1953 San Jose State Spartans football team

1953 San Jose State Spartans football
Conference	Independent
Record	4–4–1
Head coach	Bob Bronzan (4th season)
Home stadium	Spartan Stadium
Seasons ←  1952 1954  →

1953 Western college football independents records

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
Pacific (CA)			–					4	–	4	–	2
San Jose State			–					4	–	4	–	1
Hawaii			–					5	–	6	–	0
Nevada			–					2	–	3	–	0
La Verne			–					3	–	7	–	0
Cal Poly San Dimas			–					2	–	6	–	0

The 1953 San Jose State Spartans football team represented San Jose State College ^{[note 1]} during the 1953 college football season.

San Jose State played as an Independent in 1953. The team was led by fourth-year head coach Bob Bronzan, and played home games at Spartan Stadium in San Jose, California. They finished the season with a record of four wins, four losses and one tie. Overall, the team was outscored by its opponents 156–220 for the season.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 18	7:00 p.m.	Idaho	Spartan Stadium San Jose, CA	W 34–6	8,500–12,000	[1] [2]
September 25		at BYU	Cougar Stadium [note 2] Provo, UT	W 28–25	6,000	[3]
October 3		at Fresno State	Ratcliffe Stadium Fresno, CA (rivalry)	W 27–21	5,574	[4]
October 10		Arizona State	Spartan Stadium San Jose, CA	L 20–35	12,500	[5]
October 17		at No. 16 California	California Memorial Stadium Berkeley, CA	L 14–34	39,000
October 24		at Oregon	Hayward Field Eugene, OR	L 13–26	11,500
October 31		North Texas State	Spartan Stadium San Jose, CA	T 13–13	7,500	[6]
November 7		Pacific (CA)	Spartan Stadium San Jose, CA (Victory Bell)	W 7–6	18,000
November 14		at No. 16 Stanford	Stanford Stadium Stanford, CA (rivalry)	L 0–54	12,000
Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Pacific time

^[7]

Team players in the NFL

The following San Jose State players were selected in the 1954 NFL draft. ^{[8] [9]}

Player	Position	Round	Overall	NFL team
Charlie Allen	Tackle	5	57	Los Angeles Rams

Notes

1. San Jose State University was known as San Jose State College from 1935 to 1971.
2. This stadium is the predecessor to the current Cougar Stadium on the BYU campus, which was opened for the 1964 season

References

1. "Veteran Idaho team opposes San Jose in opener tonight". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. September 18, 1953. p. 10.
2. "Spartans rake Vandals 34-6". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. September 19, 1953. p. 8.
3. "BYU pulls near upset before losing, 28–25". Idaho State Journal. September 27, 1953. Retrieved May 1, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
4. "Fresno State 2016 Media Guide" (PDF). Retrieved December 8, 2016.
5. "San Jose beaten". The San Francisco Examiner. October 11, 1953. Retrieved April 5, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
6. "San Jose State ties North Texas, 13–13". The San Francisco Examiner. November 1, 1957. Retrieved November 5, 2021– via Newspapers.com.
7. "Schedule/Results (1953 San Jose State)". NCAA Statistics. National Collegiate Athletic Association . Retrieved May 25, 2025.
8. "1954 NFL Draft". Archived from the original on November 23, 2010. Retrieved December 7, 2016.
9. "San Jose St. Players/Alumni" . Retrieved December 16, 2016.