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1939 Illinois Fighting Illini football team

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

1939 Illinois Fighting Illini football
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Record3–4–1 (3–3 Big Ten)
Head coach
MVPMel Brewer
CaptainWilliam Lenich
Home stadiumMemorial Stadium
Seasons
← 1938
1940 →
1939 Big Ten Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 15 Ohio State $ 5 1 0 6 2 0
No. 9 Iowa 4 1 1 6 1 1
No. 20 Michigan 3 2 0 6 2 0
Purdue 2 1 2 3 3 2
Northwestern 3 2 1 3 4 1
Illinois 3 3 0 3 4 1
Minnesota 2 3 1 3 4 1
Indiana 2 3 0 2 4 2
Wisconsin 0 5 1 1 6 1
Chicago 0 3 0 2 6 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1939 Illinois Fighting Illini football team was an American football team that represented the University of Illinois during the 1939 Big Ten Conference football season. In their 27th season under head coach Robert Zuppke, the Illini compiled a 3–4–1 record and finished in sixth place in the Big Ten Conference.[1] Bill Lenich was selected as the team's most valuable player.[2]

Illinois was ranked at No. 62 (out of 609 teams) in the final Litkenhous Ratings for 1939.[3]

Schedule

[edit]
DateOpponentSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 30Bradley*T 0–012,000[4]
October 14at USC*L 0–2660,000[5]
October 21Indiana
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Champaign, IL (rivalry)
L 6–720,000[6]
October 28at NorthwesternL 0–1335,000[7]
November 4No. 2 Michigandagger
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Champaign, IL (rivalry)
W 16–731,025[8]
November 11Wisconsin
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Champaign, IL
W 7–017,665[9]
November 18at No. 8 Ohio StateL 0–2146,643[10]
November 25at ChicagoW 46–04,500[11]
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "1939 Illinois Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 16, 2015.
  2. ^ "Fighting Illini Football Record Book" (PDF). University of Illinois. 2015. p. 155. Retrieved December 28, 2016.
  3. ^ E. E. Litkenhous (December 31, 1939). "Vols Second In Final Litkenhous Grid Rankings; Southern California Tenth". Johnson City Sunday Press. p. 11 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ Howard Barry (October 1, 1939). "Bradley Holds Illinois to Scoreless Tie". Chicago Tribune. pp. II-1, II-4 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ Paul Zimmerman (October 15, 1939). "Troy's Thundering Herd Swamps Outclassed Illini, 26 to 0: Nave Opens Scoring Spree". The Los Angeles Times. p. II-11 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ Irving Vaughan (October 22, 1939). "Hoosiers End Jinx; Win at Illinois, 7 to 6". Chicago Tribune. p. II-1, II-5 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ Charles Bartlett (October 29, 1939). "Soper Runs 74 Yards in 13 to 0 Defeat of Illini". Chicago Tribune. p. II-1 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ Edward Prell (November 5, 1939). "Illinois Beats Michigan, 16-7: Harmon Scores But So Do Three Illini Players". Chicago Tribune. pp. II-1, II-5 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ Irving Vaughan (November 12, 1939). "Illini Beat Wisconsin, 7-0: Smith Runs 82 Yards to Score as Illini Win". Chicago Tribune. p. II-1 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ Fritz Howell (November 19, 1939). "Ohio State Shows Power in Defeating Illinois, 21 to 0". The Sandusky Register. p. 8 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ Charles Bartlett (November 26, 1939). "Illinois Finds Par Against the Maroons Is 46: Chicago Winds Up Season with Another Zero". Chicago Tribune. p. II-1 – via Newspapers.com.