The 1954 College Football All-America team is composed of college football players who were selected as

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

ns by various organizations and writers that chose

College Football All-America Team The College Football All-America Team is an honor given annually to the best college football players in the United States at their respective positions. The original use of the term '' All-America'' seems to have been to the 1889 College Footbal ...

s in 1954. The eight selectors recognized by the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

as "official" for the 1954 season are (1) the All-America Board (AAB), (2) the

American Football Coaches Association The American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) is an association of over 11,000 American football coaches and staff on all levels. According to its constitution, some of the main goals of the American Football Coaches Association are to "mainta ...

(AFCA), (3) the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. ne ...

(AP), (4) the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA), (5) the

International News Service The International News Service (INS) was a U.S.-based news agency (newswire) founded by newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst in 1909.

(INS), (6) the

Newspaper Enterprise Association The Newspaper Enterprise Association (NEA) is an editorial column and comic strip newspaper syndication service based in the United States and established in 1902. The oldest syndicate still in operation, the NEA was originally a secondary news ...

(NEA), (7) the '' Sporting News'' (SN), and (8) the

United Press United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20t ...

(UP).

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

's fullback

Alan Ameche Alan Ameche (; June 1, 1933 – August 8, 1988), nicknamed "The Iron Horse", or simply "The Horse", was an American football player who played six seasons with the Baltimore Colts in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football ...

won the Heisman Trophy in 1954 as the best player in college football and was a unanimous first-team selection by all eight official selectors. Three other players were unanimous choices among the official selectors: Notre Dame's

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

Ralph Guglielmi Ralph Vincent Guglielmi (June 26, 1933 – January 23, 2017) was an American football quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for the Washington Redskins, St. Louis Cardinals, New York Giants and the Philadelphia Eagles. He playe ...

;

Ohio State The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best public ...

's halfback Howard "Hopalong" Cassady; and

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the O ...

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

Bud Brooks William "Bud" Brooks was an American football player for the Arkansas Razorbacks and the winner of the 1954 Outland Trophy as the year's best interior lineman. Brooks played guard and defensive tackle for the Razorbacks and was selected first-te ...

Consensus All-Americans

For the year 1954, the NCAA recognizes eight published All-American teams as "official" designations for purposes of its consensus determinations. The following chart identifies the NCAA-recognized consensus All-Americans and displays which first-team designations they received.

All-American selections for 1954

Ends

Max Boydston Max Ray Boydston (January 22, 1932 – December 12, 1998) was a professional gridiron football end who played in the National Football League (NFL), the Canadian Football League (CFL), and the American Football League (AFL). College career Born ...

, Oklahoma (AAB, AFCA, AP-2, FWAA, INS-1, NEA-2, SN, UP-1, CP-3, WC) * Ron Beagle, Navy (AAB, AP-1, FWAA, INS-1, NEA-1, SN, UP-2, CP-2, WC) * Don Holleder, Army (AFCA, INS-2, NEA-1, UP-1, CP-1) * Frank McDonald, Miami (Fla.) (AP-1, FWAA, NEA-3) *

Dean Dugger Dean Alan Dugger (September 18, 1933 – March 5, 2000) was an American football player. Dugger was born in Philadelphia in 1933 and attended Stonewall Jackson High School in Charleston, West Virginia. He attended the Ohio State University ...

, Ohio State (FWAA, INS-2, NEA-2, UP-2, CP-2) *

Ron Kramer Ronald John Kramer (June 24, 1935 – September 11, 2010) was a multi-sport college athlete and professional American football player. Kramer attended the University of Michigan from 1953 to 1957, winning a total of nine varsity letters in fo ...

, Michigan (AP-3, INS-2, UP-3, CP-1) *

Bill Walker Bill Walker may refer to: Australian rules football * Bill A. Walker (1886–1934), Australian rules footballer for Essendon * Bill Walker (Australian footballer, born 1883) (1883–1971), Australian rules footballer for Fitzroy * Bill J. V. Wal ...

, Maryland (AP-2) * Jim Pyburn, Auburn (AP-3 INS-2) *Dave Dickerson, Ole Miss (NEA-3) *John Kerr, Purdue (CP-3) *Dan Shannon, Notre Dame (UP-3)

Tackles

Jack Ellena Jack Duane Ellena (October 27, 1931 – March 23, 2012) was an American football player. Ellena played offensive tackle for coach Red Sanders at UCLA from 1952 to 1954. He was a member of the Bruins team that lost the 1954 Rose Bowl and was na ...

, UCLA (AAB, AFCA, AP-1, INS-1, NEA-1, SN, UP-1, CP-1, WC) *

Sid Fournet Sidney Fredrick Fournet (August 27, 1932 – April 23, 2011) was an American collegiate and professional American football player who played defensive lineman for three seasons with the Los Angeles Rams, and Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Fo ...

, LSU (AFCA, AP-2, FWAA, INS-1, NEA-1, UP-1, CP-2, WC) * Frank Varrichione, Notre Dame (AP-3, INS-2, NEA-3, SN, UP-2, CP-1) * Rex Boggan, Mississippi (AP-1) *

Darris McCord Darris Paul McCord (January 4, 1933 – October 9, 2013) was an American football player. He played college football for the University of Tennessee where he was selected by the Football Writers Association of America as a first-team All-America ...

, Tennessee (FWAA) * Art Walker, Michigan (AAB, FWAA, NEA-3, UP-3) *

Jim Ray Smith James Ray Smith (born February 27, 1932) is a former American football offensive guard who played nine seasons in the National Football League for the Cleveland Browns and Dallas Cowboys. He played college football at Baylor University. Early y ...

, Baylor (AP-2, UP-2) *Tom Jones, Miami (OH) (INS-2, NEA-2, CP-3) *Bob Bartholomew, Wake Forest (NEA-2) *Eldred Kraemer, Pitt (INS-2, CP-2) *

Dick Hilinski Dick, Dicks, or Dick's may refer to: Media * ''Dicks'' (album), a 2004 album by Fila Brazillia * Dicks (band), a musical group * ''Dick'' (film), a 1999 American comedy film * "Dick" (song), a 2019 song by Starboi3 featuring Doja Cat Names ...

, Ohio State (AP-3) *

Bruce Bosley Bruce Lee Bosley (November 5, 1933 – April 26, 1995) was a former American football Guard and Center who played for the San Francisco 49ers and the Atlanta Falcons in a fourteen-year career in which he was selected to appear in 4 Pro Bowls (1 ...

, West Virginia (CP-3) *Francis Machinsky, Ohio State (UP-3)

Guards

, Arkansas (AAB, AFCA, AP-1, FWAA, INS-1, NEA-1, SN, UP-1, CP-2, WC) *

Cal Jones Calvin Jack Jones (February 7, 1933 – December 9, 1956) was a college football player for the University of Iowa. Jones is one of only two Iowa football players (along with Nile Kinnick) to have his jersey number retired by the school. Jon ...

, Iowa (College Football Hall of Fame) (AAB, AP-2, FWAA, INS-2, NEA-1, SN, UP-1, CP-1, WC) *

Tom Bettis Thomas William Bettis (March 17, 1933 – February 28, 2015) was an All-American football linebacker, NFL player, and NFL coach. After starring at Purdue, Bettis was selected by the Green Bay Packers in the first round of the 1955 NFL Draft 5th ...

, Purdue (FWAA, INS-1, NEA-2, UP-2, CP-1) * Ralph Chesnauskas, Army (AP-1, UP-3) * Jim Salsbury, UCLA (AFCA, AP-3, FWAA, INS-2, NEA-2, UP-2, CP-3) *

Frank Mincevich Frank Mincevich (born c. 1934) was an American football player. Mincevich attended the University of South Carolina and played college football at the guard position for the South Carolina Gamecocks football team from 1952 to 1954. He was sele ...

, South Carolina (FWAA) *William Meigs, Harvard (AP-2) * Gene Lamone, West Virginia (AP-3, NEA-3, CP-2) *Ken Paul, Rice (NEA-3) *Jan Smid, Illinois (CP-3) *Franklin Brooks, Georgia Tech (UP-3)

Centers

Kurt Burris Kurt Burris (June 27, 1932 – July 21, 1999) was an American gridiron football center. He played college football at Oklahoma, where he was an All-American and finished second in the 1954 Heisman Trophy balloting. In 2000, he was inducted i ...

, Oklahoma (AFCA, AP-1, FWAA, INS-2, NEA-1, SN, UP-1, CP-1, WC) * Hal Easterwood, Mississippi State (AP-2, FWAA, INS-2, NEA-2) * Matt Hazeltine, California (INS-1, UP-3) *

Hugh Pitts Hugh Lynn Pitts (April 8, 1934 – April 14, 2017) was an American football linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for the Los Angeles Rams. He also was a member of the Houston Oilers in the American Football League (AFL). He play ...

, TCU (CP-2) * Leon Cunningham, South Carolina (AP-3, NEA-3) *

Larry Morris Larry Cleo Morris (December 10, 1933 – December 19, 2012) was an American professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the Chicago Bears. The 1950 graduate of Decatur High School ...

, Georgia Tech (UP-2, CP-3)

Quarterbacks

, Notre Dame (AAB, AFCA, AP-1, FWAA, INS-1, NEA-1, SN, UP-1, CP-1, WC) * Paul Larson, California (AP-2, FWAA, INS-2, NEA-2, UP-2, CP-3) * George Shaw, Oregon (AP-3, INS-2, NEA-3, UP-2) *Pete Vann, Army (INS-2, UP-3, CP-2) *

Len Dawson Leonard Ray Dawson (June 20, 1935 – August 24, 2022) was an American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) and American Football League (AFL) for 19 seasons, primarily with the Kansas City Chiefs franchise. Aft ...

, Purdue (AP-3, UP-3) * Buddy Leake, Oklahoma (CP-3)

Halfbacks

Howard Cassady Howard Albert "Hopalong" Cassady (March 2, 1934 – September 20, 2019) was an American professional football player who was a halfback and split end. He won the Heisman Trophy in 1955, and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame ...

, (College Football Hall of Fame)Ohio State (AAB, AFCA, AP-1, FWAA, INS-1, NEA-1, SN, UP-1, CP-1, WC) *

Dicky Moegle Richard Lee Maegle (born Moegle; September 14, 1934 – July 4, 2021) was an American professional football player who was a halfback in the National Football League (NFL) for the San Francisco 49ers, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Dallas Cowboys. ...

, Rice (AAB, AFCA, AP-1, FWAA, INS-2, NEA-1, SN, UP-1, CP-2, WC) * Tommy Bell, Army (FWAA, INS-1, NEA-2) *

Lenny Moore Leonard Edward Moore (born November 25, 1933) is an American former professional football player who played both halfback and flanker in the National Football League (NFL) for the Baltimore Colts from 1956 to 1967. He played college football f ...

, Penn State (AP-3, CP-1, NEA-2, UP-3) * Bob McNamara, Minnesota (AP-2, FWAA, INS-2, NEA-3, UP-2, CP-3) *

Frank Bernardi Frank Dominic Bernardi (born June 17, 1933) is a former American football defensive back who played professionally in the National Football League (NFL) and the American Football League (AFL). He played college football at the University of Colo ...

, Colorado (AP-2) * Primo Villanueva, UCLA (UP-2) * Corky Tharp, Alabama (INS-2) * Corky Taylor, Kansas State (INS-2) *

Bob Watkins Robert Cecil Watkins (born March 12, 1948) is a former pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major Lea ...

, Ohio State (CP-2) * Robert A. Pascal, Duke (AP-3) *

Carroll Hardy Carroll William Hardy (May 18, 1933 – August 9, 2020) was an American professional athlete who played in the National Football League for the San Francisco 49ers (1955) and in Major League Baseball for the Cleveland Indians (1958–1960), Bost ...

, Colorado (NEA-3) *

Hubert Bobo Hubert Lee Bobo (July 2, 1934 – September 1, 1999) was an American football linebacker. He played college football at Ohio State, and played professionally in the American Football League (AFL) for the Los Angeles Chargers in 1960 and for the ...

, Ohio State (CP-3)

Fullbacks

, Wisconsin (AAB, AFCA, AP-1, FWAA, INS-1, NEA-1, SN, UP-1, CP-1, WC) * Bob Davenport, UCLA (AP-2, FWAA, INS-2, NEA-2, UP-3, CP-2) * Henry Moore, Arkansas (NEA-3)

Key

Official selectors

Other selectors

References

{{College Football All-America Teams

All-America Team The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

College Football All-America Teams