| 1937 Big Ten Conference football season | |
|---|---|
| Sport | Football |
| Number of teams | 10 |
| Top draft pick | Corbett Davis |
| Champion | Minnesota |
| Runners-up | Ohio State |
| Season MVP | Corbett Davis |
| 1937 Big Ten Conference football standings | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 5 Minnesota $ | 5 | – | 0 | – | 0 | 6 | – | 2 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 13 Ohio State | 5 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 6 | – | 2 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Indiana | 3 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 5 | – | 3 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Michigan | 3 | – | 3 | – | 0 | 4 | – | 4 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Northwestern | 3 | – | 3 | – | 0 | 4 | – | 4 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Purdue | 2 | – | 2 | – | 1 | 4 | – | 3 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wisconsin | 2 | – | 2 | – | 1 | 4 | – | 3 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Illinois | 2 | – | 3 | – | 0 | 3 | – | 3 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chicago | 0 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 1 | – | 6 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Iowa | 0 | – | 5 | – | 0 | 1 | – | 7 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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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.
| Conf. Rank | Team | Head coach | AP final | AP high | Overall record | Conf. record | PPG | PAG | MVP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Minnesota | Bernie Bierman | #5 | #4 | 6-2 | 5-0 | 23.0 | 6.3 | Rudy Gmitro |
| 2 | Ohio State | Francis Schmidt | #13 | #8 | 6–2 | 5–1 | 15.6 | 2.9 | Ralph Wolf |
| 3 | Indiana | Bo McMillin | NR | #17 | 5–3 | 3–2 | 9.0 | 4.0 | Corbett Davis |
| 4 (tie) | Purdue | Mal Elward | NR | NR | 4–3–1 | 2–2–1 | 10.4 | 8.6 | Cecil Isbell |
| 4 (tie) | Wisconsin | Harry Stuhldreher | NR | #16 | 4–3–1 | 2–2–1 | 12.9 | 7.6 | Howard Weiss |
| 6 (tie) | Michigan | Harry Kipke | NR | NR | 4–4 | 3–3 | 6.8 | 13.8 | Ralph Heikkinen |
| 6 (tie) | Northwestern | Pappy Waldorf | NR | #7 | 4–4 | 3–3 | 8.5 | 5.0 | Don Heap |
| 8 | Illinois | Robert Zuppke | NR | NR | 3–3–2 | 2–3 | 7.4 | 5.6 | Jack Berner |
| 9 (tie) | Chicago | Clark Shaughnessy | NR | NR | 1–6 | 0–4 | 6.4 | 20.4 | Kendall Peterson |
| 9 (tie) | Iowa | Irl Tubbs | NR | NR | 1–7 | 0–5 | 4.5 | 15.0 | Bob 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]
No Big Ten teams participated in any bowl games during the 1937 season.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quarterback | Jim McDonald | Ohio State | AP, UP |
| Halfback | Cecil Isbell | Purdue | AP |
| Halfback | Don Heap | Northwestern | AP |
| Halfback | Nile Kinnick | Iowa | UP |
| Halfback | Rudy Gmitro | Minnesota | UP |
| Fullback | Corbett Davis | Indiana | AP, UP |
| End | Ray King | Minnesota | AP, UP |
| End | Bob Lannon | Iowa | AP |
| End | Jim Zachary | Purdue | UP |
| Tackle | Lou Midler | Minnesota | AP |
| Tackle | Marty Schreyer | Purdue | AP |
| Tackle | Bob Haak | Indiana | UP |
| Tackle | Carl Kaplanoff | Ohio State | UP |
| Guard | Francis Twedell | Minnesota | AP, UP |
| Guard | Gust Zarnas | Ohio State | AP |
| Guard | Ralph Heikkinen | Michigan | UP |
| Center | Ralph Wolf | Ohio State | AP |
| Center | George Miller | Indiana | UP |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Halfback | Corbett Davis | Indiana | CP, WCFF, AAB, LIB, NANA, NW |
| End | Ray King | Minnesota | INS, CE, WCFF, AAB, NW |
| Guard | Gust Zarnas | Ohio State | WCFF, AAB, NW |
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 Davis | Back | Indiana | 1 | 1 |
| Jim McDonald | Back | Ohio State | 1 | 2 |
| Cecil Isbell | Back | Purdue | 1 | 7 |
| Frank Filchock | Back | Indiana | 2 | 14 |
| Marty Schreyer | Tackle | Purdue | 3 | 22 |
| Fred Vanzo | Back | Northwestern | 3 | 23 |
| Lou Midler | Tackle | Minnesota | 5 | 34 |
| Gust Zarnas | Guard | Ohio State | 5 | 40 |
| Andy Uram | Back | Minnesota | 6 | 47 |
| Bob Lannon | End | Iowa | 7 | 52 |
| Ray King | End | Minnesota | 7 | 54 |
| Johnny Kovatch | End | Northwestern | 7 | 57 |
The 1937 All-Big Ten Conference football team consists of American football players selected to the All-Big Ten Conference teams chosen by various selectors for the 1937 Big Ten Conference football season.
The 1947 Big Nine Conference football season was the 52nd season of college football played by the member schools of the Big Nine Conference and was a part of the 1947 college football season.
The 1938 Big Ten Conference football season was the 43rd season of college football played by the member schools of the Big Ten Conference and was a part of the 1938 college football season.
The 1939 Big Ten Conference football season was the 44th season of college football played by the member schools of the Big Ten Conference and was a part of the 1939 college football season.
The 1940 Big Ten Conference football season was the 45th season of college football played by the member schools of the Big Ten Conference and was a part of the 1940 college football season. The University of Chicago terminated its football program after the 1939 season, leaving only nine conference members fielding football teams. However, Chicago remained a member of the conference and participated in other sports, and the conference remained known generally as the Big Ten.
The 1949 Big Nine Conference football season was the 54th season of college football played by the member schools of the Big Nine Conference and was a part of the 1949 college football season.
The 1950 Big Ten Conference football season was the 55th season of college football played by the member schools of the Big Ten Conference and was a part of the 1950 college football season.
The 1968 Big Ten Conference football season was the 73rd season of college football played by the member schools of the Big Ten Conference and was a part of the 1968 NCAA University Division football season.
The 1955 Big Ten Conference football season was the 60th season of college football played by the member schools of the Big Ten Conference and was a part of the 1955 college football season.
The 1954 Big Ten Conference football season was the 59th season of college football played by the member schools of the Big Ten Conference and was a part of the 1954 college football season.
The 1953 Big Ten Conference football season was the 58th season of college football played by the member schools of the Big Ten Conference and was a part of the 1953 college football season.
The 1952 Big Ten Conference football season was the 57th season of college football played by the member schools of the Big Ten Conference and was a part of the 1952 college football season.
The 1951 Big Ten Conference football season was the 56th season of college football played by the member schools of the Big Ten Conference and was a part of the 1951 college football season.
The 1920 Big Ten Conference football season was the 25th season of college football played by the member schools of the Big Ten Conference and was a part of the 1920 college football season.
The 1972 Big Ten Conference football season was the 77th season of college football played by the member schools of the Big Ten Conference and was a part of the 1972 NCAA University Division football season.
The 1973 Big Ten Conference football season was the 78th season of college football played by the member schools of the Big Ten Conference and was a part of the 1973 NCAA Division I football season.
The 1974 Big Ten Conference football season was the 79th season of college football played by the member schools of the Big Ten Conference and was a part of the 1974 NCAA Division I football season.
The 1978 Big Ten Conference football season was the 83rd season of college football played by the member schools of the Big Ten Conference and was a part of the 1978 NCAA Division I-A football season.
The 1979 Big Ten Conference football season was the 84th season of college football played by the member schools of the Big Ten Conference and was a part of the 1979 NCAA Division I-A football season.
The 1984 Big Ten Conference football season was the 89th season of college football played by the member schools of the Big Ten Conference and was a part of the 1984 NCAA Division I-A football season.