The Houlgate System was a college football ranking method based on strength of schedule[1] that was syndicated nationally in the 1930s through 1950s. The system was created by Carroll Everard "Deke" Houlgate (May 8, 1905—July 31, 1959), a Los Angeles-based college football statistician and historian.
Starting in 1945 Houlgate selected competitors for the Futility Bowl, a hypothetical post-season matchup between the nation's two lowest-ranked teams. This bowl game to determine the country's worst team would be held in Death Valley in an empty stadium.[2]
Houlgate was the author of The Football Thesaurus, a leather-bound compilation of game scores, football history, and team facts.[3] The thesaurus was released in two editions in 1946[4] and 1954.[5] Houlgate released annual supplements for the 1954–1958 seasons until his death in 1959.[5]
The NCAA recognizes the Houlgate System as a "major selector" of college football national championships and lists the system's post-bowl selections, as published in the 1954 edition of The Football Thesaurus,[5] in the official NCAA records book.[6]
Houlgate was born in Peru, Nebraska, on May 8, 1905. He graduated from Ventura High School and attended the University of Southern California. He served in the Air Force during World War II and died at the Wadsworth Veterans Administration Hospital in Los Angeles, California, on July 31, 1959, at age 54.[7] Houlgate's wife, Dorothy P. Houlgate, was considered "one of the leading feminine football experts" and assisted with the annual football ratings; she died in August 1959, less than a month after the death of her husband.[8]
In his career in public relations for the American Gas Association, Houlgate is known for coining or popularizing the phrase "Now you're cooking with gas!" and planting the phrase with writers for Bob Hope's radio programs in an early example of product placement.[9]
The Houlgate System is listed as a "major selector" of national championships in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Records book.[10]
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- Teams listed in italics indicate championships that were awarded retroactively.
Foreman & Clark Trophy
Contemporary National champions under the Houlgate System were awarded the Foreman & Clark Trophy.[61] The award was sponsored by the Los Angeles department store and given to the No. 1 team in the contemporary pre-bowl final rankings.[62]
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In 1945, Houlgate also initiated his selections for the Futility Bowl matching the two worst college football teams in a fictional football game to be played in Death Valley.[2] His annual picks for the Futility Bowl included: (1) Worcester Polytechnic Institute and Wooster in 1945;[2] (2) Kansas State and Carnegie Tech in 1947; (3) Kansas State and Montana State in 1948;[85] (4) BYU and Rhode Island State in 1949;[86] and (5) Davidson and Montana in 1951.[87]
Deke Houlgate (1946). The Football Thesaurus: 77 years on the American gridiron. Nash-U-Nal Pub. Co. OCLC 1487183. Houlgate, Deke (1954). The Football Thesaurus: 85 Years on the American Gridiron. Los Angeles, California: Houlgate House. In the Huddle with Deke Houlgate: College Football from 1869 through 1953; Annual Supplements for 1954–1958
National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) (2015). "National Poll Rankings" (PDF). NCAA Division I Football Records. NCAA. pp. 105–106. Retrieved January 4, 2016. "Princeton took the first championship. Such honors had been awarded by the Association for several years, but this was the first actual 'title'."[5]: 9 No Houlgate System selection listed in NCAA records book.[10] "Yale resumed its march to the national championship."[5]: 9 "Yale won the championship again."[5]: 9 "Members of the championship Princeton team wore their hair long, creating a fashion."[5]: 9 "Harvard won its first national championship."[5]: 9 "Yale's big team was best in the nation, scoring 488 points to 0 in 13 games."[5]: 13 "Once more Yale was proclaimed the national champion."[5]: 13 "The Tigers won the championship."[5]: 13 "Princeton won the championship."[5]: 13 "The Quakers won their first national championship."[5]: 13 "The revolving tandem was originated by Princeton, which won the national title."[5]: 13 "Pennsylvania was conceded the national title."[5]: 13 "Harvard won the national championship."[5]: 13 "Harvard was a repeater for the national championship."[5]: 15 "Yale was the nomination of everyone for the national title."[5]: 15 "This season has long been regarded as another milestone because for the first time the Midwest, and not the East, supplied the nation's champ—Michigan."[5]: 15 "Although Michigan again was undefeated and untied with 644 points to 12 in 11 games, most Eastern authorities rated Yale—tied by Army—ahead of the Wolverines, believing the best football was played that year along the Atlantic. Such a belief has never been shared by this writer."[5]: 15 "Princeton walked off with national honors by winning all 11 games and scoring 259 points to 6."[5]: 17 "Pennsylvania was generally regarded as the national champion with 12 straight victories and 222 points to 4, although many considered Michigan a better team with 10 wins and a much better scoring record, 567 to 22. [...] This perfect season for the Gophers gave them a conference co-championship with Michigan which influenced many of the Eastern writers to name Penn the national titlist [sic]. The fans of the nation, as a whole, still clung to the belief that the best football was played in the East. It was only natural that Midwestern fans began to clamour for recognition of their own brand of ball."[5]: 17 "A safety following a punt by Walter Eckersall produced the magic 2 points . . . to give Chicago the win and national championship."[5]: 17 No Houlgate System selection listed in NCAA records book.[10] "Yale, sparked by the great Ted Coy, claimed the national championship with 9 wins and a scoreless tie with Army while scoring 208 points to 10."[5]: 17 "Harvard and Pennsylvania both claimed the national championship, although claims of the Quakers seemed more valid."[5]: 17 "This season has been called the year of the 'Battle of Giants', Yale and Harvard. Yale defeated Harvard on two 30-yard drop kicks by Coy and was easily the national champion."[5]: 21 "Although tied by Yale, 0–0, Harvard's 8–0–1 record and 155 points to 5 gave the Crimson national honors."[5]: 21 "For the first time since 1896, the Big Three—Princeton, Yale and Harvard—played a round-robin. The Tigers beat both rivals and gained the national championship."[5]: 21 "Harvard won the national title."[5]: 21 "Harvard was the No. 1 team of the year."[5]: 21 "Harvard continued its unbeaten ways but lost the national title to Army when the Crimson was held to ties with Brown and Penn State. The Cadets won all nine of their games and chalked up point totals of 219 to 20."[5]: 21 "Cornell with a brilliant undefeated and untied season of nine games and points of 287 to 50, won the national title by acclaim. Doubts were created, however, that Eastern teams played a superior type of football by Washington State's impressive victory over Brown . . . perhaps not the best team in the East but surely a very good one."[5]: 25 "Pittsburgh won the national title with a season of eight straight victories and points of 255–25."[5]: 25 "Georgia Tech was actually the national champion, although sectional pride in the East and Midwest provided stubborn reluctance to such recognition."[5]: 25 "Pittsburgh was easily the outstanding team of the season. Glenn Warner's great team defeated all collegiate foes, running its consecutive win streak to 33 games before dropping a game to Great Lakes Navy, 9–10. At the time, Great Lakes was described as the most powerful collection of stars ever assembled. Pitt's most impressive victory was a 32–0 win over Georgia Tech."[5]: 25 "The brilliant rise of Centre College produced nine straight wins with point totals of 485 to 23. This was not enough, in the estimation of most experts, to give the 'Praying Colonels' a national title ahead of Harvard, but it did gain them a place on the 1920 Crimson schedule."[5]: 25 "This should also be regarded as the season when fans began to take seriously the awarding of unofficial national championships. After its January 1st win, California was generally conceded the title."[5]: 25 "Five great teams—Cornell, Penn State, Centre, Iowa and California—shared the spotlight, three of them because of startling upsets. It was clear, however, that Cornell had the best claim on the national crown. [...] There were those in the east who felt Penn State had a better team in that sector than did Cornell, however. [...] Centre College could easily claim the championship of Dixie and but for an unexpected 14–22 loss to the Texas Aggies might have taken in more territory. [...] Iowa put in a bid for national recognition when the Hawkeyes not only extended their own winning streak to 10 games but ended Notre Dame's chain at 20 with an earned 10–7 victory. As champions of the Midwest and Western Conference title holders, the Hawkeyes had the right to put in a claim for the U.S. crown. [...] As defending champ, the Bear claims made plenty of sense . . . that is, until after the Rose Bowl clash with Washington & Jefferson, which ended in a scoreless tie."[5]: 25 "Unchallenged champion of the USA was California which finished its third year without defeat. Winning all nine and scoring 398 points to 34, the Golden Bears appear to have shaded Cornell, also undefeated and untied, with an 8–0–0 record based on 339 points to 37. The myth presisted, however, that eastern superiority still was an important factor in the selection of the national champion."[5]: 27 "California repeated as national champion though tied, 0–0, by Nevada."[5]: 27 "Beyond dispute, Notre Dame was the national champ."[5]: 31 "Again the national championship was clear-cut. It was Alabama before and after the Rose Bowl game. 'Bama, under Wallace Wade, won all 10 of its games, including a super-thriller from Washington in Pasadena, 20–19, and had a point record of 298 to 26."[5]: 33 "Navy was the nation's standout with a 9–0–1 record and points of 236 to 88. [...] Tied for second in more ways than one were Alabama and Stanford which met at the end of the season in the Rose Bowl and played a 7–7 game."[5]: 33 "While far from being an expert, this was the year when I began to experiment with what has become known as The DEKE HOULGATE SYSTEM of rating major elevens. The system had several obvious flaws in the early years but was better than the guess-work that went on in the past; it placed Notre Dame on top; and it avoided claims of sectional superiority."[5]: 37 "There where two national champions. Southern California was the top team on the basis of regular season play but was edged out by Georgia Tech when the champs of Dixie finished out a perfected season of ten games by defeating California, 8–7, in the Rose Bowl."[5]: 43 "Notre Dame rebounded to the front and on the basis of regular season play was national champion with 9 straight wins and points of 145 to 38. [...] SC, although upset by California in midseason and nosed out by Notre Dame near the end of the campaign, came fast to finish first when all of the returns were in, winning 10 of 12 battles including a great 47 to 14 victory over Pittsburgh in the Rose Bowl. [...] There were many who disputed the 1-2 ranking of Southern Cal and Notre Dame. There were even many midwestern fans who placed Purdue ahead of both."[5]: 43, 47 "The year 1932 will always remain firmly fixed in my memory for a very personal reason. It was the season when the Deke Houlgate System for determining the national championship was first given national recognition. ... Sports columnist George T. Davis of the Los Angeles Herald & Express was the first to study my system and give his approval. Others quickly joined me in challenging the findings of the Illinois professor. ... Since 1932, my weekly ratings, regular season and post-season, finals have been featured in newspapers throughout the nation."[5] Noel, David, ed. (1936). "Football – Awards". The Rotunda 1936. Southern Methodist University — Dallas, Texas: S. M. U. Students Publishing Company Incorporated. p. 190. In recognition of their outstanding ability on the gridiron, the Mustangs were awarded several trophies, most significant being the coveted national championship honors. SMU is the first Southwest team to receive the Knute K. Rockne Memorial Trophy. Equally prized is the Deke Houlgate Cup, which designates the Ponies national champions of 1935.
"Southern Methodist clearly won the national championship and retained it even after tasting defeat in the Rose Bowl, incidentally a thirteenth game. Stanford's 7–0 victory over the Mustangs was not quite enough to drop SMU out of first place but did serve to prove that sectional superiority was to be found for the moment in the southwest and west."[5]: 75 Written at Dallas, Texas. "Louisiana State Gets Foreman–Clark Trophy". The Capital Times. Madison, Wisconsin. Associated Press. January 10, 1937. Retrieved January 31, 2023. The Foreman and Clark trophy, emblematic of the National football championship, won by SMU in 1935, will be sent to LSU ... awarded the trophy for the past season under the ratings of Deke Houlgate, Los Angeles, grid statistician.
Owen, Kimbrough, ed. (1937). "Athletics — Football". Gumbo 1937. Baton Rouge, Louisiana: The Students of Louisiana State University. p. 206. Rated No. 1 team of the country by the Deke Houlgate system, the Tigers were presented with a beautiful national championship trophy by a Los Angeles firm.
"After predicting for more than a decade that some year would come along when there would be no outstanding team, I watched 1936 and saw it happen. At the end of the year there was not ONE major team with an undefeated, untied record and it was anyone's guess as to which eleven was the national champion. After the bowl games, the strongest case could be made for Pittsburgh. [...] After the end of the regular season, my ratings placed Louisiana State on top, closely followed by Pittsburgh and Alabama. Results of the Sugar Bowl and Rose Bowl games reversed that 1–2 order. [...] It was the manner in which Jock Sutherland's team rolled over the Huskies that changed my final rankings; that and the defeat of LSU by Santa Clara in the Sugar Bowl."[5]: 87 "Pittsburgh was back to doing business at the same old stand as national champion when the 1937 season finally folded. Even the results from a rash of bowl games, in none of which Pitt played, failed to dislodge the Panthers. Runner-up California was not even close."[5]: 93 "Tulane was the national champion at the end of the regular season, closely followed by Cornell and the Texas Aggies. [...] After Tulane was defeated, 14–13, by the Aggies in the Sugar Bowl the ratings were quite different and the Lone Star outfit moved into first place. [...] To show how the bowl games affected the final ratings for 1939, here are the before and after lists of the top ten: Before: 1. Tulane 2. Cornell 3. Texas A & M [...] After: 1. Texas A & M 2. Tulane [...] It was quite apparent that the big bowls were helping to name the top teams and the true national champion."[5]: 107 "Down to the wire, lengths ahead, as national champions came the Golden Gophers with a perfect season of 8 games. The record was far better than those hung up by Tennessee, Mississippi State, Stanford and Boston College. They could not catch Minnesota even after results of the various bowl games trickled in. [...] Here is how the bowl games changed the final ratings for 1940: 1. Minnesota, 2. Tennessee [...] | 1. Minnesota, 2. Stanford [...]"[5]: 117 Written at Los Angeles. "Houlgate Ranks Gophers First, Navy Second". The Sacramento Bee. Sacramento. United Press. December 2, 1941. Retrieved August 13, 2023. The Deke Houlgate system of rating football teams today placed the Golden Gophers of Minnesota in the top spot in national standings. Houlgate, making his final selections, nominated the Navy for second place and Alabama for third.
"For the sixth time a bowl game changed the national championship."[5] "Having taken up duties as an officer in the Army Air Forces, I was hardly in a position to rate the major teams of the nation, week-by-week. Going back to the seasons of 1942, '43, '44 and '45 may be unfair to some teams but this is how they would have lined up after the various bowl games. 1. Georgia, 9–0 winner over UCLA in the Rose Bowl. 2. Ohio State, defeated only by Wisconsin in 10 games."[5]: 125 "The national championship became the exclusive property of Notre Dame after a ten game schedule. In the win column the Irish listed victories over Pittsburgh, Georgia Tech, Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Navy, Army, Northwestern and Iowa Pre-Flight before losing 14–19 in the finale to Great Lakes Navy. Since the last named foe was only the best service team of the year, this was truly Game-of-The-Year."[5]: 129 "There was not a dissenting voice to the naming of the Military Academy as 1944's national champion and this came at the end of a season when the Big Ten put forth a real sectional champ in Ohio State [...] So completely did Army dominate the game in winning nine while scoring 504 points to 35 that our calculations gave the eleven a ranking score exceeded only by the 1930 Notre Dame team which played one more game. Ohio State's Buckeyes were just as pronounced as runner-ups."[5]: 135 "No one disputed Army's claim to the national title but the fight for second was unusually keen between Alabama, Oklahoma A & M and Indiana. Some ratings even gave that spot to Navy."[5]: 139 Written at Los Angeles. "Houlgate Rates Army At Top — Houlgate Puts Notre Dame in Sixth Place". The Kansas City Star. Kansas City. International News Service. December 4, 1946. C.E. (Deke) Houlgate, noted football statistician, placed Army on top and UCLA second today in his final ratings of the nation's gridiron teams for the 1946 season.
"Second biggest controversy of the year was over claims of Army and Notre Dame to the national championship. Our calculations gave the title to the Cadets by a thin edge of having played one more game than did the Irish. [...] Based on logic and statistics, then, it was Army as number one and Notre Dame in second place."[5]: 141 "Notre Dame or Michigan? That was the burning question at the end of the regular season. After the Wolverines had won from Southern California in the Rose Bowl there was little doubt that Fritz Chrisler's last team at Ann Arbor was best in the nation. [...] Having been voted by a majority of the sports writers the Number One team, the Irish and various wire services chose to ignore the implications of Michigan's final victory. Not so the fans who kept the argument burning far into the spring."[5]: 141 Houlgate, Deke (January 4, 1949). Written at Los Angeles. "Mustangs Hit Second Spot in Houlgate Ratings". Riverside Daily Press. Riverside, California. Retrieved July 6, 2024. Results of those post-season bowl games made several important changes in national rankings for the past season. No change was great enough, however, to dethrone mighty Michigan, football champion for the second straight year.
"Southern California handed Michigan a national championship on a platter by tying Notre Dame in the final game for both Irish and Trojans. Until that happened it was the same controversy that boiled over at the end of the 1947 season. The Irish did, however, manage to salvage second place."[5]: 143 Houlgate, Deke (January 17, 1951). Written at Los Angeles. "Tennessee Tagged Best Grid Team". Riverside Daily Press. Riverside, California. p. 14. Retrieved July 6, 2024. Tennessee is the collegiate champion of the U.S. grid for the 1950 season following finals in the various big bowls.
Taylor, Sec (January 18, 1955). "Sittin' In With the Athletes — Deke Houlgate Places Navy Fifth". The Des Moines Register. pp. 13, 15. Following the various bowl games he made some slight adjustments in his final ratings, but without disturbing Ohio State, Oklahoma, UCLA, and Notre Dame which he originally had placed at the top in the order named. 'The Buckeyes not only made their claims to the national championship more emphatic by defeating Southern California, 20–7, in the Rose Bowl...'
"Deke Houlgate's Ratings, including Bowl Games, for 1957: 1. Alabama Poly 2. Navy 3. Ohio State [...] Alabama Poly proved itself to be the 1957 national champion even without a win in a post season game. Auburn was closely followed by Navy, Ohio State and Oklahoma, all three of the latter improving their ratings by wins in major bowls."[5]: 1957 Supplement "Deke Houlgate's Ratings, including Bowl Games — 1958 Season: 1. Louisiana State 2. Army 3. Iowa [...] Before the season started, Louisiana State (our National champion) was looked upon as the favorite in its section of the Southeastern Conference."[5]: 1958 Supplement
