The 1936 College Football Season

In this edition, we talk about the history of College Football in 1936. The Football History Rewind Series Part 78, goes through the rules revisions, the big games, the star players, a new source for ranking teams, and the top teams of the season.

The 1936 college football season was a significant one in the history of the sport. It was the first season in which the Associated Press (AP) began releasing its weekly rankings of the top teams in the country. The AP poll would become the most widely followed college football ranking system in the United States. This poll from the Associated Press would be the most relied upon source to determine the National Champion until the Bowl Championship Series or BCS computer model was accepted as the most trusted source.

As we stated in FHR Part 76, the United Press International, UPI Poll was already in place prior to 1936. Also the mathmatical systems such as a Dickinson and others provided in put for who might be in the running for the top American team.

The first AP college football poll was released on October 20, 1936. It was a top-10 poll, with each writer listing his choice for the top 10 teams. Points were tallied based on 10 for first place, 9 for second, etc., and the AP then ranked the 20 teams with the highest number of points.

The rules makers really made no on filed ruls revisions different from that of the previous offseason.

The AP Poll and the addition of another major New Year's Day bowl game, as the Dallas- Fort Worth area hosted the first Cotton Bowl Classic.

The 1936 season also saw the introduction of the Heisman Trophy, which is awarded annually to the most outstanding college football player in the country. The award had existed in 1935 but was called the Downtown Athletic Club trophy, so retroactively, Jay Berwanger is the first award recipient. The inaugural piece, called the Heisman Trophy, was handed to Yale end, Larry Kelley.

The DAC decided the Trophy should be named for a prominant figure in early football. Coach John Heisman was the very figure and innovator that the DAC wanted. Here is more on Coach Heisman.

John Heisman

Born October 23, 1869 in Cleveland, Ohio - John Heisman, American football coach who was one of the top innovators for the game of football in history. Heisman is credited per the NFF’s website with helping to legalize the forward pass, originated the center snap, innovated the “hike” cadence to initiate a snap and for which the Heisman Trophy is named. John coached at various schools including Oberlin, Akron, Clemson, Georgia Tech, Penn, Washington and Jefferson, Auburn and Rice. He played every line position while he was a student athlete at Brown University. The National Football Foundation selected John Heisman to enter into their College Football Hall of Fame in 1954. Of course the award given to the most recognozed top player in College Football each year is given at trophy that bears his name, the Heisman Trophy. That is how significant he was to the game.

More Information

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On the field, the 1936 season was dominated by the Minnesota Golden Gophers. Minnesota went undefeated during the regular season and was named the national champion by the AP, the Boand Trophy, and the Houlgate Trophy. The Gophers were led by a strong defense that allowed an average of just 3.7 points per game.

Other notable teams from the 1936 season included the Pittsburgh Panthers, the Alabama Crimson Tide, and the Fordham Rams. Pittsburgh and Alabama both finished the regular season with one loss, but they needed to be ranked ahead of Minnesota in the AP poll. Fordham finished the regular season with a 9–1 record, but they did not receive even one invitation to any bowl games.

The 1936 college football season was a memorable one for many reasons. The introduction of the AP poll and the Heisman Trophy helped to solidify college football as a major sport in the United States. The Minnesota Golden Gophers' undefeated season was among the most dominant in college football history. And the 1936 season also featured some of the most iconic players in the sport's history, such as Larry Kelley, Sammy Baugh, Ace Parker, and Alex Wojciechowicz.

The All America selection for 1936 were:

Year    Player               Pos      Team  
1936    Sammy Baugh    B    TCU    
1936    Ray Buivid    B    Marquette    
1936    Sam Francis    B    Nebraska    
1936    Ace Parker    B    Duke    
1936    Larry Kelley    E    Yale    
1936    Gaynell Tinsley    E    LSU    
1936    Mike Basrak    L    Duquesne    
1936    Averell Daniell    L    Pitt    
1936    Steve Reid    L    Northwestern    
1936    Max Starcevich    L    Washington    
1936    Ed Widseth    L    Minnesota    
1936    Alex Wojciechowicz    L    Fordham    

Special Thanks to the Sports-Reference websites, the 1936 Spaldings Football Guide, and Newspapers.com for the information used in this post.

The cropped image from the inaugural 1937 Cotton Bowl Classic Program is courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.