The 1957 Stanford Indians football team represented

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

in the

1957 NCAA University Division football season The 1957 NCAA University Division football season saw two different national champions. Auburn was ranked first in the AP writers' poll taken at season's end, while Ohio State was first in the UPI coaches' poll. Auburn was ineligible for a bowl ...

. The team was coached by Chuck Taylor in his seventh year as head coach. Taylor was a popular coach who had led the Indians to the

1952 Rose Bowl The 1952 Rose Bowl was the 38th edition of the college football bowl game, played at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. Held on Tuesday, January 1, at the end of the 1951 college football season, it was the first nationally televised col ...

and who had been an All-American player for the Indians who starred on the undefeated 1940 "Wow Boys" team that won the

1941 Rose Bowl The 1941 Rose Bowl was the 27th edition of the college football bowl game, played at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, on Wednesday, January 1. The undefeated and second-ranked Stanford Indians of the Pacific Coast Conference defeated the # ...

and the national championship in several polls. Just before the team's final game against archrival California, Taylor announced he was retiring as head coach to become assistant athletic director of the university.

Schedule

Game summaries

California

The 60th Big Game was held just a few days after Stanford head coach Taylor announced he would step down following the end of the season to serve as the school's assistant athletic director. Coming into the game, the Indians had won just once in Taylor's 6 previous Big Games, but vowed to win this game for their beloved head coach. Although Stanford had relied on its passing attack from quarterback Jack Douglas all season, it was the running game that gave the team the lead in the second quarter on fullback Chuck Shea's 9-yard run. Shea would rush for 155 yards on the day. California answered, but the point after was blocked, and Stanford nursed a 7–6 lead into the third quarter, when Douglas ran in for another score. California answered late, but the Indians held on to fulfill their vow to their outgoing coach and bring the overall Big Game series record at 25–25–10. Taylor would become Stanford's

athletic director An athletic director (commonly "athletics director" or "AD") is an administrator at many American clubs or institutions, such as colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches and ...

in 1963 and serve in that role until 1971.

References

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Stanford Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is considere ...

Stanford Cardinal football 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 Pac-12 Conference's North Division. The team is known as the Cardinal, adopted prior to the 1982 seas ...