William Jewell College Athletics

A new era of football began at William Jewell in the fall of 1950 with the arrival of head coach Norris Patterson and assistant Jim Nelson. The Cardinals opened the season with a 19-14 loss to St. Benedict’s (now Benedictine) and then proceeded to win their final eight games to finish the season 8-1 overall and 4-0 in Missouri College Athletic Union, for the first title in 12 years. The Cardinals were listed among the top small colleges in the nation in total offense (4th), rushing yards (5th) and rushing defense (9th). Twelve players were named to the All-Conference Team and Tom Cook was named to the Associated Press’ Little All-American team (Honorable Mention) to become Jewell’s first ever All-American. 

Team Members: Bob Nield, Bill Burkhart, Erby Young, Russell Branson, Dwight Crane, Jack Ristau, Ron Toby, Coy Brown, William Spencer, Paul Sanderson, George O'Hara, Bob Meidel, Charles Fouche, Harold McGuire, Don Haynes, Bob Bosworth, Ron Heatherly, Charles Mitchell, Merrell Sindt, Bill Taylor Laural Hobick, Bill Bowman, Tom Butler, Herb Hurst, Buddy Owens, Arch Skelton, Don Connell, Jim Martin, Gene Adams, Jerry McCoy, Bill Vanderlaag, Wayne Lambert, Virgil Spotts, Tom Cook, Gene White, Dan Golden, Ed Nelson, Jerry Hudder, Ryburn Bartles, Gilbert Breipohl, Fletcher DeMint, Bill Southwick, Jim Madden, Bob Gadt, Paul Kelly, Warren Baker, Dick Cheney, Bill Tierney, Paul Weber, Jim Temple, Frank Rohrs, Tom Harmon, Bernard McGinnis, Don Hursh, Jerry Francis, Fred Smith, John Conner, Dave Moore