1953 Northern State football team was dominant. Here's how they crushed the competition.
In 1953, the Northern State Teachers College football team was a force.
Under the direction of legendary coach Clark Swisher, the Wolves made history, going 8-0 en route to winning the South Dakota Intercollegiate Conference title.
It was the first time since 1917 that the Wolves were undefeated on the gridiron. That season's team went 6-0 and allowed just nine points in wins over Columbus College, Dakota Wesleyan, Huron, Spearfish Normal, Ellendale and Jamestown College.
In 1969, the Wolves went 9-0 under the direction of coach Jim Kretchman. That was the last time a Northern football team finished a season undefeated. And Kretchman was a star on the 1953 squad.
Breaking down the 1953 season
Harold "Kirk" Kirchgasler, 93, a World War II veteran, was a co-captain on '53 team, as was LeRoy Nikolas. Kirchgasler played offensive right guard and left linebacker on defense.
Back then, Kirchgasler, said the team had anywhere from 26 to 28 players from week to week, depending on injuries. And some players starred on both offense and defense.
Newspaper accounts from the time had the roster as big as 45 players at the start of the season.
The Wolves were expected to be dominant and entered the season as "heavy favorites," according to newspaper stories from that fall. But they didn't take their opposition lightly.
"Everybody's picking us to win another conference championship, but we haven't done anything to make us a big favorite," Swisher said in a 1953 article. "A year ago we eked out a title with a young squad that had lots of hustle and weight and we certainly didn't out-class anybody. We'll have another good ball club this fall, but so will Southern, Huron, Dakota Wesleyan, Black Hills, Yankton and several others on our schedule."
One of the team's strengths heading into the 1953-54 season was the depth in the offensive backfield with Kretchman, Bill Jordan, Gary Carr and Nikolas. Jordan was the quarterback.
The Wolves opened the season with two lopsided victories – a 44-6 win over Minot and a 37-6 over Huron.
More: Dates, times set for Northern State University home football games during 2022 season
In Week 3, the Gypsy Day Game attracted more than 4,000 fans, the biggest crowd of the season at Simmons Field, according to media reports. Those fans would go home happy as Northern defeated the South Dakota School of Mines 34-19.
The Wolves were led by Kretchman, who had four rushing touchdowns to go with an interception returned for a touchdown.
Kretchman, Swisher are Northern State greats
Kretchman, of course, would go on to spend much of his career at Northern as a successful coach and athletic director. The Lebanon native and Faulkton graduate was inducted into the South Dakota Sports Hall of Fame in 1993. When he finished playing for the Wolves, he had the school rushing record of 4,121 yards, which stood for more than 40 years. His career record as head football coach was 67-46-7 in 12 seasons.
More: 5,867 fans join Northern State for home opener at Dacotah Bank Stadium
Swisher is also a member of the South Dakota Sports Hall of Fame, having spent four decades at Northern as a coach and athletic director. His football teams were spectacular, winning 15 conference titles in 22 years. He's the winningest coach in school history with a record of 146-42-4.
Snapping the Southern 'jinx'
In the fourth week of the season, the Wolves were able to snap a "jinx" against Southern, avenging an upset loss from the 1952 season, Northern's only defeat that fall.
In 1953, Southern took a seven-point lead into the second quarter, but it wouldn't last. The Wolves wound up winning handily, 32-9.
Throughout the season, they outscored their opponents 292-70.
"Week to week we kept winning and winning," Kirchgasler said in a recent interview.
In their fifth game, the Wolves outscored Yankton College 58-26. That was followed by three resounding victories to close out the perfect campaign:
Northern State 39, Dakota Wesleyan 7
Northern State 48, Black Hills State 6
Northern State 46, Valley City State 0
The game against Valley City was arranged by the Aberdeen Rotary Club, according to newspaper reports at the time, and was for a benefit fund.
Intercollegiate champions of the Dakotas
Valley City had finished 6-0 in the North Dakota Intercollegiate Conference to win the league title, so the Simmons Field showdown looked to be a tough battle for what was dubbed the "Intercollegiate Championship of the Dakotas."
But the Vikings were no match as Northern easily picked up its eighth and final win.
After the game, Valley City coach Bill Richter was quoted in the American News as saying "Northern's the greatest team we've ever seen."
It was the third conference title in four years for the Wolves.
NCAA doesn't allow game against South Dakota State University
At one point, Northern proposed a game against South Dakota State to determine the state champion, but the NCAA banned the game, threatening a loss of NCAA membership. The Wolves and Jackrabbits were in different conferences.
SDSU won the North Central Conference title with a 5-0-1 mark and finished the season 5-3-1.
Kretchman was named fullback of the year for the Wolves, while Jordan was the top quarterback in the state, according to 1953 articles.
Read all about it in the 'Poop Sheet'
Kirchgasler said he can't remember all of the games, but that he kept spirits high in the locker room, creating mock newspapers for the team about the many accomplishments.
"After every football game, I used to make like a newspaper on a great big drawing and I put all kind of little (things) in there and we called it the 'Poop Sheet.' The guys hung up, sometimes on the ceiling, sometimes in somebody's locker and they'd always wait for it," Kirchgasler said.
More: 100-year-old who served as interim president at Northern State gets tour of Dacotah Bank Stadium
"Coach Swisher even said, 'Don't quit, that's kind of an incentive, the guys are looking forward to that," Kirchgasler said.
Uniforms were much different back then, he said, as the team wore leather helmets with no facemasks. And pads were made of cotton that would have to be aired out after ever game or practice.
The 1953 team has yet to be inducted into the Northern State athletics hall of fame. Aside from the 1917, 1953 and 1969 squads, the only other Wolves' football team to end the season without a loss was in 1905, when Northern finished 5-0-1.
This article originally appeared on Aberdeen News: Northern State Teachers College undefeated season 1953 sd football
