Photo Gallery Of 1953
Titan Football History
DETROIT (12/20/2013) -- As the football bowl season is about to begin, the University of Detroit Mercy is looking back on the anniversary of two championship football teams in the 1953 Missouri Valley Conference champions and the 1928 Parker Davis National Championship squad. Today we will look at the 60th anniversary of the shared MVC crown of 1953.
"What I remember the most is that it seemed to rain all the time during our games," said Bob Hernbroth, a junior guard on the 1953 team from Chicago. "Also, the NCAA changed rules again with substitutions and you had to play both ways so you were on the field a lot and I think that helped the small programs because they didn't have all the players that the bigger programs had."
The 1953 team was coached by the legendary Earl "Dutch" Clark – a member of both the College and Pro Football Hall of Fame - and in his final season on the sidelines for the Titans, he guided the squad to a 6-4 mark, including 3-1 in the MVC. The 3-1 conference record helped give Detroit a share of the conference title with Oklahoma A&M (now known as Oklahoma State), a team that the Titans defeated during the regular season, 18-14.
"I loved Coach Clark," said Hernbroth. "He was a thinker. He really didn't scream, but he knew the game of football and it was an honor to play for him. He called all the plays and he was really a stoic figure on the sidelines."
When the year began, the talk was about the University of Houston and if anyone could beat the defending MVC champion Cougars. Houston was 8-2 in 1952 and returned 21 letter winners and was looked upon as a national contender in 1953, scheduling some tough non-conference games against Texas, Tennessee and Baylor.
Detroit was looked at as a team that could rise to the top with 24 letter winners returning, including running back Lee Riley, full back Ray Zambaisi and co-captains in lineman Dick Martwick and Denny McCotter. The Titans, though, did have to find a new quarterback after the loss of record-breaking gun slinger Ted Marchibroda.
"He could throw the ball and he was a great quarterback" added Hernbroth.
The Titans started the season with a pair of big wins over North Dakota State (33-6) and Wayne State (48-0) with some gaudy numbers through the first two weeks. UDM outgained the opposition, 619-228, including a staggering 426-48 margin in rushing.
"We started the year very strong, but we were a lot better than those teams," said Hernbroth. "Even though it was in the same city as us, Wayne State was not much of a rivalry at that time."
The Titans then dropped a home game to Fordham, 21-7, before Houston came to town. The Cougars were 0-1-1 tying Texas A&M 14-14 in week one, but falling to No. 17 Texas, 28-7. Detroit took an early 6-0 lead as Jimmy O'Leary scampered 29 yards for a touchdown with a little more than two minutes left, but the Cougars came right back with an 80-yard run to tie the score as Detroit blocked the extra-point attempt.
Houston scored two more TD's to take an 18-6 lead, but Titan quarterback Dave Kline ran it in from nine yards out and it was 18-13 at the half. Houston then took a 25-13 lead in the third, but the "Fighting Titans" made it 25-19 with less than five minutes left as a punt return by Robert "Burgy" Burgmeier set up Detroit at the 11-yard line. Edward Gornak then ran it in to get the home team within six.
Detroit had one more chance to take the lead, but Kline had his pass intercepted. Houston was preparing to take the ball in for another touchdown, but the Titans forced a fumble on the 1-yard line with less than 10 seconds left, but with time a factor, another interception by Kline ended the contest.
"It was a battle, but we hung in there and we didn't get down on ourselves," said Hernbroth.
The Titans got back on track the next week cruising past Villanova, 27-0, on the road before returning home for a conference game against Oklahoma A&M. Detroit led 6-0 at the half and 12-0 early in the third as Kline hit Riley for 47 yards, but the Aggies scored late in the third and then used a Titan fumble to set up another score to make it 14-12 just 1:38 into the fourth.
Midway through the fourth, Kline led the Titans on a comeback starting a drive with a 39-yard run and then finding Burgmeier from 25 yards out as Detroit jumped back in front, 18-14. The defense then held its own leading to a Titan win on homecoming.
"Conference games are always big and we knew we needed to win that one," said Hernbroth. "I remember all of us saying how big of a win that was."
The Titans then played two straight road games against fellow Jesuit institutions with Marquette winning 19-0 and Boston College, 33-20.
With only two games left – both MVC contests – and with Houston suffering a second conference loss midway through November, the Titans went into their final two weeks knowing that with a pair of road wins at Tulsa and at Wichita State, Detroit controlled its own destiny for a chance at a conference championship.
"Those games were about a week apart and both on the road through Thanksgiving so we actually stayed on the road the entire time," said Hernbroth. "We practiced on the road at a junior college between the Tulsa and Wichita State because it made no sense to come back and then go back on the road again."
The Titan defense was on the prowl against the Golden Hurricane, holding Tulsa to just 143 yards of total offense as Detroit wiped away the storm to the tune of a dominating 33-0 outcome. Detroit rushed for 231 yards and took a 21-0 lead at the half.
The win set up a Thanksgiving showdown with the Shockers of Wichita State and now the title was on the line, win and Detroit gets a least a share of the conference.
"It was a big deal for us," said Hernbroth. "We had not won the conference in a few years and we wanted to win. Our focus on the year was on winning the conference and we did that and I couldn't be more proud. The locker room was great and I remember the celebration and how excited we were."
The game was scoreless through one, but Riley got Detroit on the board early in the first before Wichita State tied it at 6-6 late in the second on a 54-yard pass. It was still tied in the third when the Titans took the championship lead as Burgmeier went up the middle for eight yards and a 13-6 lead as the extra point was good.
The Shockers were driving late in the quarter, just 27 yards away from the end zone, when the Titans' Jack Flanagan forced a fumble and Detroit took over. In the fourth, the Titans put the game away and walked off as champions as Burgmeier scored his second TD on a 28-yard run and later on, Riley ran it in from 29 yards out to seal the triumph, 26-6.
"It was a great accomplishment and something I look back to even today," said Hernbroth. "I love the memories of playing football for Detroit and winning the conference. I played with some great players and against some great players like Hall-of-Famer Bob St. Clair of Tulsa, and I just enjoyed every moment of my football career."
Burgmeier and Riley finished 1-2 in the MVC in scoring as Burgmeier was first with 12 touchdowns and 72 points – fourth in the nation - while Riley had nine TD's and 54 points. Burgmeier was also fourth in the league with 448 yards rushing, while Riley was sixth (409 yards) to go with a league-best 21 catches and 374 receiving yards. Kline also topped the conference in passing with 54 completions for 777 yards.
Award wise, at guard, McCotter was an Honorable Mention AP All-American and First Team All-Conference. Allen Baumgart was First Team All-MVC at center along with Kline and Riley, while second team accolades went to tackle Cas Krol, Flanagan and Burgmeier.
