The 1932 Colgate Red Raiders football team represented Colgate University in during the

1932 college football season Year 193 ( CXCIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Sosius and Ericius (or, less frequently, year 946 ''Ab urbe condit ...

. Fourth-year head coach

Andrew Kerr Andrew Kerr IV (October 7, 1878 – February 17, 1969) was an American football, basketball, and track and field coach. He served as the head football coach at Stanford University (1922–1923), Washington & Jefferson College (1926–1928), Col ...

led Colgate to a perfect record, and the team did not allow an opponent to score throughout the entire season. Nevertheless, Colgate did not receive an expected invitation to the Rose Bowl, and as such, the team was called "undefeated, untied, unscored upon, and uninvited".Andrew Kerr, Class of 1900
, Dickinson College, retrieved June 20, 2009. The 1932 Colgate eleven is one of only three college football teams since 1920 to have finished a perfect season without being scored upon. The new maroon uniforms adopted by this team inspired the nickname for the school's athletics program: the "Red Raiders". Parke H. Davis named Colgate a co- national champion team alongside

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

and USC.

Schedule

Season

Colgate was led by fourth-year head coach

, who had a previous stint at Stanford at the request of

Pop Warner Glenn Scobey Warner (April 5, 1871 – September 7, 1954), most commonly known as Pop Warner, was an American college football coach at various institutions who is responsible for several key aspects of the modern game. Included among his inn ...

. Kerr employed a complex offensive scheme built around Warner's double-wing formation with an additional emphasis on

trick play A trick play, also known as a gadget play, gimmick play or trickeration, is a play in gridiron football that uses deception and unorthodox tactics to fool the opposing team. A trick play is often risky, offering the potential for a large gain or ...

s using

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s and laterals. In 1932, Colgate joined a very small number of football teams to have ever compiled an undefeated, untied, and unscored upon season. Since 1920, only

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are rank ...

in 1938 and

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

in 1939 have matched the feat.''ESPN College Football Encyclopedia'', p. 249, New York: ESPN Books, 2005, . Colgate was also the first Eastern team to have accomplished the deed since 1910 when both

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It in ...

and

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...

did so. Colgate won its nine games by a combined margin of 264–0. Throughout the season, Colgate recorded a total of 99 first downs to their opponents' 21; 1,581 yards of total offense to 255; and 45 pass completions to 13. The closest match was a 14–0 victory over the

NYU Violets NYU Violets is the nickname of the sports teams and other competitive teams at New York University. The school colors are purple and white. Although officially known as the Violets, the school mascot is a bobcat. The Violets compete as a member o ...

Yankee Stadium Yankee Stadium is a baseball stadium located in the Bronx, New York City. It is the home field of the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball, and New York City FC of Major League Soccer. Opened in April 2009, the stadium replaced the orig ...

.1932 Colgate Game-by-Game Records
, College Football Data Warehouse, retrieved June 20, 2009. ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, ...

'' magazine described the NYU defense as porous against Colgate's short-range passing and ground attack, and said the Violets' line "seemed to have a hinge in the middle."Sport: Football, Oct. 31, 1932
''Time'', October 31, 1932. In that game, Colgate also debuted new uniforms that featured maroon trousers and a new nickname: the "Red Raiders of Chenango". In the final game, the likewise undefeated and untied

Brown Bears The Brown Bears are the sports teams that represent Brown University, an American university located in Providence, Rhode Island. The Bears are part of the Ivy League conference. Brown's mascot is Bruno. Both the men's and women's teams share th ...

came the closest of any opponent to scoring against Colgate. At the end of the second quarter, with the score at 6–0, the Bears were at the Colgate one-yard line with time for one final play in the half. Brown's quarterback, , held onto the ball on a rushing attempt. He was brought down close to the goal line, and the referees measured it and determined the ball was still two inches shy of the

end zone The end zone is the scoring area on the field, according to gridiron-based codes of football. It is the area between the end line and goal line bounded by the sidelines. There are two end zones, each being on an opposite side of the field. ...

. Instead of playing conservatively to preserve their lead and unblemished record, Colgate took an aggressive approach in the second half. This included a blocked punt which Colgate converted for a

safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are two slightly dif ...

. Later, Colgate halfback intercepted a pass on his own 20-yard line, and Colgate scored again. In a desperate attempt to score, Brown attempted a fourth down pass, but it fell incomplete and the Bears turned over on downs. Colgate scored on their next possession with a pass from Conroy to Bodganski, for the final score of 21–0.Sport: Football, Dec. 5, 1932
''

'', December 5, 1932.

Postseason

Upon the season's conclusion, Colgate felt there was the possibility of a Rose Bowl invitation. However, despite the team's remarkable record, they were not invited to participate in the . The team reportedly had their bags packed to go to the Rose Bowl, but the call never came. This led some observers to refer to the team as "undefeated, untied, unscored upon, and uninvited."

was the eastern team to appear in the Rose Bowl, where they lost to USC, 35–0. Parke H. Davis, an NCAA-recognized selector, named Colgate a national championship team (co-champions with

and Southern Cal). After the season, Colgate

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 ...

Robert Smith was named a first-team All-American by the All-American Board, 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.

, and ''

Liberty Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom. In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...

'' magazine. Quarterback Charles R. Soleau was named an All-American

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 ...

and was also named to the 1932 "All-Scout" team by

Boys' Life ''Scout Life'' (formerly ''Boys' Life'') is the monthly magazine of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). Its target readers are boys and girls between the ages of 6 and 18. The magazine‘s headquarters are in Irving, Texas. ''Scout Life'' is pu ...

magazine. The 1932 team's use of maroon uniforms led to Colgate's nickname, the "Red Raiders", although in 2001 this was expurgated to simply "Raiders" due to a perceived racial connotation.Colgate To Drop 'Red' From Its Nickname Red Raiders
Patriot League, August 15, 2001.

References

{{College Football National Champion pre-AP Poll navbox Colgate Colgate Raiders football seasons College football national champions College football undefeated seasons Colgate Red Raiders football