American college football season
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
Date Opponent Rank Site Result Attendance Source September 25
Saint Mary's W 30–765,000
[6]
October 2
Oregon State California Memorial Stadium Berkeley, CA W 24–625,000
[7]
October 9
Washington State California Memorial Stadium Berkeley, CA W 27–040,000
[8]
October 16
Pacific (CA) California Memorial Stadium Berkeley, CA W 20–020,000
[9]
October 16
Cal Aggies California Memorial Stadium Berkeley, CA W 14–020,000
[9]
October 23 No. 11
USC No. 1 California Memorial Stadium Berkeley, CA W 20–673,000
[10]
October 30 at
UCLA No. 1 W 27–1465,000
[11]
November 6
Washington No. 1 California Memorial Stadium Berkeley, CA T 0–060,000
[12]
November 13 at
Oregon No. 2 W 26–020,000
[13]
November 20 at No. 13
Stanford No. 2 W 13–085,000
[14]
[15]
January 1, 1938 vs. No. 4
Alabama No. 2 W 13–089,650
[16]
[17]
[18]
Rankings from
AP Poll released prior to the game
Awards and honors
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
The following players were claimed in the
1938 NFL draft .
[34]
References
^
"Cal's 1937 'Thunder Team' rumbled to Roses" .
San Francisco Chronicle . November 28, 2004.
^
"1937 California Golden Bears Schedule and Results" . SR/College Football . Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved April 2, 2022 .
^
"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 .
^
"Final AP Poll Ranks Pitt at Top" . Clovis News-Journal . November 30, 1937. p. 4 – via
Newspapers.com .
^
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 .
^ 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 .
^ "Year-By-Year Results".
2017 Oregon State Football Media Guide Football (PDF) . Oregon State Athletics. p. 165.
^
'16 Cougar Football (PDF) . Washington State University Athletics. p. 81.
^
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 .
^
USC Football 2017 Media Guide (PDF) . University of Southern California Athletics. p. 70.
^ Frank Finch (October 31, 1937).
"Mighty Bears Overpower Scrappy Bruins, 27-14: Washington Proves Star" . The Los Angeles Times . pp. II-13, II-17.
^ 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 .
^ 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 .
^ Henry McLemore (November 21, 1937).
"Indians Never Had a Chance, Says M'Lemore" . Oakland Tribune . p. A9 – via
Newspapers.com .
^ Art Potter (November 21, 1937).
"Bears Crusher Blocking Sends Stanford Reeling" . Oakland Tribune . p. A9 – via
Newspapers.com .
^
"Bears beat Alabama in Bowl, 13–0" . The Los Angeles Times . January 2, 1938. Retrieved February 22, 2021 – via
Newspapers.com .
^ Henry M'Lemore (January 2, 1938).
"Golden Bears Swallow Tide" . Los Angeles Times . United Press. p. II-12 – via
Newspapers.com .
^ Grantland Rice (January 2, 1938).
"Alabama Fumbles Play Big Part in California Victory" . The Los Angeles Times . p. II-12 – via
Newspapers.com .
^
"Football Award Winners" (PDF) . National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). 2016. p. 7. Retrieved October 21, 2017 .
^
a
b Stuart Cameron (December 1, 1937). "(UP Sports Editor)". Oshkosh Daily Northwestern .
^ "INS All-American Grid Selections". Waterloo Daily Courier . December 1, 1937.
^
a
b
Harry Grayson (November 24, 1937). "Routt of Texas Aggies Places on All-America Picked by Grid Experts". Brownsville Herald .
^ Bill Braucher (December 3, 1937). "NATION'S CAPTAINS PICK CENTRAL PRESS ALL-AMERICANS". Hammond Times .
^
a
b
c ESPN College Football Encyclopedia . ESPN Books. 2005. p. 1171.
ISBN
1401337031 .
^
"Walter Camp Football Foundation" . Archived from
the original on March 30, 2009.
^ "Frank, White Unanimous Choices on Collier Team". Daily Capital News . December 10, 1937.
^
"All Pacific Coast 1937" . The Evening Record, Ellensburg, Washington . December 3, 1937. p. 8.
^
"Associated Press Selects Its All-Coast Eleven" . The Bakersfield Californian . December 2, 1937. p. 23.
^ Harold Heroux (November 23, 1937).
"Six Cal Stars On All-Coast" . The San Bernardino Daily Sun . p. 17.
^ 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.
^
"Bob Herwig" . National Football Foundation. Retrieved April 2, 2022 .
^
"Vic Bottari" . National Football Foundation. Retrieved April 2, 2022 .
^
"Sam Chapman" . National Football Foundation. Retrieved April 2, 2022 .
^
"1938 NFL Draft" . Pro-Football-Reference.com . Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved April 2, 2022 .
Venues Bowls & rivalries Culture & lore People
Seasons National championship seasons in bold
1936–1949 1950s 1960s
1960 :
Minnesota (AP, Coaches,
NFF ) /
Ole Miss (FWAA)
1961 :
Alabama (AP, Coaches, NFF) /
Ohio State (FWAA)
1962 :
USC
1963 :
Texas
1964 :
Alabama (AP, Coaches) /
Arkansas (FWAA) /
Notre Dame (NFF)
1965 :
Alabama (AP, FWAA) /
Michigan State (Coaches, FWAA, NFF)
1966 :
Notre Dame (AP, Coaches, FWAA, NFF) /
Michigan State (NFF)
1967 :
USC
1968 :
Ohio State
1969 :
Texas
1970s 1980–1991
Pacific Coast AAWU Pacific-8 Pacific-10 Pac-12 National championships in bold