1963 Stanford Indians football team

1963 Stanford Indians football
Conference	Athletic Association of Western Universities
1963 record	3–7–0 (1–4 AAWU)
Head coach	John Ralston (1st year)
Home stadium	Stanford Stadium

1963 AAWU football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
Washington $	4	–	1	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
USC	3	–	1	–	0			7	–	3	–	0
UCLA	2	–	2	–	0			2	–	8	–	0
Washington State	1	–	1	–	0			3	–	6	–	1
California	1	–	3	–	0			4	–	5	–	1
Stanford	1	–	4	–	0			3	–	7	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 1963 Stanford Indians football team represented Stanford University in the 1963 NCAA football season. The team was led by new head coach John Ralston. Ralston succeeded Jack Curtice, who had been fired at the end of the previous season.^[1] The team played their home games at Stanford Stadium in Stanford, California.^[2]

Schedule

Date	Opponent^#	Rank^#	Site	Result
September 21	San Jose State*		Stanford Stadium • Stanford, CA (Rivalry)	W 29–13
September 28	Oregon*		Stanford Stadium • Stanford, CA	L 7–36
October 5	UCLA		Stanford Stadium • Stanford, CA	L 9–10
October 12	at Rice*		Rice Stadium • Houston, TX	L 13–23
October 19	at Washington		Husky Stadium • Seattle, WA	L 11–19
October 26	Notre Dame*		Stanford Stadium • Stanford, CA (Rivalry)	W 24–14
November 2	at Oregon State*		Parker Stadium • Corvallis, OR	L 7–10
November 9	at USC		Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum • Los Angeles, CA (Rivalry)	L 11–25
November 16	Washington State*		Stanford Stadium • Stanford, CA	L 15–32
November 30[a 1]	California		Stanford Stadium • Stanford, CA (66th Big Game)	W 28–17
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll.

1. Rescheduled from November 23 following the Kennedy assassination.

Game notes

California

1 2 3 4 Total Bears 3 0 14 0 17 • Indians 0 3 12 13 28 Date: November 30 Location: Stanford Stadium, Stanford, CA Game attendance: 82,000

Scoring summary 1 CAL Tom Blanchfield 37-yard field goal CAL 3–0 2 STAN Braden Beck 36-yard field goal Tied 3–3 3 STAN Steve Thurlow 5-yard run (run failed) STAN 9–3 3 CAL Jim Blakeney 7-yard run (Tom Blanchfield kick) CAL 10–9 3 CAL Tom Blanchfield 69-yard punt return (Tom Blanchfield kick) CAL 17–9 3 STAN Ken Babajian 1-yard run (run failed) CAL 17–15 4 STAN Braden Beck 48-yard field goal STAN 18–17 3 STAN Steve Thurlow 5-yard run (Braden Beck kick) STAN 25–17 4 STAN Braden Beck 46-yard field goal STAN 28–17

The 66th Big Game was scheduled for November 23, but after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, like nearly all sporting events, the game was canceled and rescheduled for the following week.^[3] Stanford was winless in the conference coming in to the game, and following a California punt return for a touchdown, were behind their rival 17–9 late in the second half. But the Indians fought back, scoring the last 19 points in the game on two touchdowns and two field goals to win the game.^[4]

Players drafted by the NFL/AFL

Player	Position	Round	Pick	NFL/AFL Club[b 1]
Steve Thurlow	Running back	2	25	New York Giants
Bob Nichols	Tackle	9/18	122/142	Pittsburgh Steelers/Houston Oilers[b 2]
Dick Leeuwenburg	Tackle	11/17	154/134	Chicago Bears/Houston Oilers[b 3]
Marv Harris	Linebacker	13	175	Los Angeles Rams

^[5][6]

1. AFL Draft selections shown in italics.
2. Signed with Pittsburgh.
3. Signed with Chicago.

References

1. "Coach Jack Curtice fired by Stanford". The News and Courier. November 27, 1962. Retrieved November 14, 2013.
2. "Stanford Game-by-Game Results; 1963–1967". College Football Data Warehouse. Retrieved November 22, 2011.
3. Migdol, Gary (1997). Stanford: Home of Champions. Champaign, Illinois: Sports Publishing LLC. p. 140. ISBN 1-57167-116-1.
4. "Stanford defeats California by 28–17". The Register-Guard. December 1, 1963. Retrieved November 14, 2013.
5. "1964 NFL Draft". Retrieved November 25, 2013.
6. "1964 AFL Draft". Retrieved November 25, 2013.