SMU Mustangs - History - 1930s

1930s

1932 • On November 4, 1932, a live horse made its first appearance at a Mustang football game. Peruna I was a four-year-old, 150-pound shetland pony that was donated by T.E. Jones, the owner of Arlington Downs racetrack. The name Peruna originated in the fall of 1915 when SMU student George Sexton substituted the words, "She'll be loaded with Peruna when she comes ..." to the tune of "Coming 'Round the Mountain." In the early part of the century, Peruna was the name of the most famous elixir in Texas and had a reputation as a cure-all. Although the words to the song were changed some years later, Peruna remained as the name of SMU's mascot.

1933 • In 1933, the Mustang Band earned its first national exposure as it followed the football team to San Francisco for the SMU-St. Mary's game and, while there, played on a coast-to-coast NBC radio show. During the 1930s, the band performed jazz stage shows in several big city theaters scheduled around weekend football games. That same year, the band began producing Pigskin Review, a musical-comedy variety show during the week of Homecoming, a tradition that still continues. • Joe Chappel becomes SMU’s first individual conference swimming champion with a win in the 400-meter freestyle at the SWC Championship. SMU did not become competing at the Conference Championships as a team until 1946–47 – the Mustangs finished third.

1935 • SMU won its first national championship in 1935 after posting a 12-win season under the guidance of first-year head coach Matty Bell. Known as a player’s coach, Bell brought discipline to his team, and he spent time listening and talking to his players. • Fullback Harry Shuford and tackle Truman “Big Dog” Spain were two prominent players on the national championship team. A tri-captain, Shuford was the Mustangs’ best running back during the 1935 season, but injury forced him to miss the season’s most critical contest. The Mustangs, ranked number one in the country, played second-ranked TCU and its star quarterback Sammy Baugh for the unofficial national championship and the right to play in the Rose Bowl against Stanford on Jan. 1, 1936. • The 1935 SMU-TCU football game is generally considered the greatest game in SMU history. Bobby Wilson scored two touchdowns to give SMU a 14–0 lead before Baugh rallied the Horned Frogs to a 14–14 tie. Early in the fourth quarter, Bob Finley connected on a long pass to Wilson after the Mustangs faced a fourth down at the TCU 39. Wilson caught the ball at the five and rolled into the endzone as the Mustangs held on to win, 20–14, and earned a trip to the Rose Bowl. • SMU earns its first Southwest Conference men’s basketball championship after a 14–3 season under head coach J.W. St. Clair.

1936 • While the loss 7–0 loss to Stanford in the Rose Bowl January 1, constituted the only blemish on SMU’s 12–1 season, the school was able to pay off its 10-year debt on Ownby Stadium with the check the university received from competing in the prestigious bowl game. • Harry Shuford, a standout fullback on the 1935 team, was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in 1936 and, despite the team’s efforts to sign him to a contract, opted to attend law school at SMU. Shuford overcame the prevailing thought that a football player could not succeed in law school and finished first in his class in 1939.

1937 • SMU earns its second Southwest Conference men’s basketball championship after a 13–8 season under head coach J.W. St. Clair.