Marquette 'M Club' Hall of Fame
- Induction:
- 2011
- Class:
- 1937
The squad was led by head coach Frank Murray, the longest tenured football coach in program history and a member of both the M Club and College Football Halls of Fame. All-American left halfback Raymond "Buzz" Buivid led a high-powered Marquette offense and finished third in Heisman Trophy balloting. Buivid was joined in the backfield by the Guepe twins, Al and Art, of whom Art earned all-Catholic recognition at quarterback.
Fullback Ward Cuff was also a key cog in the Marquette offense before he went on to star with the New York Football Giants in a hall of fame career. Cuff, along with Ray Sonnenberg, anchored the Golden Avalanche defense.
Marquette opened the season on Oct. 3 by defeating rival Wisconsin, 12-6, at Camp Randall Stadium and downed St. Louis, 32-6, before 30,000 spectators at Chicago's Soldier Field on Oct. 10.
At Marquette Stadium for its home opener, MU defeated Kansas State, 13-0, on Oct. 17 and entered the AP rankings in the first poll of the season at No. 20 when the squad welcomed Michigan State on Oct. 25.
The Golden Avalanche overpowered the Spartans for a 13-7 victory and headed back to Soldier Field for an intersectional clash with St. Mary's (Calif.) on Oct. 30. Fifty thousand fans saw Marquette trounce the Gaels, 20-6, to secure their spot among college football's elite.
Marquette climbed to No. 4 in the national rankings following its defeat of St. Mary's and pulled out a 7-6 victory over Creighton on Nov. 7 in Omaha, Neb.
In its final home contest, the Golden Avalanche claimed a 33-0 victory over Mississippi on Nov. 14, in a game which saw Art Guepe rush for three touchdowns and Buivid pass for a pair.
With a berth to the 1937 Rose Bowl hanging in the balance for the Golden Avalanche, Marquette travelled to Pittsburgh on Nov. 21 to take on Duquesne. The Dukes pulled out a 13-0 victory and an Orange Bowl invitation, while the Golden Avalanche accepted a bid to the first Cotton Bowl.
The Golden Avalanche ended its campaign at the Texas State Fair Grounds on Jan. 1, 1937 against Sammy Baugh and TCU in a game billed as a duel between the nation's two premiere passers. Art Guepe scored the lone touchdown for Marquette on a 60-yard punt return in a 16-6 loss.
