The 1943 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team represented the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

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

George Hauser George Wesley Hauser (February 24, 1893 – November 8, 1968) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Colgate University from 1926 until 1927 and at the University of Minnesota from 1942 to 1944, compili ...

, the Golden Gophers compiled a 5–4 record but were outscored by their opponents by a combined total of 184 to 170. Fullback Bill Daley and end Herb Hein were named All-Americans by 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. newspa ...

. Daley was also named an All-American by

Collier's ''Collier's'' was an American general interest magazine founded in 1888 by Peter Fenelon Collier. It was launched as ''Collier's Once a Week'', then renamed in 1895 as ''Collier's Weekly: An Illustrated Journal'', shortened in 1905 to ''Collie ...

Grantland Rice Henry Grantland "Granny" Rice (November 1, 1880July 13, 1954) was an early 20th-century American sportswriter known for his elegant prose. His writing was published in newspapers around the country and broadcast on the radio. Early years Rice wa ...

. Tackle Paul Mitchell was named All-Big Ten first team. Paul Mitchell was awarded the Team MVP Award. In the final

Litkenhous Ratings The Litkenhous Difference by Score Ratings system was a mathematical system used to rank football and basketball teams. The Litrating system was developed by Vanderbilt University professor Edward E. Litkenhous (1907 – December 22, 1984) and his b ...

, Minnesota ranked 21st among the nation's college and service teams with a rating of 96.4. Total attendance for the season was 182,779, which averaged to 26,111. The season high for attendance was against

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 ...

Schedule

Game summaries

Michigan

On October 23, 1942, Minnesota played Michigan in the annual Little Brown Jug game. The Wolverines had lost nine straight games to

Bernie Bierman Bernard W. Bierman (March 11, 1894 – March 7, 1977) was an American football player and coach of football and basketball. He coached from 1919 to 1950 except for a span during World War II when he served in the U.S. armed forces. Bierman was t ...

's Minnesota teams, the last Michigan victory having been in 1932. Michigan defeated Minnesota by a score of 49 to 6 in front of a crowd of 45,000 spectators at

Michigan Stadium Michigan Stadium, nicknamed "The Big House," is the football stadium for the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan. It is the largest stadium in the United States and the Western Hemisphere, the third largest stadium in the world, and the ...

. The 43-point margin made it the worst defeat sustained by a Minnesota team to that point in the program's history. On the first play from scrimmage,

Elroy Hirsch Elroy Leon "Crazylegs" Hirsch (June 17, 1923 – January 28, 2004) was an American professional football player, sport executive and actor. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1967 and the College Football Hall of Fame in 1 ...

ran 61 yards on a reverse around right end for a touchdown. Hirsch scored a total of three touchdowns and also intercepted a Minnesota pass to stop a drive in the fourth quarter. Bill Daley, the V-12 transfer who played for Minnesota in 1942, became the first player to play for both sides in Little Brown Jug games. Prior to the game, the ''Chicago Daily Tribune'' referred to Daley as "the Gophers' war time gift to their football foes." Daley scored two touchdowns, returned a punt for 37 yards to set up Hirsch's second touchdown, and kicked two extra points. After five games, Daley was the leading rusher in college football with 620 rushing yards on 98 carries. Minnesota's only touchdown was set up by an interception of a pass thrown by

Jack Wink Jack S. Wink (August 3, 1922 – September 16, 1995) was an American football player and coach. He played college football at the University of Wisconsin–Madison (1942, 1946–1947) and University of Michigan (1943). He served in the United Stat ...

. The interception was returned to Michigan's 15-yard line, and Frank Loren scored the touchdown late in the second quarter.

Bob Wiese Robert Lee Wiese (January 25, 1923 – November 19, 1971) was an American football player. He played college football for Fritz Crisler's University of Michigan Wolverines football teams in 1942, 1943, 1944 and 1946—missing the 1945 season du ...

blocked Minnesota's extra point kick. In the fourth quarter, Wink threw a 51-yard touchdown pass to Farnham Johnson.

Bob Nussbaumer Robert John Nussbaumer (April 23, 1924 – July 26, 1997) was an American football halfback and end in the National Football League (NFL) for the Washington Redskins, Green Bay Packers, and the Chicago Cardinals. He played college football at t ...

also scored a touchdown for Michigan.

Merv Pregulman Mervin Pregulman (October 10, 1922 – November 30, 2012) was an All-American football player, businessman, and philanthropist. He played football as a tackle and center for the University of Michigan Wolverines from 1941 to 1943 and was se ...

added four extra points. Michigan dominated the game with 230 rushing yards and 128 passing yards, while holding Minnesota to 60 rushing yards and 14 passing yards.

References

{{Minnesota Golden Gophers football navbox

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

Minnesota Golden Gophers football seasons

Minnesota Golden Gophers football The Minnesota Golden Gophers football team represents the University of Minnesota in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level. Founded in 1882, Minnesota has been a member of the Big Ten Conference since its ince ...