The 1943 Purdue Boilermaker football team represented

Purdue University Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...

in the 1943 Big Ten Conference football season. In their second year under head coach

Elmer Burnham Elmer Harold Burnham (September 8, 1894 – March 9, 1977) was an American football coach and all-around athlete, known particularly for his basketball skills both in college and in amateur YMCA play in Indiana. He was the head football coach at P ...

, the Boilermakers compiled an undefeated 9–0 record (6–0 Big Ten), outscored their opponents by a total of 214 to 55, and finished the season ranked No. 5 in the final

AP Poll The Associated Press poll (AP poll) provides weekly rankings of the top 25 NCAA teams in one of three Division I college sports: football, men's basketball and women's basketball. The rankings are compiled by polling 62 sportswriters and broadca ...

. The 1943 squad was the only undefeated team playing a full schedule in major college football, but finished third in the country per the AP Poll. This would seemingly be sufficient grounds for Purdue to claim a 1943 National Championship as the NCAA itself did not recognize champions in the era. However, Purdue has never pursued this claim. The 1942 Purdue team had won only one game, but the 1943 team was bolstered with several new players who had been transferred to Purdue as part of the

V-12 Navy College Training Program The V-12 Navy College Training Program was designed to supplement the force of commissioned officers in the United States Navy during World War II. Between July 1, 1943, and June 30, 1946, more than 125,000 participants were enrolled in 131 colleg ...

. Purdue guard

Alex Agase Alexander Arrasi Agase (March 27, 1922 – May 3, 2007) was an American football guard and linebacker who was named an All-American three times in college and played on three Cleveland Browns championship teams before becoming head football coac ...

was selected as a consensus first-team player on the 1943 All-America Team, and was later inducted into the

College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive attraction devoted to college football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players and coaches of college football that were vote ...

. Fullback Tony Butkovich was also selected as a first-team All-American by ''

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'', the

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, the Central Press, and '' Stars and Stripes'' newspaper. Butkovich led the Big Ten in scoring with 14 touchdowns despite missing the last two games after being called to active duty by the Marines; he was killed in action at the

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in April 1945.

Schedule

Players

, guard #95 *

Dick Barwegen Richard J. Barwegen (December 25, 1921 – September 3, 1966) was an American professional football player who was an offensive lineman for five seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected to four Pro Bowls during his career ...

, guard #21 * Frank Bauman, end #74 * Joe Buscemi #50 * Dick Bushnell #29 * Jack Butt #40 * Tony Butkovich, #25, fullback * Jim Darr #70 * Boris Dimancheff #87 * Stan Dubicki, #22 *

Bump Elliott Chalmers William "Bump" Elliott (January 30, 1925 – December 7, 2019) was an American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He played halfback at Purdue University (1943–1944) and the University of Michigan (1946–19 ...

#18 * John Genis, tackle #69 * Herbert Hoffman, end #99 * Tom Hughes #44 * Mike Kasap, tackle #64 * Bill Newell #96 * Bill O'Keefe #34 * Keith Parker #88 * Bill Stuart #89 * Sam Vacanti #33 * John Staak, tackle #32 * Lewis Rose, Halfback #36

Coaches and administrators

* Head coach:

* Assistant coaches:

Cecil Isbell Cecil Frank Isbell (July 11, 1915 – June 23, 1985) was an American football quarterback and coach. He played five years in the National Football League (NFL) with the Green Bay Packers, leading them to the NFL Championship in 1939. He retire ...

Sam Voinoff Samuel Voinoff (February 22, 1907 – November 17, 1989) was an American college football and golf coach at Purdue University Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus ...

, Joe Dienhart * Athletic director: Guy "Red" Mackey

Season summary

Illinois

*Tony Butkovich 12 rushes, 207 yards

Ohio State

*Tony Butkovich 36 rushes, 123 yards *Babe Dimancheff 16 rushes, 122 yards

Iowa

*Tony Butkovich 19 rushes, 149 yards

Wisconsin

*Tony Butkovich 28 rushes, 147 yards *Babe Dimancheff 15 rushes, 111 yards 2020 Purdue Record Book
Retrieved 2021-Jan-02.

References

{{Big Ten Conference football champions

Purdue Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...

Purdue Boilermakers football seasons Big Ten Conference football champion seasons College football undefeated seasons

Purdue Boilermakers football The Purdue Boilermakers football team represents Purdue University in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of college football. Purdue plays its home games at Ross–Ade Stadium on the campus of Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. ...