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1946 VPI Gobblers football team

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1946 VPI Gobblers football
Sun Bowl, L 6–18 vs. Cincinnati
ConferenceSouthern Conference
Record3–4–3 (3–3–2 SoCon)
Head coach
CaptainWilliam Elmer Wilson
Home stadiumMiles Stadium
Seasons
← 1945
1947 →
1946 Southern Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 9 North Carolina $ 4 – 0 – 1 8 – 2 – 1
William & Mary 7 – 1 – 0 8 – 2 – 0
No. 18 NC State 6 – 1 – 0 8 – 3 – 0
South Carolina 4 – 2 – 0 5 – 3 – 0
Duke 3 – 2 – 0 4 – 5 – 0
Richmond 3 – 2 – 2 6 – 2 – 2
VPI 3 – 3 – 2 3 – 4 – 3
VMI 2 – 3 – 1 4 – 5 – 1
George Washington 1 – 1 – 0 4 – 3 – 0
Clemson 2 – 3 – 0 4 – 5 – 0
Wake Forest 2 – 3 – 0 6 – 3 – 0
Maryland 2 – 5 – 0 3 – 6 – 0
Furman 1 – 4 – 0 2 – 8 – 0
Washington and Lee 1 – 4 – 0 2 – 6 – 0
The Citadel 1 – 5 – 0 3 – 5 – 0
Davidson 1 – 5 – 0 4 – 5 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1946 VPI Gobblers football team was an American football team that represented Virginia Polytechnic Institute as a member of the Southern Conference (SoCon) during the 1946 college football season. In their second year under head coach Jimmy Kitts, the Gobblers compiled a 3–4–3 record (3–3–2 against SoCon opponents), lost to Cincinnati in the 1947 Sun Bowl, and were outscored by a total of 149 to 102.[1]

During the 1946 season, VPI defeated the No. 12 NC State Wolfpack for the first win over an Associated Press (AP) Top 25 team in school history,[2] the Washington and Lee Generals, and the Gobblers' traditional rivals, the VMI Keydets.[3]

The 1946 season also included VPI's first post-season bowl appearance, in the 1947 Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas against the Cincinnati Bearcats.[4] VPI was the third choice after Border Conference champions, Hardin–Simmons, and runner-up, Texas Tech, both declined the bowl invitation.[5] VPI lost the game, 18–6.

Tackle John Maskas was selected by both the AP and United Press (UP) as a first-team player on the 1946 All-Southern Conference football team.[6][7]

VPI was ranked at No. 83 in the final Litkenhous Difference by Score System rankings for 1946.[8]

Schedule

[edit]
DateTimeOpponentSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 282:30 p.m.at North Carolina
T 14–1426,000[9][10]
October 5vs. Virginia*
T 21–2120,000[11]
October 12at William & Mary
L 0–4914,000–15,000[12][13]
October 18at Maryland
L 0–611,500–13,000[14][15][16]
October 262:30 p.m.No. 12 NC Statedagger
W 14–611,500–13,000[17][18][19]
November 2Clemson
  • Miles Stadium
  • Blacksburg, VA
L 7–147,000[20][21]
November 9vs. Washington and Lee
W 13–712,000[22]
November 162:30 p.m.at Richmond
T 7–7[23]
November 28vs. VMI
  • Victory Stadium
  • Roanoke, VA (rivalry)
W 20–724,000–28,000[24][25]
January 1, 1947vs. Cincinnati*
L 6–1810,000[4][26]
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Eastern time

Game summaries

[edit]

1947 Sun Bowl

[edit]
See also: 1947 Sun Bowl
VPI vs. Cincinnati
1 234Total
VPI 0 006 6
• Cincinnati 0 0126 18

During VPI's preparations before its departure for El Paso, heavy snow fell on Blacksburg, Virginia, forcing the team to use snowplows and construction equipment to clear a space for the team to practice.[27] The Gobblers traveled to El Paso without star punter and rusher Bobby Smith, who had been injured in Virginia Tech's final regular-season game.[28]

The game was played in extremely cold and icy conditions, still the worst in Sun Bowl history.[29] Three inches of snow fell on top of a layer of frozen rain the day before the game, and at kickoff the teams took the field under cloudy skies and in below-freezing temperatures.[4] Despite the inclement weather, 15,000-seat Kidd Field was approximately half full, and bowl officials estimated the crowd at around 10,000 people.[4]

Weather conditions allowed both teams' defenses to dominate in the first half. VPI had the best chance to score of either team in the first half when it drove to a first down inside the Cincinnati two-yard line late in the first quarter.[4] On four straight running plays, however, the Bearcats' defense held, and VPI was denied a scoring opportunity.[4]

In the second half, however, Cincinnati's offense managed to begin moving the ball effectively. On Cincinnati's first play of the second half, halfback Roger Stephens broke through the VPI defensive line for 26 yards, taking the ball inside VPI territory. Cincinnati's drive would overcome two 15-yard penalties and one five-yard penalty en route to a touchdown just a few plays later.[4] On its next possession, Cincinnati's All-American Roger Stephens again broke off another long run, this time for 19 yards, setting up another Bearcats' touchdown.[4] VPI countered with a long drive that reached the Cincinnati 23-yard line before an errant pass was intercepted by the Bearcats in the end zone. VPI managed a defensive stop, however, and marched down the field for a touchdown to climb within six points. Cincinnati sealed its victory, however, when Bearcats' halfback Harold Johnson intercepted a VPI pass late in the fourth quarter, returning it all the way to the VPI 25-yard line. That return set up a Cincinnati touchdown and put the Bearcats up by the game's final score, 18–6.[4]

Roster

[edit]

The following players were members of the 1946 football team according to the roster published in the 1947 edition of The Bugle, the Virginia Tech yearbook.[30]

VPI 1946 roster
  • Jim Adams
  • Frank H. Ballard
  • William "Billy" Shelby Barbour
  • Ralph Coe Beard
  • Raymond Rucker Beasley
  • Floyd Samuel Bowles
  • Maynard Leon David Bruce
  • Thomas Craig Burns
  • Coy Lenard Chambers
  • Pete "Chip" Collum
  • Jack Cooke
  • Stuart Covington
  • Billy Patrick DeNardo
  • Frank DeNardo
  • Richard T. DeShazo
  • Charles Mugler Forbes
  • Nelson T. Fuller
  • John E. "Jack" Gallagher
  • John Eugene Gerngross
  • Robert Hess
  • Joseph William Hoffmann Jr.
  • Oren Edward Hopkins
  • Jack Ross Ittner
  • Cary Kenyon Johnson
  • Robert Edward Johnson
  • Ted James Johnson
  • Robert Stewart Kilbourne
  • John Harry Kroehling
  • Carl Leonard
  • John James Maskas
  • Allen McClaugherty
  • Augustus Paul Mengulas
  • Ross Moore Orr
  • Horace Lee Pearce
  • Erving Hascall Rand
  • Frank Ransome
  • Fred Ovid Shanks
  • Bobby Smith
  • Peter Smith
  • Warren William Squires
  • Robert "Bob" Taylor
  • Franklin Ray Taylor
  • David Lacy Thomas
  • Jack Thomas
  • W. Harry Walton
  • Robert Franklin Webb
  • Wegman
  • William Elmer Wilson (Capt.)
  • Gerhard Charles Zekert
  • Paul Ethan "Zig" Zender

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "1946 Virginia Tech Hokies Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved May 21, 2022.
  2. ^ The Hokies and the AP Ratings Archived 2009-03-20 at the Wayback Machine (PDF) Virginia Tech Sports Information, 2004 Football Media Guide Page 42. Accessed January 22, 2016.
  3. ^ Year-by-Year Scores and Results Archived 2009-03-20 at the Wayback Machine (PDF) "1946", Virginia Tech Sports Information, 2004 Football Media Guide Page 37. Accessed January 22, 2016.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Football". hokiesports.com. January 1, 1947. Archived from the original on June 3, 2015. Retrieved January 22, 2016.
  5. ^ Colston, Chris. Tales from the Virginia Tech Sidelines. Sports Publishing LLC, 2003. Page 26.
  6. ^ "All-Southern Conference". Daily Press. Newport News, Virginia. December 1, 1946. p. 13 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ Robert Moore (December 1, 1946). "Turner, Sacrinty Top All-Southern Choices: Justice and Cloud Complete Backfield On Honor Eleven". The Lexington Herald. p. 14 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ Dr. E. E. Litkenhous (December 15, 1946). "Rice Rated Fifth Best, Tennessee 12th by Lit". The Knoxville News-Sentinel. p. B4 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Tar Heels Oppose VPI Eleven In 1946 Grid Opener Today". The Daily Tar Heel. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. September 28, 1946. p. 1. Retrieved February 21, 2022.
  10. ^ "VPI Gains 14-14 Tie With Late Surge". The Daily Tar Heel. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. September 29, 1946. p. 1. Retrieved February 21, 2022.
  11. ^ Chauncey Durden (October 6, 1946). "VPI Comes From Behind to Tie Cavaliers, 21 to 21: Fumble on 4-Yard Line Halts Tech Victory Bid; Beard Is Backfield Star". Richmond Times-Dispatch. pp. B5, B8 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Powerful Indian Eleven Tramples Gobblers, 49–0" (PDF). The Flat Hat. College of William & Mary. October 15, 1946. p. 5. Retrieved February 1, 2016.
  13. ^ Lloyd Haynew Williams (October 13, 1946). "W-M Indians Surprise VPI With 49 To 0 Win". Daily Press. Newport News, Virginia. p. 17 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ Robert Elmer (October 19, 1946). "Maryland Beats V.P.I. By 6 To 0 For First Conference Win Of Season: Losers Fail in Late Drive; Tech Goes To One-Yard Line, but Old Liners Hold". The Baltimore Sun. p. 11 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ "Gobblers Primed To Upset Favored Pack". The Technician. North Carolina State University. October 25, 1946. p. 4. Retrieved October 14, 2016.
  16. ^ "The Bugle 1947" (PDF). Virginia Tech Bugle. 1947. p. 183. Retrieved January 23, 2016.
  17. ^ Robert Elmer (October 19, 1946). "Maryland Beats V.P.I. By 6 To 0 For First Conference Win Of Season: Losers Fail in Late Drive; Tech Goes To One-Yard Line, but Old Liners Hold". The Baltimore Sun. p. 11 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ^ "Gobblers Primed To Upset Favored Pack". The Technician. North Carolina State University. October 25, 1946. p. 4. Retrieved October 14, 2016.
  19. ^ "The Bugle 1947" (PDF). Virginia Tech Bugle. 1947. p. 183. Retrieved January 23, 2016.
  20. ^ "Clemson Defeats VPI: Scores Twice In Final Quarter to Win 14 to 7". The State. Associated Press. November 3, 1946. pp. 1B, 3B – via Newspapers.com.
  21. ^ "Tigers Stage Late Rally; Top Virginia Tech, 14-7". St. Petersburg Times. November 3, 1946. p. 34. Retrieved September 15, 2016 – via Google News Archives.
  22. ^ "Generals Falter in Closing Minutes To Drop Decision to VPI 13-7" (PDF). Ring-tum Phi. Washington and Lee University. November 15, 1946. p. 3. Retrieved February 1, 2016.
  23. ^ "Fenlon Men Fear Husky Gobbler Line". The Richmond Collegian. University of Richmond. November 15, 1946. p. 1. Retrieved August 15, 2016.
  24. ^ "The Bugle 1947" (PDF). Virginia Tech Bugle. 1947. p. 184. Retrieved January 23, 2016.
  25. ^ "Tech Takes V.M.I. 20 to 7; Mills Make A.P. All-State". The V.M.I. Cadet. Virginia Military Institute. December 2, 1946. p. 3. Retrieved February 2, 2016.
  26. ^ Dick Forbes (January 2, 1947). "Cincinnati Wins, 18-6, In Sun Bowl: First Half Of Play Scoreless; Bearcats Outplay VPI In Every Department; Rush Over Two Touchdowns In Third Period -- 10,000 Fans Are Half Frozen". The Cincinnati Enquirer. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
  27. ^ Tech's Bowl History (PDF) Virginia Tech Sports Information Department, 2007 Virginia Tech Football Media Guide, Page 32. Accessed January 22, 2016.
  28. ^ Six Names To Tech Hall Of Fame Archived 2016-01-28 at the Wayback Machine Virginia Tech Sports Information Department, Hokiesports.com, July 31, 2000. Accessed January 22, 2016.
  29. ^ http://www.sunbowl.org/the_sun_bowl_game/recap/13 Referenced January 22, 2016.
  30. ^ "The Bugle 1947" (PDF). Virginia Tech Bugle. 1947. p. 180. Retrieved January 23, 2016.
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