1949 Santa Clara Broncos football team

American college football season

1949 Santa Clara Broncos football

Orange Bowl champion

Orange Bowl, W 21–13 vs. Kentucky

Conference| Independent
Ranking
AP| No. 15
Record| 8–2–1
Head coach|

* Len Casanova (4th season)

Home stadium| Kezar Stadium

Seasons

<- 1948

1950 ->

1949 Western college football independents records

* v
* t
* e

| Conf. |  |  | Overall

|
|
|
|

Team | W |  | L |  | T |  |  | W |  | L |  | T
No. 10 Pacific (CA) |  |  | - |  |  |  |  | 11  | - | 0  | - | 0
Oregon College |  |  | - |  |  |  |  | 9  | - | 0  | - | 0
No. 15 Santa Clara |  |  | - |  |  |  |  | 8  | - | 2  | - | 1
San Francisco |  |  | - |  |  |  |  | 7  | - | 3  | - | 0
Idaho State |  |  | - |  |  |  |  | 6  | - | 2  | - | 1
Hawaii |  |  | - |  |  |  |  | 6  | - | 3  | - | 0
La Verne |  |  | - |  |  |  |  | 5  | - | 3  | - | 2
Loyola (CA) |  |  | - |  |  |  |  | 6  | - | 4  | - | 0
Nevada |  |  | - |  |  |  |  | 5  | - | 5  | - | 0
Pepperdine |  |  | - |  |  |  |  | 4  | - | 5  | - | 0
Saint Mary's |  |  | - |  |  |  |  | 3  | - | 6  | - | 1
Portland |  |  | - |  |  |  |  | 3  | - | 5  | - | 0
Cal Poly San Dimas |  |  | - |  |  |  |  | 2  | - | 8  | - | 0
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1949 Santa Clara Broncos football team was an American football team that represented Santa Clara University as an independent during the 1949 college football season. In their fourth season under head coach Len Casanova, the Broncos compiled an 8–2–1 record, were ranked No. 15 in the final AP Poll, and outscored all opponents by a combined total of 222 to 114.[1][2]

The Broncos' victories included a 14–0 besting of UCLA, a 19–6 victory over Saint Mary's, and a 21–13 victory over Bear Bryant's Kentucky Wildcats in the 1950 Orange Bowl. The team's two losses came against Pacific Coast Conference champion California (ranked No. 3 in the final AP Poll) and undefeated Oklahoma (ranked No. 2 in the AP Poll).[1][2]

Guard Vern Sterling was selected by both the Associated Press and International News Service as a first-team player on the 1949 All-Pacific Coast football team.[3][4]

After the 1949 season, coach Casanova left Santa Clara to become head coach at Pittsburgh. He also served as head coach at Oregon from 1951 to 1966.

## Schedule

[edit]

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

|
|
|
|
|
|

September 18| at California|  |

* California Memorial Stadium
* Berkeley, CA

| L 7–21| 62,000| [5]
September 24| at San Jose State|  |

* Spartan Stadium
* San Jose, CA

| W 14–13| 13,500| [6]
October 1| at Fresno State|  |

* Ratcliffe Stadium
* Fresno, CA

| W 53–0| 10,324| [7]
October 9| Portland|  |

* Grape Bowl
* Lodi, CA

| W 26–13|  | [8]
October 15| at No. 13 UCLA|  |

* Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
* Los Angeles, CA

| W 14–0| 28,911| [9]
October 23| at Loyola (CA)|  |  Sacramento, CA| W 27–19| 9,500| [10]
October 29| at Stanford|  |

* Stanford Stadium
* Stanford, CA

| T 7–7| 45,000| [11]
November 5| San Francisco|  |

* Kezar Stadium
* San Francisco, CA

| W 13–7| 40,000| [12]
November 13| at Saint Mary's| No. 20|

* Kezar Stadium
* San Francisco, CA

| W 19–6| 37,640| [13]
November 19| at No. 2 Oklahoma| No. 19|

* Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
* Norman, OK

| L 21–28| 59,000| [14]
January 2| vs. No. 20 Kentucky| No. 14|

* Burdine Stadium
* Miami, FL (Orange Bowl)

| W 21–13| 64,816| [15]

* Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

## Rankings

[edit]

See also: 1949 college football rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked т = Tied with team above or below| Week

|

Poll| 1| 2| 3| 4| 5| 6| 7| 8| Final
AP| —| —| —| —| —| 20| 19т| 14| 15

## After the season

[edit]

The following Broncos were selected in the 1950 NFL draft after the season.[16]

Round  | Pick  | Player  | Position  | NFL club

|
|
|
|

2 | 19 | Hall Haynes | Back | Washington Redskins
8 | 99 | John Hock | Tackle | Chicago Cardinals
8 | 101 | Ellery Williams | End | San Francisco 49ers
13 | 165 | Jerry Hennessy | End | Chicago Cardinals
14 | 179 | Tom Payne | End | San Francisco 49ers
22 | 286 | Jim Dowling | Guard | Cleveland Browns

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b "Santa Clara Yearly Results (1935–1939)". College Football Data Warehouse. David DeLassus. Archived from the original on December 22, 2015. Retrieved December 10, 2015.
2. ^ a b "1949 Santa Clara Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 10, 2015.
3. ^ "Carpenter Draws Most Votes in Winning Position ON Associated Press' 25th All-Coast Selection". The Corvalis Gazette-Times. November 25, 1949. p. 7.
4. ^ Joe St. Amant (November 22, 1949). "Bears Pace All-Pacific Coast Football Eleven". El Paso Herald-Post. p. 10.
5. ^ "Bears Smash Broncos, 21-7: California Team Impresses 62,000". San Bernardino Sun-Telegram. September 18, 1949. p. 31 - via Newspapers.com.
6. ^ "Santa Clara Nips San Jose, 14 to 13". San Bernardino Sun-Telegram. September 25, 1949. p. 33 - via Newspapers.com.
7. ^ "Santa Clara Beats Fresno State 53-0". Santa Cruz Sentinel-News. October 2, 1949. p. 11 - via Newspapers.com.
8. ^ "Santa Clara Beats Portland, 26-13". Honolulu Advertiser. October 10, 1949. p. 12.
9. ^ Paul Zimmerman (October 16, 1949). "Broncs Bop UCLA: Santa Clara Stages Last Period Rally". Los Angeles Times. p. II-1, II-11 - via Newspapers.com.
10. ^ Jack Geyer (October 24, 1949). "Loyola Scares Santa Clara Before Going Down, 27 to 19". Los Angeles Times. pp. 4=1, 4–3 - via Newspapers.com.4-3&rft.date=1949-10-24&rft.au=Jack+Geyer&rft_id=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/17434338/loyola_scares_santa_clara_before_going/&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:1949+Santa+Clara+Broncos+football+team" class="Z3988">
11. ^ Ray Haywood (October 30, 1949). "Broncos Battle Stanford to 7 to 7 Deadlock: Santa Clara Checks Tribe Bowl Hopes". Oakland Tribune. p. 1B, 5B - via Newspapers.com.
12. ^ "Santa Clara Beats USF, 13-7: Hall Haynes Is Hero For Bronco Team". The Honolulu Advertiser. November 7, 1949. p. 12.
13. ^ "Santa Clara Dominates All Way as Gaels Yield, 19-6". San Bernardino Daily Sun. November 14, 1940. p. 14 - via Newspapers.com.
14. ^ Saul Feldman (November 20, 1949). "Sooners Beat Off Santa Clara, 28 to 21". Miami (OK) Daily News-Record. pp. 1–2 - via Newspapers.com.1-2&rft.date=1949-11-20&rft.au=Saul+Feldman&rft_id=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/17410778/sooners_beat_off_santa_clara_28_to_21/&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:1949+Santa+Clara+Broncos+football+team" class="Z3988">
15. ^ "Spectacular Show Enthralls Bowl Throng". Miami Daily News. January 3, 1950. pp. 1–3, 9 - via Newspapers.com.1-3,+9&rft.date=1950-01-03&rft_id=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/17410844/spectacular_show_enthralls_bowl_throng/&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:1949+Santa+Clara+Broncos+football+team" class="Z3988">
16. ^ "1950 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football Reference. Retrieved February 24, 2024.

* v
* t
* e

Santa Clara Broncos football

Venues|

* Ewing Field
* Kezar Stadium
* Mission Field (?–1961)
* Buck Shaw Stadium (1962–1992)

Bowls & rivalries|

* Bowl games
* Saint Mary's: Little Big Game

Culture & lore|

* "Cheer, Cheer, Cheer"
* "Fight for Santa Clara"
* Death of Van Dokkelen

People|

* Head coaches
* All-Americans
* NFL draftees

Seasons|

* 1896
* 1897
* 1898
* 1899
* 1900
* 1901
* 1902
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* 1943–1945
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* 1953–1958
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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
*[No.]: Number