1964 Westminster Titans football team

Add links
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
1964
Westminster Titans football
WPC champion
ConferenceWest Penn Conference
Record8–0 (3–0 WPC)
Head coach
(13th season)
Home stadiumWestminster College Memorial Field
Seasons
← 1963
1965 →
1964 West Penn Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 6 Westminster (PA) $ 3 – 0 – 0 8 – 0 – 0
Waynesburg
 2 – 1 – 0 5 – 4 – 0
Geneva 1 – 2 – 0 1 – 6 – 1
Grove City
 0 – 3 – 0 4 – 5 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from NAIA poll

The 1964 Westminster Titans football team was an American football team that represented Westminster College as a member of the West Penn Conference (WPC) during the 1964 NAIA football season. In their 13th season under head coach Harold Burry, the Titans compiled a perfect 8–0 record, won the WPC championship, held seven opponents to seven or fewer points, and outscored all opponents by a total of 249 to 45.[1] They were ranked No. 6 in the final NAIA poll. It was Westminster's first undefeated season since 1956 and its seventh consecutive WPC championship.[2]

The team played its home games at Westminster College Memorial Field in New Wilmington, Pennsylvania.

Schedule

DateOpponentSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 19at
Carnegie Tech*
W 39–0[3]
September 26
West Virginia Wesleyan*
W 32–7[4]
October 3at
Grove City
Grove City, PAW 20–6[5]
October 10Genevadagger
  • Memorial Field
  • New Wilmington, PA
W 38–7[6]
October 17at
Ferris State*
Big Rapids, MIW 32–0[7]
October 24
Waynesburg
  • Memorial Field
  • New Wilmington, PA
W 21–18[8]
October 31at
Glenville State*
Glenville, WVW 26–0[9]
November 14
Juniata*
  • Memorial Field
  • New Wilmington, PA
W 41–7[10]
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming

Statistics

The team was strong in both rushing offense and rushing defense, outgaining opponents by a total of 1,591 to 405 in rushing yardage across all eight games. Opponents averaged only 1.5 yards per rushing carry. The margin in total offense was 2,626 yards to 1,037 yards.[2]

Halfback Gib Armstrong led the team in rushing (88 carries for 454 rushing yards, 4.9 yards per carry), receiving (25 catches for 337 yards), and scoring (63 points on 10 touchdowns and three points after touchdown). Quarterback Smitty Cornell led the team in passing, completing 63 of 113 passes (.558 completion percentage) for 906 yards, 15 touchdowns, and six interceptions.[2][11]

Awards and honors

Westminster players took 11 of the 22 first-team spots on the 1964 All-West Penn Conference football team. Westminster's honorees on offense were: left halfback John Bailey; right halfback Gib Armstrong; right end Tony Jackson; center Bill Hazen; guard Larry Deibler; and tackle Dave Gura. The honorees on defense were: defensive ends Doug Webb and Doug Kiefer; middle guard Larry Pugh; linebacker Bob Scarazzo; and defensive back Charles Smith.[12] Larry Pugh was also selected as a first-team NAIA All-American.

Burry was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1996.[13] Dick Bestwick was an assistant coach for the team. He persuaded Burry to implement a platoon system under which players played either offense or defense, but not both.[14]

References

  1. ^ "1964 Football Schedule". Westminster College. Retrieved February 11, 2024.
  2. ^
    Newspapers.com
    .
  3. Newspapers.com
    .
  4. Newspapers.com
    .
  5. Newspapers.com
    .
  6. Newspapers.com
    .
  7. Newspapers.com
    .
  8. Newspapers.com
    .
  9. Newspapers.com
    .
  10. Newspapers.com
    .
  11. ^ "Westminster College Football Record Book". Westminster College. 2010. pp. 10–11.
  12. Newspapers.com
    .
  13. ^ "Harold Burry". National Football Foundation. Retrieved December 3, 2021.
  14. ^ Hilary Niles (June 4, 2016). "50+ Years After Undefeated Season, 'Bestwick Boys' Rally Around Coach". WBUR.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1964_Westminster_Titans_football_team&oldid=1206436847"