1959 Wisconsin Badgers football team

The 1959 Wisconsin Badgers football team represented the University of Wisconsin in the 1959 Big Ten Conference football season. Led by fourth-year head coach Milt Bruhn, the Badgers compiled an overall record of 7–3 with a mark of 5–2 in conference play, winning the Big Ten title. Wisconsin lost to underdog Washington in the Rose Bowl on New Year's Day. The Badgers finished the season ranked sixth in both major polls.^[1][2]

1959 Wisconsin Badgers football
Big Ten champion
Rose Bowl, L 8–44 vs. Washington
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 6
AP	No. 6
Record	7–3 (5–2 Big Ten)
Head coach	Milt Bruhn (4th season)
MVP	Jerry Stalcup
Captains	Jerry Stalcup Bob Zeman
Home stadium	Camp Randall Stadium
Seasons ← 1958 1960 →

1959 Big Ten Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 6 Wisconsin $	5	–	2	–	0			7	–	3	–	0
Michigan State	4	–	2	–	0			5	–	4	–	0
Purdue	4	–	2	–	1			5	–	2	–	2
No. 13 Illinois	4	–	2	–	1			5	–	3	–	1
Northwestern	4	–	3	–	0			6	–	3	–	0
Iowa	3	–	3	–	0			5	–	4	–	0
Michigan	3	–	4	–	0			4	–	5	–	0
Indiana	2	–	4	–	1			4	–	4	–	1
Ohio State	2	–	4	–	1			3	–	5	–	1
Minnesota	1	–	6	–	0			2	–	7	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 26	Stanford*	No. 8	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	W 16–14	41,892
October 3	Marquette*	No. 12	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	W 44–6	47,970
October 10	at No. 7 Purdue	No. 9	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN	L 0–21	41,542
October 17	No. 9 Iowa		Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI (rivalry)	W 25–16	64,256
October 24	No. 20 Ohio State	No. 12	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	W 12–3	55,440
October 31	at Michigan	No. 10	Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI	W 19–10	68,063	[3]
November 7	at No. 2 Northwestern	No. 9	Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL	W 24–19	55,282
November 14	Illinois	No. 7	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	L 6–9	56,028
November 21	at Minnesota	No. 9	Memorial Stadium Minneapolis, MN (rivalry)	W 11–7	53,647
January 1, 1960	vs. No. 8 Washington*	No. 6	Rose Bowl Stadium Pasadena, CA (1960 Rose Bowl)	L 8–44	100,089	[4][5]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster

^[6]

NFL draft

Five Badgers were selected in the 1960 NFL draft.

Player	Position	Round	Overall	Franchise
Dale Hackbart	Back	5	51	Green Bay Packers
Jerry Stalcup	Guard	6	62	Los Angeles Rams
Dan Lanphear	Tackle	8	90	Pittsburgh Steelers
Jim Heinke	Tackle	16	190	San Francisco 49ers
Bob Nelson	Center	20	235	Cleveland Browns

Source:^[7]