1953 William & Mary Indians football team

1953 William & Mary Indians football
Conference	Southern Conference
Record	5–4–1 (3–2 SoCon)
Head coach	Jack Freeman (2nd season)
Captain	Tommy Martin, Steve Milkovich
Home stadium	Cary Field
Seasons ←  1952 1954  →

1953 Southern Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 10 West Virginia $	4	–	0	–	0			8	–	2	–	0
Furman	2	–	0	–	0			7	–	2	–	0
George Washington	4	–	2	–	0			5	–	4	–	0
William & Mary	3	–	2	–	0			5	–	4	–	1
Richmond	3	–	3	–	0			5	–	3	–	1
VPI	3	–	3	–	0			5	–	5	–	0
VMI	3	–	3	–	0			5	–	5	–	0
Washington and Lee	2	–	4	–	0			4	–	6	–	0
The Citadel	1	–	3	–	0			2	–	7	–	0
Davidson	0	–	5	–	0			0	–	9	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 1953 William & Mary Indians football team represented the College of William & Mary as a member of the Southern Conference (SoCon) during the 1953 college football season. The team is considered, within the school's community, to be one of the most remarkable stories in its athletics history. ^[1] Due to an academic cheating scandal (unrelated to the 1951 scandal), eight of the team's starting members were dismissed from school and another portion of the remaining 33 players transferred out. Among the 24 remaining players, five were returning Korean War veterans and one other had never played a minute of football in his life. Many of them were undersized (the quarterback stood 5′8″ and weighed 160 pounds) and the coaching staff was few in numbers: five total, including Boydson Baird, William & Mary's head basketball coach.

Their schedule was so tough that opposing teams would call ahead to make sure that William & Mary still intended on playing them the following week. The Indians started the season 5–2–1 before losing their final two games after accumulating injuries with few available substitutions. Six of the players went on to play professional football. The 1953 team was profiled in a 2011 book written by Rene A. Henry and titled The Iron Indians. ^{[1] [2]}

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 19		vs. Wake Forest *	City Stadium Richmond, VA (Tobacco Bowl)	W 16–14	20,000	[3]
September 26		at Navy *	Thompson Stadium Annapolis, MD	T 6–6		[4]
October 3		at Cincinnati *	Nippert Stadium Cincinnati, OH	L 7–57		[5]
October 17		VPI	Cary Field Williamsburg, VA	W 13–7		[6]
October 24		George Washington	Cary Field Williamsburg, VA	W 12–7	6,500	[7]
October 31		at NC State *	Riddick Stadium Raleigh, NC	W 7–6	7,500	[8]
November 7		vs. VMI	Victory Stadium Roanoke, VA (rivalry)	L 19–20		[9]
November 14		at Richmond	City Stadium Richmond, VA (rivalry)	W 21–0	18,000	[10]
November 21		Washington and Lee	Cary Field Williamsburg, VA	L 7–33	3,300	[11]
November 28	1:30 p.m.	Boston University *	Cary Field Williamsburg, VA	L 14–41	2,300	[12] [13]
*Non-conference game

NFL Draft selections

= Pro Football Hall of Fame

= Canadian Football Hall of Fame

= College Football Hall of Fame

Year	Round	Pick	Overall	Name	Team	Position
1954	3	12	37	Bill Bowman	Detroit Lions	Back
1954	5	12	61	George Parozzo	Detroit Lions	Tackle
1954	19	1	218	Jerry Sazio	Chicago Cardinals	Tackle
1954	22	5	258	Charlie Sumner	Chicago Bears	Back

References

1. Ducibella, Jim (September 30, 2011). ""Iron Indians" recalls a season of grit, determination". College of William & Mary . Retrieved June 26, 2012.
2. Freund, Kelly (September 28, 2018). "Remembering and saluting W&M's 1953 'Iron Indians'". W&M Alumni Magazine. College of William & Mary . Retrieved June 8, 2021.
3. "Indians gain lead on Hines' field goal, hold off Wake, 16–14". Richmond Times-Dispatch. September 20, 1953. Retrieved January 4, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
4. "Indians rally to tie favored Midshipmen, 6–6". Tulsa World. September 27, 1953. Retrieved January 4, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
5. "Cincinnati pummels W-M, 57–7". The Miami Herald. October 4, 1953. Retrieved January 4, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
6. "Big Green Silences Squawking Gobblers in Thriller" (PDF). The Flat Hat . College of William & Mary. October 20, 1953. p. 5. Retrieved July 24, 2017.
7. "William and Mary edges George Washington 12–7". The Bristol Herald Courier. October 25, 1953. Retrieved February 10, 2021– via Newspapers.com.
8. "William & Mary shades Wolfpack by 7–6 score". The Charlotte Observer. November 1, 1953. Retrieved January 4, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
9. "VMI rallies in last 56 seconds to upset William and Mary, 20–19". Daily Press. November 8, 1953. Retrieved January 4, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
10. "W&M grabs 21–0 victory". Durham Morning Herald. November 15, 1953. Retrieved November 6, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
11. "Halfback Carol Bolt sparks Generals to 33–7 triumph". Norfolk Virginian-Pilot. November 22, 1953. Retrieved August 21, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
12. Drewry, Walt (November 28, 1953). "Injured Indians Are Underdogs to Powerful BU Terriers Today". Richmond Times-Dispatch . Richmond, Virginia. p. 13. Retrieved July 6, 2021– via Newspapers.com .
13. Karmosky, Charles (November 29, 1953). "Terriers' Depth Mauls Thinly-Manned Indians". Daily Press . Newport News, Virginia. p. 27. Retrieved July 6, 2021– via Newspapers.com .