Sixty Years Later, 1949 Cyclones Coming to Ames

AMES, Iowa - The year was 1949. Around the world, nations continued to rebuild in the aftermath of World War II. In September, the U.S. relinquished hold of its military occupation zone to the new government commonly known as West Germany. The Cold War was getting warmer with the creation of communist East Germany and the People's Republic of China, led by communist Mao Tse Tung.

The 1949 Iowa State football team was an acclaimed success, fashioning a 5-3-1 record. For the past 20 years, members of the 1949 Cyclone football team have returned for an annual reunion. They will be back this year for one final get together on the 60th anniversary of that season. The difficulty of travel at more than 80 years of age precludes a future organized reunion.

At Iowa State College, the influx of American soldiers on the G.I. Bill had swelled enrollment after the war. Enrollment stood at 6,220 in 1941 and peaked at 10,114 in 1948. By 1949, 8,987 students attended ISC as fewer GIs were on campus. At the same time, the Cyclone football program in its third year under head coach Abe Stuber, was hitting stride.

The Iowa State football team fell on hard times right after the war. During World War II, the Cyclone program had been aided when its roster included players from schools around the country who came to ISC for military training from 1943-45. In 1946, Oklahoma beat ISC 63-0 in Ames. It was a wakeup call for the Iowa State fan base, which formed the 630 Club to advance the program financially and in spirit. That group eventually morphed into today's Cyclone Club.

ISU hired former Missouri quarterback Abe Stuber as head coach for the 1947 season. Stuber had experienced great success at what is now Southeast Missouri State. The players recognized his ability.

“He had played quarterback,” said lineman Lowell Titus. “He was a smart guy and a very good coach. We watched a lot of film.”

End John Tillo agreed.

“(Stuber) knew football frontwards and backwards,” Tillo said. “He had been a dedicated player at Missouri and had tremendous knowledge about the game.”

Stuber's rebuilding program was making progress as the 1949 season dawned with the Sept. 17 season-opener against Dubuque. In one of the most lopsided games in Iowa State history, the Cyclones rolled up a school record 688 yards in a 64-0 rout. The record still stands 60 years later.

Stuber ran what he called the “T-V” formation, basically a hybrid T-formation. He had the personnel to make it successful. Quarterback Bill Weeks had demonstrated a great arm in spring football. Fellow quarterback Don Ferguson also returned after leading the nation in punt returns in 1947.

“Weeks was a very good passer,” Titus said. “Ferguson was more of a running quarterback. We had a great receiver in Jim Doran.”

Doran is one of the great figures in Iowa State athletics history. Out of Beaver, Iowa, Doran had originally gone to Buena Vista, which had originally shown little interest in his talents. With the 1949 season opener behind them Doran and company headed for Illinois. The Cyclones were a huge underdog in Champaign, Ill. as the game kicked off Sept. 24.

A key to the game would be Stuber's use of a short punt formation.

“We had (halfback) Lonnie Paulson running that play and Illinois never did figure it out,” Titus said.

Iowa State took control 7-0 on a 4-yard TD run by fullback Bill Chauncey and ISC led 7-0 at the half. Illinois countered with a pair of scores in the third quarter for a 14-7 lead. Mel Meling scored on a reverse to cut the lead to 14-13. Illinois scored again for a 20-13 advantage. Iowa State came right back. Weeks hit Doran on a 38-yard pass play that set up the tying score. With the score at 20-20, ISC had one last drive but the game ended with Iowa State on the Illini 10-yard line.

Weeks threw for 155 yards and Doran made four catches for 96 yards. The duo would become one of the great passing combos in Iowa State history. Doran finished his career as the all-time career pass-catching leader and went on to an All-Pro career in the NFL. Weeks finished his career as the Cyclones' all-time passing leader.

“Jim had great speed,” Titus said. “He also had great hands. I saw him run past (Oklahoma All-American) Billy Vessels.”

A caravan of cars, students and fans met the Iowa State team at the Ames train station when it returned to Ames the next evening.

“The team went to see a Chicago Bears game on Sunday before we came home and then we caught the train from there.”

The Illinois draw spiked the community's optimism. Tickets for the Oct. 1 game at Kansas sold out within an hour of the Illinois contest. Stuber tried to control the bandwagon.

“Spirit must be the keynote for us this week,” Stuber said. “We have a gigantic task remaining on the road for the second straight week. We know KU is better this year and they beat us 20-7 at home last season.”

It was a tough game. Few individuals playing college football in 1949 wore facemasks of any kind. Tillo said most players didn't want a facemask.

“We were told that guys would grab on to the facemask and jerk us around,” Tillo said. “(No facemask) meant you would get an occasional elbow to the jaw.”

This Iowa State team was tough. Against KU, the Cyclones came through in a big way. Chauncey rushed for 116 yards and the ISC defense forced six Kansas turnovers in a 20-7 victory in Lawrence, Kan.

“My memory of that game was my block that, among others, keyed Chauncey on a 43-yard run for our final touchdown,” Titus said. “Stuber would replay that play on film over and over, back and forth saying what a great play it was.”

Chauncey got the Cyclones off to a strong start in the rain the following week at Colorado. He came into the game second in the Big Seven Conference in rushing. He ran up 58 yards in the first half but was injured just before intermission. The Cyclones held on for a 13-6 win.

The day before the next week's game, an Oct. 15 Homecoming tilt against Kansas State, more than 6,000 students attended a Homecoming barbeque. The highlight or lowlight of the party was when a parachutist jumped from a plane over Clyde Williams Field. There were screams when the sky diver's chute did not open. It took a few minutes for all to realize, that the figure was a dummy.

Iowa State defeated KSU 25-21 the following day before a record crowd of 18,792. The Weeks-Doran express was in full force as Doran caught eight passes for 132 yards and Weeks threw for 210 yards in the win.

The Cyclones were in first place in the league before a home loss to Missouri, 32-0 the following weekend. ISC fans were still charged up and more than 2,000 fans saw the Cyclones off to play Oct. 29 at Oklahoma.

Oklahoma would win the game 34-7, but not before Doran set an NCAA record with 203 yards on eight catches. Weeks completed 18-of-27 passes for 281, including an 87-yard pass play to Doran that remains the third-longest pass play in Iowa State history.

Iowa State beat Drake in Des Moines Nov. 5 before 18,311 fans, 21-8. This was no small win as Drake's Johnny Bright came into the game leading the nation in total offense. The crowd remains the largest to see a Bulldog football game at Drake Stadium.

ISC closed its season with a 7-0 loss against Nebraska in Ames. Iowa State dominated the game, outgaining the Huskers 232-85, but Nebraska scored on a punt return in the rain that ended a 5-3-1 season.

Weeks and Doran broke several Big Seven records and Dean Laun finished his stellar career with 70 catches for 1,018 yards. The Cyclones did not allow a passing touchdown all season.

Iowa State University Athletics

Sixty Years Later, 1949 Cyclones Coming to Ames

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