1955 Ohio Athletic Conference football season

The 1955 Ohio Athletic Conference football season was the season of college football played by the 14 member schools of the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC), commonly referred to as the "Ohio Conference", as part of the 1955 college football season.

1955 Ohio Athletic Conference football season
Sport	Football
Number of teams	14
Champion	Muskingum
Football seasons
← 1954 1956 →

1955 Ohio Athletic Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
Muskingum $	7	–	0	–	0			8	–	0	–	0
Heidelberg	5	–	0	–	0			9	–	0	–	0
Akron	6	–	2	–	0			6	–	2	–	0
Wooster	5	–	2	–	0			7	–	2	–	0
Hiram	3	–	2	–	0			5	–	3	–	0
Capital	4	–	3	–	0			5	–	3	–	0
Denison	3	–	3	–	2			4	–	3	–	2
Wittenberg	3	–	3	–	2			4	–	3	–	2
Ohio Wesleyan	1	–	2	–	2			3	–	4	–	2
Otterbein	2	–	4	–	1			2	–	5	–	1
Mount Union	1	–	5	–	1			1	–	5	–	2
Kenyon	0	–	4	–	0			0	–	7	–	0
Marietta	0	–	5	–	0			0	–	8	–	0
Oberlin	0	–	5	–	0			0	–	8	–	0
$ – Conference champion

The Muskingum Fighting Muskies, in their eleventh season under head coach Ed Sherman, won the OAC championship with an 8–0 record (7–0 against OAC opponents).

The Heidelberg Student Princes, led by tenth-year head coach Paul Hoernemann, finished in second place with a 9–0 record (5–0 against OAC opponents).

Teams

Muskingum

1955 Muskingum Fighting Muskies football
OAC champion
Conference	Ohio Athletic Conference
Record	8–0 (7–0 OAC)
Head coach	Ed Sherman (11th season)
Home stadium	McConagha Stadium
Seasons ← 1954 1956 →

The 1955 Muskingum Fighting Muskies football team represented Muskingum University of New Concord, Ohio. In their eleventh season under head coach Ed Sherman, the Fighting Muskies compiled a perfect 8–0 record (7–0 against OAC opponents), won the OAC championship, and outscored opponents by a total of 291 to 60.^[1] It was Muskingum's first conference championship since 1950 and its first perfect season since 1931.^[2][3]

Sherman won the "Ohio college football coach of the year" award, based on a poll of Ohio coaches. He defeated Doyt Perry and Ara Parseghian who finished second and third.^[4]

The 1955 season was one of four perfect seasons in Muskingum football history, along with 1926, 1931, and 1960.^[5]

The team played its home games at McConagha Stadium in New Concord, Ohio.

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 24	at Marietta	Zanesville, OH	W 53–0		^[6]
October 1	at Akron	Rubber Bowl Akron, OH	W 19–7	24,025	^[7]
October 8	Ohio Wesleyan	McConagha Stadium New Concord, OH	W 23–19		^[8]
October 15	Washington & Jefferson*	McConagha Stadium New Concord, OH	W 29–0		^[9]
October 22	at Wooster	Wooster, OH	W 35–14		^[10]
October 29	Capital	McConagha Stadium New Concord, OH	W 54–14		^[11]
November 5	Denison	McConagha Stadium New Concord, OH	W 38–0		^[12]
November 12	at Mount Union	Alliance, OH	W 40–6		^[2]
*Non-conference game

Heidelberg

1955 Heidelberg Student Princes football
Conference	Ohio Athletic Conference
Record	9–0 (5–0 OAC)
Head coach	Paul Hoernemann (10th season)
Seasons ← 1954 1956 →

The 1955 Heidelberg Student Princes football team represented Heidelberg College of Tiffin,Ohio. In their tenth year under head coach Paul Hoernemann, the Student Princes compiled a 9–0 record (5–0 against conference opponents), finished in second place in the OAC, and outscored opponents by a total of 253 to 96.^[13][14]

The team's statistical leaders included halfback Walter Livingston with 931 rushing yards, 178 receiving yards, and 102 points scored, and quarterback Bryan Powers with 596 passing yards.^[13] Three Heidelberg players were selected as first-team players on the International News Service's All-Ohio Conference football team: Livingston; back Roy King; and guard Jerry Zimmerman.^[15]

The 1955 season was the third perfect season in Heidelberg football history. Other perfect seasons were 1930, 1948, and 1972.^[16]

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 17	Bluffton*	Tiffin, OH	W 40–12
September 24	at Hope*	Holland, MI	W 28–6
October 1	at Ohio Wesleyan	Delaware, OH	W 35–26
October 8	Wittenberg	Tiffin, OH	W 20–0
October 15	at Capital	Columbus, OH	W 34–32
October 22	Baldwin–Wallace*	Tiffin, OH	W 34–0
October 29	Mount Union	Tiffin, OH	W 27–0
November 5	at Saint Joseph's*	Rensselaer, IN	W 14–13		^[17]
November 12	Akron	Columbian Stadium Tiffin, OH	W 21–7	5,000	^[18]
*Non-conference game

^[13]

Akron

1955 Akron Zips football
Conference	Ohio Athletic Conference
Record	6–2 (6–2 OAC)
Head coach	Joe McMullen (2nd season)
Captain	Mario Russo
Home stadium	Rubber Bowl
Seasons ← 1954 1956 →

The 1955 Akron Zips football team represented the University of Akron. In its second season under head coach Joe McMullen, the team compiled a 6–2 record (6–2 against OAC opponents), finished in second place in the OAC, and outscored opponents by a total of 245 to 73. Mario Russo was the team captain.^[19] The team played its home games at the Rubber Bowl in Akron, Ohio.

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 24	at Wittenberg	Springfield, OH	W 21–7		^[20]
October 1	Muskingum	Rubber Bowl Akron, OH	L 7–19	24,025	^[21]
October 8	at Otterbein	Westerville, OH	W 58–0		^[22]
October 15	Mount Union	Rubber Bowl Akron, OH	W 34–0
October 22	Denison	Rubber Bowl Akron, OH	W 19–7		^[23]
October 29	at Wooster	Wooster, OH	W 53–6		^[24]
November 5	Oberlin	Rubber Bowl Akron, OH	W 46–13		^[25]
November 12	at Heidelberg	Tiffin, OH	L 7–17		^[26]

Wooster

1955 Wooster Fighting Scots football
Conference	Ohio Athletic Conference
Record	7–2 (5–2 OAC)
Head coach	Philip L. Shipe (7th season)
Seasons ← 1954 1956 →

The 1955 Wooster Fighting Scots football team represented the College of Wooster of Wooster, Ohio. In their seventh year under head coach Philip L. Shpe, the Fighting Scots compiled a 2–4–2 record (2–4–2 against OAC opponents), the Fighting Scots finished in fourth place in the OAC, and were outscored opponents by a total of 245 to 163.^[27]

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 24	at Allegheny	Meadville, PA	W 41–13
October 1	Kenyon	Wooster, OH	W 27–0
October 8	at Waynesburg	Waynesburg, PA	W 27–12
October 15	at Denison	Granville, OH	W 21–19
October 22	Muskingum	Wooster, OH	L 14–35
October 29	Akron	Wooster, OH	L 6–53		^[24]
November 5	at Mount Union	Alliance, OH	W 27–13
November 12	at Hiram	Hiram, OH	W 35–12
November 19	Oberlin	Wooster, OH	W 47–6

Hiram

1955 Hiram Terriers football
Conference	Ohio Athletic Conference
Record	5–3 (3–2 OAC)
Head coach	Edward Chupa (2nd season)
Seasons ← 1954 1956 →

The 1955 Hiram Terriers football team represented the Hiram College of Hiram, Ohio. In their second year under head coach Edward Chupa, the Terriers compiled a 5–3 record (3–2 against OAC opponents), finished in fifth place in the OAC, and were outscored opponents by a total of 144 to 136.^[28]

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 24	at Bluffton	Bluffton, OH	W 14–6
October 1	Capital	Hiram, OH	L 12–15
October 8	at Grove City	Grove City, PA	W 19–6
October 15	Marietta	Hiram, OH	W 32–0
October 22	at Bethany (WV)	Bethany, WV	L 0–61
October 29	Otterbein	Hiram, OH	W 27–0
November 5	at Kenyon	Gambier, OH	W 27–0
November 12	Wooster	Hiram, OH	L 12–35

Capital

1955 Capital Crusaders football
Conference	Ohio Athletic Conference
Record	5–3 (4–3 OAC)
Head coach	Jack Landrum (5th season)
Seasons ← 1954 1956 →

The 1955 Capital Crusaders football team represented Capital University of Columbus, Ohio. The Crusaders compiled a 5–3 record (4–3 against OAC opponents), finished in sixth place in the OAC, and outscored opponents by a total of 224 to 147.^[29]

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 24	Ohio Northern	Columbus, OH	W 27–7
October 1	at Hiram	Hiram, OH	W 15–12
October 8	at Marietta	Marietta, OH	W 37–0
October 15	Heidelberg	Columbus, OH	L 32–34
October 22	Kenyon	Columbus, OH	W 46–6
October 29	at Muskingum	New Concord, OH	L 14–54
November 5	Wittenberg	Columbus, OH	L 20–27
November 12	Ottebein	Westerville, OH	W 33–7

Denison

1955 Denison Big Red football
Conference	Ohio Athletic Conference
Record	4–3–2 (3–3–2 OAC)
Head coach	Keith W. Piper (2nd season)
Seasons ← 1954 1956 →

The 1955 Denison Big Red football team represented Denison University of Granville, Ohio. In their second year under head coach Keith W. Piper, the Big Red compiled a 4–3–2 record (3–3–2 against OAC opponents), tied for seventh place in the OAC, and outscored opponents by a total of 146 to 144.^[30]

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 24	Washington & Jefferson	Granville, OH	W 27–13
October 1	at Mount Union	Alliance, OH	T 19–19
October 8	at Kenyon	Gambier, OH	W 34–6
October 15	Wooster	Granville, OH	L 19–21
October 22	at Akron	Akron, OH	L 7–19
October 29	Wittenberg	Granville, OH	W 13–8
November 5	at Muskingum	New Concord, OH	L 0–38
November 12	at Oberrlin	Oberlin, OH	W 27–20
November 19	Ohio Wesleyan	Granville, OH	T 0–0

Wittenberg

1955 Wittenberg Tigers football
Conference	Ohio Athletic Conference
Record	4–3–2 (3–3–2 OAC)
Head coach	Bill Edwards (1st season)
Seasons ← 1954 1956 →

The 1955 Wittenberg Tigers football team represented the Wittenberg University of Springfield, Ohio. In their first year under head coach Bill Edwards, the Tigers compiled a 4–3–2 record (3–3–2 against OAC opponents), finished in a tie for seventh place in the OAC, and outscored opponents by a total of 154 to 119.^[31]

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 17	Olivet	Springfield, OH	W 28–0
September 24	Akron	Springfield, OH	L 7–21
October 1	Marietta	Springfield, OH	W 44–13
October 8	at Heidelberg	Tiffin, OH	L 0–20
October 15	Otterbein	Springfield, OH	T 13–13
October 22	at Mount Union	Alliance, OH	W 14–6
October 29	at Denison	Granville, OH	L 8–13
November 5	at Capital	Columbus, OH	W 27–20
November 12	at Ohio Wesleyan	Delaware, OH	T 13–13

Ohio Wesleyan

1955 Ohio Wesleyan Battling Bishops football
Conference	Ohio Athletic Conference
Record	3–4–2 (1–2–2 OAC)
Head coach	Glenn Fraser (9th season)
Seasons ← 1954 1956 →

The 1955 Ohio Wesleyan Battling Bishops football team represented the Wittenberg University of Delaware, Ohio. In their ninth year under head coach Glenn Fraser, the Battling Bishops compiled a 3–4–2 record (1–2–2 against OAC opponents), finished in ninth place in the OAC, and outscored opponents by a total of 173 to 171.^[32]

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 24	Rochester	Delaware, OH	W 26–19
October 1	Heidelberg	Delaware, OH	L 26–35
October 8	at Muskingum	New Concord, OH	L 19–23
October 15	at Wabash	Crawfordsville, IN	L 14–27
October 22	at Oberlin	Oberlin, OH	W 20–14
October 29	Sewanee	Delaware, OH	W 42–12
November 5	Badlwin-Wallace	Delaware, OH	L 13–28
November 12	Wittenberg	Delaware, OH	T 13–13
November 19	at Denison	Granville, OH	T 0–0

Otterbein

1955 Otterbein Cardinals football
Conference	Ohio Athletic Conference
Record	2–5–1 (2–4–1 OAC)
Head coach	Bob Agler (1st season)
Home stadium	Memorial Stadium
Seasons ← 1954 1956 →

The 1955 Otterbein Cardinals football team represented Otterbein University of Westerville, Ohio. In their first season under head coach Bob Agler, the Cardinals compiled a 2–5–1 record (2–4–1 against OAC opponents), finished in tenth place in the OAC, and were outscored by a total of 226 to 84.^[33]

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 17	at Centre*	Danville, KY	L 13–28	1,500	^[34]
September 24	Mount Union	Memorial Stadium Westerville, OH	L 7–45		^[35]
October 1	at Oberlin	Oberlin, OH	W 19–14		^[36]
October 8	Akron	Memorial Stadium Westerville, OH	L 0–58		^[22]
October 13	Marietta	Memorial Stadium Westerville, OH	W 12–7
October 15	at Wittenberg	Springfield, OH	T 13–13
October 29	at Hiram	Hiram, OH	L 13–28		^[37]
November 12	Capital	Memorial Stadium Westerville, OH	L 7–33
*Non-conference game

Mount Union

1955 Mount Union Purple Raiders football
Conference	Ohio Athletic Conference
Record	1–5–2 (1–5–1 OAC)
Head coach	Nelson M. Jones (6th season)
Seasons ← 1954 1956 →

The 1955 Mount Union Purple Raiders football team represented the University of Mount Union of Alliance, Ohio. In their sixth and final season under head coach Nelson M. Jones, the Purple Raiders compiled a 1–5–2 record (1–5–1 against OAC opponents), finished in eleventh place in the OAC, and were outscored by a total of 174 to 95.^[38]

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 24	at Otterbein	Memorial Staium Westerville, OH	W 45–7		^[35]
October 1	Denison	Alliance, OH	T 19–19
October 8	at Western Reserve*	Clarke Field Cleveland, OH	T 6–6
October 15	at Akron	Akron, OH	L 0–34
October 22	Wittenberg	Alliance, OH	L 6–14
October 29	at Heidelberg	Tiffin, OH	L 0–27
November 5	Wooster	Alliance, OH	L 13–27
November 12	Muskingum	Alliance, OH	L 6–40
*Non-conference game

Kenyon

1955 Kenyon Lords football
Conference	Ohio Athletic Conference
Record	0–7 (0–4 OAC)
Head coach	William C. Stiles (3rd season)
Seasons ← 1954 1956 →

The 1955 Kenyon Lords football team represented Kenyon College of Gambier, Ohio. In their third year under head coach William C. Stiles, the Lords compiled a 0–7 record (0–4 against OAC opponents), finished in a three-way tie for last place in the OAC, and were outscored by a total of 207 to 19.^[39]

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 24	Ashland	Gambier, OH	L 7–14
October 1	at Wooster	Wooster, OH	L 0–27
October 8	Denison	Gambier, OH	L 6–34
October 15	at Hobart*	Geneva, NY	L 0–53
October 22	at Capital	Columbus, OH	L 6–46
October 29	Hamilton*	Gambier, OH	L 0–6
November 5	Hiram	Gambier, OH	L 0–27
*Non-conference game

Marietta

1955 Marietta Pioneers football
Conference	Ohio Athletic Conference
Record	0–8 (0–5 OAC)
Head coach	John R. Smith (4th season)
Seasons ← 1954 1956 →

The 1955 Marietta Pioneers football team represented the Marietta College of Marietta, Ohio. In their fourth year under head coach John R. Smith, the Pioneers compiled a 0–8 record (0–5 against OAC opponents), finished in a three-way tie for last place in the OAC, and were outscored by a total of 243 to 40.^[40]

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 24	at Muskingum	Zanesville, OH	L 0–53
October 1	at Wittenberg	Springfield, OH	L 13–44
October 8	Capital	Marietta, OH	L 0–37
October 13	at Otterbein	Westerville, OH	L 7–12
October 15	at Hiram	Hiram, OH	L 0–32
October 29	Ohio Northern	Marietta, OH	L 0–19
November 5	Bethany (WV)	Marietta, OH	L 13–27
November 12	at Wilmington	Wilmmington, OH	L 7–19

Oberlin

1955 Oberlin Yeomen football
Conference	Ohio Athletic Conference
Record	0–8 (0–5 OAC)
Head coach	Lysle K. Butler (26th season)
Seasons ← 1954 1956 →

The 1955 Oberlin Yeomen football team represented Oberlin College of Oberlin, Ohio. In their 26th season under head coach Lysle K. Butler, the Cardinals compiled a 0–8 record (0–5 against OAC opponents) and finished in a three-way tie for last place in the OAC.

All-conference team

The following players received honors on the All-Ohio Conference football teams:

• Ends: Rudy Visnich, Muskingum (INS-1); Fritz Stafford, Capital (INS-1)
• Tackles: Howard Collins, Muskingum (INS-1); Bill Wagner, Denison (INS-1)
• Guards: Mario Russo, Akron (INS-1); Jerry Zimmerman, Heidelberg (INS-1)
• Center: Curt Rehfuss, Mount Union (INS-1); Jack Lofstrom, Muskingum (INS-2)
• Quarterback: Joe McDaniel, Muskingum (INS-1); Dick Zahn, Hiram (INS-2)
• Backs: Walt Livingston, Heidelberg (INS-1); Dick Jacobs, Wooster (INS-1); Roy King, Heidelberg (INS-1); Tom Dingle, Wooster (INS-2); Gene Urbanski, Wittenberg (INS-2); Ben Kimbrough, Akron (INS-2)

^[41]

References

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34. "Largest Opening Crowd Sees Centre Colonels Win 28-13". The Danville Advocate-Messenger. September 19, 1955. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
35. "Mount Union Stuns Otterbein, 45-7". The Lima News. September 25, 1955. p. 2D – via Newspapers.com.
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