1953 William & Mary Indians football team

The 1953 William & Mary Indians football team represented the College of William & Mary as a member of the Southern Conference (SoCon) during the 1953 college football season. The team is considered, within the school's community, to be one of the most remarkable stories in its athletics history.[1] Due to an academic cheating scandal (unrelated to the 1951 scandal), eight of the team's starting members were dismissed from school and another portion of the remaining 33 players transferred out. Among the 24 remaining players, five were returning Korean War veterans and one other had never played a minute of football in his life. Many of them were undersized (the quarterback stood 5′8″ and weighed 160 pounds) and the coaching staff was few in numbers: five total, including Boydson Baird, William & Mary's head basketball coach.

1953 William & Mary Indians football
ConferenceSouthern Conference
Record5–4–1 (3–2 SoCon)
Head coach
CaptainTommy Martin, Steve Milkovich
Home stadiumCary Field
1953 Southern Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 10 West Virginia $ 4 –0 –08 –2 –0
Furman 2 –0 –07 –2 –0
George Washington 4 –2 –05 –4 –0
William & Mary 3 –2 –05 –4 –1
Richmond 3 –3 –05 –3 –1
VPI 3 –3 –05 –5 –0
VMI 3 –3 –05 –5 –0
Washington and Lee 2 –4 –04 –6 –0
The Citadel 1 –3 –02 –7 –0
Davidson 0 –5 –00 –9 –0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

Their schedule was so tough that opposing teams would call ahead to make sure that William & Mary still intended on playing them the following week. The Indians started the season 5–2–1 before losing their final two games after accumulating injuries with few available substitutions. Six of the players went on to play professional football. The 1953 team was profiled in a 2011 book written by Rene A. Henry and titled The Iron Indians.[1][2]

Schedule
DateTimeOpponentSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 19vs. Wake Forest*
W 16–1420,000
September 26at Navy*
T 6–6
October 3at Cincinnati*
L 7–57
October 17VPI
W 13–7[3]
October 24George Washington
  • Cary Field
  • Williamsburg, VA
W 12–76,500[4]
October 31at NC State*
W 7–6
November 7vs. VMI
L 19–20[5]
November 14at Richmond
W 21–018,000[6]
November 21Washington and Lee
  • Cary Field
  • Williamsburg, VA
L 7–333,300[7]
November 281:30 p.m.Boston University*
  • Cary Field
  • Williamsburg, VA
L 14–412,300[8][9]
  • *Non-conference game

NFL Draft selections
= Pro Football Hall of Fame = Canadian Football Hall of Fame = College Football Hall of Fame
Year Round Pick Overall Name Team Position
1954 3 12 37 Bill Bowman Detroit Lions Back
1954 5 12 61 George Parozzo Detroit Lions Tackle
1954 19 1 218 Jerry Sazio Chicago Cardinals Tackle
1954 22 5 258 Charlie Sumner Chicago Bears Back

References
  1. Ducibella, Jim (September 30, 2011). ""Iron Indians" recalls a season of grit, determination". College of William & Mary. Retrieved June 26, 2012.
  2. Freund, Kelly (September 28, 2018). "Remembering and saluting W&M's 1953 'Iron Indians'". W&M Alumni Magazine. College of William & Mary. Retrieved June 8, 2021.
  3. "Big Green Silences Squawking Gobblers in Thriller" (PDF). The Flat Hat. College of William & Mary. October 20, 1953. p. 5. Retrieved July 24, 2017.
  4. "William and Mary edges George Washington 12–7". The Bristol Herald Courier. October 25, 1953. Retrieved February 10, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. "VMI rallies in last 56 seconds to upset William and Mary, 20–19". Daily Press. November 8, 1953. Retrieved January 4, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. "W&M grabs 21–0 victory". Durham Morning Herald. November 15, 1953. Retrieved November 6, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. "Halfback Carol Bolt sparks Generals to 33–7 triumph". Norfolk Virginian-Pilot. November 22, 1953. Retrieved August 21, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. Drewry, Walt (November 28, 1953). "Injured Indians Are Underdogs to Powerful BU Terriers Today". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Richmond, Virginia. p. 13. Retrieved July 6, 2021 – via Newspapers.com open access.
  9. Karmosky, Charles (November 29, 1953). "Terriers' Depth Mauls Thinly-Manned Indians". Daily Press. Newport News, Virginia. p. 27. Retrieved July 6, 2021 – via Newspapers.com open access.


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