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1930S The Mustang football program continued its rapid ascent to national prominence during the 1930s. SMU won its first national championship in 1935 after posting a 12-win season under the guidance of first-year head coach Matty Bell. Known as a player’s coach, Bell brought discipline to his team, and he spent time listening and talking to his players. Fullback Harry Shuford and tackle Truman “Big Dog” Spain were two prominent players on the national championship team. A tri-captain, Shuford was the Mustangs’ best running back during the 1935 season, but injury forced him to miss the season’s most critical contest. The Mustangs, ranked No. 1 in the country, played second-ranked TCU and its star quarterback, Sammy Baugh, for the unofficial national championship and the right to play in the Rose Bowl Jan. 1, 1936, against Stanford. Bobby Wilson scored two touchdowns to give SMU a 14-0 lead before Baugh rallied the Horned Frogs to a 14-14 tie. Early in the fourth quarter, Bob Finley connected on a long pass to Wilson after the Mustangs faced a fourth down at the TCU 39. Wilson caught the ball at the five and rolled into the end zone as the Mustangs held on to win, 20-14, and earned a trip to the Rose Bowl. Despite entering the game as heavy favorites, the Ponies were upset by Stanford, 7-0, with Cardinal quarterback Bill Paulman scoring the game’s only touchdown on a first-quarter run. While the loss constituted the only blemish on a 12-1 season, SMU was able to pay off its 10-year debt on Ownby Stadium with the check the University received from competing in the Rose Bowl. • Prior to becoming the head coach at SMU in 1935, Matty Bell served as the head coach at TCU (1923-1928) and Texas A&M (1929-33). Bell arrived at SMU in 1934 and served one season as the line coach. • Three SMU players earned All-America status in 1935: tackle Truman Spain, guard J.C. Wetsel and back Bobby Wilson. Wilson, who scored all three Mustang touchdowns in the dramatic 20-14 win over TCU, went on to play one year of pro football for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1936. • SMU won its third Southwest Conference championship in 1931 after finishing the season with a 9-1-1 mark. The Mustangs struggled the next two seasons, posting a 3-7-2 record in 1932 and a 4-7-1 record in 1933. • Harry Shuford was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in 1936 and, despite the team’s efforts to sign him to a contract, opted to attend law school at SMU. Shuford overcame the prevailing thought that a football player could not succeed in law school and finished first in his class in 1939. Record for the decade: 64-38-9
SMU & Stanford fans packed the 1936 Rose Bowl
Matty Bell led SMU to the 1935 National Title and later coached Doak Walker to the Heisman Trophy
1940S While the 1930s established SMU’s position on the national football map, the 1940s ensured its permanent inclusion. A conference co-championship in 1940 served as a solid beginning to the new decade, but was followed by six consecutive losing seasons from 1941 through 1946. World War II resulted in the loss of Bell for three years (1942-45) when he left the Hilltop to join the Navy reserves. Bell returned to SMU in 1945 and took on an additional role as the University’s athletic director. The 1947 season brought new hope and the emergence of a legend in Doak Walker. The only three-time All-American in SMU history, Walker led the Mustangs to consecutive Southwest Conference championships in 1947 and 1948. Over the course of his career at SMU, Walker rushed for 1,954 yards, passed for 1,638 yards, scored 288 points, punted for a 39.4 average, and kicked field goals and extra points. He is also the Mustangs’ all-time leader in punt return yards with 750. Walker’s exploits earned him the Heisman Trophy in 1948 and led to his number, 37, being retired at SMU. Led by Walker, Kyle Rote, Dick McKissack and Paul Page, the Mustang backfield combined hard running with tricky reverse and gadget plays to wreak havoc on opposing defenses in the latter part of the decade. • Walker was a high school teammate of Bobby Layne at Highland Park High School in Dallas. The two were matched against each other in Walker’s first collegiate game in 1945 when Layne was the quarterback at Texas. Although UT won the game, 12-7, Walker scored the Mustangs’ only touchdown and kicked the extra point. Walker and Layne were reunited as teammates when both played for the Detroit Lions in the early 1950s. • After playing their home games since 1926 at Ownby Stadium, the Mustangs moved to the Cotton Bowl in 1948 and remained there for 31 years. For almost a half-century, the last game played at Ownby was Oct. 2, 1948, when SMU defeated Texas Tech, 41-6. Because of his immense popularity, the Cotton Bowl became known as “The House That Doak Built.” • Following the 1947 and 1948 seasons, SMU played in back-toback Cotton Bowls. The Mustangs were matched against Penn State in the 1948 game, tying the Nittany Lions, 13-13. Walker threw a 53-yard touchdown pass and scored on a two-yard run, but Penn State’s Elwood Petchel matched Walker by tossing scoring passes of 38 and six yards. The 1949 Cotton Bowl paired SMU with Oregon and its star quarterback, Norm Van Brocklin. The Mustangs won 21-13. Record for the decade: 58-46-10
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