1952 Big Ten Conference football season

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.

1952 Big Ten Conference football season
SportAmerican football
Number of teams9
Top draft pickBernie Flowers
Co-championsWisconsin, Purdue
Season MVPPaul Giel
Football seasons
← 1951
1953 →
1952 Big Ten Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 11 Wisconsin + 4 1 1 6 3 1
No. 18 Purdue + 4 1 1 4 3 2
No. 17 Ohio State 5 2 0 6 3 0
Michigan 4 2 0 5 4 0
Minnesota 3 1 2 4 3 2
Illinois 2 5 0 4 5 0
Northwestern 2 5 0 2 6 1
Iowa 2 5 0 2 7 0
Indiana 1 5 0 2 7 0
  • + – Conference co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll

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,[1] Alan Ameche with 946 rushing yards,[1] and Indiana's Gene Gedman with 54 points scored.[2]

Season overview

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Results and team statistics

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Conf. Rank Team Head coach AP final AP high Overall record Conf. record PPG PAG MVP
1 (tie) Wisconsin Ivy Williamson #11 #1 6–3–1 4–1–1 22.8 15.0 Dave Suminski
1 (tie) Purdue Stu Holcomb #18 #8 4–3–2 4–1–1 20.9 16.8 Earl Heninger
3 Ohio State Woody Hayes #17 #14 6–3 5–2 21.9 13.2 Fred Bruney
4 Michigan Bennie Oosterbaan NR #12 5–4 4–2 23.0 14.9 Ted Topor
5 Minnesota Wes Fesler NR NR 4–3–2 3–1–2 14.6 19.0 Paul Giel
6 Illinois Ray Eliot NR #2 4–5 2–5 21.6 19.4 Al Brosky
7 (tie) Northwestern Bob Voigts NR NR 2-6-1 2-5 18.4 28.0 Chuck Hren
7 (tie) Iowa Forest Evashevski NR NR 2–7 2–5 13.4 24.4 Bill Fenton
9 Indiana Bernie Crimmins NR NR 2–7 1–5 15.9 24.9 Gene Gedman

Key
AP final = Team's rank in the final AP Poll of the 1952 season[3]
AP high = Team's highest rank in the AP Poll throughout the 1952 season[3]
PPG = Average of points scored per game; conference leader's average displayed in bold[3]
PAG = Average of points allowed per game; conference leader's average displayed in bold[3]
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 bold[4]

Preseason

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Regular season

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September 27

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  • Wisconsin 42, Marquette 19.
  • Ohio State 33, Indiana 13.
  • Purdue 20, Penn State 20.
  • Michigan State 27, Michigan 13.

October 4

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  • Wisconsin 20, Illinois 6.
  • Purdue 21, Ohio State 14.
  • Stanford 14, Michigan 7.

October 11

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  • Ohio State 23, Wisconsin 14.
  • Purdue 41, Iowa 14.
  • Michigan 28, Indiana 13.

October 18

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  • Wisconsin 42, Iowa 13.
  • Ohio State 35, Washington State 7.
  • Notre Dame 26, Purdue 14.
  • Michigan 48, Northwestern 14.

October 25

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  • UCLA 20, Wisconsin 7.
  • Iowa 8, Ohio State 0.
  • Purdue 40, Illinois 12.
  • Michigan 21, Minnesota 0.

November 1

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  • Wisconsin 21, Rice 7.
  • Ohio State 24, Northwestern 21.
  • Michigan State 14, Purdue 7.
  • Illinois 22, Michigan 13.

November 8

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  • Wisconsin 24, Northwestern 20.
  • Pittsburgh 21, Ohio State 14.
  • Minnesota 14, Purdue 14.
  • Michigan 49, Cornell 7.

November 15

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  • Wisconsin 37, Indiana 14.
  • Ohio State 27, Illinois 7.
  • Michigan 21, Purdue 10.

November 22

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  • Minnesota 21, Wisconsin 21.
  • Ohio State 27, Michigan 7.
  • Purdue 21, Indiana 16.

Bowl games

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Post-season developments

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Awards and honors

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All-Big Ten honors

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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

Position Name Team Selectors
Back Alan Ameche Wisconsin AP, UP
Back Paul Giel Minnesota AP, UP
Back Tommy O'Connell Illinois AP, UP
Back George Gedman Indiana AP
Back Ted Kress Michigan UP
End Joe Collier Northwestern AP, UP
End Bernard Flowers Purdue AP, UP
Tackle Roger Zatkoff Michigan AP [linebacker], UP [tackle]
Tackle George Jacoby Ohio State AP
Tackle David Suminski Wisconsin AP
Tackle Ray Huizinga Northwestern UP
Guard Bob Kennedy Wisconsin AP [defensive guard], UP [guard]
Guard James Reichenbach Ohio State AP
Guard Robert Timm Michigan AP
Guard George O'Brien Wisconsin UP
Center Walter Cudzik Purdue AP
Center Dick O'Shaughnessy Michigan UP

AP defensive unit

Position Name Team Selectors
Defensive end Bill Fenton Iowa AP
Defensive end Frank Wodziak Illinois AP
Defensive tackle Fred Preziosio Purdue AP
Defensive tackle Art Walker Michigan AP
Defensive guard Bob Kennedy Wisconsin AP [defensive guard], UP [guard]
Defensive guard Percy Zachary Minnesota AP
Linebacker Roger Zatkoff Michigan AP [linebacker], UP [tackle]
Linebacker Tony Curcillo Ohio State AP
Defensive back Fred Bruney Ohio State AP
Defensive back Robert McNamara Minnesota AP
Safety Al Brosky Illinois AP

All-American honors

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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.[5] The Big Ten's consensus All-Americans were:

Position Name Team Selectors
End Bernie Flowers Purdue AAB, FWAA, NEA, TSN, UP, WCFF

Other Big Ten players who were named first-team All-Americans by at least one selector were:

Position Name Team Selectors
End Joe Collier Northwestern INS
Tackle Dave Suminski Wisconsin AP
Guard Mike Takacs Ohio State INS
Back Paul Giel Minnesota AP, FWAA
Back Lowell Perry Michigan NEA

Other awards

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Minnesota running back Paul Giel finished third in the voting for the 1952 Heisman Trophy.[6]

1953 NFL Draft

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The following Big Ten players were among the first 100 picks in the 1953 NFL draft:[7]

Name Position Team Round Overall pick
Bernie Flowers End Purdue 2 14
Gene Gedman Back Indiana 2 25
Dale Samuels Quarterback Purdue 3 28
Fred Bruney Back Ohio State 3 35
Roger Zatkoff Tackle Michigan 5 55
Rex Smith End Illinois 5 61
Tony Curcillo Back Ohio State 6 63
Bob Kennedy Guard Wisconsin 6 67
Lowell Perry End Michigan 8 90

References

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  1. ^ a b "Needs Last Fling". The Kansas City Times. November 26, 1952. p. 17.
  2. ^ "Gedman Chosen Most Valuable at Indiana". Muncie Evening Press. November 26, 1952. p. 9.
  3. ^ a b c d "1952 Big Ten Conference Year Summary". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved January 26, 2017.[permanent dead link]
  4. ^ Wilfrid Smith (December 14, 1952). "Paul Giel Voted Big 10's Most Valuable: Gophers' Back Gets 14 First Place Ballots". Chicago Tribune. p. 2-1.
  5. ^ "2014 NCAA Football Records: Consensus All-America Selections" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). 2014. pp. 5–6. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 22, 2014. Retrieved February 4, 2017.
  6. ^ "1952 Heisman Trophy Voting". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 4, 2017.
  7. ^ "1953 NFL Draft: Full Draft". NFL.com. National Football League. Retrieved February 4, 2017.