1952 Houston Cougars football team The 1952 Houston Cougars football team , also known as the Houston Cougars , Houston , or UH , represented the University of Houston in the 1952 college football season as a member of the NCAA . It was the 7th year of season play for Houston . The team was coached by fifth - year head coach Clyde Lee . The team played its games off - campus at Rice Stadium , which had been built in 1950 . The Cougars finished the season ranked as # 19 by the Coaches Poll . It was the first time Houston finished a season as a nationally - ranked team . Another first for the program was a conference championship , as the Cougars earned a perfect 3 – 0 record in Missouri Valley Conference play . Following the season , Houston defensive tackle J . D . Kimmel was voted as the program ' s first All - American . Kimmel had been drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the 1952 NFL Draft prior to the season ' s beginning , and would later be drafted into the Houston Cougars Hall of Honor in 1973 . Four other Houston players were also taken in the 1952 NFL Draft . Game notes . Texas A & M . The Houston Cougars met with in - state rival Texas A & M for the first time as they hosted the Aggies at off - campus Rice Stadium in Houston . Texas A & M was a member of the Southwest Conference , and was led by second - year head coach Raymond George . With an attendance of 54 , 000 , it was the second - largest crowd that Houston had competed for at the time , only surpassed by the 55 , 000 from the previous season ' s opener against # 9 Baylor . It was the third time that the Houston Cougars faced a Southwest Conference opponent in its history , and was a continuation of the losing streak against the conference . This followed the rejection of Houston along with Texas Tech by the conference in their bids to join just months earlier . While Texas A & M was slightly favored , Houston was considered to have one of the best teams in the history of its program . Army transfer and Texarkana native J . D . Kimmel was a draftee in the previous NFL Draft , and eventually went on to have a career in the professional league . The game ' s first half was dominated by the Aggies , as their second possession of the game yielded their first touchdown . Texas A & M executed another successful touchdown before the end of the first half , while Houston was still scoreless . The third quarter featured Houston ' s first score of the game , with an 80 - yard drive leading to a touchdown . However , with a low PAT kick , the Cougars trailed the Aggies 14 – 6 . The Aggies answered with another touchdown . Despite quarterback Bobby Clatterbuck completing a 27 - yard end zone pass to S . M . Meeks for a touchdown and successfully achieving the extra point during in the fourth quarter , Houston would not answer with anymore points for the duration of the game , and lost . Following the 1952 season , Texas A & M became a regular opponent of Houston , and the two continued to meet with each other every year through 1965 . Arkansas . Next , Houston met with another Southwest Conference opponent , the Arkansas Razorbacks at Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville , Arkansas . This was another first meeting between teams . Arkansas was coached by third - year head coach Otis Douglas , and was coming off of a 22 – 20 win over conference opponent Oklahoma State ( then known as " Oklahoma A & M " ) . An established Arkansas team was favored to win , and the upset over the Razorbacks marked the first victory for a Houston team over a Southwest Conference opponent . Houston won the coin toss , and elected to kickoff to the Razorbacks for the first play of the game . Arkansas returned the kick to the 24 yard line . During the first scrimmage of the game , Arkansas fumbled , and Houston ' s Jack Chambers recovered the ball for a turnover . Although unsuccessful for a touchdown drive , the Cougars moved the ball far enough for Houston ' s Verle Cray to kick a field goal for the first score of the game on fourth down . During the second quarter , Arkansas took the lead with a 62 - yard reception by Razorback Lewis Carpenter for a touchdown . This was to be their sole score of the game . In the third quarter , Meeks rushed for the Cougars ' first touchdown , and brought Houston back in the lead . Houston fullback Tommy Bailes scored the final touchdown of the game in the fourth quarter , when he received a 60 - yard pass . The Houston Cougars had defeated the Arkansas Razorbacks in front of a crowd of 12 , 000 . Arkansas went on to have an abysmal season , and only won one other game ( against the Baylor Bears ) to finish with a 2 – 8 record . Head coach Otis Douglas resigned following the season end . Oklahoma A & M . Houston traveled to Lewis Field in Stillwater , Oklahoma to meet with rivals the Oklahoma A & M Aggies ( now known as the Oklahoma State Cowboys ) in the Cougars ' Missouri Valley Conference season opener game . It was the second meeting between the two teams , as the Aggies had traveled to Houston the season prior . In their first meeting , the Cougars defeated Oklahoma A & M with a score of 31 – 7 . Oklahoma A & M ' s head coach was Jennings B . Whitworth who was in his third - year with the Aggies . The team ' s record for the season was a winless 0 – 2 , where both Texas A & M and Arkansas had beaten them . Attendance for the game was 15 , 000 . Houston ' s defense shined , as they held Oklahoma A & M ' s offense to a combined rushing and passing total of only 62 yards . In the first quarter of the game , Verle Cray kicked a field goal to give Houston an early lead . Six fumble s by the Houston offense allowed the Aggies a chance to score a rushing touchdown in the second quarter , however it would be their only successful score of the game . A & M continued with their lead until the fourth quarter when Houston ' s Sam McWhirter received a touchdown pass from Clatterbuck . The victory by the Cougars helped their overall record improve to 2 – 1 with a conference record of 1 – 0 , and a perfect 2 – 0 all - time series record against the Aggies . Tulsa . Houston returned to Rice Stadium in Houston for their homecoming game against another Missouri Valley Conference opponent , the Tulsa Golden Hurricane . Tulsa was heavily favored to win , as their dominant offense was considered the best in the nation and Houston ' s all - time series record against the Golden Hurricane was 0 – 2 . Their coach Buddy Brothers , in his seventh year of his tenure , had led Tulsa to win the MVC championship both last season and the season before . Attendance for the game was announced as 31 , 000 . Houston ' s defense came in handy against the Golden Hurricane , as they held their highly - rated offense to only 200 yards of total rushing and passing . The Cougar offense also excelled , as the victory proved to be a blowout . Houston ' s overall record improved to 3 – 1 , and they moved ahead to the number one spot in the Missouri Valley Conference with a 2 – 0 record . Following the defeat of Tulsa , Houston students blocked all entrances to campus buildings on the following Monday and declared a holiday for the university . UH President Kemmerer condoned the action , thus making it official . Tulsa went on to earn a respectable 8 – 2 – 1 overall record , only losing one other time to powerhouse Florida , while defeating Kansas State , Texas Tech , and Arkansas . Arizona State . Houston traveled to Goodwin Stadium in Tempe , Arizona for the next game on their schedule which was a meeting with the Arizona State Sun Devils of the Border Conference . The Sun Devils were coached by first - year head coach Clyde Smith . Smith came to Arizona State from Indiana , where he had coached since 1948 . Arizona State ' s record at this point in the season was 3 – 1 , as they had lost to San Jose State two games prior . This was another first meeting for the Cougars , and Goodwin Stadium was filled with a sold - out crowd of 15 , 000 . Houston continued its winning streak against the Sun Devils . Despite only scoring six points , the Cougars managed a shutout victory by entirely holding off the Arizona State offense . Houston ' s offense also struggled , and gave up three fumbles in five drives . In the second quarter , linebacker Paul Carr recovered a fumble from the Sun Devils on Arizona State ' s seven yard line . S . M . Meeks forced the touchdown in a rush . However , placekicker Jack Howton ' s attempt at an extra point was wide . This led to a lead which Houston kept for the entirety of the game . The victory allowed for Houston to improve their overall season record to 4 – 1 . Arizona State went on to complete its season with a 6 – 3 record . Texas Tech . Houston continued their next game on the road at Jones Stadium in Lubbock , Texas to face the Texas Tech Red Raiders . Like their previous opponent , Texas Tech was a member of the Border Conference . It was the Red Raiders ' homecoming game , and a crowd of 18 , 000 was in attendance . Texas Tech ' s head coach was second - year DeWitt Weaver , and their record for the season thus far was 1 – 4 . Houston was expected to continue its winning streak , and was a favorite for the game . Houston ' s first two scores of the game were ultimately due to the result of intercepted passes . Texas Tech ' s score was in the third quarter , as Houston attempted a lateral pass that was intercepted . Houston ' s overall record improved to 5 – 1 . Texas Tech ' s record following the season was 3 – 7 – 1 . Ole Miss . Houston returned home to Rice Stadium for the rest of its season schedule with its next game against the nationally - ranked Ole Miss of the Southeastern Conference . Johnny Vaught served as head coach for the Rebels , and was in his sixth year doing so . Having great success with a 5 – 0 – 2 record , the Rebels were nationally ranked in the AP Poll as # 14 . This was the second time in history that Houston had played against a nationally - ranked opponent on the AP Poll , as the prior season the Cougars had been defeated by then # 9 Baylor . At least two days prior to the face - off , the Gator Bowl selection committee announced that it was interested in inviting Houston to the 1953 edition of the bowl game , and that it committee members would be present for the Ole Miss game at Rice Stadium . With 34 , 000 fans in attendance for the game , it was Houston ' s second - largest home crowd at that point of the season . The game proved to showcase defensive skill for both teams , as the only score by either team came in the second quarter from the Ole Miss Rebels , as the result of a Cougar fumble on Mississippi ' s 40 - yard line . It had been recovered by Rebel Houston Patton . After Ole Miss drove the ball to Houston ' s 9 - yard line , Harold Lofton rushed to gain a touchdown . However , Houston ' s Frank James blocked an extra point attempt to leave the score at 6 – 0 where it remained for the entirety of the game . With the loss , Houston ' s five - game winning streak was over , and their record was worsened to 5 – 2 . Fortunately for the team , this would be their last loss of the season . Mississippi continued their winning streak for the remainder of the regular season , suffering only one loss overall to Georgia Tech in the Sugar Bowl . Despite this , the Rebels finished the season ranked # 7 in both major polls . Baylor . Coming off its second loss of the season , Houston remained at home to upset the Baylor Bears of the Southwest Conference . Coached by third - year George Sauer , Baylor held a perfect 2 – 0 – 0 all - time record against Houston . The two had last competed against each other in the previous season where Baylor was nationally - ranked . Although coming to Houston with a modest 4 – 2 – 1 record , prior to the loss , the Bears were a candidate for a bowl game in the post - season . 33 , 000 fans were in attendance . Following the game . The Gator Bowl selection committee made a public comment that Houston was in the running for a bid in the 1952 edition of the game . Other teams in consideration were conference mates Tulsa in addition to Syracuse and Villanova . Two days following the win , Houston obtained a # 19 ranking in the AP Poll . It was the first time the program had ever been ranked in the poll . Detroit . With the win against Baylor , Houston entered its first game as a nationally - ranked team against conference opponent Detroit . The win would secure the top spot in the Missouri Valley Conference , and bring the program its first conference title . Houston had a temperature of 40 degrees fahrenheit with rainy conditions , and attendance suffered . Only 7 , 200 fans attended the event at Rice Stadium . Led by Dutch Clark , Detroit ' s starting lineup included nation - leading quarterback Ted Marchibroda , who would later serve as an NFL player and head coach . Despite achieving a victory against the Titans and improving their season record to 6 – 2 , Houston dropped out of the AP Poll . Coaching staff . Lines coach Harden Cooper and backfield coach Elmer Simmons had served as players for the Tulsa Golden Hurricane for head coach Lee when he was an assistant there . Ends coach Lovette Hill attended Centenary together . After the season . NFL Draft . During the 1953 NFL Draft , four Houston players were drafted . It was the third time in team history that Houston players were taken in the draft . Paul " Rock " Carr was taken by the San Francisco 49ers in the seventh round and 82nd overall , but remained as a Houston player until after the 1953 season . Senior guard Frank James was taken by the Los Angeles Rams in the fourteenth round ( 168th overall ) , end Vic Hampel was taken by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the twenty - fifth round ( 293rd overall ) , and end Jim McConaughey was taken by the Green Bay Packers in the twenty - seventh round ( 319th overall ) . During the 1954 NFL Draft , five more players from the 1952 Houston team were drafted . Tackle Maurice " Buddy " Gillioz was taken by the Los Angeles Rams in the second round ( 22nd overall ) which was the earliest that a Houston player had been taken before . Tackle Bob Chuoke was taken by the Detroit Lions in the sixteenth round ( 193rd overall ) , back Tommy Bailes was taken by the Philadelphia Eagles in the twentieth round ( 237th overall ) , quarterback Bobby Clatterbuck was taken by the New York Giants in the twenty - seventh round ( 316th overall ) , and end Don Folks was taken by the San Francisco 49ers in the thirtieth round ( 359th overall ) . Honors . Houston ' s John Carroll , Vic Hampel , and Frank James competed in the 1952 edition of the Blue – Gray Football Classic , while J . D . Kimmel was chosen to compete in the East – West Shrine Game . J . D . Kimmel also became Houston ' s first All - American , when he was chosen by the Associated Press . Paul Carr also received an honorable mention by the news agency . Players chosen by the Missouri Valley Conference as all - conference selections were Vic Hampel , Bob Chuoke , S . M . Meeks , J . D . Kimmel , Buddy Gillioz , Paul Carr , Sam Hopson , and Jackie Howton .