The 1939 Arizona State Bulldogs football team was an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

team that represented Arizona State Teachers College (later renamed

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...

) in the

Border Conference The Border Conference, officially known as the Border Intercollegiate Athletic Association, was an National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA-affiliated college athletic conference founded in 1931 that disbanded following the 1961–62 season. ...

during the

1939 college football season The 1939 college football season concluded with the Aggies of The Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas (Texas A&M) being named as the national champions by the voters in the Associated Press writers' poll. Led by consensus All-American ...

. In their second season under head coach

Dixie Howell Millard Fleming "Dixie" Howell (November 24, 1912 – March 2, 1971) was an American football and baseball player and coach. He played college football as a halfback at the University of Alabama from 1932 to 1934 and with the Washington Redski ...

, the Bulldogs compiled an 8–2–1 record (4–0 against Border opponents), won the conference championship, played to a scoreless tie against

Catholic University Catholic higher education includes universities, colleges, and other institutions of higher education privately run by the Catholic Church, typically by religious institutes. Those tied to the Holy See are specifically called pontifical univ ...

in the 1940 Sun Bowl, and outscored their opponents by a combined total of 212 to 56. The team captains were Wiley Aker and Noble Riggs. The Bulldogs finished 6-0 at home, 2-2 on the road, and 0-0-1 on a neutral site. Hilman Walker was an assistant coach. All home games were played at

Goodwin Stadium Goodwin Stadium was a stadium in Tempe, Arizona. It hosted the Arizona State University Sun Devils football team until they moved to Sun Devil Stadium in 1958, as well as the team for local Tempe High School until 1969. The stadium held 15,000 ...

Tempe, Arizona , settlement_type = City , named_for = Vale of Tempe , image_skyline = Tempeskyline3.jpg , imagesize = 260px , image_caption = Tempe skyline as se ...

Schedule

Game summaries

Regular season

In the season opener, Arizona State delivered a 20-0 road shutout victory over San Diego State. The Bulldogs produced another shutout in their home opener, as they beat West Texas State 19-0 in Tempe. Arizona State shut out Cal Poly 35-0 at Goodwin Stadium, as halfback Hascall Henshaw scored a touchdown on a 91-yard kickoff return. The Bulldogs prevailed for a 28-0 home win against Whittier. Arizona State earned a 7-0 road win at New Mexico State, marking their fifth consecutive shutout victory to begin the season. The Bulldogs outlasted Texas-El Paso, 27-7, in Tempe. Arizona State's six-game winning streak was snapped in a 19-7 road loss at Hardin-Simmons. The Bulldogs responded with a convincing 41-6 home victory over NAU. Arizona State delivered a 28-6 win against New Mexico at Goodwin Stadium. In the regular season finale, the Bulldogs suffered an 18-0 road loss to the San Diego Marines.

1940 Sun Bowl

On January 1, 1940, Arizona State played to a 0-0 tie against Catholic University in the 1940 Sun Bowl. The game was played at Kidd Field in El Paso, Texas with a crowd of 13,000 persons in attendance. It marked the only meeting between the teams in school history. The Bulldogs held Catholic University to only four first downs, but Arizona State lost four fumbles and threw several interceptions. Fullback Wayne Pitts had 15 carries for 89 rushing yards for Arizona State. It was the first bowl game in Arizona State school history.1940 Sun Bowl Recap: http://www.sunbowl.org/the_sun_bowl_game/recap/6

Roster

The usual Arizona State lineup included left end Bob Lackey, left tackle Mark Kalastro, left guard Albert Sanserino, center Bob Walberg, right guard Louis Rappaport, right tackle Ted Anderson, right end Sam Andrews, quarterback Walt Ruth, halfbacks Wiley Aker and Hascall Henshaw, and fullback Bill Davis. Ted Anderson, John Balshor, Leo Burns, Dominic Campolo, and Frank Consentino were also on roster.

Awards and honors

Halfback Joe Hernandez, fullback Wayne Pitts, and guards Noble Riggs and Albert Sanserino each earned All-Border Conference honors for the 1939 football season. Fullback Wayne Pitts earned Little All-America second-team honors.

References

{{Border Conference football champions

Arizona State Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...

Arizona State Sun Devils football seasons Border Conference football champion seasons

Arizona State Sun Devils football The Arizona State Sun Devils football team represents Arizona State University in the sport of American football. The Sun Devils team competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the ...