1920 California Golden Bears football team

American college football season

1920 California Golden Bears football

National champion
(CFRA, Helms, Houlgate, NCF, Sagarin)
Rose Bowl champion
PCC champion

Rose Bowl, W 28–0 vs. Ohio State

Conference| Pacific Coast Conference
Record| 9–0 (3–0 PCC)
Head coach|

* Andy Smith (5th season)

Offensive scheme| Short-punt
Captain| Olin C. Majors
Home stadium| California Field

Uniform

Seasons

<- 1919

1921 ->

1920 Pacific Coast Conference football standings

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| Conf |  |  | Overall

|
|
|
|

Team | W |  | L |  | T |  |  | W |  | L |  | T
California $  | 3  | - | 0  | - | 0 |  |  | 9  | - | 0  | - | 0
Stanford | 2  | - | 1  | - | 0 |  |  | 4  | - | 3  | - | 0
Washington State | 1  | - | 1  | - | 0 |  |  | 5  | - | 1  | - | 0
Oregon | 1  | - | 1  | - | 1 |  |  | 3  | - | 2  | - | 1
Oregon Agricultural | 1  | - | 2  | - | 1 |  |  | 2  | - | 2  | - | 2
Washington | 0  | - | 3  | - | 0 |  |  | 1  | - | 5  | - | 0

* $ - Conference champion

The 1920 California Golden Bears football team was an American football team that represented the University of California, Berkeley as a member of the Pacific Coast Conference (PCC) during the 1920 college football season. In their fifth year under head coach Andy Smith, the team compiled a 9–0 record (3–0 against PCC opponents), shut out seven of nine opponents, won the PCC championship, defeated Ohio State in the 1921 Rose Bowl, and outscored its opponents by a total of 510 to 14.[1][2]

There was no contemporaneous system in 1920 for determining a national champion. However, Cal was retroactively named as the national champion by the College Football Researchers Association, Helms Athletic Foundation, Houlgate System, National Championship Foundation, and Jeff Sagarin.[3]

Olin C. Majors was the team captain. Guard Tim Callahan was a consensus first-team selection on the 1920 All-American football team.[4] Two other players received All-America recognition: end Harold Muller (Newspaper Enterprise Association-1, Walter Camp-3) and tackle Dan McMillan (WC-2).[5][6]

## Schedule

[edit]

Date| Opponent| Site| Result| Attendance| Source

|
|
|
|
|

September 25| Olympic Club*|

* California Field
* Berkeley, CA

| W 21–0| | [7]
October 2| Mare Island Marines*|

* California Field
* Berkeley, CA

| W 88–0| | [8]
October 9| Saint Mary's*|

* California Field
* Berkeley, CA

| W 127–0| | [9]
October 16| Nevada*|

* California Field
* Berkeley, CA

| W 79–7| | [10]
October 23| Utah*|

* California Field
* Berkeley, CA

| W 63–0| | [11]
October 30| at Oregon Agricultural|

* Bell Field
* Corvallis, OR

| W 17–7| 12,000| [12]
November 6| Washington State|

* California Field
* Berkeley, CA

| W 49–0| | [13]
November 20| Stanford|

* California Field
* Berkeley, CA (Big Game)

| W 38–0| | [14]
January 1, 1921| vs. Ohio State*|

* Tournament Park
* Pasadena, CA (Rose Bowl)

| W 28–0| 42,000| [15]

* *Non-conference game

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "1920 California Golden Bears Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 21, 2016.
2. ^ "California 2015 Football Information Guide" (PDF). CalBears.com. Cal Golden Bears Athletics. p. 162\. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 26, 2016. Retrieved October 21, 2016.
3. ^ 2020 NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Records (PDF). Indianapolis: The National Collegiate Athletic Association. July 2020. pp. 112–114\. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 1, 2020. Retrieved January 12, 2021.112-114&rft.pub=The+National+Collegiate+Athletic+Association&rft.date=2020-07&rft_id=http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/football_records/2020/FBS.pdf&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:1920+California+Golden+Bears+football+team" class="Z3988">
4. ^ "Football Award Winners" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). 2016. p. 6. Retrieved October 21, 2017.
5. ^ "Camp Names Gridiron Stars". Post-Standard. Syracuse, NY. December 15, 1920.
6. ^ Dean Snyder (December 1, 1920). "N.E.A.'s Choice of Season's Best: 1920 All-American". Lowell Sun.
7. ^ "California Varsity Defeats Olympic Eleven 21 to 0". The San Francisco Eleven. September 26, 1920. p. 15 - via Newspapers.com.
8. ^ Doug Montell (October 3, 1920). "Mare Island Sailors Are Outclassed by Andy Smith's Pupils". Oakland Tribune. p. 23 - via Newspapers.com.
9. ^ "University of California Defeats St. Mary's Eleven 127-0". Oakland Tribune. October 10, 1920. p. 25 - via Newspapers.com.
10. ^ "University of California Football Team Smothers University of Nevada, Score 79-7". Oakland Tribune. October 17, 1920. p. 35 - via Newspapers.com.
11. ^ William Unmack (October 24, 1920). "California Staggers Utah with a Score of 63 to 0". The San Francisco Examiner. p. 14 - via Newspapers.com.
12. ^ "California Bears Battle Oregon Aggies to 17 to 7 Win". The San Francisco Examiner. October 31, 1920. p. 47 - via Newspapers.com.
13. ^ "California Bears Bury Washington State Under 49-0 Score". The San Francisco Examiner. November 7, 1920. p. 17 - via Newspapers.com.
14. ^ "California Goal Line Never In Any Peril During Game". The San Francisco Examiner. November 21, 1920. p. 17 - via Newspapers.com.
15. ^ "Bears Heave Buckeyes To Resounding Defeat". The Los Angeles Times. January 2, 2021. p. 8 - via Newspapers.com.

* v
* t
* e

1920 California Golden Bears football—national champions

* 8 Harold Muller
* 18 Stanley Barnes
* Charles F. Erb
* Dan McMillan
* Alvin Pierson
* Brodie Stephens
* Crip Toomey

Head coach
Andy Smith
Assistant coach
Nibs Price

* v
* t
* e

California Golden Bears football

Venues|

* California Field (1904–1923)
* California Memorial Stadium (1923–2010, 2012–present)
* Oracle Park (2011)

Bowls & rivalries|

* Bowl games
* Stanford: Big Game (Stanford Axe)
* UCLA

Culture & lore|

* Oski
* "Fight for California"
* "Big C"
* History
* Marching band
* Tightwad Hill
* The Play

People|

* Head coaches
* Starting quarterbacks
* NFL draftees
* Statistical leaders

Seasons|

* 1886
* 1887
* 1888
* 1889
* 1890
* 1891
* 1892
* 1892
* 1893
* 1894
* 1895
* 1896
* 1897
* 1898
* 1899
* 1900
* 1901
* 1902
* 1903
* 1904
* 1905
* 1906–1914
* 1915
* 1916
* 1917
* 1918
* 1919
* 1920
* 1921
* 1922
* 1923
* 1924
* 1925
* 1926
* 1927
* 1928
* 1929
* 1930
* 1931
* 1932
* 1933
* 1934
* 1935
* 1936
* 1937
* 1938
* 1939
* 1940
* 1941
* 1942
* 1943
* 1944
* 1945
* 1946
* 1947
* 1948
* 1949
* 1950
* 1951
* 1952
* 1953
* 1954
* 1955
* 1956
* 1957
* 1958
* 1959
* 1960
* 1961
* 1962
* 1963
* 1964
* 1965
* 1966
* 1967
* 1968
* 1969
* 1970
* 1971
* 1972
* 1973
* 1974
* 1975
* 1976
* 1977
* 1978
* 1979
* 1980
* 1981
* 1982
* 1983
* 1984
* 1985
* 1986
* 1987
* 1988
* 1989
* 1990
* 1991
* 1992
* 1993
* 1994
* 1995
* 1996
* 1997
* 1998
* 1999
* 2000
* 2001
* 2002
* 2003
* 2004
* 2005
* 2006
* 2007
* 2008
* 2009
* 2010
* 2011
* 2012
* 2013
* 2014
* 2015
* 2016
* 2017
* 2018
* 2019
* 2020
* 2021
* 2022
* 2023
* 2024
* 2025

National championship seasons in bold

* v
* t
* e

College football national champions (pre-AP Poll)

1869–1879|

* 1869: Princeton / Rutgers
* 1870: Princeton
* 1871: None
* 1872: Princeton / Yale
* 1873: Princeton
* 1874: Harvard / Princeton / Yale
* 1875: Columbia / Harvard / Princeton
* 1876: Yale
* 1877: Princeton / Yale
* 1878: Princeton
* 1879: Princeton

1880s|

* 1880: Princeton / Yale
* 1881: Princeton / Yale
* 1882: Yale
* 1883: Yale
* 1884: Princeton / Yale
* 1885: Princeton
* 1886: Princeton / Yale
* 1887: Yale
* 1888: Yale
* 1889: Princeton

1890s|

* 1890: Harvard
* 1891: Yale
* 1892: Yale
* 1893: Princeton / Yale
* 1894: Penn / Princeton / Yale
* 1895: Penn / Yale
* 1896: Lafayette / Princeton
* 1897: Penn / Yale
* 1898: Harvard / Princeton
* 1899: Harvard / Princeton

1900s|

* 1900: Yale
* 1901: Harvard / Michigan / Yale
* 1902: Michigan / Yale
* 1903: Michigan / Princeton
* 1904: Michigan / Minnesota / Penn
* 1905: Chicago / Yale
* 1906: Princeton / Yale
* 1907: Yale
* 1908: Harvard / LSU / Penn
* 1909: Yale

1910s|

* 1910: Harvard / Pittsburgh
* 1911: Penn State / Princeton
* 1912: Harvard / Penn State
* 1913: Auburn / Chicago / Harvard
* 1914: Army / Illinois / Texas
* 1915: Cornell / Minnesota / Oklahoma / Pittsburgh
* 1916: Army / Georgia Tech / Pittsburgh
* 1917: Georgia Tech
* 1918: Michigan / Pittsburgh
* 1919: Centre / Harvard / Illinois / Notre Dame / Texas A&M

1920s|

* 1920: California / Georgia / Harvard / Notre Dame / Princeton
* 1921: California / Cornell / Iowa / Lafayette / Washington & Jefferson / Vanderbilt
* 1922: California / Cornell / Princeton / Vanderbilt
* 1923: California / Cornell / Illinois / Michigan / Yale
* 1924: Notre Dame / Penn
* 1925: Alabama / Dartmouth / Michigan
* 1926: Alabama / Lafayette / Michigan / Navy / Stanford
* 1927: Georgia / Illinois / Notre Dame / Texas A&M / Yale
* 1928: Detroit / Georgia Tech / USC
* 1929: Notre Dame / Pittsburgh / USC

1930s|

* 1930: Alabama / Notre Dame
* 1931: Pittsburgh / Purdue / USC
* 1932: Colgate / Michigan / USC
* 1933: Michigan / Ohio State / Princeton / USC
* 1934: Alabama / Minnesota
* 1935: LSU / Minnesota / Princeton / SMU / TCU

* v
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* e

Pac-12 Conference football champions

Pacific Coast|

* Washington (1916)
* Washington State (1917)
* California (1918)
* Oregon & Washington (1919)
* California (1920)
* California (1921)
* California (1922)
* California (1923)
* California & Stanford (1924)
* Washington (1925)
* Stanford (1926)
* Idaho, Stanford, & USC (1927)
* USC (1928)
* California, Oregon, Stanford, & USC (1929)
* Washington State (1930)
* USC (1931)
* USC (1932)
* Oregon & Stanford (1933)
* Stanford (1934)
* California, Stanford, & UCLA (1935)
* Washington (1936)
* California (1937)
* California & USC (1938)
* USC (1939)
* Stanford (1940)
* Oregon State (1941)
* UCLA (1942)
* USC (1943)
* USC (1944)
* USC (1945)
* UCLA (1946)
* USC (1947)
* California & Oregon (1948)
* California (1949)
* California (1950)
* Stanford (1951)
* USC (1952)
* UCLA (1953)
* UCLA (1954)
* UCLA (1955)
* Oregon State (1956)
* Oregon & Oregon State (1957)
* California (1958)

AAWU|

* UCLA, USC, & Washington (1959)
* Washington (1960)
* UCLA (1961)
* USC (1962)
* Washington (1963)
* Oregon State & USC (1964)
* UCLA (1965)
* USC (1966)
* USC (1967)

Pacific-8|

* USC (1968)
* USC (1969)
* Stanford (1970)
* Stanford (1971)
* USC (1972)
* USC (1973)
* USC (1974)
* California & UCLA (1975)
* USC (1976)
* Washington (1977)

Pacific-10|

* USC (1978)
* USC (1979)
* Washington (1980)
* Washington (1981)
* UCLA (1982)
* UCLA (1983)
* USC (1984)
* UCLA (1985)
* Arizona State (1986)
* USC & UCLA (1987)
* USC (1988)
* USC (1989)
* Washington (1990)
* Washington (1991)
* Washington & Stanford (1992)
* Arizona, UCLA, & USC (1993)
* Oregon (1994)
* USC & Washington (1995)
* Arizona State (1996)
* UCLA & Washington State (1997)
* UCLA (1998)
* Stanford (1999)
* Oregon, Oregon State, & Washington (2000)
* Oregon (2001)
* USC & Washington State (2002)
* USC (2003)
* USC (2004) vacated
* USC (2005) vacated
* California & USC (2006)
* Arizona State & USC (2007)
* USC (2008)
* Oregon (2009)
* Oregon (2010)

Pac-12|

* Oregon (2011)
* Stanford (2012)
* Stanford (2013)
* Oregon (2014)
* Stanford (2015)
* Washington (2016)
* USC (2017)
* Washington (2018)
* Oregon (2019)
* Oregon (2020)
* Utah (2021)
* Utah (2022)
* Washington (2023)

National championships in bold

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*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template
*[Conf]: Conference record
*[W]: Wins
*[L]: Losses
*[T]: Ties