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  1. #1
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    History and Duke football wins

    A topic of conversation these days is the record of the current football team with comparisons to the 1941 team's record. Discussions about Duke's first back to back bowl games began to surface recently as well. Most such comparisons and conversations are made with little context other than this moment in time. Lewis Bowling, Wallace Wade biographer, has an article in the Durham Herald this morning which adds some historical perspective. Duke has a very rich football history, worthy of learning about.
    http://www.heraldsun.com/news/showca...e-to-41-Devils

  2. #2
    As I wrote in another thread, I think Ross Cockrell and his talented, dedicated, and hardworking teammates are making history.

    Duke Football: Making History one day at a time, one play at a time, one game at a time.

  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by Devil in the Blue Dress View Post
    A topic of conversation these days is the record of the current football team with comparisons to the 1941 team's record. Discussions about Duke's first back to back bowl games began to surface recently as well. Most such comparisons and conversations are made with little context other than this moment in time. Lewis Bowling, Wallace Wade biographer, has an article in the Durham Herald this morning which adds some historical perspective. Duke has a very rich football history, worthy of learning about.
    http://www.heraldsun.com/news/showca...e-to-41-Devils
    Very good reminder of our rich history.

    Makes it even more tragic that our program was allowed to fade and wallow for so long.

    As with many sports, it is difficult to compare eras that are twenty years apart -- let alone fifty, sixty, seventy years apart. What Wade did was phenominal. What Cut has done, under modern circumstances, is also extremely impressive.

    Of course, Cut's not done.

  4. #4
    Quote Originally Posted by OldPhiKap View Post
    Very good reminder of our rich history.

    Makes it even more tragic that our program was allowed to fade and wallow for so long.

    As with many sports, it is difficult to compare eras that are twenty years apart -- let alone fifty, sixty, seventy years apart. What Wade did was phenominal. What Cut has done, under modern circumstances, is also extremely impressive.

    Of course, Cut's not done.
    As a student from 05-09 (3 years of Roof, 1 of Cut), I used to be a caller for the Duke Annual Fund. Every now and then I'd call an older alumnus from the good old football days, and they would complain to me for 10 minutes about Duke Football.

    Some of those alumni may no longer be with us, but I hope somewhere Annual Fund callers are calling some of these guys who are now beaming about how proud they are once again.
    <devildeac> anyone playing drinking games by now?
    7:49:36<Wander> drink every qb run?
    7:49:38<loran16> umm, drink every time asack rushes?
    7:49:38<wolfybeard> @devildeac: drink when Asack runs a keeper
    7:49:39 PM<CB&B> any time zack runs, drink

    Carolina Delenda Est

  5. #5
    Dev11's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by loran16 View Post
    As a student from 05-09 (3 years of Roof, 1 of Cut), I used to be a caller for the Duke Annual Fund. Every now and then I'd call an older alumnus from the good old football days, and they would complain to me for 10 minutes about Duke Football.

    Some of those alumni may no longer be with us, but I hope somewhere Annual Fund callers are calling some of these guys who are now beaming about how proud they are once again.
    I recall before a game in 2010 talking to some guys who played in the Cotton and Orange Bowls for Duke. They seemed excited about Cutcliffe and what he was doing. Smart fellows.

  6. #6
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    Duke football during the 30s and 40s was at the top nationally, shaping college football (organization of practices, plays, strength and conditioning), accumulating amazing records and accomplishments. I used to hear that Coach Wade regularly started the second team who would dominate their opponents early and then he'd put in the feared first team. You have to be pretty good to take the lead with the second team, game after game!

    From post WWII through the 60s Duke was still very good, but gradually declining. Only in very recent years of the expansion was another ACC program able to pass Duke in the number of conference football championships. I think I'm remembering that correctly... maybe Jim Sumner can verify. .... quite an accomplishment to hold such a record while stuck in the cellar for decades.

  7. #7
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    Here is Duke's record during Wade's best run, 1936 through 1941. The AP rankings began in 1936.

    Code:
    Year	W	L	T	AP
    1936	9	1		11
    1937	7	2	1	20
    1938	9	1		3
    1939	8	1		8
    1940	7	2		18
    1941	9	1		2
    Tot	49	8	1
    The winning percentage was 85.3 percent. Duke's two best teams, which could easily have been ranked number one at the end of the regular seasons, lost in upsets in the Rose Bowl.

    sagegrouse

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by sagegrouse View Post
    Here is Duke's record during Wade's best run, 1936 through 1941. The AP rankings began in 1936.

    Code:
    Year    W    L    T    AP
    1936    9    1        11
    1937    7    2    1    20
    1938    9    1        3
    1939    8    1        8
    1940    7    2        18
    1941    9    1        2
    Tot    49    8    1
    The winning percentage was 85.3 percent. Duke's two best teams, which could easily have been ranked number one at the end of the regular seasons, lost in upsets in the Rose Bowl.

    sagegrouse
    Sorry for being too lazy to look it up, but what was the year in which the team went unbeaten, untied, and unscored upon in the regular season, and then got upset 3-0 in the Rose Bowl?

    Also, I think it worth pointing out that Duke would have gone to numerous bowl games back then, including long strings of back to back to back years of making a bowl under different circumstances. Back then, unless they got an offer to one of the 4 major bowls (Rose, Orange, Cotton, Sugar) they turned it down due to travel expenses. I did not realize that until a couple of weeks ago when I saw it in the news. Kind of stinks as our bowl attendance and record could be far more impressive than it is.

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by Newton_14 View Post
    Sorry for being too lazy to look it up, but what was the year in which the team went unbeaten, untied, and unscored upon in the regular season, and then got upset 3-0 in the Rose Bowl?

    Also, I think it worth pointing out that Duke would have gone to numerous bowl games back then, including long strings of back to back to back years of making a bowl under different circumstances. Back then, unless they got an offer to one of the 4 major bowls (Rose, Orange, Cotton, Sugar) they turned it down due to travel expenses. I did not realize that until a couple of weeks ago when I saw it in the news. Kind of stinks as our bowl attendance and record could be far more impressive than it is.
    1938 Iron Duke Team

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by Devil in the Blue Dress View Post
    1938 Iron Duke Team
    Thanks DitBD! I had grown up thinking that this was the season the Rose Bowl was played in WW but read a story about the Rose/WW game a few weeks back and learned Duke was not undefeated that year and the game score was different, so I then had no idea which season it was.

  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by Newton_14 View Post
    Thanks DitBD! I had grown up thinking that this was the season the Rose Bowl was played in WW but read a story about the Rose/WW game a few weeks back and learned Duke was not undefeated that year and the game score was different, so I then had no idea which season it was.
    7-3. USC scored in the final minute of the game. If we hadn't given up that late TD, we could have a football national championship almost as impressive as UNC's Helms title.

    http://www.dukechronicle.com/article...erfection-1938

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dev11 View Post
    7-3. USC scored in the final minute of the game. If we hadn't given up that late TD, we could have a football national championship almost as impressive as UNC's Helms title.

    http://www.dukechronicle.com/article...erfection-1938
    We actually won the Kay National Championship Award in 1938. I'm as big of a college football fan as Helms was a college basketball fan, and as such I've decided to retroactively award teams with national championships in college football, starting in 1938 and working my way backwards. After careful consideration, I've selected the Duke University Blue Devils as the national champions in 1938. Despite giving up that late TD, they were clearly the best team in the nation and therefore are deserving of the national championship, imho, which is the only opinion that matters for selecting Kay Awards.

    As soon as the trophy gets delivered to me from trophydepot.com, I'll run it up to Durham.

    Duke can now go ahead and fly their National Champions, 1938 flag above WW stadium. They should make sure not to clarify that it's a Kay National Championship Award, because why be completely open and forthright when, after all, "To Seem, not To Be".

    Congratulations Duke University, on your 1938 football national championship.

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by davekay1971 View Post
    We actually won the Kay National Championship Award in 1938. I'm as big of a college football fan as Helms was a college basketball fan, and as such I've decided to retroactively award teams with national championships in college football, starting in 1938 and working my way backwards. After careful consideration, I've selected the Duke University Blue Devils as the national champions in 1938. Despite giving up that late TD, they were clearly the best team in the nation and therefore are deserving of the national championship, imho, which is the only opinion that matters for selecting Kay Awards.

    As soon as the trophy gets delivered to me from trophydepot.com, I'll run it up to Durham.

    Duke can now go ahead and fly their National Champions, 1938 flag above WW stadium. They should make sure not to clarify that it's a Kay National Championship Award, because why be completely open and forthright when, after all, "To Seem, not To Be".

    Congratulations Duke University, on your 1938 football national championship.
    Duke would not have won the AP title with a win in the Rose Bowl. Duke went into that game ranked third behind TCU and Tennessee. Both teams ahead of Duke won their bowl games, both against teams ranked higher then No. 7 Southern Cal.

  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by jimsumner View Post
    Duke would not have won the AP title with a win in the Rose Bowl. Duke went into that game ranked third behind TCU and Tennessee. Both teams ahead of Duke won their bowl games, both against teams ranked higher then No. 7 Southern Cal.
    How does that happen? No one has even scored on you all year and you're ranked 3rd? Wonder how many points TCU and Tennessee had given up?

  15. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by CameronBlue View Post
    How does that happen? No one has even scored on you all year and you're ranked 3rd? Wonder how many points TCU and Tennessee had given up?
    TCU had the great Davey O'Brien, who won the 1938 Heisman. Going into the Sugar Bowl, they had outscored opponents 254-53. They defeated Carnegie Tech 15-7.

    Going into the Orange Bowl, Tennessee had outscored their opponents 276-16. They defeated Oklahoma 17-0.

    Going into the Rose Bowl, Duke had outscored their opponents 114-0.

    So, Duke was well behind both those teams in point differential. The rankings were not irrational.

  16. #16
    Quote Originally Posted by jimsumner View Post
    TCU had the great Davey O'Brien, who won the 1938 Heisman. Going into the Sugar Bowl, they had outscored opponents 254-53. They defeated Carnegie Tech 15-7.

    Going into the Orange Bowl, Tennessee had outscored their opponents 276-16. They defeated Oklahoma 17-0.

    Going into the Rose Bowl, Duke had outscored their opponents 114-0.

    So, Duke was well behind both those teams in point differential. The rankings were not irrational.
    The real point is for a long time in college football, teams didn't play another often enough to really tell apart a bunch of undefeated teams.

    Almost like today.
    <devildeac> anyone playing drinking games by now?
    7:49:36<Wander> drink every qb run?
    7:49:38<loran16> umm, drink every time asack rushes?
    7:49:38<wolfybeard> @devildeac: drink when Asack runs a keeper
    7:49:39 PM<CB&B> any time zack runs, drink

    Carolina Delenda Est

  17. #17
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    Quote Originally Posted by jimsumner View Post
    Duke would not have won the AP title with a win in the Rose Bowl. Duke went into that game ranked third behind TCU and Tennessee. Both teams ahead of Duke won their bowl games, both against teams ranked higher then No. 7 Southern Cal.
    True, but the Kay National Championship award has never aligned precisely with the AP.

  18. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by Lauderdevil View Post
    True, but the Kay National Championship award has never aligned precisely with the AP.
    Does this mean I'll have to start using Kay-style instead of AP style?

  19. #19
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    Quote Originally Posted by loran16 View Post
    The real point is for a long time in college football, teams didn't play another often enough to really tell apart a bunch of undefeated teams.

    Almost like today.
    Let alone let the voters even see the teams.

    "Boy, they sounded good on the radio" -- if they were even broadcast.

  20. #20
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    Quote Originally Posted by jimsumner View Post
    TCU had the great Davey O'Brien, who won the 1938 Heisman. Going into the Sugar Bowl, they had outscored opponents 254-53. They defeated Carnegie Tech 15-7.

    Going into the Orange Bowl, Tennessee had outscored their opponents 276-16. They defeated Oklahoma 17-0.

    Going into the Rose Bowl, Duke had outscored their opponents 114-0.

    So, Duke was well behind both those teams in point differential. The rankings were not irrational.
    I'm so glad we have a resource like you around.

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