The Game After (1947)

Schoelkopf Field circa 1947


Game of the Day (Day 65)

November 1, 1947

Columbia 22 Cornell 0


Columbia's miraculous 21-20 win over Army in 1947 put Lou Little's Lions on the front pages for the first time since the Rose Bowl win. But the remainder of the season threatened to be a let down if Columbia didn't focus on the present challenges and not past glory.

The first test came on a sunny day in Ithaca where 25,000 fans gathered to see if the Big Red could catch the Lions resting on their laurels.

No such luck.

Bill Olson took Cornell's opening kickoff back to the Columbia 40, and then Lou Kusserow and Venton Yablonski took over. The tandem alternated run after run until the Lions had a first down on the Big Red 18. QB Eugene Rossides ran it three times in a row after that, the third going for 11 yards and the TD.

Later in the period, the Lions pounched on a Cornell fumble at the Big Red 26. John Nork scored from the five a few plays later.

Late in the first half the Big Red mounted an impressive drive and even had a first and goal at the one... but four plays failed to produce a score, the last one an incomplete pass.

Yablonski was the star of the game for Columbia after that. He booted a short field goal for the 16-0 lead and later scored on a short run for the 22-0 final tally.

Cornell's last best chance came in fourth quarter when the Big Red had a first and goal at the five. But the Lions tackled the Big Red ball carrier for an incredible 11-yard loss on the first down play and Cornell got no closer.

Columbia's win over Cornell proved the team was still hungry after the win over Army. They won the next three games as well, all by wide margins, to finish the season 7-2.