| 1936 Big Ten Conference football season | |
|---|---|
| Sport | Football |
| Teams | 10 |
| Top draft pick | Ed Widseth |
| Champion | Northwestern |
| Runners-up | Minnesota,Ohio State |
| Season MVP | Vern Huffman |
| Football seasons | |
| Conf. | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 7Northwestern $ | 6 | – | 0 | – | 0 | 7 | – | 1 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 1Minnesota | 4 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 7 | – | 1 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ohio State | 4 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 5 | – | 3 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Indiana | 3 | – | 1 | – | 1 | 5 | – | 2 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Purdue | 3 | – | 1 | – | 1 | 5 | – | 2 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Illinois | 2 | – | 2 | – | 1 | 4 | – | 3 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chicago | 1 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 2 | – | 5 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Iowa | 0 | – | 4 | – | 1 | 3 | – | 4 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wisconsin | 0 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 2 | – | 6 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Michigan | 0 | – | 5 | – | 0 | 1 | – | 7 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The1936 Big Ten Conference football season was the 41st season ofcollege football played by the member schools of theBig Ten Conference (also known as the Western Conference) and was a part of the1936 college football season.
The1936 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team, under head coachBernie Bierman, compiled a 7–1 record and was ranked No. 1 in the final AP Poll, giving Minnesota its third consecutive national championship. TackleEd Widseth was a consensus first-team All-American and was the first Big Ten player taken in the1937 NFL draft with the fourth overall pick.
The1936 Northwestern Wildcats football team, under head coachPappy Waldorf, compiled a 7–1 record, won the Big Ten championship, and was ranked No. 7 in the final AP Poll. The team's only loss came on the last day of the season against Notre Dame. GuardSteve Reid was a consensus first-team All-American.
The1936 Ohio State Buckeyes football team, under head coachFrancis Schmidt, compiled a 5–3 record, led the Big Ten in scoring defense (3.4 points allowed per game), and outscored opponents 160 to 27. EndMerle Wendt, tackleCharley Hamrick, and guardInwood Smith were first-team All-Big Ten players.
| Conf. Rank | Team | Head coach | AP final | AP high | Overall record | Conf. record | PPG | PAG | MVP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Northwestern | Pappy Waldorf | #7 | #1 | 7–1 | 6–0 | 16.5 | 9.1 | Steve Reid |
| 2 (tie) | Minnesota | Bernie Bierman | #1 | #1 | 7-1 | 4-1 | 25.4 | 4.0 | Ed Widseth |
| 2 (tie) | Ohio State | Francis Schmidt | NR | #18 | 5–3 | 4–1 | 20.0 | 3.4 | Ralph Wolfe |
| 4 (tie) | Indiana | Bo McMillin | NR | NR | 5–2–1 | 3–1–1 | 5.4 | 7.9 | Vern Huffman |
| 4 (tie) | Purdue | Noble Kizer | NR | #5 | 5–2–1 | 3–1–1 | 19.6 | 11.9 | John Drake |
| 6 | Illinois | Robert Zuppke | NR | NR | 4–3–1 | 2–2–1 | 7.1 | 9.5 | Cliff Kuhn |
| 7 | Chicago | Clark Shaughnessy | NR | NR | 2–5–1 | 1–4 | 8.5 | 20.8 | Sam Whiteside |
| 8 | Iowa | Ossie Solem | NR | NR | 3–4–1 | 0–4–1 | 10.6 | 12.9 | Homer Harris |
| 9 | Wisconsin | Harry Stuhldreher | NR | #16 | 2–6 | 0–4 | 11.9 | 18.0 | Eddie Jankowski |
| 10 | Michigan | Harry Kipke | NR | NR | 1–7 | 0–5 | 4.5 | 15.9 | Matt Patanelli |
Key
PPG = Average of points scored per game[1]
PAG = Average of points allowed per game[1]
MVP = Most valuable player as voted by players on each team as part of the voting process to determine the winner of theChicago Tribune Silver Football trophy[2]
No Big Ten teams participated in any bowl games during the 1936 season.
The following players were picked by theAssociated Press (AP) and/or theUnited Press (UP) as first-team players on the1936 All-Big Ten Conference football team.[3][4]
| Position | Name | Team | Selectors |
|---|---|---|---|
| End | Merle Wendt | Ohio State | AP, UP |
| End | Johnny Kovatch | Northwestern | AP, UP |
| Tackle | Ed Widseth | Minnesota | AP, UP |
| Tackle | Charley Hamrick | Ohio State | AP, UP |
| Guard | Steve Reid | Northwestern | AP, UP |
| Guard | Inwood Smith | Ohio State | AP |
| Guard | Lester G. Schreiber | Northwestern | UP |
| Center | Ed Sayre | Illinois | AP, UP |
| Quarterback | Fred Vanzo | Northwestern | AP, UP |
| Halfback | Andy Uram | Minnesota | AP, UP |
| Halfback | Don Heap | Northwestern | AP |
| Halfback | Vern Huffman | Indiana | UP |
| Fullback | Cecil Isbell | Purdue | AP |
| Fullback | Johnny Drake | Purdue | UP |
Two Big Ten players were selected as consensus first-team players on the1936 College Football All-America Team. They were:
| Position | Name | Team | Selectors |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tackle | Ed Widseth | Minnesota | AAB, AP, COL, INS, LIB, NANA, NEA, TSN, UP, CP, WCFF |
| Guard | Steve Reid | Northwestern | AAB, COL, LIB, NANA, NEA, TSN, WCFF |
Other Big Ten players received first-team honors from at least one selector. They were:
| Position | Name | Team | Selectors |
|---|---|---|---|
| Halfback | Don Heap | Northwestern | CP |
| Halfback | Andy Uram | Minnesota | TSN |
The following Big Ten players were among the first 100 players selected in the1937 NFL draft:[5]
| Name | Position | Team | Round | Overall pick |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ed Widseth | Back | Minnesota | 1 | 4 |
| Eddie Jankowski | Back | Wisconsin | 1 | 9 |
| Johnny Drake | Tackle | Purdue | 1 | 10 |
| Charley Hamrick | Tackle | Ohio State | 2 | 17 |
| Jules Alfonse | Tackle | Minnesota | 2 | 20 |
| Vern Huffman | End | Indiana | 3 | 27 |
| Bud Wilkinson | End | Minnesota | 3 | 29 |
| Bud Svendsen | End | Minnesota | 4 | 39 |
| Dewitt Gibson | Guard | Northwestern | 5 | 49 |
| Inwood Smith | Tackle | Ohio State | 5 | 50 |
| John Golemgeske | Tackle | Wisconsin | 6 | 53 |
| George Bell | Tackle | Purdue | 6 | 57 |
| Merle Wendt | Tackle | Ohio State | 6 | 59 |
| Chris Del Sasso | Tackle | Indiana | 6 | 60 |
| Steve Reid | Tackle | Northwestern | 8 | 71 |
| Elvin Sayre | Back | Illinois | 8 | 77 |
| Steve Toth | Center | Northwestern | 8 | 78 |
| Matt Patanelli | Tackle | Michigan | 9 | 85 |
| Ray Antil | Back | Minnesota | 10 | 91 |