1955 Shepherd Rams football team

{{Use American English|date=May 2025}}

{{Short description|American college football season}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}

{{Infobox college sports team season

| year = 1955

| team = Shepherd Rams

| sport = football

| image = 1955 Shepherd Rams football team.png

| image_size = 285

| conference = West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

| short_conf = WVIAC

| record = 8–0

| conf_record = 4–0

| head_coach = Donald E. Fuoss

| hc_year = 3rd

| captain = John Shearer

| captain2 = George Hott

| captain3 = Dick Widdows

| stadium =

| champion = WVIAC champion

}}

{{1955 West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings}}

The 1955 Shepherd Rams football team represented Shepherd University as a member of the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WVIAC) during the 1955 college football season. In their third and final season under head coach Donald E. Fuoss, the Rams compiled a perfect 8–0 record, shut out four of eight opponents, and outscored opponents by a total of 299 to 31. Shepherd has a record of 4–0 in conference play, winning the WVIAC title.{{cite web |author= |title=2005 WVIAC Football Media Guide |url=https://archive.org/details/2005-wviac-football-media-guide/page/36/mode/1up |publisher=West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference |date=July 15, 2005 |page=36 |access-date=June 26, 2023 |via=Internet Archive }}

It was the first WVIAC championship in the history of athletics at Shepherd. It was also the first perfect season in 30 years of Shepherd football history.{{cite news|title='Get Coach,' Not Stars, Says Unbeaten Shepherd|newspaper=Atlantic City Press|date=November 17, 1955|page=23|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/press-of-atlantic-city-get-coach-not/124375418/|via=Newspapers.com}} The Rams out-gained opponents by an average of 397.8 yards per game to 160.1 yards per game.{{cite news|title=Shepherd Quiet After Big Year|newspaper=Post Herald and Register|author=Tom Stimmel|date=November 20, 1955|page=14|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/beckley-post-herald-the-raleigh-register/124373871/|via=Newspapers.com}} Only one other team in the country scored more points than Shepherd,{{cite news|title=Completes Its Best Season|newspaper=The News|location=Frederick, Maryland|date=November 22, 1955|page=8|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-news-completes-its-best-season/124374721/|via=Newspapers.com}} and that team played one more game than Shepherd.{{cite news|title=Shepherd's Big Year Marred by No Flukes|newspaper=The Evening Star|date=November 25, 1955|page=A15|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/evening-star-shepherds-big-year-marred/124374956/|via=Newspapers.com}} Its average of 33.9 points per game was the highest in the country. The team was inducted into the Shepherd University Athletic Hall of Fame in 2016.{{cite web|title=Shepherd Adds Three, 1955 Team to Athletic Hall of Fame|publisher=Shepherd University|date=June 30, 2016|url=https://shepherdrams.com/news/2016/6/30/general-shepherd-adds-three-1995-team-to-athletic-hall-of-fame.aspx?path=football}}

The team's key players included quarterback John Shearer, halfbacks George Hott and Barry Hall, and ends Bill Gaskins and Dick Widdows.{{cite news|title=Spotlight on Sports|newspaper=The Daily Mail|location=Hagerstown, Maryland|date=November 8, 1955|page=12|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-mail-spotlight-on-sports/124371574/}} Shearer led the WVIAC in total offense (1,278 yards) and passing (1,002 yards).{{cite news|title=Shepherd, Shearer Top WVC Statistics|newspaper=Charleston Daily Mail|date=November 26, 1955|page=7|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-mail-spotlight-on-sports/124371574/|via=Newspapers.com}} Hott led the conference in scoring.{{cite news|title=WVIAC Statistics|newspaper=Post Herald and Register|date=November 27, 1955|page=16|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/beckley-post-herald-the-raleigh-register/124372788/|via=Newspapers.com}}

In the fall of 1955, Shepherd was a small college with an enrollment of 1,600 students. There were no athletic scholarships, no grants-in-aid, and no booster club. The Rams played their home games in Shepherdstown, West Virginia.