1952 Idaho Vandals football team

The 1952 Idaho Vandals football team represented the University of Idaho in the 1952 college football season. The Vandals were led by second-year head coach Raymond "Babe" Curfman and were members of the Pacific Coast Conference. Home games were played on campus at Neale Stadium in Moscow, with one game in Boise at old Bronco Stadium at Boise Junior College.

1952 Idaho Vandals football
Conference	Pacific Coast Conference
Record	4–4–1 (1–3 PCC)
Head coach	Babe Curfman (2nd season)
Assistant coaches	John Nikcevich (guards) Mack Flenniken (ends) Chuck Gottfried (tackles) Art Smith (freshmen)
Offensive scheme	Split-T^[1]
Home stadium	Neale Stadium
Seasons ← 1951 1953 →

1952 Pacific Coast Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 5 USC $	6	–	0	–	0			10	–	1	–	0
No. 6 UCLA	5	–	1	–	0			8	–	1	–	0
Washington	6	–	2	–	0			7	–	3	–	0
California	3	–	3	–	0			7	–	3	–	0
Washington State	3	–	4	–	0			4	–	6	–	0
Stanford	2	–	5	–	0			5	–	5	–	0
Oregon	2	–	5	–	0			2	–	7	–	1
Idaho	1	–	3	–	0			4	–	4	–	1
Oregon State	1	–	6	–	0			2	–	7	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

Led on the field by quarterback Wayne Anderson,^[2] Idaho compiled a 4–4–1 overall record and were 1–3 in the PCC.^[3]

In the home opener against Oregon on October 4, Idaho outplayed the visitors for 56 minutes, but gave up two late touchdowns and lost by six.^[4][5]

The Vandals suffered a second straight loss in the Battle of the Palouse with neighbor Washington State, falling 36–6 at Rogers Field in Pullman on November 1.^[6][7] The previous two editions had been competitive, with a 7–7 tie in 1950 and 9–6 battle in Moscow in 1951.^[8][9] The loss prevented the first winning season for Idaho football since 1938. It ran the winless streak against the Cougars to 26 games, a record of 0–24–2 since taking three straight in 1923–25; the Vandals broke the streak two years later in Pullman.^[10]

Idaho regrouped and concluded the season with two convincing wins over Montana at home and Oregon State in Corvallis in the last varsity game played at Bell Field.

Following his playing days, Anderson was a head coach for the Vandals in baseball (1958–66) and basketball (1966–74); he was also an assistant athletic director (1971–74, 1982–94).

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 20	1:00 pm	at Washington	Husky Stadium Seattle, WA	L 14–39	31,912	^[11]
September 27	1:00 pm	vs. Utah*	old Bronco Stadium Boise, ID	T 21–21	9,500	^[12]^[13]
October 4	2:00 pm	Oregon	Neale Stadium Moscow, ID	L 14–20	11,542	^[4]^[5]
October 11	12:30 pm	at Utah State*	old Romney Stadium Logan, UT	W 6–3		^[14]^[15]
October 18	2:00 pm	North Dakota State*	Neale Stadium Moscow, ID	W 54–9	11,000	^[16]^[17]
October 24	8:00 pm	vs. Santa Clara*	Kezar Stadium San Francisco, CA	L 7–9	5,000	^[18]^[19]
November 1	1:30 pm	at Washington State	Rogers Field Pullman, WA (Battle of the Palouse)	L 6–36	14,000	^[6]^[7]
November 8	1:30 pm	Montana*	Neale Stadium Moscow, ID (Little Brown Stein)	W 27–0	4,000	^[20]^[21]
November 15	1:30 pm	at Oregon State	Bell Field Corvallis, OR	W 27–6	8,000	^[22]^[23]
*Non-conference game Homecoming All times are in Pacific time

• One game was played on Friday (at night vs. Santa Clara in San Francisco)

All-conference

Main article: 1952 All-Pacific Coast football team

No Vandals were on the All-PCC team; honorable mention on defense were end Ray Lewis, tackle Don Ringe, and linebacker Bob Holder.^[24][25]

NFL Draft

One senior from the 1952 Vandals was selected in the 1953 NFL Draft:^[26]

Player	Position	Round	Pick	Franchise
Don Ringe	T	26th	303	Chicago Cardinals

One junior was selected in the 1954 NFL Draft:^[27]

Player	Position	Round	Pick	Franchise
Mel Bertrand	C	29th	349	Detroit Lions

One sophomore was selected in the 1955 NFL Draft:^[28]

Player	Position	Round	Pick	Franchise
Burdette Hess	G	15th	178	San Francisco 49ers

• Often incorrectly listed as a UI Vandal, tackle Norm Hayes (1954 draft, #217) played at the College of Idaho in Caldwell.
• List of Idaho Vandals in the NFL Draft

References

1. "Underdog Vandals have upset ideas". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). September 18, 1952. p. 13.
2. "WSC-Idaho lineups". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). November 1, 1952. p. 10.
3. "Pacific Coast Conference standings". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. November 17, 1952. p. 11.
4. Strite, Dick (October 5, 1952). "Webfoots defeat Idaho 20-14 for first win". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). p. 1C.
5. "Vandals outplay Ducks for 56 minutes before bowing 20-14". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. October 5, 1952. p. 9.
6. "Dazzling Cougar air attack stuns fumbling Idaho 36-6". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. November 2, 1952. p. 10.
7. "Oregon next for WSC; Vandals crushed 36-6". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). November 3, 1952. p. 19.
8. Boni, Bill (November 1, 1952). "WSC favored by 19 points". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. 10.
9. "Speculation high on outcome of WSC-Idaho tilt". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). October 31, 1952. p. 15.
10. Boni, Bill (October 24, 1954). "Idaho thumps WSC, 10-0". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. 1, sports.
11. "Heinrich's aerial magic routs Idaho 39-14". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). September 21, 1952. p. 8.
12. "Vandals, Utah deadlock 21-21". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. September 28, 1952. p. 2C.
13. "Vandals come from behind in last minute to tie Utah". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. September 28, 1952. p. 9.
14. "Victory-hungry Idaho edges Utah State 6-3". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. October 12, 1952. p. 9.
15. Boni, Bill (October 12, 1952). "Utah State quarterback hands Idaho victory". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. 1, sports.
16. "Idaho offensive smears North Dakota State 54-9". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. October 19, 1952. p. 9.
17. Boni, Bill (October 19, 1952). "Vandals go wild in last period, smear Bisons". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. 1, sports.
18. "Field goal gives Santa Clara 9-7 victory margin over Idaho". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. October 25, 1952. p. 3.
19. "Broncos trim Vandals with late field goal". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). United Press. October 25, 1952. p. 8.
20. Boni, Bill (November 9, 1952). "Idaho's Vandals smother Montana by broad margin". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. 1, sports.
21. "Anderson, Lewis shine as Idaho wallops Montana". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. November 9, 1952. p. 8.
22. "Idaho cracks OSC defense for 27-6 win". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. November 16, 1952. p. 1, sports.
23. "Brilliant Idaho second half routs Oregon State 27-6". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. November 16, 1952. p. 10.
24. "Three Washington gridders named to All-Coast". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). Associated Press. November 27, 1952. p. 35.
25. "UCLA's Moomaw unanimous pick for All-Pacific Coast grid club". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. November 28, 1952. p. 8.
26. . Pro Football Reference. Archived from the original on October 30, 2010. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
27. . Pro Football Reference. Archived from the original on November 23, 2010. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
28. . Pro Football Reference. Archived from the original on November 22, 2010. Retrieved November 7, 2017.

External links

• Gem of the Mountains: 1953 University of Idaho yearbook – 1952 football season
• Go Mighty Vandals – 1952 football season
• Official game program: Idaho at Washington State – November 1, 1952
• Idaho Argonaut – student newspaper – 1952 editions