1937 Oklahoma Sooners football team

The 1937 Oklahoma Sooners football team represented the University of Oklahoma in the 1937 college football season. In their first year under head coach Tom Stidham, the Sooners compiled a 5–2–2 record (3–1–1 against conference opponents), finished in second place in the Big Six Conference, and outscored their opponents by a combined total of 98 to 39.^[1][2]

1937 Oklahoma Sooners football
Conference	Big Six Conference
Record	5–2–2 (3–1–1 Big 6)
Head coach	Tom Stidham (1st season)
Captain	Albert Corrotto
Home stadium	Memorial Stadium
Seasons ← 1936 1938 →

1937 Big Six Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 11 Nebraska $	3	–	0	–	2			6	–	1	–	2
Oklahoma	3	–	1	–	1			5	–	2	–	2
Kansas	2	–	1	–	2			3	–	4	–	2
Missouri	2	–	2	–	1			3	–	6	–	1
Iowa State	1	–	4	–	0			3	–	6	–	0
Kansas State	1	–	4	–	0			4	–	5	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

End Pete Smith received All-America honors in 1937,^[3] and four Sooners received all-conference honors: Smith, back Jack Baer, center Mickey Parks, and end Waddy Young.^[4]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 25	at Tulsa*	Skelly Field Tulsa, OK	L 7–19	16,000
October 2	Rice*	Memorial Stadium Norman, OK	W 6–0
October 9	vs. Texas*	Cotton Bowl Dallas, TX (rivalry)	T 7–7	25,000	[5]
October 16	at Nebraska	Memorial Stadium Lincoln, NE (rivalry)	T 0–0
October 23	Kansas	Owen Field Norman, OK	L 3–6	5,000	[6]
October 30	at Kansas State	Memorial Stadium Manhattan, KS	W 19–0
November 6	Iowa State	Memorial Stadium Norman, OK	W 33–7	8,194
November 13	at Missouri	Memorial Stadium Columbia, MO (rivalry)	W 7–0
November 25	Oklahoma A&M*	Memorial Stadium Norman, OK (Bedlam)	W 16–0
*Non-conference game

^[7]

Media

This was the first season that all Sooner football games were radio broadcast over the air. The games were carried by WKY and Walter Cronkite was the announcer.^[8]

NFL draft

The following players were drafted into the National Football League following the season.^[9]

Round	Pick	Player	Position	NFL Team
3	21	Pete Smith	End	Detroit Lions
9	79	Ed Parks	Center	Washington Redskins

References

1. "Oklahoma Yearly Results (1935-1939)". College Football Data Warehouse. David DeLassus. Archived from the original on September 5, 2015. Retrieved July 20, 2015.
2. "1937 Oklahoma Sooners Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 20, 2015.
3. "2014 Oklahoma Football Records Supplement" (PDF). University of Oklahoma. 2014. p. 90. Retrieved July 20, 2014.
4. "2014 Oklahoma Football Records Supplement" (PDF). University of Oklahoma. 2014. p. 95. Retrieved July 20, 2014.
5. "Sooners out-gain Texas U. in 7 to 7 tie battle". The Oklahoma News. October 10, 1937. Retrieved April 27, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
6. Harold Baker (October 24, 1937). "Lucky Jayhawks Nip Oklahoma, 6-3". The Norman Transcript. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
7. DeLassus, David. "Oklahoma Yearly Results 1935–1939". College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on September 5, 2015. Retrieved July 20, 2015.
8. "Walter Cronkite recalled time as OU broadcaster". July 19, 2009. Retrieved July 27, 2015.
9. "1938 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 29, 2020.