1946 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team
The 1946 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team represented the University of Notre Dame during the 1946 college football season. The Irish, coached by Frank Leahy, ended the season with 8 wins and 1 tie, winning the national championship.[1] The 1946 team became the fifth Irish team to win the national title and the second for Leahy. The 1946 is the first team in what is considered to be the Notre Dame Football dynasty, a stretch of games in which Notre Dame went 36-0-2 and won three national championships and two Heisman Trophies from 1946-1949.[1] The 1946 team was cited by Sports Illustrated as the part of the second best sports dynasty (professional or collegiate) of the 20th century[2] and second greatest college football dynasty.[3] The season also produced one of college football's "games of the century", the famous 0-0 tie with Army at Yankee Stadium.
1946 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football | |
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AP Poll national champion | |
Conference | Independent |
Ranking | |
AP | No. 1 |
1946 record | 8–0–1 |
Head coach |
|
Offensive scheme | T-Formation |
Captain | game by game |
Home stadium | Notre Dame Stadium (c. 59,075, grass) |
1946 Midwestern college football independents records | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 1 Notre Dame | – | 8 | – | 0 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Youngstown | – | 7 | – | 1 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Cincinnati | – | 9 | – | 2 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Central Michigan | – | 6 | – | 2 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Western Michigan | – | 5 | – | 2 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Miami (OH) | – | 7 | – | 3 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Ohio | – | 6 | – | 3 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Detroit | – | 6 | – | 4 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Dayton | – | 6 | – | 3 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bowling Green | – | 5 | – | 3 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Ohio Wesleyan | – | 5 | – | 4 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Akron | – | 5 | – | 4 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Michigan State | – | 5 | – | 5 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Marquette | – | 4 | – | 5 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Michigan State Normal | – | 3 | – | 4 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Wayne | – | 2 | – | 5 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Valparaiso | – | 1 | – | 7 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rankings from AP Poll |
Schedule
Date | Opponent | Rank | Site | Result | Attendance | Source |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
September 28 | at Illinois | W 26–6 | 75,119 | [4] | ||
October 5 | Pittsburgh | W 33–0 | 50,350 | |||
October 12 | Purdue | No. 3 |
| W 49–6 | 55,452 | [5] |
October 26 | at No. 17 Iowa | No. 2 | W 41–6 | 52,311 | ||
November 2 | vs. Navy | No. 2 | W 28–0 | 63,909 | ||
November 9 | vs. No. 1 Army | No. 2 | T 0–0 | 74,121 | [6] | |
November 16 | Northwestern | No. 2 |
| W 27–0 | 56,000 | |
November 23 | at Tulane | No. 2 | W 41–0 | 65,841 | [7] | |
November 30 | No. 16 USC | No. 2 |
| W 26–6 | 55,298 | |
|
Post-season
Award winners
All-Americans:
Name | AP | UP | NEA | INS | COL | AA | SN | L | FC |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
† John Lujack, QB | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
‡ George Connor, T | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
John Monstrangelo, G | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||||
George Strohmeyer, C | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | ||||
†denotes unanimous selection ‡denotes consensus selection Source:[1] |
College Football Hall of Fame Inductees:
Name | Position | Year Inducted |
---|---|---|
George Connor | Tackle | 1963 |
Zygmont "Ziggy" Czarobski | Tackle | 1977 |
Bill Fischer | Tackle/Guard | 1983 |
Leon Hart | End | 1973 |
Frank Leahy | Coach | 1970 |
Johnny Lujack | Quarterback | 1960 |
Jim Martin | End/Tackle | 1995 |
Emil "Red" Sitko | Halfback/Fullback | 1984 |
Notre Dame leads all universities in players inducted.[9]
1947 NFL Draft
The 1947 NFL Draft was held on December 16, 1946. The following Fighting Irish were selected.[10]
Round | Pick | Player | Position | NFL Club |
---|---|---|---|---|
3 | 16 | John Mastrangelo | Tackle | Pittsburgh Steelers |
6 | 37 | George Sullivan | End | Boston Yanks |
13 | 111 | Bob Skoglund | Defensive end | Green Bay Packers |
15 | 134 | John Fallon | Tackle | New York Giants |
27 | 250 | Bob Palladino | Back | Green Bay Packers |
References
- "2007 Notre Dame Media Guide: History and Records (pages 131-175)". und.cstv.com. Archived from the original on 2008-06-10. Retrieved 2008-12-31.
- "SI's Top 20 Dynasties of the 20th Century". sportsillustrated.cnn.com. 1999-06-03. Archived from the original on 29 January 2009. Retrieved 2008-12-31.
- "College Football's 12 Greatest Dynasties". sportsillustrated.cnn.com. Retrieved 2008-12-31.
- Bert Bertine (September 29, 1946). "Notre Dame Halts Young, Overpowers Illinois, 26-6: Record 75,119 Watches Irish Dominate Battle". Decatur Sunday Herald and Review. pp. 29, 30 – via Newspapers.com.
- Harold Harrison (October 13, 1946). "Notre Dame Raps Purdue: Irish Use 4 Elevens For 49-6 Verdict; Lacing Worst Of 18-Game Series Between Schools". The Indianapolis Star. pp. 41, 42. Retrieved April 29, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- Gene Ward (November 10, 1946). "Army, Irish Battle To Scoreless Tie". New York Daily News. p. 96 – via Newspapers.com.
- "Fighting Irish overwhelms Green Wave, 41–0, before 70,000". Evansville Press. November 24, 1946. Retrieved April 11, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- "ALL-TIME OUTLAND TROPHY WINNERS". Football Writers Association of America. Archived from the original on 2 January 2009. Retrieved 2009-01-01.
- "Hall of Fame: Select group by school". College Football Hall of Fame. Football Foundation. Retrieved 2008-12-30.
- "1947 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 29, 2020.