The 1950 Michigan State Spartans football team represented

Michigan State College Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It i ...

as an indepdennt during the

1950 college football season The 1950 college football season finished with the unbeaten and untied Oklahoma Sooners (9–0) being the consensus choice for national champion. On New Year's Day, however, the Sooners were upset by the Kentucky Wildcats (ranked No. 7 in the A ...

. In their fourth season under head coach

Clarence Munn Clarence Lester "Biggie" Munn (September 11, 1908 – March 18, 1975) was an American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He was the head football coach at Albright College (1935–1936), Syracuse University (1946), and mos ...

, the Spartans compiled an 8–1 record and were ranked No. 8 in the final AP Poll. Two Spartans received first-team honors on the

1950 College Football All-America Team The 1950 College Football All-America team is composed of college football players who were selected as All-Americans by various organizations and writers that chose College Football All-America Teams in 1950. The eight selectors recognized by the ...

. Fullback Sonny Grandelius received first-team honors from the

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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.

, and

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, and end Dorne Dibble received the honors from the

Football Writers Association of America The Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) is an organization of college football media members in the United States founded in 1941. It is composed of approximately 1,200 professional sports writers from both print and Internet media out ...

. The 1950 Spartans won their annual rivalry games against Notre Dame by a 36–33 score and against

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

by a 14–7 score. In intersectional play, the Spartans beat

Oregon State Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant, research university in Corvallis, Oregon. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate-degree programs along with a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees. It has the 10th largest engineering col ...

(6–0), William & Mary (33-14), and

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

(19–0), but lost to

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

(34–7).

Schedule

Game summaries

Michigan

Michigan, ranked No. 3 in the country, opened the 1950 season playing against Michigan State College in Ann Arbor. Though favored by two touchdowns, the Wolverines were upset by the Spartans 14–7. The defeat was Michigan's first loss in the opening game of a season since 1937. Michigan played most of the game without its leading player,

Chuck Ortmann Charles H. Ortmann (June 1, 1929 – March 7, 2018) was an American football player who played for the University of Michigan Wolverines from 1948 to 1950 and in the National Football League for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1951 and the Dallas Tex ...

. Ortmann was injured while being tackled on a 35-yard kickoff return in the first quarter. On the next play, Ortmann dropped back to pass but fell to the ground and was unable to return to the game. Michigan State took a 7–0 lead in the first quarter on a touchdown run by Sonny Grandelius. Michigan tied the score in the third quarter on a touchdown pass from Don Peterson to Fred Pickard. Michigan's touchdown was set up when Frank Howell intercepted a Michigan State pass and returned it 32 yards to the Michigan State 20-yard line. In the fourth quarter, Michigan State returned a punt to the Michigan 19-yard line and scored on a run by Michigan State fullback Leroy Crane. Michigan drove to the Michigan State 10-yard line in the fourth quarter, but the drive ended when quarterback Bill Putich threw an interception.

References

Michigan State Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It i ...

Michigan State Spartans football seasons

Michigan State Spartans football The Michigan State Spartans football program represents Michigan State University (MSU) in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) level. The Spartans are members of the Big Ten Conference. Michigan State claims a ...

{{collegefootball-1950s-season-stub

Schedule

Game summaries

Michigan

See also

References