1937 Big Ten Conference football season
SportFootball
Number of teams10
Top draft pickCorbett Davis
ChampionMinnesota
  Runners-upOhio State
Season MVPCorbett Davis
1937 Big Ten Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 5 Minnesota $ 5 –0 –06 –2 –0
No. 13 Ohio State 5 –1 –06 –2 –0
Indiana 3 –2 –05 –3 –0
Michigan 3 –3 –04 –4 –0
Northwestern 3 –3 –04 –4 –0
Purdue 2 –2 –14 –3 –1
Wisconsin 2 –2 –14 –3 –1
Illinois 2 –3 –03 –3 –2
Chicago 0 –4 –01 –6 –0
Iowa 0 –5 –01 –7 –0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1937 Big Ten Conference football season was the 42nd season of college football played by the member schools of the Big Ten Conference (also known as the Western Conference) and was a part of the 1937 college football season.

The 1937 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team, under head coach Bernie Bierman, won the Big Ten championship, led the conference in scoring offense (23.0 points per game), compiled a 6–2 record, and was ranked No. 5 in the final AP poll. End Ray King was named a first-team All-American by two selectors, and fullback Andy Uram was received first-team honors from the Associated Press. Halfback Rudy Gmitro was awarded the team's most valuable player award.

The 1937 Ohio State Buckeyes football team, under head coach Francis Schmidt finished in second place with a 6–2 record, shut out six of eight opponents, led the Big Ten in scoring defense (2.9 points allowed per game), and was ranked No. 8 in the final AP poll. Guard Gust Zarnas was selected as a first-team All-American by three selectors. Back Jim McDonald was the second player selected in the 1938 NFL draft.

Corbett Davis of Indiana won the Chicago Tribune Silver Football trophy as the Big Ten's most valuable player. He was also the first player selected in the 1938 NFL draft.

Season overview

Results and team statistics

Conf. Rank Team Head coach AP final AP high Overall record Conf. record PPG PAG MVP
1MinnesotaBernie Bierman#5#46-25-023.06.3Rudy Gmitro
2Ohio StateFrancis Schmidt#13#86–25–115.62.9Ralph Wolf
3IndianaBo McMillinNR#175–33–29.04.0Corbett Davis
4 (tie)PurdueMal ElwardNRNR4–3–12–2–110.48.6Cecil Isbell
4 (tie)WisconsinHarry StuhldreherNR#164–3–12–2–112.97.6Howard Weiss
6 (tie)MichiganHarry KipkeNRNR4–43–36.813.8Ralph Heikkinen
6 (tie)NorthwesternPappy WaldorfNR#74–43–38.55.0Don Heap
8IllinoisRobert ZuppkeNRNR3–3–22–37.45.6Jack Berner
9 (tie)ChicagoClark ShaughnessyNRNR1–60–46.420.4Kendall Peterson
9 (tie)IowaIrl TubbsNRNR1–70–54.515.0Bob Lannon

Key
PPG = Average of points scored per game[1]
PAG = Average of points allowed per game[1]
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[2]

Regular season

September 25

  • Minnesota 69, North Dakota State 7.
  • Ohio State 14, TCU 0
  • Indiana 12, Centre 0.
  • Northwestern 33, Iowa State 0.
  • Purdue 33, Butler 7.
  • Wisconsin 32, South Dakota State 0.
  • Illinois 20, Ohio 6.
  • Vanderbilt 18, Chicago 0.
  • Washington 14, Iowa 0.

October 2

  • Nebraska 14, Minnesota 9.
  • Ohio State 13, Purdue 0.
  • Michigan State 19, Michigan 14.
  • Wisconsin 12, Marquette 0.
  • Illinois 0, DePaul 0.

October 9

  • Minnesota 6, Indiana 0.
  • USC 13, Ohio State 12.
  • Northwestern 7, Michigan 0.
  • Wisconsin 27, Chicago 0.
  • Iowa 14, Bradley Tech 7.
  • Purdue 7, Carnegie Mellon 0.
  • Illinois 0, Notre Dame 0.

October 16

  • Indiana 13, Illinois 6.
  • Minnesota 39, Michigan 6.
  • Northwestern 14, Purdue 7.
  • Wisconsin 13, Iowa 6.

October 23

  • Michigan 7, Iowa 6.
  • Ohio State 7, Northwestern 0.
  • Indiana 27, Cincinnati 0.
  • Pittsburgh 21, Wisconsin 0.

October 30

  • Notre Dame 7, Minnesota 6.
  • Michigan 7, Illinois 6.
  • Northwestern 14, Wisconsin 6.
  • Ohio State 39, Chicago 0.
  • Purdue 13, Iowa 0.
  • Nebraska 7, Indiana 0.

November 6

  • Illinois 6, Northwestern 0.
  • Indiana 10, Ohio State 0.
  • Michigan 13, Chicago 12.
  • Minnesota 35, Iowa 10.
  • Fordham 21, Purdue 3.

November 13

  • Indiana 3, Iowa 0.
  • Minnesota 7, Northwestern 0.
  • Ohio State 19, Illinois 0.
  • Purdue 7, Wisconsin 7.
  • Michigan 7, Penn 0.
  • Chicago 26, Beloit 9.

November 20

  • Illinois 21, Chicago 0.
  • Minnesota 13, Wisconsin 6.
  • Ohio State 21, Michigan 0.
  • Purdue 13, Indiana 7.
  • Notre Dame 7, Northwestern 0.
  • Nebraska 28, Iowa 0.

Bowl games

No Big Ten teams participated in any bowl games during the 1937 season.

All-Big Ten players

The following players were picked by the Associated Press (AP) and/or the United Press (UP) as first-team players on the 1937 All-Big Ten Conference football team.[3][4]

Position Name Team Selectors
QuarterbackJim McDonaldOhio StateAP, UP
HalfbackCecil IsbellPurdueAP
HalfbackDon HeapNorthwesternAP
HalfbackNile KinnickIowaUP
HalfbackRudy GmitroMinnesotaUP
FullbackCorbett DavisIndianaAP, UP
EndRay KingMinnesotaAP, UP
EndBob LannonIowaAP
EndJim ZacharyPurdueUP
TackleLou MidlerMinnesotaAP
TackleMarty SchreyerPurdueAP
TackleBob HaakIndianaUP
TackleCarl KaplanoffOhio StateUP
GuardFrancis TwedellMinnesotaAP, UP
GuardGust ZarnasOhio StateAP
GuardRalph HeikkinenMichiganUP
CenterRalph WolfOhio StateAP
CenterGeorge MillerIndianaUP

All-Americans

No Big Ten players were selected as consensus first-team players on the 1937 College Football All-America Team. However, three Big Ten players received first-team honors from at least one selector. They were:

Position Name Team Selectors
HalfbackCorbett DavisIndianaCP, WCFF, AAB, LIB, NANA, NW
EndRay KingMinnesotaINS, CE, WCFF, AAB, NW
GuardGust ZarnasOhio StateWCFF, AAB, NW

1938 NFL draft

The following Big Ten players were selected in the first seven rounds of the 1938 NFL draft:[5]

Name Position Team Round Overall pick
Corbett DavisBackIndiana11
Jim McDonaldBackOhio State12
Cecil IsbellBackPurdue17
Frank FilchockBackIndiana214
Marty SchreyerTacklePurdue322
Fred VanzoBackNorthwestern323
Lou MidlerTackleMinnesota534
Gust ZarnasGuardOhio State540
Andy UramBackMinnesota647
Bob LannonEndIowa752
Ray KingEndMinnesota754
Johnny KovatchEndNorthwestern757

References

  1. 1 2 "1937 Big Ten Conference Year Summary". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 7, 2017.
  2. ↑ Wilfrid Smith (December 19, 1937). "Davis Is Voted Most Valuable In Big Ten: Indiana Star Defeats Isbell by One Point; Heap Third; Gmitro Fourth". Chicago Tribune. p. 2-1.
  3. ↑ "Six Schools Get Places on Big Ten Selection". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (AP story). November 23, 1937. p. 20.
  4. ↑ "Big Ten Team Named by United Press". The San Bernardino County Sun. November 21, 1937. p. 18.
  5. ↑ "1938 NFL Draft: Full Draft". NFL.com. National Football League. Retrieved February 7, 2017.
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