1970 Long Beach State 49ers football team

The 1970 Long Beach State 49ers football team represented California State College, Long Beach—now known as California State University, Long Beach—as a member of the Pacific Coast Athletic Association (PCAA) during the 1970 NCAA University Division football season. Led second-year head coach Jim Stangeland, the 49ers compiled an overall record of 9–2–1 with a mark of 5–1 in conference play, sharing the PCAA title with San Diego State. Since Long Beach State had beaten San Diego State head-to-head, the 49ers qualified for a postseason bowl game, the Pasadena Bowl.^[1] Played on December 19 against the Missouri Valley Conference champion Louisville Cardinals at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, the game ended in 24–24 tie.^[2] The team played four home games at Veterans Memorial Stadium adjacent to the campus of Long Beach City College in Long Beach, California and one well-attended game at Anaheim Stadium in Anaheim on a Friday night against San Diego State.^[1]

1970 Long Beach State 49ers football
PCAA co-champion
Pasadena Bowl, T 24–24 vs. Louisville
Conference	Pacific Coast Athletic Association
Record	9–2–1 (5–1 PCAA)
Head coach	Jim Stangeland (2nd season)
Home stadium	Veterans Stadium Anaheim Stadium
Seasons ← 1969 1971 →

1970 Pacific Coast Athletic Association football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
San Diego State +	5	–	1	–	0			9	–	2	–	0
Long Beach State +	5	–	1	–	0			9	–	2	–	1
Fresno State	4	–	2	–	0			8	–	4	–	0
Pacific (CA)	2	–	3	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
San Jose State	2	–	3	–	0			2	–	9	–	0
UC Santa Barbara	1	–	5	–	0			2	–	9	–	0
Cal State Los Angeles	0	–	4	–	0			1	–	9	–	0
+ – Conference co-champions

Running back Leon Burns received first-team honors on the 1970 Little All-America college football team.^[3]

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 12	7:00 p.m.	vs. Montana State*	Memorial Stadium Great Falls, MT	W 19–3	6,000–6,100	[4][5][6]
September 19		at Pacific (CA)	Pacific Memorial Stadium Stockton, CA	L 6–9	15,840	[7]
September 26		Hawaii*	Veterans Memorial Stadium Long Beach, CA	L 14–23	10,351	[8]
October 3		at San Jose State	Spartan Stadium San Jose, CA	W 7–3	10,400
October 10		Boise State*	Veterans Memorial Stadium Long Beach, CA	W 27–14	6,472	[9]
October 16		UC Santa Barbara	Veterans Memorial Stadium Long Beach, CA	W 33–7	5,718
October 31		Cal Poly*	Veterans Memorial Stadium Long Beach, CA	W 49–20	5,724	[10]
November 7		at Fresno State	Ratcliffe Stadium Fresno, CA	W 50–14	7,500–8,500	[11]
November 12		at Cal State Los Angeles	East L.A. College Stadium Monterey Park, CA	W 40–7	1,446	[12]
November 20		No. 14 San Diego State	Anaheim Stadium Anaheim, CA	W 27–11	39,005	[13]
November 28		at Valley State*	Birmingham High School Van Nuys, CA	W 21–0	200–300	[14]
December 19		vs. Louisville*	Rose Bowl Pasadena, CA (Pasadena Bowl)	T 24–24	20,472	[2]
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Pacific time

^[15][16]

• One game was played on Friday night (vs. San Diego State in Anaheim) and one was played on Thursday night (vs. Cal State Los Angeles in Monterey Park)

NFL Draft

Two 49ers were selected in the 1971 NFL draft.^[17]

Player	Position	Round	Overall	NFL club
Leon Burns	Running back	1	13	San Diego Chargers
Jeff Severson	Defensive back	12	297	Washington Redskins

References

1. "San Diego stunned by Long Beach". Lodi News-Sentinel. (California). UPI. September 21, 1970. p. 6.
2. "Long Beach eleven ties Louisville". Lodi News-Sentinel. (California). December 21, 1970. p. 11.
3. "A.P.'s Little All-American". The Morning News. December 10, 1970. p. 42 – via Newspapers.com.
4. Ashley, Mayo (September 12, 1970). "It's Long Beach Power vs. MSU Pride". Great Falls Tribune. Great Falls, Montana. p. 9. Retrieved September 30, 2021 – via Newspapers.com .
5. Ashley, Mayo (September 13, 1970). "Long Beach Trim Bobcats 19-3". Great Falls Tribune. Great Falls, Montana. p. 17. Retrieved September 30, 2021 – via Newspapers.com .
6. "Final 1970 Cumulative Football Statistics Report". National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved December 21, 2022.
7. "UOP's defense shines in 9-6 win over Long Beach". Lodi News-Sentinel. (California). September 21, 1970. p. 8.
8. "Aloha, Hawaii gets last laugh on 49ers". Independent Press Telegram. September 27, 1970. Retrieved February 21, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
9. "2015 Boise State Football Media Guide". Boise State University Athletics. 2015. p. 157. Retrieved February 14, 2017.
10. "Cal State (LB) Crushes Cal Poly (SLO), 49-20". The Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California. November 1, 1970. p. D-9. Retrieved March 17, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
11. "Cal State (LB) Crushes Fresno State, 50-14". The Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California. November 8, 1970. p. D-17. Retrieved February 19, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
12. "Cal State Long Beach Routs Diablos, 40-7". The Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California. November 13, 1970. p. III-12. Retrieved February 3, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
13. Jim McCormack (November 21, 1970). "49ers Slay The Giant, 27-11". Independent Press-Telegram. Long Beach, California. p. 1-B. Retrieved January 16, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
14. "Burns Leads 49ers". The Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California. November 29, 1970. p. 1-B. Retrieved February 22, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
15. "Final 1970 Cumulative Football Statistics Report". National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved December 20, 2022.
16. "1970 Long Beach State Forty Niners Schedule". Retrieved December 6, 2016.
17. "1971 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved February 24, 2021.