Replacing long-time coach Lynn "Pappy" Waldorf who left to coach the
Bears of Cal, would be a chore and in 1947 the task was handed to former
Northwestern All American Bog Voigts who was only thirty-one years of age.
Despite his youth, Voigts had already coached at Yale and with the Cleveland
Browns and he introduced the T-Formation he learned working under Paul
Brown. The 3-6 season promised future success with a number of talented
players and in '48, Voights guided the 'Cats to an 8-2 record which included
a Rose Bowl victory over Waldorf's Cal team, 20-14. Led by FB Art Murakowski
and center Alex Sarkisian, they were the toast of the Big Nine. Graduation
of almost all of the WW II vets gutted the team and '49 was a come-down to
4-5 although the victory over Michigan broke the Wolverines long-standing
winning streak. The under estimated 1950 team, led by captain Don Stonesifer
and end Chuck Hagmann who was the season's MVP, beat Navy 22-0 in their
second game, soared in confidence, and finished at 6-3. Dick Flowers threw
for over 1000 yards and against Purdue, Stonesifer caught a Big Ten record
twenty-four passes, earning All American notice. With four consecutive wins,
hopes were high for a Rose Bowl berth in '51 but entering November, the
Wildcats tumbled with four straight losses to finish at 5-4. Season
highlights included a 20-14 last minute upset of Army that left the West
Point defensive line coach Vince Lombardi in post-game tears and Michigan
was upset 6-0. End Joe Collier played well in Voigt's T-Formation attack.
End Joe Collier earned All American rank for 1952 with a team that
performed poorly, finishing with a 2-6-1 record. Collier later became a
highly respected defensive coordinator and personnel man in the AFL and led
the Bills briefly as their head coach. Dick Thomas was the man throwing
those passes to Collier and others, completing 79 for 1255 yards. Army again
fell victim to the Wildcats, their only loss of the 1953 season and Voigts
guided Northwestern to a three game sweep of their non-conference foes.
Unfortunately, those were the only victories of the year and there was
grumbling over the 3-6 record and lack of defensive effort. QB Dick Thomas
was again reliable and the team scored well but couldn't stop anyone.
Making the switch from leather to the Riddell plastic helmet, Voigts had
the Wildcats take the field for the 1954 season in white helmets adorned
with a thick one-and-a-half-inch purple center stripe, flanked by a
one-half-inch gap, and one-half-inch purple flanking stripes for a very
attractive and noticeable design. Former Cleveland Browns linebacker and
captain Lou Saban was hired to straighten out the defense and there was some
improvement with the play of center Ted Ringer but problems persisted and
the squad dropped to 2-7 with their only Big Ten win against Illinois in the
finale. A number of the losses were close but the team ran behind two soph
quarterbacks. HB Jim Troglio ran for a 4.5 per-carry average and handled the
punting. With declining results since his early Rose Bowl appearance, Voigts
resigned due to alumni and booster pressure.
With the challenge of reversing the 2-7 season of 1954, thirty-three year
old assistant coach Lou Saban was elevated to the head coaching
position and planned to utilize a squad of almost all sophomores and a
Straight T Formation offense. Saban had been All Big Ten at both QB and FB
at Indiana and an All Pro in the AAFC as a rugged linebacker and team
captain for Paul Brown's squad in Cleveland. In subsequent years, Saban
developed a reputation as perhaps the most traveled coach in the annals of
football, and an erratic leader. He had been the head coach at Case
Institute, and an assistant under Voigts at Northwestern when he was given
the job after former Wildcat great Otto Graham turned it down. Saban stayed
only a year before embarking on an ultimately successful tour of college and
pro ball that took him through stints at Western Illinois, the Boston
Patriots, Buffalo Bills, University Of Maryland, Denver Broncos, Miami (FL),
and Central Florida. The 0-8 start was a result of poor line play despite
the efforts of Ted Ringer. Injuries to the running backs limited the
offense, and a tie with Illinois in the finale was the high-water mark in a
0-8-1 season. Former Purdue head coach Stu Holcomb was hired as
Northwestern's new AD and immediately fired Saban and his entire staff,
including assistant coach George Steinbrenner. As the owner of the New York
Yankees, Steinbrenner would never forget Holcomb's actions. When Holcomb
became a Chicago White Sox administrator, he was consistently stymied by
"The Boss" as George has been known, whenever he took a position on specific
issues, with George voting against him. The hunt was on for a new coach.
If interested in any of these NWU helmets please click on the
photos below.
