1923 California Golden Bears football team
| 1923 California Golden Bears football | |
|---|---|
National champion (Houlgate) PCC champion | |
| Conference | Pacific Coast Conference |
| Record | 9–0–1 (5–0 PCC) |
| Head coach |
|
| Offensive scheme | Short-punt |
| Captain | Donald Nichols |
| Home stadium | California Field California Memorial Stadium |
Uniform | |
| Conf. | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| $ | 5 | – | 0 | – | 0 | 9 | – | 0 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Washington^ | 4 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 10 | – | 1 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stanford | 2 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 7 | – | 2 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| USC | 2 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 6 | – | 2 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Idaho | 2 | – | 2 | – | 1 | 5 | – | 2 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Oregon Agricultural | 1 | – | 3 | – | 1 | 4 | – | 5 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Washington State | 1 | – | 3 | – | 1 | 2 | – | 4 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Oregon | 0 | – | 4 | – | 1 | 3 | – | 4 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 1923 California Golden Bears football team was an American football team that represented the University of California, Berkeley in the Pacific Coast Conference (PCC) during the 1923 college football season. In their eighth year under head coach Andy Smith, the team compiled a 9–0–1 record (5–0 against PCC opponents), shut out nine of ten opponents, won the PCC championship, and outscored its opponents by a combined total of 182 to 7.[1][2] The team was selected retroactively as a 1923 national champion by Deke Houlgate, who used his math system to award annual national titles from 1929 to 1958.[3]
Schedule
| Date | Opponent | Site | Result | Attendance | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 22 | California alumni* | W 3–0 | [4] | ||
| September 29 | Saint Mary's* |
| W 49–0 | [5] | |
| October 6 | Santa Clara* |
| W 48–0 | 10,000 | [6] |
| October 13 | Olympic Club* |
| W 16–0 | [7] | |
| October 20 | Oregon Agricultural* |
| W 26–0 | [8] | |
| October 27 | vs. Washington State | W 9–0 | 8,000 | [9] | |
| November 3 | Nevada |
| T 0–0 | [10] | |
| November 10 | at USC | W 13–7 | 72,000 | [11] | |
| November 17 | Washington |
| W 9–0 | 28,000 | [12] |
| November 24 | Stanford |
| W 9–0 | 75,000 | [13] |
| |||||
Roster
- Ball, C
- Stewart N. Beam, T
- Berlin, T
- Arthur Le Roy Best, G
- William F. Blewett, FB
- Brown, FB
- Bunger, T
- Dana Carey, G
- James A. Dixon, HB
- Dodson, HB
- Richard M. Dunn, HB
- F. Howard Evans, QB
- Francis, T
- Edwin C. Horrell, C
- Hufford, E
- Talma W. Imlay, QB
- King, QB
- Charles N. Mell, E
- Don Newmeyer, T
- Donald Nichols, HB
- Nickelman, G
- Donald C. Perry, G
- Powers, C
- Walter F. Rau
- Saunby, G
- Pete Schaffnit, E
- James E. Spalding, HB
- Tait, QB
- Thatcher, E
- Topham, C
- Francis S. West
- White, T
- John I. Witter, FB
- Young, E
References
- ^ a b "1923 California Golden Bears Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 21, 2016.
- ^ "California 2015 Football Information Guide" (PDF). CalBears.com. Cal Golden Bears Athletics. p. 162. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 26, 2016. Retrieved October 21, 2016.
- ^ National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) (2015). "National Poll Rankings" (PDF). NCAA Division I Football Records. NCAA. p. 108. Retrieved January 8, 2016.
- ^ "California Varsity defeats star alumni team by score of 3 to 0". San Francisco Chronicle. September 23, 1923. Retrieved June 19, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "St. Mary's beaten by California 49–0". Oakland Tribune. September 30, 1923. Retrieved June 19, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Henry R. Cantlen (October 7, 1923). "Golden Bears Show Strong Offense, Swamp Mission, 48-0". The San Francisco Examiner – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Bears meet Tartar in Olympians but win, 16–0". San Francisco Examiner. October 14, 1923. Retrieved June 19, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Bears crush Aggies". The Los Angeles Times. October 21, 1923. Retrieved October 21, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ ""Lady luck" beats Cougars; California, under wraps, wins great contest, 9 to 0". The Oregon Daily Journal. October 28, 1923. Retrieved June 19, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Nevada scares Golden Bears". The Spokesman-Review. November 4, 1923. Retrieved June 19, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "U.S.C. falls before onrush of Golden Bear, 13 to 7". The Bulletin. November 11, 1923. Retrieved June 19, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "California Bears humble Washington in thrilling game, 9 to 0". The Los Angeles Times. November 18, 1923. Retrieved June 19, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "U.C. defeats Stanford". The Times-Herald. November 25, 1923. Retrieved June 19, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.