1943 Purdue Boilermakers football team

American college football season

1943 Purdue Boilermakers football

Big Ten co-champion

Conference| Big Ten Conference
Ranking
AP| No. 5
Record| 9–0 (6–0 Big Ten)
Head coach|

* Elmer Burnham (2nd season)

MVP| Dick Barwegen
Captain| None
Home stadium| Ross–Ade Stadium

Seasons

<- 1942

1944 ->

1943 Big Ten Conference football standings

* v
* t
* e

| Conf |  |  | Overall

|
|
|
|

Team | W |  | L |  | T |  |  | W |  | L |  | T
No. 5 Purdue \+  | 6  | - | 0  | - | 0 |  |  | 9  | - | 0  | - | 0
No. 3 Michigan \+  | 6  | - | 0  | - | 0 |  |  | 8  | - | 1  | - | 0
No. 9 Northwestern | 5  | - | 1  | - | 0 |  |  | 6  | - | 2  | - | 0
Indiana | 2  | - | 3  | - | 1 |  |  | 4  | - | 4  | - | 2
Minnesota | 2  | - | 3  | - | 0 |  |  | 5  | - | 4  | - | 0
Illinois | 2  | - | 4  | - | 0 |  |  | 3  | - | 7  | - | 0
Ohio State | 1  | - | 4  | - | 0 |  |  | 3  | - | 6  | - | 0
Wisconsin | 1  | - | 6  | - | 0 |  |  | 1  | - | 9  | - | 0
Iowa | 0  | - | 4  | - | 1 |  |  | 1  | - | 6  | - | 1

* \+ - Conference co-champions

Rankings from AP Poll

The 1943 Purdue Boilermaker football team represented Purdue University in the 1943 Big Ten Conference football season. In their second year under head coach Elmer Burnham, the Boilermakers compiled an undefeated 9–0 record (6–0 Big Ten), outscored their opponents by a total of 214 to 55, and finished the season ranked No. 5 in the final AP Poll.[1]

The 1943 squad was the only undefeated team playing a full schedule in major college football, but finished third in the country per the AP Poll. This would seemingly be sufficient grounds for Purdue to claim a 1943 National Championship as the NCAA itself did not recognize champions in the era. However, Purdue has never pursued this claim.

The 1942 Purdue team had won only one game, but the 1943 team was bolstered with several new players who had been transferred to Purdue as part of the V-12 Navy College Training Program.[2]

Purdue guard Alex Agase was selected as a consensus first-team player on the 1943 All-America Team,[3] and was later inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. Fullback Tony Butkovich was also selected as a first-team All-American by The Sporting News, the United Press, the Central Press, and Stars and Stripes newspaper. Butkovich led the Big Ten in scoring with 14 touchdowns despite missing the last two games after being called to active duty by the Marines; he was killed in action at the Battle of Okinawa in April 1945.

## Schedule

[edit]

Date| Opponent| Rank| Site| Result| Attendance| Source

|
|
|
|
|
|

September 18| at Great Lakes Navy*| |

* Ross Field
* Chicago, IL

| W 23–13| 22,000|
September 25| at Marquette*| |

* Marquette Stadium
* Milwaukee, WI

| W 21–0| 22,000| [4]
October 2| Illinois| |

* Ross–Ade Stadium
* West Lafayette, IN (rivalry)

| W 40–21| 15,000|
October 9| Camp Grant*| No. 7|

* Ross–Ade Stadium
* West Lafayette, IN

| W 19–0| 13,000|
October 16| vs. Ohio State| No. 5|

* Municipal Stadium
* Cleveland, OH

| W 30–7| 41,509|
October 23| Iowa| No. 4|

* Ross–Ade Stadium
* West Lafayette, IN

| W 28–7| 15,000|
October 30| at Wisconsin| No. 4|

* Camp Randall Stadium
* Madison, WI

| W 32–0| 10,000|
November 6| at Minnesota| No. 2|

* Memorial Stadium
* Minneapolis, MN

| W 14–7| 43,000|
November 20| Indiana| No. 3|

* Ross–Ade Stadium
* West Lafayette, IN (Old Oaken Bucket)

| W 7–0| 15,000|

* *Non-conference game
* Homecoming
* Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

[5]

## Rankings

[edit]

See also: 1943 NCAA football rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
( ) = First-place votes| Week

|

Poll| 1| 2| 3| 4| 5| 6| 7| 8| Final
AP| 7 (2)| 5| 4 (1)| 4 (1)| 2| 2| 3| 4| 5 (12)

## Players

[edit]

* Alex Agase, guard #95
* Dick Barwegen, guard #21
* Frank Bauman, end #74
* Joe Buscemi #50
* Dick Bushnell #29
* Jack Butt #40
* Tony Butkovich, #25, fullback
* Jim Darr #70
* Boris Dimancheff #87
* Stan Dubicki, #22
* Bump Elliott#18
* John Genis, tackle #69
* Herbert Hoffman, end #99
* Tom Hughes #44
* Mike Kasap, tackle #64
* Bill Newell #96
* Bill O'Keefe #34
* Keith Parker #88
* Bill Stuart #89
* Sam Vacanti #33
* John Staak, tackle #32
* Lewis Rose, Halfback #36

## Coaches and administrators

[edit]

* Head coach: Elmer Burnham
* Assistant coaches: Cecil Isbell, Sam Voinoff, Joe Dienhart[6]
* Athletic director: Guy "Red" Mackey

## Season summary

[edit]

### Illinois

[edit]

* Tony Butkovich 12 rushes, 207 yards [7]

### Ohio State

[edit]

* Tony Butkovich 36 rushes, 123 yards [8]
* Babe Dimancheff 16 rushes, 122 yards [9]

### Iowa

[edit]

* Tony Butkovich 19 rushes, 149 yards[10]

### Wisconsin

[edit]

* Tony Butkovich 28 rushes, 147 yards [11]
* Babe Dimancheff 15 rushes, 111 yards [12]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Purdue Yearly Results (1940-1944)". College Football Data Warehouse. David DeLassus. Archived from the original on September 5, 2015. Retrieved August 10, 2015.
2. ^ "1943 Purdue Marines" (PDF). College Football Historical Society Newsletter. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016.
3. ^ "2014 NCAA Football Records: Consensus All-America Selections" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). 2014. p. 6\. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 22, 2014. Retrieved August 16, 2014.
4. ^ "Purdue Beats Hilltops, 21-0: Boilermaker Ground Attack Too Strong". The Wisconsin State Journal. September 26, 1943. p. 24 - via Newspapers.com.
5. ^ "2022 Purdue Football Record Book" (PDF). Purdue University Athletics. p. 85. Retrieved January 29, 2023.
6. ^ 1944 Purdue yearbook, p. 217.
7. ^ 2020 Purdue Record Book. Retrieved 2020-Dec-20.
8. ^ 2020 Purdue Record Book. Retrieved 2021-Jan-01.
9. ^ 2020 Purdue Record Book. Retrieved 2021-Jan-01.
10. ^ 2020 Purdue Record Book. Retrieved 2020-Dec-27.
11. ^ 2020 Purdue Record Book. Retrieved 2020-Dec-27.
12. ^ 2020 Purdue Record Book. Retrieved 2021-Jan-02.

* v
* t
* e

Purdue Boilermakers football

Venues|

* Stuart Field (1892–1924)
* Ross–Ade Stadium (1924–present)

Bowls & rivalries|

* Bowl games
* Chicago (defunct)
* Illinois
* Indiana: Old Oaken Bucket
* Notre Dame

Culture & lore|

* Boilermaker Special
* Cradle of Quarterbacks
* Purdue Pete
* Purdue Wreck
* "Hail Purdue!"
* All-American Marching Band

People|

* Head coaches
* NFL draftees
* Statistical leaders

Seasons|

* 1887
* 1888
* 1889
* 1890
* 1891
* 1892
* 1893
* 1894
* 1895
* 1896
* 1897
* 1898
* 1899
* 1900
* 1901
* 1902
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* 1905
* 1906
* 1907
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* 1910
* 1911
* 1912
* 1913
* 1914
* 1915
* 1916
* 1917
* 1918
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* 1920
* 1921
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* 1926
* 1927
* 1928
* 1929
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* 1931
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* 1933
* 1934
* 1935
* 1936
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* 1939
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* 1941
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* 1943
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* 1954
* 1955
* 1956
* 1957
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* 1961
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* 1963
* 1964
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* 1967
* 1968
* 1969
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* 1973
* 1974
* 1975
* 1976
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* v
* t
* e

Big Ten Conference football champions

Western Conference|

* Wisconsin (1896)
* Wisconsin (1897)
* Michigan (1898)
* Chicago (1899)
* Iowa & Minnesota (1900)
* Michigan & Wisconsin (1901)
* Michigan (1902)
* Michigan, Minnesota, & Northwestern (1903)
* Michigan & Minnesota (1904)
* Chicago (1905)
* Michigan, Minnesota, & Wisconsin (1906)
* Chicago (1907)
* Chicago (1908)
* Minnesota (1909)
* Illinois & Minnesota (1910)
* Minnesota (1911)
* Wisconsin (1912)
* Chicago (1913)
* Illinois (1914)
* Illinois & Minnesota (1915)
* Ohio State (1916)

Big Ten|

* Ohio State (1917)
* Illinois, Michigan, & Purdue (1918)
* Illinois (1919)
* Ohio State (1920)
* Iowa (1921)
* Chicago, Iowa, & Michigan (1922)
* Illinois & Michigan (1923)
* Chicago (1924)
* Michigan (1925)
* Michigan & Northwestern (1926)
* Illinois & Minnesota (1927)
* Illinois (1928)
* Purdue (1929)
* Michigan & Northwestern (1930)
* Purdue, Michigan & Northwestern (1931)
* Michigan & Purdue (1932)
* Michigan & Minnesota (1933)
* Minnesota (1934)
* Minnesota & Ohio State (1935)
* Northwestern (1936)
* Minnesota (1937)
* Minnesota (1938)
* Ohio State (1939)
* Minnesota (1940)
* Minnesota (1941)
* Ohio State (1942)
* Michigan & Purdue (1943)
* Ohio State (1944)
* Indiana (1945)

Big Nine|

* Illinois (1946)
* Michigan (1947)
* Michigan (1948)
* Michigan & Ohio State (1949)

Big Ten|

* Michigan (1950)
* Illinois (1951)
* Purdue & Wisconsin (1952)
* Illinois & Michigan State (1953)
* Ohio State (1954)
* Ohio State (1955)
* Iowa (1956)
* Ohio State (1957)
* Iowa (1958)
* Wisconsin (1959)
* Minnesota & Iowa (1960)
* Ohio State (1961)
* Wisconsin (1962)
* Illinois (1963)
* Michigan (1964)
* Michigan State (1965)
* Michigan State (1966)
* Indiana, Minnesota, Purdue (1967)
* Ohio State (1968)
* Michigan & Ohio State (1969)
* Ohio State (1970)
* Michigan (1971)
* Michigan & Ohio State (1972)
* Michigan & Ohio State (1973)
* Michigan & Ohio State (1974)
* Ohio State (1975)
* Michigan & Ohio State (1976)
* Michigan & Ohio State (1977)
* Michigan & Michigan State (1978)
* Ohio State (1979)
* Michigan (1980)
* Iowa & Ohio State (1981)
* Michigan (1982)
* Illinois (1983)
* Ohio State (1984)
* Iowa (1985)
* Michigan & Ohio State (1986)
* Michigan State (1987)
* Michigan (1988)
* Michigan (1989)
* Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, & Michigan State (1990)
* Michigan (1991)
* Michigan (1992)
* Ohio State & Wisconsin (1993)
* Penn State (1994)
* Northwestern (1995)
* Ohio State & Northwestern (1996)
* Michigan (1997)
* Michigan, Ohio State, & Wisconsin (1998)
* Wisconsin (1999)
* Michigan, Northwestern, & Purdue (2000)
* Illinois (2001)
* Ohio State & Iowa (2002)
* Michigan (2003)
* Iowa & Michigan (2004)
* Ohio State & Penn State (2005)
* Ohio State (2006)
* Ohio State (2007)
* Ohio State & Penn State (2008)
* Ohio State (2009)
* Michigan State & Wisconsin (2010)
* Wisconsin (2011)
* Wisconsin (2012)
* Michigan State (2013)
* Ohio State (2014)
* Michigan State (2015)
* Penn State (2016)
* Ohio State (2017)
* Ohio State (2018)
* Ohio State (2019)
* Ohio State (2020)
* Michigan (2021)
* Michigan (2022)
* Michigan (2023)

National championships in bold
*[v]: View this template
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*[e]: Edit this template
*[Conf]: Conference record
*[W]: Wins
*[L]: Losses
*[T]: Ties
*[No.]: Number