1954 West Virginia Mountaineers football team

1954 West Virginia Mountaineers football
1954 West Virginia Mountaineers football
SoCon champion
Conference	Southern Conference
Ranking
AP	No. 12
Record	8–1 (3–0 SoCon)
Head coach	Art Lewis (5th season);
Home stadium	Mountaineer Field
	Seasons ← 1953 1955 →

The 1954 West Virginia Mountaineers football team was an American football team that represented West Virginia University in the Southern Conference (SoCon) during the 1954 college football season. Led by fifth-year head coach Art Lewis, the Mountaineers compiled an overall record of 8–1 with a mark of 3–0 in conference play, winning the SoCon title for the second consecutive season.

1954 Southern Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 12 West Virginia $	3	–	0	–	0	8	–	1	–	0
Furman	2	–	0	–	0	5	–	5	–	0
No. 16 VPI	3	–	0	–	1	8	–	0	–	1
Davidson	2	–	1	–	0	6	–	3	–	0
VMI	4	–	3	–	0	4	–	6	–	0
Richmond	2	–	3	–	0	5	–	4	–	0
William & Mary	1	–	2	–	2	4	–	4	–	2
George Washington	0	–	4	–	1	1	–	7	–	1
The Citadel	0	–	4	–	0	2	–	8	–	0

$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
October 2	at No. 15 South Carolina*		Carolina Stadium Columbia, SC	W 26–6	31,000	^[1]
October 9	George Washington	No. 16	Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV	W 13–7	20,000	^[2]
October 16	at No. 9 Penn State*	No. 14	New Beaver Field University Park , PA (rivalry)	W 19–14	32,221	^[3]
October 23	vs. VMI	No. 10	Mitchell Stadium Bluefield, WV	W 40–6	11,000	^[4]
October 30	Pittsburgh*	No. 7	Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV (rivalry)	L 10–13	34,000	^[5]
November 6	Fordham*	No. 17	Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV	W 39–9	10,000	^[6]
November 13	at William & Mary	No. 16	Cary Field Williamsburg, VA	W 20–6	10,000	^[7]
November 20	NC State*	No. 14	Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV	W 28–3	20,000	^[8]
November 27	at Virginia*	No. 12	Scott Stadium Charlottesville, VA	W 14–10	10,000	^[9]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster

1954 West Virginia Mountaineers football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
QB	`11`	Fred Wyant	Jr
End	`89`	Billy Hillen	Sr
End	`84`	Joe Kopnisky	So
Guard	`64`	Gene Lathey	So
Guard	`88`	Bill Underdonk	Jr
Center	`36`	Charles Donaldson	Sr
OL-LT	`77`	Bruce Bosley	Jr
OL-RG	`75`	Sam Huff	So
OL-LG	`72`	Gene Lamone	Jr
Guard	`65`	Jerry Urda	So
End	`55`	John Kernic	Sr
End	`81`	Max Ludwig	Sr
RB	`22`	Victor "Jack" Rabbits	So
RB	`42`	Dick Nicholson	Sr
RB	`15`	Harry Sweeney	Sr
FB	`24`	Carl Norman	Sr
FB	`35`	Danny Williams	Sr
[[American football positions\|]]
QB	`10`	Alex Szuch	So
E	`12`	Walter Beene	So
HB	`21`	Paul Shepherd	So
FB	`23`	Ray Borst	So
HB	`25`	Bob Moss	Jr
C	`31`	Don Wilson	Sr

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
[[American football positions\|]]		[[ ]]

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class

Head coach

Art "Pappy" Lewis

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible

Injured
Redshirt

References

^ "West Virginia scores upset victory over Gamecocks, 26–6". The News and Observer. October 3, 1954. Retrieved January 5, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Mounties barely squeeze past stubborn G-W 13–7". The Beckley Post-Herald. October 10, 1954. Retrieved February 10, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "West Virginia tops unbeaten Lions by 19–14". Sunday News. October 17, 1954. Retrieved January 5, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "West Virginia's devastating ground game rocks VMI 40–6". The State. October 24, 1954. Retrieved January 4, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Salvaterra heads late Panther surge which topples West Virginia by 13–10". Richmond Times-Dispatch. October 31, 1954. Retrieved January 5, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ McKowen, Bob (November 7, 1954). "WVU trims Fordham; Six men get touchdowns". The Charleston Daily Mail. p. 13 – via Newspapers.com. Attendance figure in "Mountaineers whip Rams, 39-9". The Pittsburgh Press. November 7, 1954. sect. 4, p. 2.
^ "West Virginia beats W&M, 20–6, to take Conference crown". The Sunday Star. November 14, 1954. Retrieved January 5, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "N.C. State bows to West Virginia". The Baltimore Sun. November 21, 1954. Retrieved January 5, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Bowl fever almost beats Mountaineers". The State. November 28, 1954. Retrieved January 5, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.

[1] "West Virginia scores upset victory over Gamecocks, 26–6". The News and Observer. October 3, 1954. Retrieved January 5, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.

[2] "Mounties barely squeeze past stubborn G-W 13–7". The Beckley Post-Herald. October 10, 1954. Retrieved February 10, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.

[3] "West Virginia tops unbeaten Lions by 19–14". Sunday News. October 17, 1954. Retrieved January 5, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.

[4] "West Virginia's devastating ground game rocks VMI 40–6". The State. October 24, 1954. Retrieved January 4, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.

[5] "Salvaterra heads late Panther surge which topples West Virginia by 13–10". Richmond Times-Dispatch. October 31, 1954. Retrieved January 5, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.

[6] McKowen, Bob (November 7, 1954). "WVU trims Fordham; Six men get touchdowns". The Charleston Daily Mail. p. 13 – via Newspapers.com. Attendance figure in "Mountaineers whip Rams, 39-9". The Pittsburgh Press. November 7, 1954. sect. 4, p. 2.

[7] "West Virginia beats W&M, 20–6, to take Conference crown". The Sunday Star. November 14, 1954. Retrieved January 5, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.

[8] "N.C. State bows to West Virginia". The Baltimore Sun. November 21, 1954. Retrieved January 5, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.

[9] "Bowl fever almost beats Mountaineers". The State. November 28, 1954. Retrieved January 5, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.

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1954 West Virginia Mountaineers football team

Schedule

Roster

References

zproxy.org