1953 Tulsa Golden Hurricane football team

1953 Tulsa Golden Hurricane football
Conference	Missouri Valley Conference
Record	3–7 (1–3 MVC)
Head coach	Bernie Witucki (1st season)
Home stadium	Skelly Field

1953 Missouri Valley Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
Oklahoma A&M +	3	–	1	–	0			7	–	3	–	0
Detroit +	3	–	1	–	0			5	–	4	–	0
Wichita	1	–	2	–	0			4	–	4	–	1
Houston	1	–	2	–	0			4	–	4	–	1
Tulsa	1	–	3	–	0			3	–	7	–	0
+ – Conference co-champions

The 1953 Tulsa Golden Hurricane football team represented the University of Tulsa during the 1953 college football season. In their first year under head coach Bernie Witucki, the Golden Hurricane compiled a 3–7 record, 1–3 against Missouri Valley Conference opponents, and finished in last place in the conference.^[1]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 19	Cincinnati*	Skelly Field Tulsa, OK	L 7–14	14,057
September 26	at Wichita	Veterans Field Wichita, KS	L 10–19	10,100–10,500
October 3	at Pacific (CA)*	Pacific Memorial Stadium Stockton, CA	W 22–13	20,121
October 10	at Alabama*	Denny Stadium Tuscaloosa, AL	L 13–41	18,000	[2]
October 17	Hardin–Simmons*	Skelly Field Tulsa, OK	W 14–13	11,500	[3]
October 31	at Oklahoma A&M	Lewis Field Stillwater, OK (rivalry)	L 14–28	18,000
November 7	Houston	Skelly Field Tulsa, OK (rivalry)	W 23–21	10,000–15,000	[4]
November 14	No. 19 Texas Tech*	Skelly Field Tulsa, OK	L 7–49	9,000–12,000	[5]
November 21	Detroit	Skelly Field Tulsa, OK	L 0–33	7,000	[6]
November 28	at Arkansas*	Razorback Stadium Fayetteville, AR	L 7–27	8,500	[7]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from Coaches' Poll released prior to the game

^[8]

After the season

1954 NFL draft

The following Golden Hurricane players were selected in the 1954 NFL draft following the season.^[9][10]

Round	Pick	Player	Position	NFL club
3	31	Tom Miner	Kicker	Pittsburgh Steelers
6	73	Dick Kercher	Halfback	Detroit Lions
9	107	Ted Connolly	Guard	San Francisco 49ers
10	117	Ed Hughes	Defensive back	Los Angeles Rams

References

1. "1953 Tulsa Golden Hurricane Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 28, 2016.
2. Watkins, Edwin (October 11, 1953). "Fighting Tide engulfs Tulsa Hurricane 41–13". The Tuscaloosa News. p. 1. Retrieved October 31, 2012.
3. "Hardin–Simmons scores win over Tulsa, 14–13". The Corpus Christi Caller-Times. October 18, 1953. Retrieved April 5, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
4. "Underdog Tulsa defeats Houston Cougars 23–21". Valley Morning Star. November 8, 1953. Retrieved April 5, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "Tech Red Raiders romp over outclassed Tulsa". The Tyler Courier-Times-Telegraph. November 15, 1953. Retrieved April 5, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
6. Dick Peters (November 22, 1953). "U-D Gets Rolling In Tulsa". Detroit Free Press. pp. D1, D5 – via Newspapers.com.
7. "Arkansas smears Tulsa, 27–7". Shawnee News-Star. November 29, 1953. Retrieved March 20, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
8. "Tulsa Golden Hurricane Football Record & Fact Book 2022" (PDF). University of Tulsa. p. 182. Retrieved January 22, 2023.
9. "1954 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved April 23, 2023.
10. "Tulsa Drafted Players/Alumni". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved April 23, 2023.