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1939 Stanford Indians football team

1939 Stanford Indians football
Head coach Tiny Thornhill
ConferencePacific Coast Conference
Record1–7–1 (0–6 PCC)
Head coach
Offensive schemeSingle-wing
CaptainStan Andersen
Home stadiumStanford Stadium
Seasons
← 1938
1940 →
1939 Pacific Coast Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 3 USC $ 5 – 0 – 2 8 – 0 – 2
No. 7 UCLA 5 – 0 – 3 6 – 0 – 4
Oregon State 6 – 1 – 1 9 – 1 – 1
Washington 4 – 4 – 0 4 – 5 – 1
Oregon 3 – 3 – 1 3 – 4 – 1
Washington State 3 – 5 – 0 4 – 5 – 0
Montana 1 – 2 – 0 3 – 6 – 0
California 2 – 5 – 0 3 – 7 – 0
Stanford 0 – 6 – 1 1 – 7 – 1
Idaho 0 – 3 – 0 2 – 6 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1939 Stanford Indians football team represented Stanford University as a member of the Pacific Coast Conference (PCC) during the 1939 college football season. Seventh-year head coach Tiny Thornhill led the team to a 1–7–1 record, which ultimately contributed to his relief at the end of the season. He was replaced by Clark Shaughnessy, who surprised critics by leading the following year's team, largely made up of the same players, to the Rose Bowl.[1] Shaughnessy noted that the players were not suited to the single-wing offense that Thornhill had employed.[2]

Stanford was ranked at No. 111 (out of 609 teams) in the final Litkenhous Ratings for 1939.[3]

Before the season, the Stanford Board of Athletic Control retained Thornhill as head coach, despite opposition from some of the alumni base.[4] The Indians finished last in the Pacific Coast Conference with a 0–6–1 record against league opponents. It was the first time in history that Stanford failed to win a single Pacific Coast Conference game in a season.[5] Contemporary sources called the 1939 squad the worst football team to represent Stanford University in the history of the program.[1]

Stanford's only victory came in the season finale against Dartmouth at the Polo Grounds in New York City. At halftime, Stanford trailed 3–0, and Thornhill and his assistants, at a loss for words, asked former "Vow Boys" halfback Bob "Bones" Hamilton to deliver a halftime pep talk. Hamilton told the downtrodden players, "You are by far and large the worst group of players who have ever worn the Stanford red."[1] The insult motivated the team to score 14 unanswered points for their only win of the season.[1]

After the game, the United Press wrote, "Stanford, the worst team the West Coast has produced in years, pulled the day's gridiron surprise by walloping the strong Dartmouth eleven."[6]

Schedule

DateOpponentSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 30Oregon State
L 0–1220,000
October 7vs. Oregon
L 0–1020,000[7]
October 14UCLA
  • Stanford Stadium
  • Stanford, CA
T 14–1418,000[8]
October 28at Washington
L 5–819,771
November 4Santa Clara*
  • Stanford Stadium
  • Stanford, CA
L 7–2740,000[9]
November 11at USC
L 0–3350,000[10]
November 18Washington State
  • Stanford Stadium
  • Stanford, CA
L 0–710,000[11]
November 25California
L 14–3260,000[12]
December 2vs. Dartmouth*
W 14–310,603[13]
  • *Non-conference game

Players drafted by the NFL

Player Position Round Pick NFL club
Hamp Pool End 9 77 Chicago Bears
Stan Andersen Tackle 12 101 Chicago Cardinals

[14]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Ron Fimrite, A Melding Of Men All Suited To A T; Clark Shaughnessy was a dour theoretician, Frankie Albert an unrestrained quarterback and Stanford a team of losers, but combined they forever changed the game of football Archived 2013-10-29 at the Wayback Machine, Sports Illustrated, September 5, 1977.
  2. ^ James W. Johnson, The Wow Boys: a Coach, a Team, and a Turning Point in College Football, pp. xvii-xix, University of Nebraska Press, 2006, ISBN 0-8032-7632-X.
  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. ^ Stanford Retains Coach Thornhill, The Pittsburgh Press, February 13, 1939.
  5. ^ Trojans Stage Thriller To Beat Irish, Lodi News-Sentinel, November 27, 1939.
  6. ^ Dartmouth Upset by Stanford; Navy Wins, Berkeley Daily Gazette, November 29, 1939.
  7. ^ Edward P. Morgan, "Oregon Whips Stanford, 10–0: Northerners Triumph Over Indians Second Time in 40 Years," Oakland Tribune, Oct. 8, 1939, pp. 12A-13A.
  8. ^ Al Wolf (October 15, 1939). "Stanford Holds Bruins Even: Jackie Robinson Saves U.C.L.A. From Defeat With Dazzling Run". Los Angeles Times. p. 11 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Santa Clara Outsmarts, Outplays Stanford, 27 to 7". Oakland Tribune. November 5, 1939. pp. 9A, 11A – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ Paul Zimmerman (November 12, 1939). "Powerful Trojans Smother Stanford Indians by 33-0: Worst Licking in Long Series". The Los Angeles Times. pp. 17, 20 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Washington State College Marches to 7-to-0 Victory Over Stanford: Renfro Scores on Long Drive," Spokane Spokesman-Review, Nov. 19, 1939, p. 12.
  12. ^ Ed W. Orman, "Golden Bears Batter Stanford, 32 to 14, in Annual Big Game," Fresno Bee, Nov. 26, 1939, p. 1A.
  13. ^ Jack Guenther, "Victory-Starved Stanford Upsets Dartmouth Foe, 14–3," Philadelphia Inquirer, Dec. 3, 1939, p. S1 (51).
  14. ^ "1940 NFL Draft". Archived from the original on October 19, 2010. Retrieved September 16, 2014.
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