1921 California Golden Bears football team

1921 California Golden Bears football
National champion (Billingsley MOV, CFRA, Sagarin)
Co-national champion (Boand)
PCC champion
ConferencePacific Coast Conference
Record9–0–1 (4–0 PCC)
Head coach
Offensive schemeShort-punt
CaptainGeorge H. Latham
Home stadiumCalifornia Field
Uniform
Seasons
← 1920
1922 →
1921 Pacific Coast Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
California $ 4 – 0 – 0 9 – 0 – 1
Washington State 2 – 1 – 1 4 – 2 – 1
Stanford 1 – 1 – 1 4 – 2 – 2
Oregon Agricultural 1 – 2 – 1 4 – 3 – 2
Oregon 0 – 1 – 2 5 – 1 – 3
Washington 0 – 3 – 1 3 – 4 – 1
  • $ – Conference champion

The 1921 California Golden Bears football team, also known as the Wonder Team, was an American football team that represented the University of California, Berkeley in the Pacific Coast Conference (PCC) during the 1921 college football season. In their sixth year under head coach Andy Smith, the team compiled a 9–0–1 record (4–0 against PCC opponents), won the PCC championship, and outscored its opponents by a combined total of 312 to 33.[1][2] In the postseason, the Golden Bears played a scoreless tie against Washington & Jefferson in the rain-soaked 1922 Rose Bowl.

There was no contemporaneous system in 1921 for determining a national champion. However, California was retroactively named as the national champion for 1921 by the Billingsley Report (using its alternative "margin of victory" methodology), College Football Researchers Association, and Jeff Sagarin, and as a co-national champion under the Boand System.[3]

Two California players, end Harold "Brick" Miller and tackle Dan McMillan, were consensus first-team picks on the 1921 All-America college football team.[4]

Additionally, California took eight of eleven first-team spots on the United Press' 1921 All-Pacific Coast football team: quarterback Charles F. Erb; halfback Crip Toomey; fullback Archie Nisbet; ends Robert E. Berkey and Howard Stephens; tackle Dan McMillan; and guards Webster V. Clark and Lee D. Cramer.[5]

Schedule

DateOpponentSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 24Saint Mary's*
W 21–015,000[6][7]
October 1Olympic Club*
  • California Field
  • Berkeley, CA
W 14–0[8]
October 8Nevada*
  • California Field
  • Berkeley, CA
W 51–6[9]
October 15Pacific Fleet*
  • California Field
  • Berkeley, CA
W 21–10[10]
October 22Oregon
  • California Field
  • Berkeley, CA
W 39–0[11]
October 29vs. Washington State
W 14–011,000–12,000[12]
November 5USC*
  • California Field
  • Berkeley, CA
W 38–730,000[13]
November 12Washington
  • California Field
  • Berkeley, CA
W 72–36,000[14]
November 19at Stanford
W 42–757,000[15]
January 2, 1922vs. Washington & Jefferson*
T 0–040,000[16]
  • *Non-conference game

References

  1. ^ "1921 California Golden Bears Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 21, 2016.
  2. ^ "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.
  3. ^ 2020 NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Records (PDF). Indianapolis: The National Collegiate Athletic Association. July 2020. pp. 112–114. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 1, 2020. Retrieved January 12, 2021.
  4. ^ "Football Award Winners" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). 2016. p. 6. Retrieved October 21, 2017.
  5. ^ M.D. Tracy (December 14, 1921). "Eight Bears Given Positions". Santa Ana Register. p. 13.
  6. ^ Howard Smith (September 25, 1921). "California Eleven Defeats St. Mary's College, 21 to 0: Fifteen Thousand See Grid Season's Opener". San Francisco Examiner. p. 18 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ Doug Montell (September 25, 1921). "California Football Team Defeats St. Mary's 21 to 0: St. Mary's Team Is a Big Surprise to the California Rooters". Oakland Tribune. p. B3 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ Jack James (October 2, 1921). "California Shuts Out Olympic Club Eleven, 14 to 0: Blue Gold Fails to Hold Last Year Pace". The San Francisco Examiner. p. 18 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ Howard Smith (October 9, 1921). "California's Goal Line Crossed Once by Nevada; 51 to 6". The San Francisco Examiner. p. 19W – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ Doug Montell (October 16, 1921). "California Defeats Pacific Fleet Football Eleven 21 to 10: Big Bill Ingram Is Hero When the Fleet Surprises the Bears". Oakland Tribune. p. 60 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ Doug Montell\date=October 23, 1921. "California Swamps the University of Oregon at Berkeley: Straight Football Is Good Enough for the Bruins in the Mud". Oakland Tribune. p. 51 – via Newspapers.com.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  12. ^ George Varnell (October 30, 1921). "California Had Punch; That's All". The Oregon Daily Journal. p. 22 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ Jack James (November 6, 1921). "California Bear Triumphs Over Southern California, 38-7: Brick Muller's Pass Turns Battle's Tide; With a Broken Leg Brick Goes in and Does His Stuff; That Settled It". The San Francisco Examiner. p. 19W – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ Doug Montell (November 13, 1921). "California Rolls Up Huge Score Against Washington Team: Bruins Score 72-3 Victory Over Men From Northwest; Morrison Stars for California; Bruins Run Wild in Late Stages and Score At Will". Oakland Tribune. p. 8B – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ Jack James (November 20, 1921). "U.C. Victorious, 42 to 7: Cardinals Defeated by Wonder Team". The San Francisco Examiner. pp. 1, 17 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ Paul Lowry (January 3, 1922). "Washington-Jefferson Football Eleven Outsmarts California: Nisbet's Toe Staves Off Eastern Triumph". The Los Angeles Times. p. 29 – via Newspapers.com.


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