPaul GielMinnesotaAP, UPBackTommy O'ConnellIllinoisAP, UPBackGeorge GedmanIndianaAPBackTed KressMichiganUPEndJoe CollierNorthwesternAP, UPEndBernard FlowersPurdueAP, UPTackleRoger ZatkoffMichiganAP [linebacker], UP [tackle]TackleGeorge JacobyOhio StateAPTackleDavid SuminskiWisconsinAPTackleRay HuizingaNorthwesternUPGuardBob KennedyWisconsinAP [defensive guard], UP [guard]GuardJames ReichenbachOhio StateAPGuardRobert TimmMichiganAPGuardGeorge O'BrienWisconsinUPCenterWalter CudzikPurdueAPCenterDick O'ShaughnessyMichiganUP AP defensive unit PositionNameTeamSelectorsDefensive endBill FentonIowaAPDefensive endFrank WodziakIllinoisAPDefensive tackleFred PreziosioPurdueAPDefensive tackleArt WalkerMichiganAPDefensive guardBob KennedyWisconsinAP [defensive guard], UP [guard]Defensive guardPercy ZacharyMinnesotaAPLinebackerRoger ZatkoffMichiganAP [linebacker], UP [tackle]LinebackerTony CurcilloOhio StateAPDefensive backFred BruneyOhio StateAPDefensive backRobert McNamaraMinnesotaAPSafetyAl BroskyIllinoisAP All-American honors the complete All-America selections 1952 College Football All-America Team At the end of the 1952 season, only one Big Ten player secured a consensus first-team pick on the 1952 College Football All-America Team.2014 NCAA Football Records: Consensus All-America Selections National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) 2014 February 4, 2017 5–6 http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/football_records/2014/Awards.pdf December 22, 2014 https://web.archive.org/web/20141222163944/http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/football_records/2014/Awards.pdf dead The Big Ten's consensus All-Americans were: PositionNameTeamSelectorsEndBernie FlowersPurdueAAB, FWAA, NEA, TSN, UP, WCFF Other Big Ten players who were named first-team All-Americans by at least one selector were: PositionNameTeamSelectorsEndJoe CollierNorthwesternINSTackleDave SuminskiWisconsinAPGuardMike TakacsOhio StateINSBackPaul GielMinnesotaAP, FWAABackLowell PerryMichiganNEA Other awards Minnesota running back Paul Giel finished third in the voting for the 1952 Heisman Trophy.1952 Heisman Trophy Voting Sports Reference LLC SR/College Football February 4, 2017 https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/awards/heisman-1952.html 1953 NFL draft The following Big Ten players were among the first 100 picks in the 1953 NFL draft:1953 NFL Draft: Full Draft National Football League NFL.com February 4, 2017 http://www.nfl.com/draft/history/fulldraft?season=1953 NamePositionTeamRoundOverall pickBernie FlowersEndPurdue214Gene GedmanBackIndiana225Dale SamuelsQuarterbackPurdue328Fred BruneyBackOhio State335Roger ZatkoffTackleMichigan555Rex SmithEndIllinois561Tony CurcilloBackOhio State663Bob KennedyGuardWisconsin667Lowell PerryEndMichigan890 References