1920 California Golden Bears football
National champion
(CFRA, Helms, Houlgate, NCF, Sagarin)
Rose Bowl champion
PCC champion
Rose Bowl, W 28–0 vs. Ohio State
ConferencePacific Coast Conference
Record9–0 (3–0 PCC)
Head coach
Offensive schemeShort-punt
CaptainOlin C. Majors
Home stadiumCalifornia Field
Uniform
Seasons
← 1919
1921 →
1920 Pacific Coast Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
California $ 3 – 0 – 0 9 – 0 – 0
Stanford 2 – 1 – 0 4 – 3 – 0
Oregon 1 – 1 – 1 3 – 2 – 1
Washington State 1 – 1 – 0 5 – 1 – 0
Oregon Agricultural 1 – 2 – 1 2 – 2 – 2
Washington 0 – 3 – 0 1 – 5 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion

The 1920 California Golden Bears football team was an American football team that represented the University of California, Berkeley as a member of the Pacific Coast Conference (PCC) during the 1920 college football season. In their fifth year under head coach Andy Smith, the team compiled a 9–0 record (3–0 against PCC opponents), shut out seven of nine opponents, won the PCC championship, defeated Ohio State in the 1921 Rose Bowl, and outscored its opponents by a total of 510 to 14.[1][2]

There was no contemporaneous system in 1920 for determining a national champion. However, Cal was retroactively named as the national champion by the College Football Researchers Association, Helms Athletic Foundation, Houlgate System, National Championship Foundation, and Jeff Sagarin.[3]

Olin C. Majors was the team captain. Guard Tim Callahan was a consensus first-team selection on the 1920 All-American football team.[4] Two other players received All-America recognition: end Harold Muller (Newspaper Enterprise Association-1, Walter Camp-3) and tackle Dan McMillan (WC-2).[5][6]

Schedule

DateOpponentSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 25Olympic Club*
W 21–0[7]
October 2Mare Island Marines*
  • California Field
  • Berkeley, CA
W 88–0[8]
October 9Saint Mary's*
  • California Field
  • Berkeley, CA
W 127–0[9]
October 16Nevada*
  • California Field
  • Berkeley, CA
W 79–7[10]
October 23Utah*
  • California Field
  • Berkeley, CA
W 63–0[11]
October 30at Oregon Agricultural
W 17–712,000[12]
November 6Washington State
  • California Field
  • Berkeley, CA
W 49–0[13]
November 20Stanford
W 38–0[14]
January 1, 1921vs. Ohio State*
W 28–042,000[15]
  • *Non-conference game

References

  1. ^ "1920 California Golden Bears Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 21, 2016.
  2. ^ "California 2015 Football Information Guide" (PDF). CalBears.com. Cal Golden Bears Athletics. p. 162. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 26, 2016. Retrieved October 21, 2016.
  3. ^ 2020 NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Records (PDF). Indianapolis: The National Collegiate Athletic Association. July 2020. pp. 112–114. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 1, 2020. Retrieved January 12, 2021.
  4. ^ "Football Award Winners" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). 2016. p. 6. Retrieved October 21, 2017.
  5. ^ "Camp Names Gridiron Stars". Post-Standard. Syracuse, NY. December 15, 1920.
  6. ^ Dean Snyder (December 1, 1920). "N.E.A.'s Choice of Season's Best: 1920 All-American". Lowell Sun.
  7. ^ "California Varsity Defeats Olympic Eleven 21 to 0". The San Francisco Eleven. September 26, 1920. p. 15 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ Doug Montell (October 3, 1920). "Mare Island Sailors Are Outclassed by Andy Smith's Pupils". Oakland Tribune. p. 23 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "University of California Defeats St. Mary's Eleven 127-0". Oakland Tribune. October 10, 1920. p. 25 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "University of California Football Team Smothers University of Nevada, Score 79-7". Oakland Tribune. October 17, 1920. p. 35 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ William Unmack (October 24, 1920). "California Staggers Utah with a Score of 63 to 0". The San Francisco Examiner. p. 14 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "California Bears Battle Oregon Aggies to 17 to 7 Win". The San Francisco Examiner. October 31, 1920. p. 47 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "California Bears Bury Washington State Under 49-0 Score". The San Francisco Examiner. November 7, 1920. p. 17 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "California Goal Line Never In Any Peril During Game". The San Francisco Examiner. November 21, 1920. p. 17 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ "Bears Heave Buckeyes To Resounding Defeat". The Los Angeles Times. January 2, 2021. p. 8 – via Newspapers.com.


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