The 1954 Fordham Rams football team represented

Fordham University Fordham University () is a Private university, private Jesuit universities, Jesuit research university in New York City. Established in 1841 and named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the The Bronx, Bronx in which its origina ...

as an independent during the

1954 college football season The 1954 college football season saw three teams finish unbeaten and untied, with Ohio State Buckeyes and the UCLA Bruins sharing the national championship as the No. 1 picks of the AP Poll and the UPI Poll, respectively. Although the winners o ...

. The Rams went 1–7–1 and amassed 96 points while their defense allowed 292 points. It was their worst season since the winless 1946 campaign. Shortly afterwards, and following a disastrous, 41–0 season finale home loss to previously winless (0–9) Villanova, head coach Ed Danowski resigned. Speculation grew around five coaches, all former Fordham players, rumored as replacements. In order of likeliness the candidates were

Vince Lombardi Vincent Thomas Lombardi (June 11, 1913 – September 3, 1970) was an American football coach and executive in the National Football League (NFL). Lombardi is considered by many to be the greatest coach in football history, and he is recognized a ...

, at the time a backfield coach with the New York Giants; Johnny Druze, at the time a line coach with Notre Dame;

Harry Jacunski Hieronym Anthony “Harry” Jacunski (October 20, 1915 – February 20, 2003) was a National Football League (NFL) player and college football coach for over 40 years. Jacunski was an All-state center on the New Britain High School 1934 bask ...

, at the time a line coach with Yale and two long shots who were each successful in the high school ranks. They were

Ray Riddick Raymond Ernest Riddick (October 17, 1917 – July 1976) was an American football player and coach. He played professionally in the National Football League (NFL) as an End (gridiron football), end with the Green Bay Packers from 1940 to 1942 ...

, at the time head coach of Lowell High School's powerhouse program in Massachusetts and Leo Paquin, in charge of Xavier High School's program in Manhattan. In the end none of the five were chosen. Instead, sighting poor attendance numbers and financial losses of $100,000 per year, the school decided to drop its football program on December, 15th. Alumni, many hoping Lombardi would be named head coach, led a campaign to cover all operating costs for the 1955 season and honor an already announced schedule in the process. The university however stood by their decision. After more pushing, the alumni movement was finally abandoned in May, 1955. With that came the lost opportunity at hiring, arguably, the single greatest football coach of all time. They also lost the services of freshmen quarterbacks Chuck Zimmerman and Jim Reese who had platooned the freshman team to a promising 3-1 record. Reese transferred to Minnesota where in 1958 he became the first Golden Gopher to throw for 200 yards in a game. Zimmerman transferred to Syracuse where in that same season he threw for over 700 yards while leading the Orangemen to the Orange Bowl.

Schedule

References

{{Fordham Rams football navbox Fordham Fordham Rams football seasons

Fordham Rams football The Fordham Rams football program is the intercollegiate American football team for Fordham University, located in the borough of The Bronx in New York City. The team competes in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) and ar ...