A celebration of 100 yards of Augustana Football: The 1950s

Every Thursday throughout the season, GoAugie.com will take a dive into a new decade of Augustana football in honor of the 100th season. The 100th season of Augustana football is presented by CorTrust Bank.

The 1950s saw the Vikings win a conference championship, move fields for the first time in program history, see three student-athletes earn All-America honors and an NCC Coach of the Year award. 

The first All-America honoree of the decade was Dennis Erie, an honorable mention to the Associated Press Little All-America team in 1952. A sensational senior season saw him gain 1,633 yards of total offense and earn a tryout with the Chicago Bears. He is a 1981 inductee into the Augustana Athletics Hall of Fame.  In addition, in 1956, Bob Burns was named the NCC Coach of the Year.

After playing on campus for its first 36 seasons of existence, Augustana moved its home games to the newly constructed Howard Wood Field for the start of the 1957 season. The Augustana field on campus stood where the Moses statue stands today while the new stadium just a few miles from Augustan offered a capacity of up to 10,000 fans. 

In just its second season playing at Howard Wood Field, the Vikings claimed their second NCC Championship. The 1959 season saw Augustana record a 6-2-1 overall record and a 4-1-1 mark in the NCC. 

The Vikings opened NCC action with a 22-all tie with North Dakota, fell to South Dakota then followed with four-straight wins to claim the championship. The wins were a 13-0 shutout of South Dakota State, 7-6 win over Iowa State Teachers (now Northern Iowa), 27-21 victory over Morningside and a 34-14 thumping of North Dakota State.

The Vikings had four members named All-NCC led by quarterback Jim Luce. In addition, LeRoy Anderberg, Dale Johannson and John Simko were placed on the team. Luce and Simko were noted to have rewritten the passing records at Augustana although the statistics appear to be unavailable. 

Three of the four members have found themselves as members of the Augustana Athletics Hall of Fame with Simko earning his spot first in 1977. He graduated in 1961 and earned an NFL tryout. Anderberg earned his spot in the Hall of Fame at the same time as Luce in 1979.   

Throughout the 100th season, alumni, friends, and family of Augustana Football are asked to make a gift to the Augustana Football Excellence Fund. These dollars will help fund a championship-level program and student-athlete experience. Our goal is to raise $100,000 during the 100th season. To donate, click here or head to augielink.com/100in100.