1951 Columbia Lions football
ConferenceIndependent
Record5–3
Head coach
CaptainHoward Hansen
Home stadiumBaker Field
Seasons
← 1950
1952 →
1951 Eastern college football independents records
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Bucknell   –   9 – 0 – 0
No. 6 Princeton   –   9 – 0 – 0
Northeastern   –   6 – 0 – 1
No. 19 Holy Cross   –   8 – 2 – 0
Carnegie Tech   –   6 – 2 – 0
Hofstra   –   6 – 2 – 1
Cornell   –   6 – 3 – 0
No. 16 Boston University   –   6 – 4 – 0
Temple   –   6 – 4 – 0
Columbia   –   5 – 3 – 0
Villanova   –   5 – 3 – 0
Fordham   –   5 – 4 – 0
Franklin & Marshall   –   5 – 4 – 0
Penn   –   5 – 4 – 0
Penn State   –   5 – 4 – 0
Syracuse   –   5 – 4 – 0
Buffalo   –   4 – 4 – 0
Colgate   –   4 – 5 – 0
Dartmouth   –   4 – 5 – 0
Drexel   –   3 – 4 – 0
Harvard   –   3 – 5 – 1
Boston College   –   3 – 6 – 0
Yale   –   2 – 5 – 2
Pittsburgh   –   3 – 7 – 0
Geneva   –   2 – 5 – 0
Army   –   2 – 7 – 0
Brown   –   2 – 7 – 0
NYU   –   1 – 7 – 0
Tufts   –   0 – 7 – 2
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1951 Columbia Lions football team was an American football team that represented Columbia University as an independent during the 1951 college football season.

In their 22nd season under head coach Lou Little, the Lions compiled a 5–3 record, and outscored their opponents 149 to 103. Howard Hansen was the team captain.[1] The team was ranked at No. 59 in the 1951 Litkenhous Ratings.[2]

Only eight games were played, rather than the usual nine, because two Columbia players were stricken with polio late in the preseason, prompting the team to pull out of its planned season opener at Princeton.[3] When testing showed that no other team members were affected, the Lions went ahead with the remaining eight games of their schedule.

Columbia played its home games at Baker Field in Upper Manhattan, in New York City.

Schedule

DateOpponentSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 29 at Princeton
Canceled [3]
October 6 Harvarddagger
W 35–0 15,000 [4]
October 13 Yale
  • Baker Field
  • New York, NY
W 14–0 25,000 [5]
October 20 at Penn
L 13–28 40,000 [6]
October 27 at Army
L 9–14 20,349 [7]
November 3 at Cornell
W 21–20 21,000 [8]
November 10 Dartmouth
  • Baker Field
  • New York, NY
W 21–6 20,000 [9]
November 17 Navy
  • Baker Field
  • New York, NY
L 7–21 25,300 [10]
November 24 Brown
  • Baker Field
  • New York, NY
W 29–14 10,000 [11]
  • daggerHomecoming

References

  1. ^ "Columbia Football 2019 Record Book". New York, N.Y.: Columbia University. p. 213. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
  2. ^ "Vols Top Final 1951 Litkenhous Ratings". The Nashville Banner. December 14, 1951. p. 49 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ a b "Columbia Cancels Football Opener; Two Players Believed Ill of Polio". The New York Times. New York, N.Y. September 22, 1951. p. 1.
  4. ^ Danzig, Allison (October 7, 1951). "Lions Easy Victors over Harvard, 35-0". The New York Times. New York, N.Y. p. S1.
  5. ^ Sheehan, Joseph M. (October 14, 1951). "Price, Hansen Lead Lions to Victory on Baker Field". The New York Times. New York, N.Y. p. S1.
  6. ^ Sheehan, Joseph M. (October 21, 1951). "Penn Beats Columbia, 28-13; Quaker Line Stars". The New York Times. New York, N.Y. p. S1.
  7. ^ Sheehan, Joseph M. (October 28, 1951). "Army Upsets Columbia, 14-9; Cadets Hold Fast". The New York Times. New York, N.Y. p. S1.
  8. ^ McGowen, Roscoe (November 4, 1951). "Columbia Tops Cornell, 21-20; Big Red Push Fails". The New York Times. New York, N.Y. p. S1.
  9. ^ Werden, Lincoln A. (November 11, 1951). "Lions Rally for 21-6 Victory After Quick Dartmouth Tally". The New York Times. New York, N.Y. p. S1.
  10. ^ Sheehan, Joseph M. (November 18, 1951). "Navy Beats Columbia, 21-7; No. 1 for Middies". The New York Times. New York, N.Y. p. S1.
  11. ^ Nichols, Joseph C. (November 25, 1951). "Lions' Late Surge Trims Brown, 29-14". The New York Times. New York, N.Y. p. S1.
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