The 1949 Stanford Indians football team represented

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

in the

1949 college football season The 1949 college football season was the 81st season of college football, intercollegiate football in the United States. It concluded with the top four teams undefeated and untied at the end of the regular season: * 1949 Notre Dame Fighting Iris ...

. Stanford was led by fifth-year head coach

Marchmont Schwartz Marchmont H. "Marchy" Schwartz (March 20, 1909 – April 18, 1991) was an American college football player and coach. He played football at the University of Notre Dame from 1929 to 1931, and was a two-time All-American at halfback. Schwartz ser ...

. The team was a member of the

Pacific Coast Conference The Pacific Coast Conference (PCC) was a collegiate athletic conference in the United States which existed from 1915 to 1959. Though the Pac-12 Conference claims the PCC's history as part of its own, with eight of the ten PCC members (includin ...

and played their home games at

Stanford Stadium Stanford Stadium is an outdoor college football stadium located on the campus of Stanford University in Stanford, California, United States. It is the home of the Stanford Cardinal and hosts the university's commencement exercises. Opened in 19 ...

Stanford, California Stanford is a census-designated place (CDP) in the northwest corner of Santa Clara County, California, United States. It is the home of Stanford University, after which it was named. The CDP's population was 21,150 at the United States Census, ...

Schedule

Rankings

Game summaries

Harvard

This season marked the only time that Stanford and Harvard played each other, with the Indians winning handily, 44–0. It was Harvard's second-ever West Coast game, after their victory in

1920 Rose Bowl The 1920 Rose Bowl, known at the time as the Tournament East-West Football Game, was a college football bowl game in Pasadena, California, played on January 1, 1920. In the sixth Rose Bowl Game, Rose Bowl, the once-tied 1919 Harvard Crimson footb ...

. A second game, to be played at

Harvard Stadium Harvard Stadium is a U-shaped college football stadium in the Allston neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. The Stadium is one of only four athletic facilities that are considered National Historic Landmarks. The stadium is owned and operated ...

, was scheduled for the 1950 season, but was canceled by Harvard to lighten what was characterized as a "far too heavy" schedule."

California

In the Big Game, California was ranked No. 3 and had gone to the

Rose Bowl Rose Bowl or Rosebowl may refer to: * Rose Bowl Game, an annual American college football game * Rose Bowl (stadium), Pasadena, California, site of the football game, and the home stadium of the UCLA Football team * Rose Bowl (cricket ground), West ...

the previous season. Stanford came into the game with one conference loss; a win over Cal would have given them a tie for the conference championship and a possible bid to the Rose Bowl. But although the Indians managed a 7–6 halftime lead, the Bears took control in the second half, going on to win 33–14 and securing a return to the Rose Bowl.

Pineapple Bowl

Stanford was invited to the

Pineapple Bowl The Pineapple Bowl was a college football bowl game played during the late 1930's, 1940s and early 1950s in Honolulu, Hawaii, at Honolulu Stadium. The game featured the then- Hawaii Rainbows and an invited team from the mainland. History The Pin ...

following the season. As this bowl always matched

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

against a mainland team, Stanford does not count the game as a postseason bowl. Stanford jumped out to a 20-point first quarter lead, and tacked on six fourth quarter touchdowns to win handily, 74–20.

Players drafted by the NFL

References

{{Stanford Cardinal football navbox

Stanford Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth governor of and th ...

Stanford Cardinal football seasons Pineapple Bowl champion seasons

Stanford Indians football The Stanford Cardinal football program represents Stanford University in college football at the NCAA Division I FBS level and is a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference. The program was previously in the Pac-12 Conference. The team is known as ...