THE HISTORY of SMU FOOTBALL 1910S on the Morning of Sept
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OUTLOOK PLAYERS COACHES OPPONENTS REVIEW RECORDS HISTORY MEDIA THE HISTORY OF SMU FOOTBALL 1910s On the morning of Sept. 14, 1915, coach Ray Morrison held his first practice, thus marking the birth of the SMU football program. Morrison came to the school in June of 1915 when he became the coach of the University’s football, basketball, baseball and track teams, as well as an instructor of mathematics. A former All-Southern quarterback at Vanderbilt, Morrison immediately installed the passing game at SMU. A local sportswriter nicknamed the team “the Parsons” because the squad was composed primarily of theology students. SMU was a member of the Texas Intercollegiate Athletic Association, which ruled that neither graduate nor transfer students were eligible to play. Therefore, the first SMU team consisted entirely of freshmen. The Mustangs played their first game Oct. 10, 1915, dropping a 43-0 decision to TCU in Fort Worth. SMU bounced back in its next game, its first at home, to defeat Hendrix College, 13-2. Morrison came to be known as “the father of the forward pass” because of his use of the passing game on first and second downs instead of as a last resort. • During the 1915 season, the Mustangs posted a record of 2-5 and scored just three touchdowns while giving up 131 points. SMU recorded the first shutout in school history with a 7-0 victory over Dallas University that year. • SMU finished the 1916 season 0-8-2 and suffered its worst loss ever, a 146-3 drubbing by Rice. The Mustangs were outscored, 455-27, by their opponents while managing ties against Austin College (0-0) and Southwestern (9-9). Ray Morrison left SMU following the 1916 season to work with the Army YMCA at Fort Oglethorpe, Ga., as Director of Sports and Recreation. He returned to SMU in 1920 to organize a Department of Physical Education. Ownby Stadium was built in 1926 • J. Burton Rix became the second head football coach in 1917 and guided SMU to its first winning season (3-2-3). • In 1918, SMU became a member of the Southwest Conference, joining Baylor, Rice, Texas, 1920s Texas A&M, Arkansas and Oklahoma A&M (which later became Oklahoma State). The 1920s brought the first two Southwest Conference football championships and a new Record for the decade: 14-21-6 stadium to the Hilltop. After Rix led the Ponies to a combined 4-11-3 record in the decade’s first two years, Ray Morrison returned as coach in 1922 and guided SMU to the first of 10 consecutive winning seasons. Sportswriters billed the Mustangs the “Aerial Circus,” in reference to Morrison’s passing offense. At a time when most teams threw the ball five or six times per game, SMU passed between 30 and 40 times per contest. The Mustangs recorded a perfect 9-0 mark and won the school’s first conference title one year later in 1923. In 1926, Ownby Stadium was built, named after SMU alumnus and strong supporter of athletics Jordan C. Ownby. SMU defeated North Texas State Teachers College, 42-0, Sept. 24, 1926, in the first game at Ownby. Quarterback Gerald Mann, known as “The Little Red Arrow” because of his strong, accurate passing, was a member of the first Mustang team to play in Ownby Stadium and, as part of his scholarship chores, helped plant the grass on the stadium playing field. SMU steamrolled over its first three opponents that year, shutting out North Texas State, Trinity and Centenary by a combined score of 127-0. Missouri was the only roadblock for the Mustangs in their 8-0-1 season, managing a 7-7 tie. • In 1922, end Gene Bedford and back Logan Stollenwerck were named first-team All- Southwest Conference, becoming the first Mustang players to achieve that honor. Bedford became the first player from SMU to play professionally when he played for the Rochester Jeffersons in 1925. • The Mustangs made their first bowl appearance in 1924, playing against West Virginia Wesleyan in the Dixie Classic on New Year’s Day. The game, played at Fair Park Stadium in Dallas, was the predecessor to the Cotton Bowl. WVW spoiled SMU’s 18-game unbeaten streak with a 9-7 victory. • In the spring of 1926, Morrison decided that it would be important to find a left-handed quarterback for the upcoming Southwest Conference season. Gerald Mann, who was the Mustangs’ right-handed quarterback, told Morrison that he would have his left-handed quarterback before the season began. Not eager to lose his duty as signal-caller, Mann reported to fall practice ready to throw left-handed. • Guard Choc Sanders became SMU’s first All-America player in 1928. Sanders was also the Southwest Conference's first All-America selection. Tackle Marion Hammon became the Mustangs' second All-American one year later. Record for the decade: 56-22-16 Ray Morrison was SMU's first football coach and also coached the basketball, baseball & track teams on the Hilltop 2016 SMU FOOTBALL n PAGE 125 2016 SMU FOOTBALL n PAGE 125 OUTLOOK PLAYERS COACHES OPPONENTS REVIEW RECORDS HISTORY MEDIA • Prior to becoming the head coach at SMU in 1935, Matty Bell served as the head coach at TCU (1923-1928) and Texas A&M (1929-33). Bell arrived at SMU in 1934 and served one season as the line coach. • Three SMU players earned All-America status in 1935: tackle Truman Spain, guard J.C. Wetsel and back Bobby Wilson. Wilson, who scored all three Mustang touchdowns in the dramatic 20-14 win over TCU, went on to play one year of pro football for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1936. • SMU won its third Southwest Conference championship in 1931 after finishing the season with a 9-1-1 mark. The Mustangs struggled the next two seasons, posting a 3-7-2 record in 1932 and a 4-7-1 record in 1933. • Harry Shuford was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in 1936 and, despite the team’s efforts to sign him to a contract, opted to attend law school at SMU. Shuford overcame the prevailing thought that a football player could not succeed in law school and finished first in his class in 1939. Record for the decade: 64-38-9 1940s SMU and Stanford fans packed the 1936 Rose Bowl While the 1930s established SMU’s position on the national football map, the 1940s ensured its permanent inclusion. A conference co-championship in 1940 served as a solid beginning 1930s to the new decade, but was followed by six consecutive losing seasons from 1941 through 1946. World War II resulted in the loss of Bell for three years (1942-45) when he left the The Mustang football program continued its rapid ascent to national prominence during the Hilltop to join the Navy reserves. Bell returned to SMU in 1945 and took on an additional role 1930s. SMU won its first national championship in 1935 after posting a 12-win season under as the University’s athletic director. The 1947 season brought new hope and the emergence the guidance of first-year head coach Matty Bell. Known as a player’s coach, Bell brought of a legend in Doak Walker. The only three-time All-American in SMU history, Walker led the discipline to his team, and he spent time listening and talking to his players. Fullback Harry Mustangs to consecutive Southwest Conference championships in 1947 and 1948. Over Shuford and tackle Truman “Big Dog” Spain were two prominent players on the national the course of his career at SMU, Walker rushed for 1,954 yards, passed for 1,638 yards, championship team. A tri-captain, Shuford was the Mustangs’ best running back during the scored 288 points, punted for a 39.4 average, and kicked field goals and extra points. He 1935 season, but injury forced him to miss the season’s most critical contest. is also the Mustangs’ all-time leader in punt return yards with 750. Walker’s exploits earned The Mustangs, ranked No. 1 in the country, played second-ranked TCU and its star him the Heisman Trophy in 1948 and led to his number, 37, being retired at SMU. Led by quarterback, Sammy Baugh, for the unofficial national championship and the right to play in Walker, Kyle Rote, Dick McKissack and Paul Page, the Mustang backfield combined hard the Rose Bowl Jan. 1, 1936, against Stanford. Bobby Wilson scored two touchdowns to give running with tricky reverse and gadget plays to wreak havoc on opposing defenses in the SMU a 14-0 lead before Baugh rallied the Horned Frogs to a 14-14 tie. Early in the fourth latter part of the decade. quarter, Bob Finley connected on a long pass to Wilson after the Mustangs faced a fourth • Walker was a high school teammate of Bobby Layne at Highland Park High School in Dallas. down at the TCU 39. Wilson caught the ball at the five and rolled into the end zone as the The two were matched against each other in Walker’s first collegiate game in 1945 when Mustangs held on to win, 20-14, and earned a trip to the Rose Bowl. Despite entering the Layne was the quarterback at Texas. Although UT won the game, 12-7, Walker scored the game as heavy favorites, the Ponies were upset by Stanford, 7-0, with Cardinal quarterback Mustangs’ only touchdown and kicked the extra point. Walker and Layne were reunited Bill Paulman scoring the game’s only touchdown on a first-quarter run.