1964 Westminster Titans football team
| 1964 Westminster Titans football | |
|---|---|
WPC champion | |
| Conference | West Penn Conference |
| Record | 8–0 (3–0 WPC) |
| Head coach |
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| Home stadium | Westminster College Memorial Field |
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 6 Westminster (PA) $ | 3 | – | 0 | – | 0 | 8 | – | 0 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Waynesburg | 2 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 5 | – | 4 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Geneva | 1 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 1 | – | 6 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Grove City | 0 | – | 3 | – | 0 | 4 | – | 5 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 1964 Westminster Titans football team was an American football team that represented Westminster College as a member of the West Penn Conference (WPC) during the 1964 NAIA football season. In their 13th season under head coach Harold Burry, the Titans compiled a perfect 8–0 record, won the WPC championship, held seven opponents to seven or fewer points, and outscored all opponents by a total of 249 to 45.[1] They were ranked No. 6 in the final NAIA poll. It was Westminster's first undefeated season since 1956 and its seventh consecutive WPC championship.[2]
The team played its home games at Westminster College Memorial Field in New Wilmington, Pennsylvania.
Schedule[edit]
| Date | Opponent | Site | Result | Attendance | Source | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 19 | at Carnegie Tech* |
| W 39–0 | [3] | |||
| September 26 | West Virginia Wesleyan* |
| W 32–7 | [4] | |||
| October 3 | at Grove City | Grove City, PA | W 20–6 | [5] | |||
| October 10 | Geneva |
| W 38–7 | [6] | |||
| October 17 | at Ferris State* | Big Rapids, MI | W 32–0 | [7] | |||
| October 24 | Waynesburg |
| W 21–18 | [8] | |||
| October 31 | at Glenville State* | Glenville, WV | W 26–0 | [9] | |||
| November 14 | Juniata* |
| W 41–7 | [10] | |||
| |||||||
Statistics[edit]
The team was strong in both rushing offense and rushing defense, outgaining opponents by a total of 1,591 to 405 in rushing yardage across all eight games. Opponents averaged only 1.5 yards per rushing carry. The margin in total offense was 2,626 yards to 1,037 yards.[2]
Halfback Gib Armstrong led the team in rushing (88 carries for 454 rushing yards, 4.9 yards per carry), receiving (25 catches for 337 yards), and scoring (63 points on 10 touchdowns and three points after touchdown). Quarterback Smitty Cornell led the team in passing, completing 63 of 113 passes (.558 completion percentage) for 906 yards, 15 touchdowns, and six interceptions.[2][11]
Awards and honors[edit]
Westminster players took 11 of the 22 first-team spots on the 1964 All-West Penn Conference football team. Westminster's honorees on offense were: left halfback John Bailey; right halfback Gib Armstrong; right end Tony Jackson; center Bill Hazen; guard Larry Deibler; and tackle Dave Gura. The honorees on defense were: defensive ends Doug Webb and Doug Kiefer; middle guard Larry Pugh; linebacker Bob Scarazzo; and defensive back Charles Smith.[12] Larry Pugh was also selected as a first-team NAIA All-American.
Burry was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1996.[13] Dick Bestwick was an assistant coach for the team. He persuaded Burry to implement a platoon system under which players played either offense or defense, but not both.[14]
References[edit]
- ^ "1964 Football Schedule". Westminster College. Retrieved February 11, 2024.
- ^ a b c "Armstrong Sparks Titans". New Castle News. November 21, 1964. p. 10 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Russ Franke (September 20, 1964). "Westminster Romps Past Tech, 39-0: Titans' Bailey Scores Two TDs In 'Homecoming'". The Pittsburgh Press. pp. IV-1, IV-3 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Titans Roll To Easy 32-7 Triumph". The Pittsburgh Press. September 27, 1964. p. IV-4 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Pete Mollica (October 5, 1964). "Titans Defense Provides Third Win: Grove City Held To 12 Yard Total By Westminster". New Castle News. p. 20 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Bob Vosburg (October 12, 1964). "Westminster Romps Along Undefeated, 38-7: Geneva Fumbles, Blocked Punts Make It Runaway". New Castle News. p. 20 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Stay Undefeated, 32-0: Titans Ease By Ferris". New Castle News. October 19, 1964. p. 20 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Bob Vosburg (October 26, 1964). "Westminster Cops 6th WPC Crown In Thriller". New Castle News. p. 17 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Unbeaten Titans Have Two Weeks Before Juniata". New Castle News. November 2, 1964. p. 19 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Pete Mollica (November 16, 1964). "Westminster Ends Year Unbeaten: Juniata Becomes Eighth Straight Victim By 41-7". New Castle News. p. 20 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Westminster College Football Record Book". Westminster College. 2010. pp. 10–11.
- ^ "11 Titans Make All-WPC". New Castle Times. November 20, 1964. p. 18 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Harold Burry". National Football Foundation. Retrieved December 3, 2021.
- ^ Hilary Niles (June 4, 2016). "50+ Years After Undefeated Season, 'Bestwick Boys' Rally Around Coach". WBUR.