1952 Fresno State Bulldogs football team

1952 Fresno State Bulldogs football
Conference	Independent
Record	8–2
Head coach	Clark Van Galder (1st season)
Home stadium	Ratcliffe Stadium

1952 Western college football independents records

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
Fresno State			–					8	–	2	–	0
Pacific (CA)			–					7	–	3	–	1
San Jose State			–					6	–	3	–	0
La Verne			–					5	–	3	–	1
Hawaii			–					5	–	5	–	2
Cal Poly San Dimas			–					4	–	4	–	0
Nevada			–					2	–	2	–	0
Santa Clara			–					2	–	6	–	1

The 1952 Fresno State Bulldogs football team represented Fresno State College—now known as California State University, Fresno—as an independent during the 1952 college football season. Led by first-year head coach Clark Van Galder, the Bulldogs compiled a record of 8–2. Fresno State played home games at Ratcliffe Stadium on the campus of Fresno City College in Fresno, California.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 20	Cal Aggies	Ratcliffe Stadium Fresno, CA	W 41–7	7,524
October 4	Pepperdine	Ratcliffe Stadium Fresno, CA	W 60–7	8,198
October 10	at San Jose State	Spartan Stadium San Jose, CA (rivalry)	L 6–40
October 18	Utah State	Ratcliffe Stadium Fresno, CA	W 27–21	9,266
October 24	at Occidental	Occidental Stadium Los Angeles, CA	W 20–9
November 1	at San Diego State	Balboa Stadium San Diego, CA (rivalry)	W 49–33	18,000	[1]
November 8	at Nevada	Mackay Stadium[note 1] Reno, NV	W 59–32
November 15	Pacific (CA)	Ratcliffe Stadium Fresno, CA	L 0–50	7,155
November 22	San Francisco State	Ratcliffe Stadium Fresno, CA	W 48–20	5,119
November 29	Whittier	Ratcliffe Stadium Fresno, CA	W 21–14	5,949

^[3]

Team players in the NFL

The following were selected in the 1953 NFL draft.^[4][5]

Player	Position	Round	Overall	NFL team
Larry Willoughby	Back	23	276	Los Angeles Rams

Notes

1. This stadium is the predecessor to the current Mackay Stadium, which was opened for the 1966 season.^[2]

References

1. Howard Hagen (November 2, 1952). "Bulldogs Whip Aztecs in 49 to 33 Scoring Spree". The San Diego Union. San Diego, California. p. B-1.
2. "Mackay Stadium". University of Nevada, Reno. Retrieved January 4, 2017.
3. "Fresno State Football Media Guide" (PDF). Fresno State Athletics. p. 119. Retrieved January 27, 2025.
4. "1953 NFL Draft". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on October 30, 2010. Retrieved December 7, 2016.
5. "Fresno St. Players/Alumni". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 12, 2016.