Vince DiFrancesca
Vincent DiFrancesca (January 1, 1922 – May 21, 2007) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Western Illinois University from 1949 to 1953, at Iowa State University from 1954 to 1956, and at Carroll College—now known as Carroll University—in Waukesha, Wisconsin from 1959 to 1971, compiling a career college football coaching record of 106–71–7. Playing career DiFrancesca was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 31st round of the 1947 NFL draft. Coaching career Western Illinois DiFrancesca was the head football coach at Western Illinois Leathernecks in Macomb, Illinois and he held that position for five seasons, from 1949 until 1953. His career coaching record at Western Illinois was 38–7–1. Under DiFrancesca's leadership, Western's team was ranked among the best offensive and defensive teams in the nation for five years. Iowa State DiFrancesca was also the head coach at Iowa State University from 1954 to 1956. He was ...
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Melrose Park, Illinois
Melrose Park is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. It is a suburb of Chicago. As of the 2020 census it had a population of 24,796. Melrose Park had long been home to a large Italian-American population. The suburb was the home of Kiddieland Amusement Park from 1929 until 2010 (it closed in September 2009 before it was demolished in 2010 and the sign of Kiddieland was relocated to the Melrose Park Public Library, a Costco warehouse store now stands in its place), the Shrine of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, Stern Pinball, Inc., the Melrose Park Taste home of the famous Melrose Stuffed Peppers, and the now-defunct Maywood Park horse racing track. There is a Metra railroad station in Melrose Park with daily service to Chicago. Melrose Park is home to Gottlieb Memorial Hospital. History According to the Encyclopedia of Chicago, in 1882 residents of a then-unincorporated portion of Proviso Township voted to establish their own municipality—called simply "Melrose" until ...
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Macomb, Illinois
Macomb is a city in and the county seat of McDonough County, Illinois, United States. It is situated in western Illinois, southwest of Galesburg. The city is about southwest of Peoria and south of the Quad Cities. A special census held in 2014 placed the city's population at 21,516. Macomb is the home of Western Illinois University. History Origin First settled in 1829 on a site tentatively named Washington, the town was officially founded in 1830 as the county seat of McDonough County and given the name Macomb after General Alexander Macomb, a general in the War of 1812. War veterans were given land grants in the Macomb area, which was part of the "Military Tract" set aside by Congress. In 1855 the Northern Cross Railroad, a predecessor to the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad, was constructed through Macomb, leading to a rise in the town's population. In 1899 the Western Illinois State Normal School, later Western Illinois University, was founded in Macomb. Repr ...
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1953 College Football Season
The 1953 college football season finished with the Maryland Terrapins capturing the AP, INS, and UPI national championship after Notre Dame held the top spot for the first nine weeks. The No. 4 Oklahoma Sooners defeated Maryland in the Orange Bowl, but there was no further polling after the November 30 results were released. However, Notre Dame was selected as the National Champions by 10 other polls and the Oklahoma Sooners received first in two polls. However, despite the team receiving National Championship rings, the University of Notre Dame does not recognize this title due to their policy of only recognizing AP or coaches' poll titles during the polling era (1936–present). Maryland was also the first champion of the Atlantic Coast Conference, which had been formed earlier in 1953 by seven colleges formerly with the Southern Conference. The year 1953 also saw the Michigan State Spartans, previously an independent, join the Big Nine Conference, which then became the ...
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1952 Western Illinois Leathernecks Football Team
The 1952 Western Illinois Leathernecks football team represented Western Illinois University as a member of the Interstate Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) during the 1952 college football season. They were led by fourth-year head coach Vince DiFrancesca and played their home games at Hanson Field. The Leathernecks finished the season with a 7–2 record overall and a 5–1 record in conference play, placing second in the IIAC. Schedule References Western Illinois Western Illinois Leathernecks football seasons Western Illinois Leathernecks football The Western Illinois Leathernecks football program is the intercollegiate American football team for Western Illinois University located in Macomb, Illinois. The team competes in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) and a ...

1952 College Football Season
The 1952 college football season ended with the unbeaten Michigan State Spartans (9–0) and Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (12–0) each claiming a national championship from different polls. Michigan State finished first according to two of the "wire service" ( AP and UP) polls, which both placed Georgia Tech second. Georgia Tech was first in the (Hearst chain) International News Service poll. UP and INS merged in 1958 to form UPI. Although the Spartans became members of the Big Ten Conference in 1950, full participation did not come until 1953, and under the terms of their entry into the conference, they were not allowed to participate in postseason play. Georgia Tech won the Sugar Bowl on New Year's Day in New Orleans. Conference and program changes Conference changes *One conference changed its name this year: **The Wisconsin State Teachers College Conference, an active NCAA Division III conference currently known as the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC), ...
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1951 Western Illinois Leathernecks Football Team
The 1951 Western Illinois Leathernecks football team was an American football team that represented Western Illinois University as a member of the Interstate Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) during the 1951 college football season. Led by third-year head coach Vince DiFrancesca, the Leathernecks compiled an overall record of 7–1–1 with a mark of 4–1–1 in conference play, placing second in the IIAC. Schedule References Western Illinois Western Illinois Leathernecks football seasons Western Illinois Leathernecks football The Western Illinois Leathernecks football program is the intercollegiate American football team for Western Illinois University located in Macomb, Illinois. The team competes in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) and a ...

1951 College Football Season
The 1951 college football season finished with seven unbeaten major college teams, of which five were unbeaten and untied. Ultimately, the Tennessee Volunteers were voted the best team by the Associated Press, followed by the Michigan State Spartans, with the Vols having a plurality of first place votes (139 to 104). Tennessee lost in the Sugar Bowl to the equally undefeated and untied No. 3 Maryland Terrapins, but the postseason games were not taken into account by the major polls. Tennessee, Michigan State, and Illinois all claim national championships for 1951. During the 20th century, the NCAA had no playoff for the college football teams that would later be described as "Division I-A". The NCAA did recognize a national champion based upon the final results of "wire service" ( AP and UPI) polls. The extent of that recognition came in the form of acknowledgment in the annual ''NCAA Football Guide'' of the "unofficial" national champions The AP Poll in 1951 consisted of the votes ...
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1950 Western Illinois Leathernecks Football Team
The 1950 Western Illinois Leathernecks football team represented Western Illinois University as a member of the Interstate Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) during the 1950 college football season. They were led by second-year head coach Vince DiFrancesca and played their home games at Hanson Field, which opened at the beginning of the season. The Leathernecks finished the season with a 7–1 record overall and a 4–1 record in conference play, placing second in the IIAC. Schedule References Western Illinois Western Illinois Leathernecks football seasons Western Illinois Leathernecks football The Western Illinois Leathernecks football program is the intercollegiate American football team for Western Illinois University located in Macomb, Illinois. The team competes in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) and a ...

1950 College Football Season
The 1950 college football season finished with the unbeaten and untied Oklahoma Sooners (9–0) being the consensus choice for national champion. On New Year's Day, however, the Sooners were upset by the Kentucky Wildcats (ranked No. 7 in the AP and UP polls) in the Sugar Bowl. The Army Cadets, ranked No. 2 in the AP Poll, had been defeated in their final regular season game by 2–6 Navy, 14–2. However, the final poll had been issued on November 27, and the bowl games had no effect on Oklahoma's status as the No. 1 team. During the 20th century, the NCAA had no playoff for the college football teams that would later be described as "Division I-A". While the NCAA has never officially endorsed a championship team, it has documented the choices of some selectors in its official NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Records publication. The AP Poll in 1950 consisted of the votes of as many as 317 sportswriters. Though not all writers voted in every poll, the sportswriters who did c ...
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Corn Bowl
The Corn Bowl was a college football bowl game played from 1947 until 1955 in central Illinois. The first game was played November 27, 1947 in Normal, Illinois Normal is a town in McLean County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 census, the town's population was 52,736. Normal is the smaller of two principal municipalities of the Bloomington–Normal metropolitan area, and Illinois' seventh most ... between and of Illinois. Its final game was played November 24, 1955 between Western Illinois and . There was no game played in 1952 and 1954. The game was primarily organized by A. B. Perry, who called for the construction of a stadium that would seat 150,000. The plans never came to fruition and the largest crowd attracted to a game was 8,000 spectators for the 1948 matchup. The 1949 matchup was witnessed by 4,567 fans. The bowl was sponsored by the Hybrid Seed Corn Breeders of Illinois and the Bloomington American Legion. Results References Defunct college ...
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1949 Western Illinois Leathernecks Football Team
The 1949 Western Illinois Leathernecks football team represented Western Illinois University as a member of the Illinois Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) during the 1949 college football season. They were led by first-year head coach Vince DiFrancesca and played their home games at Morgan Field. The Leathernecks finished the season with a 9–1 record overall and a 4–0 record in conference play, winning the IIAC title. They were invited to the postseason Corn Bowl, where they defeated the , 13–0. Schedule References Western Illinois Western Illinois Leathernecks football seasons Interstate Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football champion seasons Western Illinois Leathernecks football The Western Illinois Leathernecks football program is the intercollegiate American football team for Western Illinois University located in Macomb, Illinois. The team competes in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) and a ...

1949 College Football Season
The 1949 college football season finished with four teams that were unbeaten and untied-- Notre Dame, Oklahoma, California, and Army had won all their games at season's end. Notre Dame, however, was the overwhelming choice for national champion in the AP Poll, with 172 of 208 first place votes. The Fighting Irish did not participate in the New Year's Day bowl games, which were played on January 2, 1950. Conference and program changes Conference changes *Two new conferences began play in 1949: **''Gulf Coast Conference'' – active through the 1956 season; formed by former members of the Lone Star Conference **'' Upper Peninsula Conference'' – football active through the 1950 season; formed by junior colleges and independents in the Upper Peninsula, Michigan and northern Wisconsin Membership changes September The Associated Press did not poll the writers until the third week of the season. Among the five teams that had been ranked highest in 1948, California was the first to ...
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