1955 Idaho Vandals football team

The 1955 Idaho Vandals football team represented the University of Idaho in the 1955 college football season. The Vandals were led by second-year head coach Skip Stahley and were members of the Pacific Coast Conference. Home games were played on campus at Neale Stadium in Moscow, with one home game in Boise at old Bronco Stadium at Boise Junior College.

1955 Idaho Vandals football
ConferencePacific Coast Conference
1955 record2–7 (0–4 PCC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Earl Klapstein (line)
  • Gene Stauber (ends)
  • Jay Pattee (backs)
  • Clem Parberry (freshmen)
Home stadiumNeale Stadium
1955 Pacific Coast Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
No. 4 UCLA $ 6 –0 –0  9 –2 –0
Oregon State 5 –2 –0  6 –3 –0
No. 16 Stanford 3 –2 –1  6 –3 –1
Oregon 4 –3 –0  6 –4 –0
Washington 4 –3 –1  5 –4 –1
No. 13 USC 3 –3 –0  6 –4 –0
California 1 –5 –1  2 –7 –1
Washington State 1 –5 –1  1 –7 –2
Idaho 0 –4 –0  2 –7 –0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

Idaho compiled a 2–7 overall record and lost all four games in the PCC. After seven losses to open, including three straight shutouts, they won their last two games.

The Vandals lost the Battle of the Palouse with neighbor Washington State, blanked 0–9 at home on October 15.[1][2] Idaho won the previous year in Pullman, the first win over the Cougars since 1925; the next came in 1964. In the rivalry game with Montana, Idaho ran its winning streak over the Grizzlies to four and retained the Little Brown Stein.[3][4]

Notable players

This Vandal team had two sophomores who went on to extended careers in professional football.

Jerry Kramer of Sandpoint played eleven seasons at right guard with the Green Bay Packers and won five NFL titles (and the first two Super Bowls) under head coach Vince Lombardi. He was an All-Pro five times and was the lead blocker on the famous Packers sweep. Kramer made the NFL's all-decade team for the 1960s and was the last member of the NFL's 50th anniversary team to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, at age 82 in 2018.

Wayne Walker of Boise played fifteen seasons with the Detroit Lions as an outside linebacker and was named All-Pro three times. Both were selected in the fourth round of the 1958 NFL Draft; Kramer was 39th overall and Walker 45th, and both were periodic placekickers as pros. (As Vandals, Kramer was the kicker and Walker was the long snapper.)

Schedule
DateTimeOpponentSiteResultAttendance
September 17at Washington
L 7–1425,561
September 24vs. Utah*
L 13–20
October 17:00 pmat Arizona*
L 14–4720,000
October 81:30 pmPacific (CA)*
L 0–20  9,500
October 152:00 pmWashington State
L 0–915,000
October 291:30 pmat Oregon
L 0–25  9,500
November 51:30 pmat Oregon State
L 14–33  9,000
November 11at Brigham Young*
W 49–6
November 191:30 pmMontana*
W 31–0  1,500
  • One game was played on Friday (BYU at Provo, afternoon)

All-conference

No Vandals were on the All-PCC team or the second team. Honorable mention were fullback Wilbur Gary and sophomore center Wayne Walker.[15][16]

NFL Draft

No Vandals were selected in the 1956 NFL Draft.

One junior from the 1955 Vandals was selected in the 1957 NFL Draft:[17]

PlayerPositionRound  Pick  Franchise
Dick Foster        T11th129Washington Redskins

Five sophomores were selected in the 1958 NFL Draft:[18][19]

PlayerPositionRound  Pick  Franchise
Jerry KramerG4th39Green Bay Packers
Wayne WalkerC4th45Detroit Lions
Larry AldrichE11th127Pittsburgh Steelers
Wade PattersonE16th183   Chicago Cardinals   
Alvin JohnsonT18th216Cleveland Browns

References
  1. "Cougars beat Idaho 10-0 in bruising Palouse battle". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. October 16, 1955. p. 10.
  2. Boni, Bill (October 16, 1955). "Sarno sparks Cougars to 9-0 win". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. 1, sports.
  3. Peterson, Fred (November 20, 1955). "Gary gallops; UI wins, 31-0". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. 1, sports.
  4. "Vandals blank Montana; keep series trophy". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). November 21, 1955. p. 22.
  5. Boni, Bill (September 18, 1955). "Huskies stop courageous Vandals, 14 to 7". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. 1, sports.
  6. "Vandals dumped by Redskins, 20-13". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. September 25, 1955. p. 1, sports.
  7. "Arizona unveils new passing star in beating Idaho 47-14". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). October 2, 1955. p. 8.
  8. "COP Tigers crush Idaho, 20-0". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. October 9, 1955. p. 11.
  9. Boni, Bill (October 9, 1955). "Rough, tough Tigers humble Idaho, 20-0". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. 2, sports.
  10. Strite, Dick (October 30, 1955). "Oregon wins 4th; Vandals blanked, 25-0". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). p. 1B.
  11. "Ducks scamper on wet turf to hand Idaho 25-0 defeat". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. October 30, 1955. p. 8.
  12. "Idaho's Vandals swamped 33-14 by late Beaver scores". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. November 6, 1955. p. 1B.
  13. "UI wins first tilt, 49 to 6". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. November 12, 1955. p. 10.
  14. "Idaho wins first by wide edge; senior end suffers knee injury". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). November 12, 1955. p. 8.
  15. "PCC coaches pick football all-star team". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. December 6, 1955. p. 24.
  16. "Coaches name PCC all-stars; all like Arnett". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. December 7, 1955. p. 24.
  17. "1957 NFL Draft". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved November 2, 2017.
  18. "1958 NFL Draft". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved November 2, 2017.
  19. "Idaho roster". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). October 15, 1955. p. 8.
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