Football History Rewind Part 74

In this edition, we talk about the history of College Football in 1934. The Football History Rewind Series Part 74, goes through the rules revisions, the big games, the star players, and the top teams of the season.

Football is forever a dynamic and chnaging game, and the season of 1934 at the collegiate level was no exception to this rule.

The 1934 NCAA Rule Book somewhat glossed over the impact of changes that the Rules Committee had instituted on the year.

Changing the ball size was an enormous revision, and its impact was not appreciated at the time. In 1933 and prior years, the rule book allowed that: "The ball shall be made of leather (natural
tanned color), enclosing a rubber bladder. It shall be inflated with a pressure of not less than 12-1/2 pounds nor more than 13-1/2 pounds and shall have the shape of a prolate spheroid—the
entire surface to be convex. The circumference, long axis, shall measure not less than 28 inches, nor more than 28-1/2 inches ; short axis, not less than 22 inches, nor more than 22-1/2 inches; the length of the long axis shall measure not less than 11 inches, the weight shall be from 14 ounces to 15 ounces."

The ball size prescribed in 1934 said this:

Thus the gerth of the ball was reduced by almost an inch! That does not sound like a large amount, but when you have the ball in the average sized passer's hand it makes a world of difference. For a point of reference, the modern football of the NCAA is 21 inches in diameter. The texture was also modified in 1934 to have the "pebble-grained leather" and natural tanned leather color. The intent to help the passing game improve was obvious by the rules revisionists. A more aerodynamic ball that fit the passer's hand better, with an an improved grip.

The Committee also cleaned up some verbiage on incomplete passes at various points on the field and in certain situations to promote throwing forward passes. Throwing the football would be better and the passing offenses would benefit in coming years.

1934 ushered in the 66th college football season in the United States. Groups from other areas initiated two New Year's Day bowl games to rival the Rose Bowl Game. On February 15, Warren V. Miller and Joseph M. Cousins organized the New Orleans Mid-Winter Sports Association, and by October, the group had enough funds to sponsor the Sugar Bowl. Meanwhile, W. Keith Phillips and the Greater Miami Athletic Club worked in November at a January 1 game for Florida, and the Orange Bowl was created.

The 1934 college football season was a year of great change and innovation. The introduction of two new bowl games helped to expand the reach of college football and make it a more national sport. The emergence of Alabama and Minnesota as powerhouse programs signaled the beginning of a new era in college football.

Alabama went undefeated and won the Sugar Bowl, while Minnesota went 9-0 and won the Rose Bowl. Both teams were led by future Hall of Fame coaches: Frank Thomas for Alabama and Bernie Bierman for Minnesota.
Other notable teams from the 1934 season included Ohio State, Columbia, and Tulane. Ohio State finished the season with an 8-1 record and was ranked No. 2 in the final AP Poll. Columbia went 7-1 and was ranked No. 3 in the final AP Poll. Tulane went 10-1 and won the SEC championship.

Here are some of the most notable games from the 1934 college football season:

• Alabama vs. Georgia Tech: Alabama defeated Georgia Tech 40-0 in the Sugar Bowl.
• Minnesota vs. USC: Minnesota defeated USC 14-0 in the Rose Bowl.
• Ohio State vs. Columbia: Ohio State defeated Columbia 14-13.
• Tulane vs. Kentucky: Tulane defeated Kentucky 20-7.
• Colgate vs. Syracuse: Colgate defeated Syracuse 13-2.
• Rice vs. Texas A&M: Rice defeated Texas A&M 25-6.
   

Five of the 13 selectors recognized as official by the NCAA (Berryman, Dunkel, Houlgate, Poling, and Williamson) recognize the 1934 Alabama team as the national champion. Sportswriter Morgan Blake called it the best football team he ever saw. However most see another team as the best in the Nation for the 1934 season.

The Minnesota Golden Gophers went 8-0 on the season and outscored its opponents 270-38 as it was named national champions by eight different organizations.

1934_Minnesota_FootballWin 22 Oct 1934, Mon The Minneapolis Star (Minneapolis, Minnesota) Newspapers.com

Unofficially an AP sportswriter poll conducted in mid-November of 1934 had the top five teams looking like this:
1) Minnesota 6-0   (8-0)
2) Stanford 7-0-1   (9-1-1)
3) Alabama 7-0   (10-0)
4) Pittsburgh 6-1   (8-1)
5) Princeton 6-0   (7-1)

1934 Football Rankings 16 Nov 1934, Fri The Buffalo News (Buffalo, New York) Newspapers.com

However the Tip Top 25 website uses modern methoodology to arrive at a top five of:

1) Minnesota 8-0
2) Alabama 10-0
3) Pittsburgh 8-1
4) Navy 8-1
5) Ohio State 7-1

The Top Performers of 1934 College Football

The College Football All-Americans selected in 1934 according to Sports-Reference.com were:

• Fred Borries, B, Navy
• Bobby Grayson, B, Stanford
• Dixie Howell, B, Alabama
• Pug Lund, B, Minnesota
• Don Hutson, E, Alabama
• Frank Larson, E, Minnesota
• Bill Bevan, L, Minnesota
• Chuck Hartwig, L, Pitt
• Bill Lee, L, Alabama
• Darrell Lester, L, TCU
• Bob Reynolds, L, Stanford
• Jack Robinson, L, Notre Dame
• George Shotwell, L, Pitt

The banner image is courtesy of Newspapers.com from the October 22, 1934 edition of the The Minneapolis Star (Minneapolis, Minnesota) of an image of the University of Minnesota's Pug Lund plunging in for a TD against Pitt in a pivoatl game.

Special thanks to the following websites for the great information obtained to tell our story of the 1934 football season: Sports-Reference.com , Newspapers.com, University of Minnesota Athletics and Tip Top 25.