1963 Illinois Fighting Illini football team

American college football season

1963 Illinois Fighting Illini football

Big Ten champion
Rose Bowl champion

Rose Bowl, W 17–7 vs. Washington

Conference| Big Ten Conference
Ranking
Coaches| No. 4
AP| No. 3
Record| 8–1–1 (5–1–1 Big Ten)
Head coach|

* Pete Elliott (4th season)

MVP| Dick Butkus
Captains|

* Mike Taliaferro
* Dick Deller

Home stadium| Memorial Stadium

Seasons

← 1962

1964 →

1963 Big Ten Conference football standings

* v
* t
* e

| Conf. |  |  | Overall

|
|
|
|

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

* $ – Conference champion

Rankings from AP Poll

The 1963 Illinois Fighting Illini football team was an American football team that represented the University of Illinois during the 1963 Big Ten Conference football season. In their fourth year under head coach Pete Elliott, the Illini compiled an 8–1–1 record, finished in first place in the Big Ten Conference, were ranked #3 in the final AP Poll, and defeated Washington in the 1964 Rose Bowl. The sole loss was a 14-8 defeat against Michigan.[1]

Illinois center/linebacker Dick Butkus was selected as the team's most valuable player, won the 1963 Chicago Tribune Silver Football trophy as the Big Ten's most valuable player, and was honored as a unanimous first-team player on the 1963 College Football All-America Team.[2][3] Tackle Archie Sutton was selected by the Newspaper Enterprise Association as a second-team All-American.[4]

Quarterback Mike Taliaferro led the team with 450 passing yards while Jim Grabowski led the team with 616 rushing yards. Gregg Schumacher led the team with 133 receiving yards.[5]

## Schedule

[edit]

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

|
|
|
|
|
|

September 28| California*| |

* Memorial Stadium
* Champaign, IL

| W 10–0| 42,357|
October 5| No. 4 Northwestern| |

* Memorial Stadium
* Champaign, IL (rivalry)

| W 10–9| 51,286|
October 12| at No. 8 Ohio State| |

* Ohio Stadium
* Columbus, OH (Illibuck)

| T 20–20| 84,712|
October 19| Minnesota| No. 7|

* Memorial Stadium
* Champaign, IL

| W 16–6| 61,229|
October 25| at UCLA*| No. 4|

* Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
* Los Angeles, CA

| W 18–12| 24,616|
November 2| Purdue| No. 2|

* Memorial Stadium
* Champaign, IL (rivalry)

| W 41–21| 61,796|
November 9| Michigan| No. 2|

* Memorial Stadium
* Champaign, IL (rivalry)

| L 8–14| 55,810| [6][7]
November 16| at Wisconsin| No. 8|

* Camp Randall Stadium
* Madison, WI

| W 17–7| 65,418|
November 28| at No. 4 Michigan State| No. 8|

* Spartan Stadium
* East Lansing, MI

| W 13–0| 74,342|
January 1| vs. Washington*| No. 3|

* Rose Bowl
* Pasadena, CA (Rose Bowl)

| W 17–7| 96,957|

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

[1]

## Players

[edit]

* Dick Butkus \- center/linebacker
* Jim Grabowski \- running back
* Sammy Price \- running back
* Gregg Schumacher \- end
* Archie Sutton \- tackle
* Mike Taliaferro \- quarterback
* Wylie Fox - lineman
* Rich Callaghan - end (offense & defense)

## Awards and honors

[edit]

* Dick Butkus (Linebacker)
* Chicago Tribune Silver Football
* Consensus First-Team All-American (linebacker)
* All-American (center)
* Archie Sutton (Tackle)
* All-American (tackle)

## Roster

[edit]

Player  | Position

|

Bill Pasko | End
Neal Anderson |
Jim Plankenhorn | Offensive Tackle, Placekicker
Al Wheatland | Halfback
Mike Taliaferro (co-captain)  | Quarterback
Dick Deller (co-captain)  | Guard
Ron Fearn | Fullback
Mike Dundy | Defensive back
Dave Anderson |
Jim Warren | Halfback
Sammy Price | Halfback
Gary Eickman | Tackle
Jim Wainwright |
Lynn Stewart  | Offensive Tackle
Bob Easter | Offensive Tackle
Dee Rutherford |
Dick Butkus | Center/Linebacker
Todd Gabbett | Guard
Rich Callaghan | End (offense & defense)
Fred Custardo | Quarterback, Placekicker
Larry Justiz |
Tony Parola |
Barry Deist |
Les Feuquay |
Dick Dorr |
Hal Wineland |
Ken Schreiner | Guard
Mario Camanaro |
Paul Upton  |
Bill Minor  | Guard
Hugh Woodson |
Gregg Schumacher | End
Dennis Senkowski |
Bruce Capel |
Art McCaskill |
Wayne Paulson | Halfback
Dave Mueller |
George Donnelly | Defensive Back
Dick Kee |
Dick Hochleutner |
Charles Galbreath  |
Wylie Fox | Guard
Terry Fairbanks |
Jim Grabowski | Halfback
Kai Anderson |
Dick Fitzgerald  |
Ron Acks | Fullback, Linebacker
Mike Summers  |
Ken Nietupski | Tackle
Wayne Strauch |
Joe Wolfe |
Ed Walsh |
Jack Maggiore | Offensive Lineman
Dave DeWolf |
Bill Farrell  |
Jim Unrath |
Steve Kimbell |
Royce Neisz |
John Willis  |
Archie Sutton | Offensive Tackle
Bob Petkus |
Don Hansen | Linebacker
Eddie Russell |
Dave Russell  |
Dave Powless | Guard
Dale Greco |
John Walker  |
Bernie McCabe |
Ed Terrill |
Bill Harper  |
Brian Duniec | Guard
Ed Washington | Offensive Tackle

* Head coach: Pete Elliott (3rd year at Illinois)

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b "1963 Illinois Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 16, 2015.
2. ^ "Fighting Illini Football Record Book" (PDF). University of Illinois. 2015. p. 155. Retrieved December 29, 2016.
3. ^ "2014 NCAA Football Records: Consensus All-America Selections" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). 2014. p. 7\. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 22, 2014. Retrieved December 16, 2015.
4. ^ "Staubach Leads Youthful NEA All-Americans". Evening Independent, St. Petersburg, FL. December 2, 1963. p. 14A.
5. ^ "1963 Illinois Fighting Illini Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 16, 2015.
6. ^ Lyall Smith (November 10, 1963). "Michigan KOs Illinois, 14 to 8". Detroit Free Press. p. 1D, 3D – via Newspapers.com.
7. ^ Mike Block (November 10, 1963). "'M' Humbles Fumbling Illinois, 14-8". The Michigan Daily. pp. 1, 7 – via Bentley Historical Library.

* v
* t
* e

Illinois Fighting Illini football

Venues|

* Illinois Field (1890–1922)
* Memorial Stadium (1923–present)
* Soldier Field (1994–present)

Bowls & rivalries|

* Bowl games
* Indiana
* Michigan
* Missouri
* Northwestern
* Ohio State: Illibuck
* Purdue

Culture & lore|

* Illinois Loyalty
* "Oskee Wow-Wow"
* Marching Illini
* Gene Honda
* Fighting Illini Sports Network
* Chief Illiniwek
* 1960s slush fund scandal
* 2021 Penn State game

People|

* Head coaches
* NFL draftees
* Statistical leaders

Seasons|

* 1890
* 1891
* 1892
* 1893
* 1894
* 1895
* 1896
* 1897
* 1898
* 1899
* 1900
* 1901
* 1902
* 1903
* 1904
* 1905
* 1906
* 1907
* 1908
* 1909
* 1910
* 1911
* 1912
* 1913
* 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

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)
* Oregon (2024)

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