1955 Columbia Lions football team

The 1955 Columbia Lions football team was an American football team that represented Columbia University as an independent during the 1955 college football season.

1955 Columbia Lions football
Conference	Independent
1955 record	1–8
Head coach	Lou Little (26th season)
Captain	Manfredo Bucci
Home stadium	Baker Field

1955 Eastern college football independents records
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
Drexel			–					8	–	0	–	0
Carnegie Tech			–					5	–	1	–	1
Princeton			–					7	–	2	–	0
Yale			–					7	–	2	–	0
Tufts			–					5	–	2	–	0
Boston College			–					5	–	2	–	1
No. 20 Army			–					6	–	3	–	0
Colgate			–					6	–	3	–	0
No. 11 Pittsburgh			–					7	–	4	–	0
Holy Cross			–					6	–	4	–	0
Syracuse			–					5	–	3	–	0
Cornell			–					5	–	4	–	0
Penn State			–					5	–	4	–	0
Buffalo			–					4	–	4	–	1
Harvard			–					3	–	4	–	1
Dartmouth			–					3	–	6	–	0
Hofstra			–					3	–	6	–	0
Bucknell			–					2	–	6	–	1
Boston University			–					2	–	6	–	0
Franklin & Marshall			–					2	–	6	–	0
Brown			–					2	–	7	–	0
Columbia			–					1	–	8	–	0
Villanova			–					1	–	9	–	0
Temple			–					0	–	8	–	0
Penn			–					0	–	9	–	0
Rankings from AP Poll

In their 26th season under head coach Lou Little, the Lions compiled a 1–8 record, and were outscored 251 to 74. Manfredo Bucci was the team captain.[1]

This would be Columbia's final year as a football independent, as the Ivy League, which Columbia had helped co-found in 1954, began football competition in 1956. Six of the nine opponents on Columbia's 1955 schedule were Ivy League members (with Penn the only Ivy not scheduled); for decades, (future) Ivy members had comprised a large portion of Columbia's opponents.

Columbia played its home games at Baker Field in Upper Manhattan, in New York City.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 24	Brown	Baker Field New York, NY	W 14–12	8,000	[2]
October 1	at Princeton	Palmer Stadium Princeton, NJ	L 7–20	15,500	[3]
October 8	at Yale	Yale Bowl New Haven, CT	L 14–46	15,000	[4]
October 15	Harvard	Baker Field New York, NY	L 7–21	15,000	[5]
October 22	at Army	Michie Stadium West Point, NY	L 0–45	22,500	[6]
October 29	at Cornell	Schoellkopf Field Ithaca, NY (rivalry)	L 19–34	14,000	[7]
November 5	Dartmouth	Baker Field New York, NY	L 7–14	10,000	[8]
November 12	No. 13 Navy	Baker Field New York, NY	L 0–47	28,000	[9]
November 19	Rutgers	Baker Field New York, NY	L 6–12	3,000	[10]
Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

References

1. "Columbia Football 2019 Record Book". New York, N.Y.: Columbia University. p. 215. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
2. Danzig, Allison (September 24, 1955). "Lions Top Brown; Columbia Rallies for 14-to-12 Victory in Opening Game". The New York Times. New York, N.Y. p. S1.
3. Sheehan, Joseph M. (October 2, 1955). "Tigers Vanquish Columbia on Second-Half Drive, 20-7". The New York Times. New York, N.Y. p. S1.
4. Sheehan, Joseph M. (October 9, 1955). "Yale Crushes Columbia, 46-14; M'Gill Is Eli Ace". The New York Times. New York, N.Y. p. S1.
5. Effrat, Louis (October 16, 1955). "Crimson Subdues Columbia, 21 to 7". The New York Times. New York, N.Y. p. S1.
6. Werden, Lincoln A. (October 23, 1955). "Cadets' Power on Ground Crushes Columbia, 45 to 0". The New York Times. New York, N.Y. p. S1.
7. Strauss, Michael (October 30, 1955). "Roberson Ace as Big Red Crushes Columbia, 34-19". The New York Times. New York, N.Y. p. S1.
8. Werden, Lincoln A. (November 6, 1955). "Dartmouth Rallies in Mud to Down Columbia, 14 to 7". The New York Times. New York, N.Y. p. S1.
9. Effrat, Louis (November 13, 1955). "Navy Routs Columbia, 47-0; Record by Welsh". The New York Times. New York, N.Y. p. S1.
10. Strauss, Michael (November 20, 1955). "Rutgers PIns 8th Setback on Lions in Finale, 12 to 6". The New York Times. New York, N.Y. p. S1.