1963 Oregon Ducks football team

1963 Oregon Ducks football
Sun Bowl champion
Sun Bowl, W 21–14 vs. SMU
Conference	Independent
Record	8–3
Head coach	Len Casanova (13th season)
MVP	Mel Renfro
Captains	Mel Renfro Larry Hill Dick Imwalle
Home stadium	Hayward Field Multnomah Stadium

1963 NCAA University Division independents football records

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 14 Memphis State			–					9	–	0	–	1
No. 3 Pittsburgh			–					9	–	1	–	0
No. 2 Navy			–					9	–	2	–	0
No. 12 Syracuse			–					8	–	2	–	0
Utah State			–					8	–	2	–	0
Oregon			–					8	–	3	–	0
No. 16 Penn State			–					7	–	3	–	0
Army			–					7	–	3	–	0
Air Force			–					7	–	4	–	0
Boston College			–					6	–	3	–	0
Buffalo			–					5	–	3	–	1
Southern Miss			–					5	–	3	–	1
Idaho			–					5	–	4	–	0
Villanova			–					5	–	4	–	0
Oregon State			–					5	–	5	–	0
San Jose State			–					5	–	5	–	0
Xavier			–					5	–	4	–	1
West Texas State			–					4	–	4	–	1
Florida State			–					4	–	5	–	1
Colgate			–					3	–	4	–	1
New Mexico State			–					3	–	6	–	1
Colorado State			–					3	–	7	–	0
Miami (FL)			–					3	–	7	–	0
Texas Western			–					3	–	7	–	0
Detroit			–					2	–	6	–	1
Holy Cross			–					2	–	6	–	1
Notre Dame			–					2	–	7	–	0
Pacific (CA)			–					2	–	8	–	0
Houston			–					2	–	8	–	0
Boston University			–					1	–	6	–	1
Dayton			–					1	–	7	–	2
Rankings from Coaches Poll

The 1963 Oregon Ducks represented the University of Oregon in the 1963 NCAA University Division football season. The Ducks were an independent and outscored their opponents 274 to 153. Led by 12th-year head coach Len Casanova, the Ducks were 7–3 in the regular season and won the Sun Bowl over SMU on New Year's Eve.^[1][2][3] Three home games were played on campus at Hayward Field in Eugene and three at Multnomah Stadium in Portland.

Notable players included Mel Renfro, Dave Wilcox, H.D. Murphy, and Bob Berry, all selected in the 1964 NFL Draft.^[4] Berry was a redshirt junior and played another season for Oregon in 1964. Renfro and Wilcox are members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Murphy was selected late and never played in the NFL; he played in the up-and-coming Continental Football League.

Following the disbandment of the Pacific Coast Conference, both Oregon and Oregon State were independent in football for five seasons, from 1959 through 1963. Both joined the AAWU (Pac-8) for the 1964 season. The Pac-8 had bowl restrictions (Rose Bowl only) until 1975; the Ducks' next postseason appearance was at the 1989 Independence Bowl.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 21	8:00 pm	Penn State	Multnomah Stadium Portland, OR	L 7–17	30,355	[5][6]
September 28	1:30 pm	at Stanford	Stanford Stadium Stanford, CA	W 36–7	31,000
October 5	11:30 am	at West Virginia	Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV	W 35–0	24,000	[7]
October 12	1:30 pm	Idaho	Hayward Field Eugene, OR	W 41–21	19,200	[8]
October 19	1:30 pm	at Arizona	Arizona Stadium Tucson, AZ	W 28–12	16,000
October 26	2:00 pm	Washington	Multnomah Stadium Portland, OR (rivalry)	L 19–26	35,690	[9]
November 2	1:30 pm	San Jose State	Hayward Field Eugene OR	L 7–13	14,000	[10]
November 9	1:30 pm	at Washington State	Rogers Field Pullman, WA	W 21–7	13,000	[11]
November 16	1:30 pm	Indiana	Multnomah Stadium Portland, OR	W 28–22	19,051	[12]
November 30	1:30 pm	Oregon State	Hayward Field Eugene, OR (Civil War)	W 31–14	20,700	[13]
December 31	1:00 pm	vs. SMU	Sun Bowl El Paso, TX (Sun Bowl)	W 21–14	26,500	[3]
All times are in Pacific time

^[14][15][16]

• The Civil War game was delayed a week following the assassination of President Kennedy.^[17][18]

Game summaries

Indiana

Indiana at Oregon

1 2 3 4 Total Indiana 6 7 0 9 22 • Oregon 0 6 8 14 28 Date: Saturday, November 16 Location: Multnomah Stadium, Portland, Oregon Game attendance: 19,051 Source: Eugene Register-Guard

Scoring summary 1 IND Nowatzke 52-yard interception return (kick failed) IND 6-0 2 IND Badar 10-yard run (Westfall kick) IND 13-0 2 ORE Imwalle 21-yard pass from Berry (kick failed) IND 13-6 3 ORE Renfro 4-yard run (Renfro run) ORE 14-13 4 IND Badar 1-yard run (run failed) IND 19-14 4 ORE Hill 37-yard pass from Berry (Corey kick) ORE 21-19 4 IND Nowatzke 26-yard field goal IND 22-21 4 0:11 ORE Murphy 29-yard pass from Berry (Corey kick) ORE 28-22

Personnel

Coaching staff

• Max Coley, backs
• Jerry Frei, line
• Ed Johns, freshmen
• Phil McHugh
• John Robinson
• Jack Roche

Roster

• QB Bob Berry, Jr.
• FB Lu Bain, Sr.
• HB Larry Hill, Sr.
• E Dick Imwalle, Sr.
• HB Dennis Keller, So.
• HB H.D. Murphy, Sr.
• HB Mel Renfro, Sr.
• E Rich Schwab, Sr.
• QB Jack Sovereign, So.
• G Dave Wilcox, Sr.

^[19][20][21]

NFL Draft

Four Oregon players were selected in the 1964 NFL draft, which went 20 rounds (280 selections).

Player	Position	Round	Pick	NFL club
Mel Renfro	Defensive back	2	17	Dallas Cowboys
Dave Wilcox	Linebacker	3	29	San Francisco 49ers
Bob Berry	Quarterback	11	142	Philadelphia Eagles
H.D. Murphy	Halfback	19	256	Dallas Cowboys

^[4][22]

References

1. "Oregon's fast start trips SMU, 21-14". Milwaukee Sentinel. UPI. January 1, 1964. p. 8, part 2.
2. "Berry leads Ducks to sunny 21-14 win". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. January 1, 1964. p. 13.
3. Uhrhammer, Jerry (January 1, 1964). "Berry leads Oregon to 21-14 Sun Bowl win". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). p. 1B.
4. "Four Webfoots drafted by NFL". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. AP, UPI reports. December 3, 1963. p. 1B.
5. Uhrhammer, Jerry (September 20, 1963). "Ducks open against Penn State". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. p. 3B.
6. Uhrhammer, Jerry (September 22, 1963). "Penn State outpunches Oregon in opener, 17-7". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. p. 1B.
7. "Ducks dump Mountaineers". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. October 6, 1963. p. 4, sports.
8. Leutzinger, Dick (October 13, 1963). "Renfro leads Oregon to win". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). p. 1B.
9. Uhrhammer, Jerry (September 22, 1963). "Game almost had a storybook climax". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. p. 3B.
10. Leutzinger, Dick (November 3, 1963). "Helpless Ducks fall, 13-7". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. p. 1B.
11. Leutzinger, Dick (November 10, 1963). "Oregon rebounds against WSU to win, 21-7". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. p. 1B.
12. Uhrhammer, Jerry (November 17, 1963). "Murphy's catch brings Oregon 28-22 win". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. p. 1B.
13. "31-14". Eugene Register=Guard. Oregon. December 1, 1963. p. 1B.
14. "1963 Oregon Ducks Schedule and Results". College Football @ Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved September 4, 2023.
15. "1963 Football Schedule". University of Oregon Athletics. Retrieved September 4, 2023.
16. "2023 Oregon Football Record Book" (PDF). University of Oregon Athletics. p. 48. Retrieved September 4, 2023.
17. "Events postponed, cancelled". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. Associated Press. November 23, 1963. p. 1B.
18. Missildine, Harry (November 24, 1963). "Big Six presidents commended for action". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. p. 1, sports.
19. "Probable starting lineups". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). September 21, 1963. p. 1B.
20. "Ore. vs. Wash. State". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). (rosters). November 8, 1963. p. 11.
21. "Ducks vs. Cougars". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). (rosters). November 9, 1963. p. 8.
22. "Seasons: 1964: Drafted Players". pro-football-reference.com. Retrieved November 20, 2021.

External links

• Game program: Oregon at Washington State – November 9, 1963
• WSU Libraries: Game video – Oregon at Washington State – November 9, 1963