1952 Illinois Fighting Illini football team
American college football season
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The 1952 Illinois Fighting Illini football team was an American football team that represented the University of Illinois as a member of the Big Ten Conference during the 1952 Big Ten season. In their 11th year under head coach Ray Eliot, the Fighting Illini compiled a 4–5 record (2–5 in conference games), finished in a three-way tie for sixth place in the Big Ten, and outscored opponents by a total of 194 to 175.[1]
| 1952 Illinois Fighting Illini football | |
|---|---|
| |
| Conference | Big Ten Conference |
| Record | 4–5 (2–5 Big Ten) |
| Head coach |
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| MVP | Al Brosky |
| Captain | Al Brosky |
| Home stadium | Memorial Stadium |
| Conf. | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 11 Wisconsin + | 4 | – | 1 | – | 1 | 6 | – | 3 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 18 Purdue + | 4 | – | 1 | – | 1 | 4 | – | 3 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 17 Ohio State | 5 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 6 | – | 3 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Michigan | 4 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 5 | – | 4 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Minnesota | 3 | – | 1 | – | 2 | 4 | – | 3 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Illinois | 2 | – | 5 | – | 0 | 4 | – | 5 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Northwestern | 2 | – | 5 | – | 0 | 2 | – | 6 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Iowa | 2 | – | 5 | – | 0 | 2 | – | 7 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Indiana | 1 | – | 5 | – | 0 | 2 | – | 7 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Halfback Al Brosky was selected as the team's most valuable player.[2] Three Illinois players received honors on the 1952 All-Big Ten Conference football team: quarterback Tommy O'Connell (AP-1, UP-1); end Frank Wodziak (AP-1); and safety Al Brosky.[3][4]
The team played its home games at Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Illinois.
Schedule
| Date | Opponent | Rank | Site | Result | Attendance | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 27 | Iowa State* | No. 5 | W 33–7 | 47,702 | ||
| October 4 | at No. 8 Wisconsin | No. 2 | L 6–20 | 52,071 | [5] | |
| October 11 | Washington* | No. 13 |
| W 48–14 | 48,248 | |
| October 18 | at Minnesota | No. 17 | L 7–13 | 54,787 | ||
| October 25 | Purdue |
| L 12–40 | 71,119 | ||
| November 1 | at No. 15 Michigan | W 22–13 | 65,595 | |||
| November 8 | at Iowa | W 33–13 | 44,855 | |||
| November 15 | Ohio State |
| L 7–27 | 60,077 | ||
| November 22 | Northwestern |
| L 26–28 | 41,214 | ||
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Games summaries
Iowa
Following the win at Iowa, which was full of penalties and a couple of ejections for fighting, Iowa students began to throw fruit, cans, and bottles at the officials and Illinois' team as they left the field. One Iowa student was also punched by an Illinois player in the melee. Illinois and Iowa were not scheduled to play in 1953 and 1954, but their athletic directors decided to expand that timeline to 1958 in order to allow for a "cooling-off" period. That time frame was eventually extended until 1967, which created a 14-season gap in the series between the conference schools.[6][7]
