| 1937 Big Ten Conference football season | |
| Sport: | Football |
| No Of Teams: | 10 |
| Top Pick: | Corbett Davis |
| Season Champs: | Minnesota |
| Season Champ Name: | Champion |
| Second Place: | Ohio State |
| Mvp: | Corbett Davis |
| Seasonslistnames: | Football |
| Prevseason Year: | 1936 |
| Nextseason Year: | 1938 |
The 1937 Big Ten Conference football season was the 42nd season of college football played by the member schools of the Big Ten Conference (also known as the Western Conference) and was a part of the 1937 college football season.
The 1937 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team, under head coach Bernie Bierman, won the Big Ten championship, led the conference in scoring offense (23.0 points per game), compiled a 6–2 record, and was ranked No. 5 in the final AP poll. End Ray King was named a first-team All-American by two selectors, and fullback Andy Uram was received first-team honors from the Associated Press. Halfback Rudy Gmitro was awarded the team's most valuable player award.
The 1937 Ohio State Buckeyes football team, under head coach Francis Schmidt finished in second place with a 6–2 record, shut out six of eight opponents, led the Big Ten in scoring defense (2.9 points allowed per game), and was ranked No. 8 in the final AP poll. Guard Gust Zarnas was selected as a first-team All-American by three selectors. Back Jim McDonald was the second player selected in the 1938 NFL draft.
Corbett Davis of Indiana won the Chicago Tribune Silver Football trophy as the Big Ten's most valuable player. He was also the first player selected in the 1938 NFL draft.
| Conf. Rank | Team | Head coach | AP final | AP high | Overall record | Conf. record | PPG | PAG | MVP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Minnesota | Bernie Bierman |
|
| 6-2 | 5-0 | 23.0 | 6.3 | Rudy Gmitro | |
| 2 | Ohio State | Francis Schmidt |
|
| 6–2 | 5–1 | 15.6 | 2.9 | Ralph Wolf | |
| 3 | Indiana | Bo McMillin | NR |
| 5–3 | 3–2 | 9.0 | 4.0 | Corbett Davis | |
| 4 (tie) | Purdue | Mal Elward | NR | NR | 4–3–1 | 2–2–1 | 10.4 | 8.6 | Cecil Isbell | |
| 4 (tie) | Wisconsin | Harry Stuhldreher | NR |
| 4–3–1 | 2–2–1 | 12.9 | 7.6 | Howard Weiss | |
| 6 (tie) | Michigan | Harry Kipke | NR | NR | 4–4 | 3–3 | 6.8 | 13.8 | Ralph Heikkinen | |
| 6 (tie) | Northwestern | Pappy Waldorf | NR |
| 4–4 | 3–3 | 8.5 | 5.0 | Don Heap | |
| 8 | Illinois | Robert Zuppke | NR | NR | 3–3–2 | 2–3 | 7.4 | 5.6 | Jack Berner | |
| 9 (tie) | Chicago | Clark Shaughnessy | NR | NR | 1–6 | 0–4 | 6.4 | 20.4 | Kendall Peterson | |
| 9 (tie) | Iowa | Irl Tubbs | NR | NR | 1–7 | 0–5 | 4.5 | 15.0 | Bob Lannon |
No Big Ten teams participated in any bowl games during the 1937 season.
The following players were picked by the Associated Press (AP) and/or the United Press (UP) as first-team players on the 1937 All-Big Ten Conference football team.[3] [4]
| Position | Name | Team | Selectors | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quarterback | Jim McDonald | Ohio State | AP, UP | |
| Halfback | Cecil Isbell | Purdue | AP | |
| Halfback | Don Heap | Northwestern | AP | |
| Halfback | Nile Kinnick | Iowa | UP | |
| Halfback | Rudy Gmitro | Minnesota | UP | |
| Fullback | Corbett Davis | Indiana | AP, UP | |
| End | Ray King | Minnesota | AP, UP | |
| End | Bob Lannon | Iowa | AP | |
| End | Jim Zachary | Purdue | UP | |
| Tackle | Lou Midler | Minnesota | AP | |
| Tackle | Marty Schreyer | Purdue | AP | |
| Tackle | Bob Haak | Indiana | UP | |
| Tackle | Carl Kaplanoff | Ohio State | UP | |
| Guard | Francis Twedell | Minnesota | AP, UP | |
| Guard | Gust Zarnas | Ohio State | AP | |
| Guard | Ralph Heikkinen | Michigan | UP | |
| Center | Ralph Wolf | Ohio State | AP | |
| Center | George Miller | Indiana | UP |
No Big Ten players were selected as consensus first-team players on the 1937 College Football All-America Team. However, three Big Ten players received first-team honors from at least one selector. They were:
| Position | Name | Team | Selectors | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Halfback | Corbett Davis | Indiana | CP, WCFF, AAB, LIB, NANA, NW | |
| End | Ray King | Minnesota | INS, CE, WCFF, AAB, NW | |
| Guard | Gust Zarnas | Ohio State | WCFF, AAB, NW |
The following Big Ten players were selected in the first seven rounds of the 1938 NFL draft:[5]
| Name | Position | Team | Round | Overall pick | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Corbett Davis | Back | Indiana | 1 | 1 | |
| Jim McDonald | Back | Ohio State | 1 | 2 | |
| Cecil Isbell | Back | Purdue | 1 | 7 | |
| Frank Filchock | Back | Indiana | 2 | 14 | |
| Marty Schreyer | Tackle | Purdue | 3 | 22 | |
| Fred Vanzo | Back | Northwestern | 3 | 23 | |
| Lou Midler | Tackle | Minnesota | 5 | 34 | |
| Gust Zarnas | Guard | Ohio State | 5 | 40 | |
| Andy Uram | Back | Minnesota | 6 | 47 | |
| Bob Lannon | End | Iowa | 7 | 52 | |
| Ray King | End | Minnesota | 7 | 54 | |
| End | Northwestern | 7 | 57 |