1953 Kentucky Wildcats football
ConferenceSoutheastern Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 15
APNo. 16
Record7–2–1 (4–1–1 SEC)
Head coach
Home stadiumMcLean Stadium
1953 Southeastern Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 13 Alabama $ 4 –0 –36 –3 –3
No. 8 Georgia Tech 4 –1 –19 –2 –1
No. 16 Kentucky 4 –1 –17 –2 –1
Ole Miss 4 –1 –17 –2 –1
No. 17 Auburn 4 –2 –17 –3 –1
Mississippi State 3 –1 –35 –2 –3
Tennessee 3 –2 –16 –4 –1
LSU 2 –3 –35 –3 –3
Florida 1 –3 –23 –5 –2
Vanderbilt 1 –5 –03 –7 –0
Georgia 1 –5 –03 –8 –0
Tulane 0 –7 –01 –8 –1
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1953 Kentucky Wildcats football team was an American football team that represented the University of Kentucky as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) during the 1953 college football season. In their eighth year under head coach Bear Bryant, the Wildcats complied an overall record of 7–2–1, with a conference record of 4–1–1, and finished third in the SEC. The team scored 201 points while allowing 116 points.[1] This was Bryant's final season as head coach at Kentucky.

Schedule

DateOpponentRankSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 19Texas A&M*L 6–735,000[2]
September 26at Ole MissL 6–22[3]
October 3Florida
  • McLean Stadium
  • Lexington, KY (rivalry)
W 26–13[4]
October 10at No. 17 LSUT 6–638,000[5]
October 17No. 20 Mississippi State
  • McLean Stadium
  • Lexington, KY
W 32–1336,000[6]
October 24Villanova*No. 16
  • McLean Stadium
  • Lexington, KY
W 19–030,000[7]
October 31at No. 12 Rice*No. 19W 19–1333,000[8]
November 7at VanderbiltNo. 14W 40–1426,000[9]
November 14Memphis State*No. 13
  • McLean Stadium
  • Lexington, KY
W 20–720,000[10]
November 21TennesseeNo. 13
  • McLean Stadium
  • Lexington, KY (rivalry)
W 27–2137,000[11]
  • *Non-conference game
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

[12]

Roster

PlayerPositionSummary
Steve MeilingerEnd
Tommy AdkinsCenter
Bob HardyQuarterback24 Cmp, 47 Att, 418 Yds, 5 TD
Ralph PaoloneRunning Back108 Att, 620 Yds, 5.7 Avg
Tom FillionRunning Back
Jim ProffittEnd
Howard SchnellenbergerEnd
Duke CurnutteOffensive Line
Ray CorrellOffensive Line
Harry KirkOffensive Line
Joe KochOffensive Line
Ray CallahanFull Back

[13]

Awards and honors

  • Ray Correll, guard, All-America selection
  • Steve Meilinger, end, All-America selection

1954 NFL Draft

PlayerPositionRoundPickNFL club
Steve MeilingerEnd18Washington Redskins
Tommy AdkinsCenter17197Baltimore Colts

[13]

References

  1. ↑ "1953 Kentucky Wildcats Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
  2. ↑ "Record opening crowd of 35,000 sees Texas Aggies edge Wildcats, 7–6". Sunday Herald-Leader. September 20, 1953. Retrieved October 5, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ↑ "Ole Miss whips UK". The Knoxville News-Sentinel. September 27, 1953. Retrieved October 5, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ↑ "Kentucky stops Florida Gators in 26–13 clash". The Selma Times-Journal. October 4, 1953. Retrieved October 5, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ↑ "Kentucky battles Louisiana State to 6–6 deadlock". The Owensboro Messenger. October 11, 1953. Retrieved October 5, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ↑ "Cats have no respect for Mississippi State". The Commercial Appeal. October 18, 1953. Retrieved October 5, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ↑ "Kentucky whips Villanova, 19–0". Corpus Christi Caller-Times. October 25, 1953. Retrieved October 5, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ↑ "Kentucky upsets Rice 19–13 in game of Halloween chills". The Courier-Journal. November 1, 1953. Retrieved October 4, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ↑ "Wildcats coast to 40–14 win over improved Vandy". The Park City Daily News. November 8, 1953. Retrieved October 5, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ "Kentucky has to struggle for 20–7 edge over surprising Memphis State". Lexington Herald-Leader. November 15, 1953. Retrieved September 21, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ↑ "Kentucky gains first victory in 18 years over Tennessee". The Owensboro Messenger. November 22, 1953. Retrieved March 29, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ↑ 1997 Kentucky Wildcats Football Media Guide, p. 168
  13. 1 2 "1954 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on November 23, 2010. Retrieved March 28, 2018.
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