1953 West Virginia Mountaineers football team

The 1953 West Virginia Mountaineers football team was an American football team that represented West Virginia University in the Southern Conference (SoCon) during the 1953 college football season. Led by fourth-year head coach Art Lewis, the Mountaineers compiled an overall record of 8–2 with a mark of 4–0 in conference play, winning the SoCon title. West Virginia was invited to the Sugar Bowl, where the Mountaineers lost to Georgia Tech, 42–19.

1953 West Virginia Mountaineers football
SoCon champion
Sugar Bowl, L 19–42 vs. Georgia Tech
Conference	Southern Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 13
AP	No. 10
Record	8–2 (4–0 SoCon)
Head coach	Art Lewis (4th season)
Home stadium	Mountaineer Field
Seasons ← 1952 1954 →

1953 Southern Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 10 West Virginia $	4	–	0	–	0			8	–	2	–	0
Furman	2	–	0	–	0			7	–	2	–	0
George Washington	4	–	2	–	0			5	–	4	–	0
William & Mary	3	–	2	–	0			5	–	4	–	1
Richmond	3	–	3	–	0			5	–	3	–	1
VPI	3	–	3	–	0			5	–	5	–	0
VMI	3	–	3	–	0			5	–	5	–	0
Washington and Lee	2	–	4	–	0			4	–	6	–	0
The Citadel	1	–	3	–	0			2	–	7	–	0
Davidson	0	–	5	–	0			0	–	9	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 26	at No. 17 Pittsburgh*	No. 16	Pitt Stadium Pittsburgh, PA (rivalry)		W 17–7	43,446	[1]
October 3	Waynesburg*	No. 13	Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV		W 47–19	18,000	[2]
October 10	Washington and Lee	No. 12	Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV		W 40–14	14,000	[3]
October 16	at George Washington	No. 10	Griffith Stadium Washington, DC		W 27–6	10,633	[4]
October 24	VMI	No. 8	Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV		W 52–20	23,000	[5]
October 31	at Penn State*	No. 5	New Beaver Field University Park, PA (rivalry)		W 20–19	24,670	[6]
November 7	vs. VPI	No. 7	Mitchell Stadium Bluefield, WV (rivalry)		W 12–7	12,300	[7]
November 14	South Carolina*	No. 8	Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV		L 14–20	31,000	[8]
November 21	at NC State*	No. 19	Riddick Stadium Raleigh, NC		W 61–0	5,800	[9]
January 1	vs. No. 8 Georgia Tech*	No. 10	Tulane Stadium New Orleans, LA (Sugar Bowl)	ABC	L 19–42	71,666	[10]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster

1953 West Virginia Mountaineers football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class QB 11 Fred Wyant So RB 21 Jack Stone Sr FB 33 Tom Allman Sr FB 34 Joe Marconi Sr WR-E 83 Bill Marker Sr WR-E 85 Joe Papetti So OL-LT 77 Bruce Bosley So OL-RG 75 Sam Huff So OL-LG 72 Gene Lamone Jr C 54 Bob Orders Sr OL-RT 74 Ralph Starkey Sr	Defense Pos. # Name Class [[American football positions|]] [[ ]]	Special teams Pos. # Name Class	Head coach Art " Pappy" Lewis Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt