1945 Army Cadets football team

The 1945 Army Cadets football team was an American football team that represented the United States Military Academy as an independent during the 1945 college football season. In their fifth season under head coach Earl "Red" Blaik, the Cadets compiled a 9–0 record, shut out five of nine opponents (including a 48–0 victory over No. 2 Notre Dame and a 61–0 victory over No. 6 Penn), and outscored all opponents by a total of 412 to 46.[1] Army's 1945 season was part of a 32-game undefeated streak that included the entire 1944, 1945, and 1946 seasons.

1945 Army Cadets football
AP Poll national champion
Lambert Trophy
ConferenceIndependent
Ranking
APNo. 1
1945 record9–0
Head coach
CaptainJohn Green
Home stadiumMichie Stadium
1945 Eastern college football independents records
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 1 Army   –  9 –0 –0
Franklin & Marshall   –  4 –0 –1
No. 20 Columbia   –  8 –1 –0
Temple   –  7 –1 –0
No. 16 Holy Cross   –  8 –2 –0
Tufts   –  4 –1 –0
No. 8 Penn   –  6 –2 –0
Yale   –  6 –3 –0
Massachusetts State   –  2 –1 –1
Harvard   –  5 –3 –0
Penn State   –  5 –3 –0
Cornell   –  5 –4 –0
Villanova   –  4 –4 –0
Boston College   –  3 –4 –0
Brown   –  3 –4 –1
Colgate   –  3 –4 –1
Princeton   –  2 –3 –2
NYU   –  3 –4 –0
Pittsburgh   –  3 –7 –0
Bucknell   –  2 –5 –0
Drexel   –  2 –5 –0
Dartmouth   –  1 –6 –1
Syracuse   –  1 –6 –0
Boston University   –  0 –5 –0
CCNY   –  0 –8 –0
Rankings from AP Poll

In the final AP Poll released on December 2, Army was ranked No. 1 nationally with 1,160 points, more than 200 points ahead of No. 2 Navy.[2] In retroactive analyses, Army has also been recognized as the 1945 national champion by most other selectors, including the Billingsley Report, Boand System, College Football Researchers Association, Dunkel System, Helms Athletic Foundation, Houlgate System, National Championship Foundation, Poling System, and Sagarin Ratings.[3] Army also won the Lambert Trophy as the best football team in the east.[4]

Army fullback Doc Blanchard scored 114 points in 1945 and, at the end of the season, he received both the Heisman Trophy and the Maxwell Award as the best player in college football.[5][6][7]

Four Army players were consensus first-team picks on the 1945 All-America college football team: Blanchard; halfback Glenn Davis; tackle Tex Coulter; and guard John Green.[8] In a departure from normal practice, the Newspaper Enterprise Association (NEA) named all eleven Army starters as its All-American team for 1945.[9] Other notable players included quarterback Arnold Tucker (NEA) and end Hank Foldberg.

Schedule
DateOpponentRankSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 29Army Air Force Personnel Distribution Command (Louisville)
W 32–09,000[10][11]
October 6Wake Forest
  • Michie Stadium
  • West Point, NY
W 54–010,000[12]
October 13vs. No. 9 MichiganNo. 1
W 28–770,000[13][14]
October 20Melville PT RaidersNo. 1
  • Michie Stadium
  • West Point, NY
W 55–13[15]
October 27vs. No. 19 DukeNo. 1
W 48–1342,287[16]
November 3VillanovaNo. 1
  • Michie Stadium
  • West Point, NY
W 54–012,000[17]
November 10vs. No. 2 Notre DameNo. 1
W 48–074,621[18]
November 17at No. 6 PennNo. 1
W 61–073,000[19]
December 1vs. No. 2 NavyNo. 1
W 32–13102,000[20]
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

[21]

Personnel

Players
  • Shelton Biles, guard
  • Doc Blanchard (College Football Hall of Fame), fullback, Bishopville, South Carolina, 6', 208 pounds
  • Roland Catarinella, guard
  • Bobby Chabot
  • Tex Coulter, tackle, San Antonio, Texas, 6'3", 220 pounds
  • Glenn Davis (College Football Hall of Fame), Claremont, California, 5'9", 170 pounds
  • Hank Foldberg, end, Dallas, Texas, 6'1", 195 pounds
  • Herschel E. Fuson, Middlesburg, Kentucky, 6'1", 215 pounds
  • Arthur L. Gerometta, guard, Gary, Indiana, 5'10", 190 pounds
  • John Green (College Football Hall of Fame), guard and captain, Shelbyville, Kentucky, 5'8-1/2", 190 pounds
  • Shorty McWilliams, halfback, Meridan, Mississippi, 5'11", 175 pounds
  • Albert M. Nemetz, tackle, Prince George, Virginia, 6', 190 pounds
  • Dick Pitzer, end, Connellsville, Pennsylvania, 6'1", 195 pounds
  • Barney Poole (College Football Hall of Fame), end, Gloster, Mississippi
  • Arnold Tucker (College Football Hall of Fame), quarterback, Miami, Florida, 5'9", 175 pounds

Coaches

Awards and honors

References
  1. "1945 Army Black Knights Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
  2. "Army Unanimous Choice as Top Team in AP's Final Poll". Abilene Reporter-News. December 4, 1945. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. 2020 NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Records (PDF). Indianapolis: The National Collegiate Athletic Association. July 2020. p. 112–114. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 1, 2020. Retrieved January 12, 2021.
  4. "Army Lambert Winner". The Boston Globe. December 4, 1945. p. 15 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. "Uconn Ace Crowned New Scoring Champ". The Cincinnati Enquirer. December 3, 1945. p. 16 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. "Trophy Given To Blanchard". Arizona Republic. December 4, 1945. p. 14 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. "Blanchard Also Wins Maxwell Club Award". The Boston Globe. December 4, 1945. p. 15 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. "Football Award Winners" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). 2016. p. 8. Retrieved October 21, 2017.
  9. Harry Grayson (November 27, 1945). "Army's And Nea's 1945 All American Chosen: Men Hail From Nine States". Olean Times Herald. p. 10 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. Jimmy Powers (September 30, 1945). "Army Roughs Fliers, 32-0; Davis, M'Williams Score 2". New York Daily News. p. 69 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. Karl Ruby (September 30, 1945). "Army Punctures Comets' Scrappy Line for 32-0 Win". The Courier-Journal. p. IV-3 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. Dick Young (October 7, 1945). "Army Eleven Levels Wake Forest by 54-0". New York Daily News. p. 25C – via Newspapers.com.
  13. Jack Smith (October 14, 1945). "Army Outspeeds Wolves, 28-7; Davis, Blanchard Run 70 Yds". New York Daily News. p. 76 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. "Michigan Extends Army in 28-7 in 28-7 Loss". Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. October 14, 1945. p. 33 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. Dick Young (October 21, 1945). "Army Beats PT's, 55-13, After Trailing in 1st, 0-13". New York Daily News. p. 77 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. Dick Young (October 28, 1945). "Army Rips Duke, 48-13, On Long Dashes at PG". New York Daily News. p. 73 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. "Army Subs Sink Villanova, 54-0; Doc, Glenn Get 2". New York Daily News. November 4, 1945. p. 25C – via Newspapers.com.
  18. Gene Ward (November 11, 1945). "Army Whips Notre Dame, 48-0". New York Daily News. p. 88 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. Morrow, Art (November 18, 1945). "73,000 See Army's Power Batter Penn, 61-0; Davis and Blanchard Both Score 3 Times". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, Pa. p. S1 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. Jerry Nason (December 2, 1945). "Navy Goes Down With Guns Blazing Before Army, 32-13: Blanchard and Davis Score 5 Touchdowns". The Boston Sunday Globe. p. 34 – via Newspapers.com.
  21. DeLassus, David. "Army Yearly Results: 1945–1949". College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on October 21, 2012. Retrieved March 28, 2013.
  22. "NCAA College Football Awards - ESPN".
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