History of Purdue Football
Purdue University, Home of the Boilermakers, boasts a football team with history that could intrigue even the most unattached person to college football. The Boilermakers are a part of the Big Ten conference, and pride in their 8 Big Ten conference championships with their most recent being in 2000. It all started in the 1890's when Purdue's President James Stuart lobbied with other Midwestern colleges to formalize the entirety of collegiate athletics. This was the golden era for Purdue University football and also the same era in which the unique nickname of "Boilermakers" was acquired. The Wabash College in Crawfordsville, a rival of Purdue from the early years, lost a completely one-sided game against Purdue during the 1891 season with an end score of 44-0. This game spawned a newspaper headline the next morning to comment on the school's utilitarian roots by commenting on their "burly boiler maker" gameplay. This, along with "pumpkin shuckers, railsplitters, and blacksmiths" all were sent Purdue's way as means of ridicule against the football habits the team showed. The name Boilermakers stuck ever since. Since the late 1800's the Boilermakers have had five flawless seasons. The seasons of 1891, 1892, 1929, 1932, and 1943 the Boilermakers went undefeated.
Ross-Ade Stadium
Although Stuart Field was the original field that the Purdue University football team called home, Ross-Ade Stadium is the current home of the Boilermakers. Named after David Ross and George Ade, the men who made the construction of the stadium financially possible, Ross-Ade Stadium has been the stadium of the Purdue Boilermakers since 1924. The first game played in Ross-Ade was on November 22, 1924 against none other than Purdue's most despised rivals, the Indiana Hoosiers, and ended in a 26-7 win for Purdue University. The original stadium seated 13,500 people and seating was on either (East and West) side of the field. Since then, the stadium has undergone many additions including the grandstand and press box on the west side of the field in 1949/1950 and the electronic screen in the south end zone being added in 1997. The current stadium seats 62,500 people and although the field looks pristine before gameplay, the grass field has remained since construction. The stadium includes seating in a horseshoe fashion wrapping around the north end zone with a separate seating area in the southern end zone. Ross-Ade also contains 34 suites, and 200 club seats which were introduced in 2002.
Key Coaches
Joe Tiller
(1997-2003) Coach Tiller, using his spread offense and pass oriented game-style led the Boilermakers to 55 wins in 7 years with a winning average of .632. He, in his seven years as head coach, coached the team to seven bowl games. These games included 1997/1998 Alamo Bowl, 2000 Outback Bowl, 2001 Rose Bowl, 2001/2002 Sun Bowl, and the 2004 Capitol One Bowl. He is the second most winningest coach in Purdue football coach for Big Ten wins and regular season games. Tiller recorded six winning seasons out of his seven as head coach. |
Jack "The Ripper" Mollenkopf
(1956-1969) Coach Mollenkopf is the most winningest Purdue University head football coach with 84 wins and 57 Big Ten wins. The only losing season experienced by Coach Mollenkopf was his inaugural season of 1956. Jack coached the Boilermakers for 14 years and accumulated a overall average of .670 games won to games lost. Under his coaching, the team competed well enough to earn their first trip to the Rose Bowl in 1967 where they beat USC 14-13. He has records of 11-2-1 against Indiana and 10-4 against the Fighting Irish. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1988. |
Noble Kizer
(1930-1936) Coach Kizer was the second coach to coach the Boilermakers from Notre Dame. He led the team to two Big Ten Championships, 1931 and 1932. His 1931 team was also named National co-champions with a record of 9-1. Noble Kizer's overall record was 42-13-3 with a Big Ten record of 26-9-3. These records make him the third most winningest coach in Purdue football history. His winning percentage of .750 is the best in school history by far by any coach that coached for more than three years. He died in 1940, at age 40, after taking a leave from the coaching position in 1937 and not returning due to kidney issues. |
The Road to the Rose Bowl
Cradle of Quarterbacks
One of the most infamous parts of Boilermaker football history is the Cradle of Quarterbacks. This tradition is so revered by Purdue University that the name "Cradle of Quarterbacks" has been trademarked. The reason? Part of the reason is due to Purdue University being one of only two universities that can claim three Super Bowl champion quarterbacks. Many of these men have set and broken NCAA records, and have since gone on to set and break NFL records. The tradition has stood the test of time with the original star Purdue quarterback, Bob DeMoss--who led the Boilermakers to an awe inspiring win against the fourth ranked Ohio State Buckeyes in just his first year, playing in the mid to late forties, to the most recent being Curtis Painter who went on to be drafted in the sixth round to the Indianapolis Colts as a back-up quarterback to Peyton Manning in 2009.
Bob DeMoss (1945-48) Career Statistics: Total Passing Yards: 2,759 Touchdowns: 23 Dale Samuels (1950-52) Defeated the defending National Champions, Notre Dame, in his second game as a Boilermaker. This severed the 39 game win-streak from the Fighting Irish. The win was also Purdue's first victory over a team ranked first in the nation. Samuels was the first at Purdue to pass for over 1,000 yards in a season, and he led Purdue to a Big Ten Championship two years later. He was inducted into Purdue's Athletic Hall of Fame in 2001. Len Dawson (1954-56) Career Statistics: Total Passing Yards: 3,325 Touchdowns: 29 Bob Griese (1964-66) Career Statistics: Total Passing Yards: 4,541 Touchdowns: 28 Mike Phipps (1967-69) Career Statistics: Total Passing Yards: 5,423 Touchdowns: 37 Gary Danielson (1970-72) Led the Big 10 in passing with 1,467 yards in 1971. In the same year Danielson set a Big Ten record in passing accuracy with a completion rating of 61.7 percent in conference play. As powerful as his arm was, Danielson also had the opportunity to rush via the option play during his career, and racked up 213 offensive rushing yards with the Boilermakers. Mark Herrmann (1977-80) Career Statistics: Total Passing Yards: 9,946 Touchdowns: 71 Scott Campbell (1980-83) Career Statistics: Total Passing Yards: 7,636 Touchdowns: 45 Jim Everett (1981-85) Career Statistics: Total Passing Yards: 7,411 Touchdowns: 43 |
Most Recent Cradle of Quarterbacks Members
Drew Brees (1997-2000) Career Statistics: Total Passing Yards: 11,792 (Current Big Ten Record) Completions: 1,026 (Current Big Ten Record) Attempts: 1,678 Passing Touchdowns: 90 (Current Big Ten Record) Total Offensive Yards: 12,692 (Current Big Ten Record) Kyle Orton (2001-04) Career Statistics: Total Passing Yards: 9,337 Completions: 786 Attempts: 1,336 Passing Touchdowns: 63 Total Offensive Yards: 9,653 Curtis Painter (2005-08) Career Statistics: Total Passing Yards: 11,163 Completions: 987 Attempts: 1,648 Passing Touchdowns: 67 Total Offensive Yards: 11,511 |
Page edited by Kyle Nicholson