1943 Purdue Boilermakers football team

1943 Purdue Boilermakers football
Big Ten Conference co-champions
Conference	Big Ten Conference
1943 record	9–0 (6–0 Big Ten)
Head coach	Elmer Burnham (2nd year)
MVP	Dick Barwegen
Home stadium	Ross–Ade Stadium

1943 Big Ten football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
#5 Purdue +	6	–	0	–	0			9	–	0	–	0
#3 Michigan +	6	–	0	–	0			8	–	1	–	0
#9 Northwestern	5	–	1	–	0			6	–	2	–	0
Indiana	2	–	3	–	1			4	–	4	–	2
Minnesota	2	–	3	–	0			5	–	4	–	0
Illinois	2	–	4	–	0			3	–	7	–	0
Ohio State	1	–	4	–	0			3	–	6	–	0
Wisconsin	1	–	6	–	0			1	–	9	–	0
Iowa	0	–	4	–	1			1	–	6	–	1
+ – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

The 1943 Purdue Boilermakera football team represented Purdue University in the 1943 college football season. In their second year under head coach Elmer Burnham, the Boilermakers compiled an undefeated 9–0 record (6–0 Big Ten), outscored their opponents by a combined total of 214 to 55, and finished the season ranked #5 in the final AP Poll.^[1]

The 1942 Purdue team had won only won game, but the 1943 was bolstered with several new players who had been transferred to Purdue as part of the V-12 Navy College Training Program.^[2]

Purdue guard Alex Agase was selected as a consensus first-team player on the 1943 All-America Team,^[3] and was later inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. Fullback Tony Butkovich was also selected as a first-team All-American by The Sporting News, the United Press, the Central Press, and Stars and Stripes newspaper. Butkovich led the Big Ten in scoring with 14 touchdowns despite missing the last two games after being called to active duty by the Marines; he was killed in action at the Battle of Okinawa in April 1945.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent^#	Rank^#	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 18, 1943		at Great Lakes NTS		Ross Field • Chicago		W 23–13	22,000
September 25, 1943		at Marquette		Milwaukee		W 21–0	-
October 2, 1943		Illinois		Ross–Ade Stadium • West Lafayette, IN		W 40–21	-
October 9, 1943		Camp Grant		Ross–Ade Stadium • West Lafayette, IN		W 19–0	-
October 16, 1943		vs. Ohio State		Municipal Stadium • Cleveland		W 30–7	40,000
October 23, 1943		Iowa		Ross–Ade Stadium • West Lafayette, IN		W 28–7	-
October 30, 1943		at Wisconsin		Camp Randall Stadium • Madison, WI		W 32–0	-
November 6, 1943		at Minnesota		Memorial Stadium • Minneapolis		W 14–7	-
November 20, 1943		Indiana		Ross–Ade Stadium • West Lafayette, IN (Old Oaken Bucket)		W 7–0	-
*Non-conference game. Homecoming. ^#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Players

• Alex Agase, guard
• Dick Barwegen, guard
• Frank Bauman, end
• Joe Buscemi
• Dick Bushnell
• Jack Butt
• Tony Butkovich, #25, fullback
• Jim Darr
• Boris Dimancheff
• Stan Dubicki, #22
• Bump Elliott
• John Genis, tackle
• Herbert Hoffman, end #99
• Tom Hughes
• Mike Kasap, tackle
• Bill Newell
• Bill O'Keefe
• Keith Parker
• Bill Stuart
• Sam Vacanti

Coaches and administrators

• Head coach: Elmer Burnham
• Assistant coaches: Cecil Isbell, Sam Voinoff, Joe Dienhart^[4]
• Athletic director: Guy "Red" Mackey

References

1. "Purdue Yearly Results (1940-1944)". College Football Data Warehouse. David DeLassus. Retrieved August 10, 2015.
2. "1943 Purdue Marines" (PDF). College Football Historical Society Newsletter.
3. "2014 NCAA Football Records: Consensus All-America Selections" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). 2014. p. 6. Retrieved August 16, 2014.
4. 1944 Purdue yearbook, p. 217.