The 1951 Washington Huskies football team was an American football team that represented the University of Washington during the 1951 college football season. In its fourth season under head coach Howie Odell, the team compiled a 3–6–1 record, finished in seventh place in the Pacific Coast Conference, and outscored its opponents by a combined total of 273 to 218.[1]
Ted Holzknecht was the team captain. The team featured fullback Hugh McElhenny, who would go on to become a member of the NFL Hall of Fame.
Schedule
Date | Opponent | Rank | Site | Result | Attendance | Source |
---|
September 22 | Montana* | No. 8 | | W 58–7 | 33,000–36,987 | [2] |
September 29 | at Minnesota* | No. 8 | | W 25–20 | 50,634 | |
October 6 | USC | No. 12 | - University of Washington Stadium
- Seattle, WA
| L 13–20 | 43,747 | |
October 13 | vs. Oregon | | | W 63–6 | 30,414 | |
October 20 | No. 8 Illinois* | No. 20 | - University of Washington Stadium
- Seattle, WA
| L 20–27 | 53,760 | |
October 27 | No. 11 Stanford | | - University of Washington Stadium
- Seattle, WA
| L 7–14 | 48,343 | |
November 3 | Oregon State | | - University of Washington Stadium
- Seattle, WA
| L 14–40 | 33,327 | |
November 10 | at California | | | L 28–37 | 46,000 | |
November 17 | at No. 18 UCLA | | | T 20–20 | 31,597 | |
November 24 | No. 17 Washington State | | - University of Washington Stadium
- Seattle, WA (rivalry)
| L 25–27 | 51,221 | |
- *Non-conference game
- Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
|
Game summaries
USC
USC at Washington
Team |
1 |
2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
• Trojans |
7 |
6 | 0 | 7 |
20 |
No. 12 Huskies |
7 |
0 | 0 | 6 |
13 |
The highlight of the 1951 contest came in the fourth quarter when Hugh McElhenny returned a punt from Des Koch for 100 yards, running past Frank Gifford on his way to the end zone.[3]
NFL draft selections
Two University of Washington Huskies were selected in the 1952 NFL draft, which lasted 30 rounds with 360 selections.[4]
- Heinrich did not play in 1951 due to a shoulder injury,[6][7][8] then led the Huskies in 1952.[9]
Due to military service, his first season with the Giants was in 1954.[10]
References
- ^ "Washington Yearly Results (1950-1954)". College Football Data Warehouse. David DeLassus. Archived from the original on December 22, 2015. Retrieved December 14, 2015.
- ^ "Washington romps over Montana 58–7". Nevada State Journal. September 23, 1951. Retrieved May 2, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Eskenazi, David. "Wayback Machine: McElhenny's 100-yard return". SportpressNW. Rudman, Steve. Retrieved September 13, 2019.
- ^ "1952 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on November 21, 2010. Retrieved October 5, 2019.
- ^ "The Husky Hall of Fame". gohuskies.com. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
- ^ "Don Heinrich injured". St. Petersburg Times. (Florida). Associated Press. September 9, 1951. p. 54.
- ^ "Huskies dump Montana 58-7". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. September 23, 1951. p. 8.
- ^ "Huskies batter Grizzles, 58-7". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. September 23, 1951. p. 14.
- ^ "Don Heinrich earns pass title as Huskies edge WSC 33-27". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. November 30, 1952. p. 10.
- ^ "N.Y. grid Giants sign ex-Husky Don Heinrich". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. January 5, 1954. p. 11.
|
---|
Venues | |
---|
Bowls & rivalries | |
---|
Culture & lore | |
---|
People | |
---|
Seasons | |
---|
National championship seasons in bold |