The 1940 Southern California Conference football season was the season of
college football
College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States.
Unlike most ...
played by the five member schools of the
Southern California Conference
The Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) is a college athletic conference that operates in the NCAA's Division III. The conference was founded in 1915 and it consists of twelve small private schools that are located in ...
(SCC) as part of the
1940 college football season
The 1940 college football season was the 72nd season of college football, intercollegiate football in the United States. Competition included schools from the 1940 Big Ten Conference football season, Big Ten Conference, the Pacific Coast Conferen ...
.
The
Redlands Bulldogs, led by head coach
Cecil A. Cushman
Cecil Alonzo Cushman (December 15, 1890 – November 3, 1959) was an American football, basketball and baseball coach. He served as the head football coach at East Texas State Normal School—now known as Texas A&M University–Commerce—in ...
, won the SCC championship with a 4–4–1 record (3–0–1 against SCC opponents).
The
Pomona Sagehens
Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens is the joint athletics program for Pomona College and Pitzer College, two of the Claremont Colleges. It competes in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) of the NCAA Division III. Its m ...
, led by head coach
Earl J. Merritt
Earl Jay "Fuzz" Merritt (August 9, 1896 – July 7, 1986) was an American football, basketball, and baseball coach. He served as the head football coach at Pomona College in Claremont, California, from 1935 to 1958, compiling a record of 93†...
, finished in second place with a 4–4 record (3–1 against SCC opponents).
Conference overview
Teams
Redlands
The 1940 Redlands Bulldogs football team that represented the
University of Redlands of
Redlands, California
Redlands ( ) is a city in San Bernardino County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 73,168, up from 68,747 at the 2010 census. The city is located approximately west of Palm Springs and east of Lo ...
. In their 11th season under head coach
Cecil A. Cushman
Cecil Alonzo Cushman (December 15, 1890 – November 3, 1959) was an American football, basketball and baseball coach. He served as the head football coach at East Texas State Normal School—now known as Texas A&M University–Commerce—in ...
, the team compiled a 4–4–1 record (3–0–1 against SCC opponents), won the SCC championship, and outscored opponents by a total of 115 to 83.
[
Three Redlands players were selected by Ray Canton for first-team, all-conference honors: halfback Alvin Chang; guard Herb Morelli; and center John Hoffman.
Redlands was ranked at No. 257 (out of 697 college football teams) in the final rankings under the Litkenhous Difference by Score system for 1940.]
Pomona
The 1940 Pomona Sagehens football team that represented Pomona College of Pomona, California. In their sixth season under head coach Earl J. Merritt
Earl Jay "Fuzz" Merritt (August 9, 1896 – July 7, 1986) was an American football, basketball, and baseball coach. He served as the head football coach at Pomona College in Claremont, California, from 1935 to 1958, compiling a record of 93†...
, the Sagehens compiled a 4–4 record (3–1 against SCC opponents), finished in second place in the SCC, and were outscored by a total of 139 to 83.[
]
Occidental
The 1940 Occidental Tigers football team that represented Occidental College
Occidental College (informally Oxy) is a private liberal arts college in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1887 as a coeducational college by clergy and members of the Presbyterian Church, it became non-sectarian in 1910. It is one of the oldes ...
of Los Angeles, California. In their first season under head coach Gus Henderson, the Tigers compiled a 3–4–1 record (2–2 against SCC opponents), finished in third place in the SCC, and were outscored by a total of 91 to 58.[
Three Occidental players received first-team honors on the all-conference team: back Keith Beebe; end Morgan Odell; and tackle Burt Jones.
Occidental was ranked at No. 342 (out of 697 college football teams) in the final rankings under the Litkenhous Difference by Score system for 1940.][
]
Whittier
The 1940 Whittier Poets football team that represented Whittier College of Whittier, California. In their 12th season under head coach Wallace Newman
Wallace Joe "Chief" Newman (c. 1901 – November 6, 1985) was an American football and baseball player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Whittier College in Whittier, California from 1929 to 1950, compiling a record of 102–66– ...
, the team compiled a 2–6–1 record (1–2–1 against SCC opponents), finished in fourth place in the SCC, and were outscored by a total of 110 to 39.[
Two Whittier players received first-team honors on the all-conference team: tackle Ralph Garman and guard Fred Shaheen.
Whittier was ranked at No. 344 (out of 697 college football teams) in the final rankings under the Litkenhous Difference by Score system for 1940.][
]
Caltech
The 1946 Caltech Beavers football team that represented the California Institute of Technology of Pasadena, California
Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district.
I ...
. In their 20th year under head coach Fox Stanton
William Layton "Fox" Stanton (May 20, 1874 – November 28, 1946) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Pomona College from 1908 to 1915, at Occidental College in 1916 and again from 1918 to 1920, and ...
, the Beavers compiled a 2–5–1 record (0–4 against SCC opponents), finished in last place in the SCC, and were outscored by a total of 154 to 48.[
Caltech fullback Stan Sohler received first-team honors on the all-conference team.
]
All-conference selections
Ray Canton in ''The Whittier News'' selected the following first-team players to the All-Southern California Conference football team:
* Back - Keith Beebe, Occidental
* Halfbacks - Alvin Chang, Redlands; Fred Stuedler, Pomona
* Fullback - Stan Sohler, Caltech
* Ends - Dick Strehle, Pomona; Morgan Odell, Occidental
* Tackles - Burt Jones, Occidental; Ralph Garman, Whittier
* Guards - Herb Morelli, Redlands; Fred Shaheen, Whittier
* Center - John Hoffman, Redlands
References
{{Reflist