1952 Purdue Boilermakers football team

The 1952 Purdue Boilermakers football team was an American football team that represented Purdue University during the 1952 Big Ten Conference football season. In their sixth season under head coach Stu Holcomb, the Boilermakers compiled a 4–3–2 record, finished in a tie with Wisconsin for first place in the Big Ten Conference with a 4–1–1 record against conference opponents, and outscored all opponents by a combined total of 188 to 151.[1][2]

1952 Purdue Boilermakers football
Big Ten co-champion
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 12
AP	No. 18
1952 record	4–3–2 (4–1–1 Big Ten)
Head coach	Stu Holcomb (6th season)
MVP	Earl Heninger
Home stadium	Ross–Ade Stadium

1952 Big Ten Conference football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 11 Wisconsin +	4	–	1	–	1			6	–	3	–	1
No. 18 Purdue +	4	–	1	–	1			4	–	3	–	2
No. 17 Ohio State	5	–	2	–	0			6	–	3	–	0
Michigan	4	–	2	–	0			5	–	4	–	0
Minnesota	3	–	1	–	2			4	–	3	–	2
Illinois	2	–	5	–	0			4	–	5	–	0
Northwestern	2	–	5	–	0			2	–	6	–	1
Iowa	2	–	5	–	0			2	–	7	–	0
Indiana	1	–	5	–	0			2	–	7	–	0
+ – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

Notable players on the 1952 Purdue team included quarterback Dale Samuels, end Bernie Flowers, center Walter Cudzik, and tackle Fred Preziosio. Flowers was selected as a consensus first-team end on the 1952 College Football All-America Team.[3]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result
September 27	at Penn State*		New Beaver Field University Park, PA	T 20–20
October 4	at No. 15 Ohio State		Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH	W 21–14
October 11	Iowa	No. 16	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN	W 41–14
October 18	Notre Dame*	No. 9	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN (rivalry)	L 14–26
October 25	at Illinois		Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL (Purdue Cannon)	W 40–12
November 1	No. 1 Michigan State*	No. 8	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN	L 7–14
November 8	at Minnesota	No. 9	Memorial Stadium Minneapolis, MN	T 14–14
November 15	at No. 20 Michigan	No. 10	Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI	L 10–21
November 22	Indiana		Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN (Old Oaken Bucket)	W 21–16
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Season summary

Ohio State

• Max Schmaling 23 rushes, 139 yards [4]

Illinois

• Earl Heninger 17 rushes, 112 yards [5]
• Max Schmaling 16 rushes, 112 yards [6]

References

1. "Purdue Yearly Results (1950-1954)". College Football Data Warehouse. David DeLassus. Retrieved December 8, 2015.
2. "1952 Purdue Boilermakers Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 6, 2015.
3. "2014 NCAA Football Records: Consensus All-America Selections" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). 2014. p. 6. Retrieved February 10, 2015.
4. 2020 Purdue Record Book. Retrieved 2020-Dec-29.
5. 2020 Purdue Record Book. Retrieved 2021-Jan-02.
6. 2020 Purdue Record Book. Retrieved 2021-Jan-02.