1953 California Golden Bears football team

1953 California Golden Bears football
Conference	Pacific Coast Conference
Record	4–4–2 (2–2–2 PCC)
Head coach	Pappy Waldorf (7th season)
Home stadium	California Memorial Stadium
Seasons ←  1952 1954  →

1953 Pacific Coast Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 5 UCLA $	6	–	1	–	0			8	–	2	–	0
No. 19 Stanford	5	–	1	–	1			6	–	3	–	1
USC	4	–	2	–	1			6	–	3	–	1
California	2	–	2	–	2			4	–	4	–	2
Washington State	3	–	4	–	0			4	–	6	–	0
Oregon State	3	–	5	–	0			3	–	6	–	0
Washington	2	–	4	–	1			3	–	6	–	1
Oregon	2	–	5	–	1			4	–	5	–	1
Idaho	0	–	3	–	0			1	–	8	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 1953 California Golden Bears football team was an American football team that represented the University of California, Berkeley in the Pacific Coast Conference (PCC) during the 1953 college football season. Under seventh-year head coach Pappy Waldorf, the Golden Bears compiled an overall record of 4–4–2 (2–2–2 in PCC, fourth). ^{[1] [2]} Home games were played on campus at California Memorial Stadium in Berkeley, California.

The 1953 season is partially associated with a recruiting scandal involving star freshman quarterback Ronnie Knox. In order to have Knox enroll at the university, the California football booster club promised him that Knox's step father to be hired as a scout, his high school coach would be hired as an assistant coach, and that Knox himself would be given a job writing for a local newspaper and also be paid $500 per year by the booster club. ^[3] Knox enrolled at Cal but California's administration found out and made sure that the benefits would not be provided. After one year at Cal, Knox transferred to University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). ^[3]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 19	No. 20 Baylor *	No. 14	California Memorial Stadium Berkeley, CA	L 0–25	34,000	[4]
September 26	at Oregon State	No. 14	Multnomah Stadium Portland, OR	W 26–0	13,442
October 3	No. 6 Ohio State *		California Memorial Stadium Berkeley, CA	L 19–33	47,000
October 10	at No. 20 Penn *		Franklin Field Philadelphia, PA	W 40–0	52,000	[5]
October 17	San Jose State *	No. 16	California Memorial Stadium Berkeley, CA	W 34–14	39,000
October 24	No. 11 USC		California Memorial Stadium Berkeley, CA	L 20–32	78,000
October 31	at No. 10 UCLA		Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA (rivalry)	L 7–20	70,037
November 7	Washington		California Memorial Stadium Berkeley, CA	W 53–25	36,000
November 14	Oregon		California Memorial Stadium Berkeley, CA	T 0–0	24,000
November 21	at No. 16 Stanford		Stanford Stadium Stanford, CA (Big Game)	T 21–21	91,500
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

^{[6] [7]}

References

1. "1953 California Golden Bears Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 21, 2016.
2. "California 2015 Football Information Guide" (PDF). CalBears.com. Cal Golden Bears Athletics. p. 164. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 26, 2016. Retrieved October 21, 2016.
3. Kranz, Nick (May 19, 2010). "The Sordid Tale of Ronnie Knox and the Dissolution of the PCC". California Golden Blogs. Archived from the original on May 21, 2010. Retrieved June 28, 2016.
4. "Baylor crushes California, 25–0". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. September 20, 1953. Retrieved March 20, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
5. Sullivan, Prescott (October 11, 1953). "Larson, Marks Pace Cal Landslide". San Francisco Examiner . San Francisco, Calif. p. 40 – via Newspapers.com.
6. "1953-54 California Golden Bears; Schedule/Results". National Collegiate Athletic Association . Retrieved May 28, 2025.
7. 2015 Football Information Guide (PDF). Cal Athletics. 2015. p. 164. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 26, 2016.