1963 Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens football team

The 1963 Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens football team was an American football team that represented the University of Delaware in the Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) during the 1963 NCAA College Division football season. In its 13th season under head coach David M. Nelson, the team compiled a 8–0 record (4–0 against MAC opponents) and was outscored by a total of 290 to 76.[1][2] The final game of the season, against Bucknell, was cancelled due to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.[3] The team played its home games at Delaware Stadium in Newark, Delaware.

1963 Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens football
National small college champion (UPI) Lambert Cup MAC champion
Conference	Middle Atlantic Conference
1963 record	8–0 (4–0 MAC)
Head coach	David M. Nelson (13th season)
Captain	Paul Chesmore
Home stadium	Delaware Stadium

1963 Middle Atlantic Conference football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
University
No. 2 Delaware x	4	–	0	–	0			8	–	0	–	0
Bucknell	3	–	1	–	0			6	–	3	–	0
Gettysburg	2	–	2	–	0			5	–	4	–	0
Temple	1	–	2	–	0			5	–	3	–	1
Lehigh	1	–	3	–	0			1	–	8	–	0
Lafayette	1	–	4	–	0			1	–	8	–	0
College–Northern
Upsala x	4	–	1	–	0			6	–	2	–	0
Wagner	4	–	1	–	0			6	–	3	–	0
Albright	2	–	3	–	0			3	–	5	–	0
Moravian	2	–	4	–	0			2	–	4	–	0
Wilkes	2	–	5	–	0			3	–	5	–	0
Lycoming	1	–	5	–	0			1	–	7	–	0
Juniata*	3	–	1	–	0			5	–	3	–	0
Susquehanna*	2	–	1	–	0			8	–	1	–	0
Hofstra*	0	–	0	–	0			3	–	6	–	0
College–Southern
Western Maryland x	4	–	0	–	0			6	–	1	–	1
Muhlenberg	4	–	1	–	0			5	–	3	–	0
Dickinson	5	–	2	–	0			5	–	2	–	0
Swarthmore	4	–	2	–	0			4	–	3	–	0
Drexel	3	–	2	–	0			5	–	3	–	0
Lebanon Valley	4	–	3	–	0			4	–	3	–	0
Pennsylvania Military	3	–	5	–	0			3	–	6	–	0
Ursinus	2	–	4	–	1			2	–	4	–	1
Haverford	2	–	4	–	0			2	–	5	–	0
Franklin & Marshall	1	–	4	–	0			1	–	6	–	0
Johns Hopkins	0	–	4	–	1			0	–	6	–	1
West Chester*	0	–	0	–	0			7	–	1	–	0
x – Division champion/co-champions * – Ineligible due to insufficient conference games Rankings from AP Poll

After the season, Delaware was named by the United Press International as the national small college football champion. Delaware outranked No. 2 Northern Illinois, receiving 18 first place votes (and 309 points) from the coaches to eight (and 285 points) for Northern Illinois.[4] The Associated Press (AP), on the other hand, ranked Northern Illinois No. 1 (63 points) and Delaware No. 2 (53 points).[5]

Delaware halfback Mike Brown was selected by the AP as a first-team player on its 1963 All East team as well as its 1963 Little All-American football team.[6][7] Brown led the team and the MAC with 78 points scored (48 in MAC games) and 838 rushing yards (434 in MAC games).[6][8] Due to the cancellation of the Bucknell game, Brown fell 36 yards short of the school's single-season rushing record.[6]

Paul Chesmore was Delaware's team captain.[2] Other key players included quarterback Chuck Zolak.[9]

On October 5, 1963, the Hens established a Middle Atlantic Conference record with 505 yards of total offense. They eclipsed that record one week later with 596 yards against Lafayette.[10]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 28	at Lehigh		Delaware Stadium Newark, DE	W 30–0
October 5	Gettysburg		Delaware Stadium Newark, DE	W 64–18
October 12	at Lafayette		Fisher Field Easton, PA	W 61–0	4,000	[10]
October 19	at Ohio*	No. 4	Peden Stadium Athens, OH	W 29–12
October 26	at Connecticut*	No. 3	Memorial Stadium Storrs, CT	W 26–14
November 2	Buffalo*	No. 2	Delaware Stadium Newark, DE	W 34–6
November 9	Temple	No. 2	Delaware Stadium Newark, DE	W 32–23
November 16	at Rutgers*	No. 1	Rutgers Stadium Piscataway, NJ	W 14–3	16,000	[11]
November 23	Bucknell	No. 1	Lewisburg, PA	Cancelled[3]
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

References

1. "Delaware Yearly Results (1955-1959)". College Football Data Warehouse. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
2. "2012 Blue Hens Football Media Guide". University of Delaware. 2012. p. 159. Retrieved August 8, 2020.
3. "Annual Grid Game Canceled: Hens, Bucknell Respect Kennedy". The Wilmington News Journal. November 23, 1963 – via Newspapers.com.(Game cancelled due to the assassination of President Kennedy on November 22, 1963)
4. "Delaware Is Named Small College National Champion". The Childress (TX) Index. December 4, 1963. p. 5 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "Northern Illinois No One, To Play In Mineral Bowl". The Index-Journal. November 29, 1963. p. 7 – via Newspapers.com.
6. "Brown named All-East". The Wilmington Morning News. November 29, 1963 – via Newspapers.com.
7. "Little All America: Delaware Back On the First Team". Lancaster New Era. December 3, 1963. p. 21 – via Newspapers.com.
8. "Bisons top three MAC departments". The Wilmington Morning News. November 21, 1963. p. 52 – via Newspapers.com.
9. "Delaware season over, game called". The Wilmington Morning News. November 23, 1963 – via Newspapers.com.
10. "Delaware Clubs Lafayette, 61-0, Gets 591 Yards". The Philadelphia Inquirer. October 13, 1961. p. S3 – via Newspapers.com.
11. "Delaware Shoves Rutgers to Losing Season, 14-3". The Sunday Home News. November 17, 1963. p. Sports 1 – via Newspapers.com.