The 1942 Boston College Eagles 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

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifie ...

as an independent during the

1942 college football season The 1942 college football season was the 74th season of intercollegiate football in the United States. Competition included schools from the Big Ten Conference, the Pacific Coast Conference (PCC), the Southeastern Conference (SEC), the Big Six C ...

. In their second year under head coach

Denny Myers Dennis Edward Myers (November 10, 1905 – May 30, 1957) was an American football player and coach. He attended the University of Iowa, where he played college football for the Hawkeyes. He then signed with the Chicago Bears of the National ...

, the Eagles compiled an 8–1 record in the regular season, were ranked No. 8 in the final AP poll, and went on to lose to

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

in the 1943 Orange Bowl. The Eagles captured the

Lambert-Meadowlands Trophy The Lambert Trophy is an annual award given to the best team in the East in Division I FBS (formerly I-A) college football. In affiliation with the Metropolitan New York Football Writers (founded 1935), the Lambert Trophy was established by brother ...

(emblematic of the 'Eastern championship'). Boston College won its first eight games of the season, climbing to No. 1 in the

AP Poll The Associated Press poll (AP poll) provides weekly rankings of the top 25 NCAA teams in one of three Division I college sports: football, men's basketball and women's basketball. The rankings are compiled by polling 62 sportswriters and broadca ...

, but lost to rival Holy Cross in the final game of the regular season. The result, however, was a stunning rout loss, 12–55. The Eagles team canceled their planned post-game celebration at the Cocoanut Grove nightclub in Boston, which inadvertently saved the team from perishing along with 492 others in the

Cocoanut Grove fire The Cocoanut Grove fire was a nightclub fire which took place in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, on November 28, 1942, and resulted in the deaths of 492 people. It is the deadliest nightclub fire in U.S. history, and the second-deadliest ...

that occurred that night. Team co-captain and fullback

Mike Holovak Michael Joseph Holovak (September 19, 1919 – January 27, 2008) was an American football player, coach, and executive. He played college football at Boston College, where he was an All-American at fullback in 1942. Holovak was the fifth ov ...

was a consensus pick on the 1942 All-America team and finished fourth in

Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy (usually known colloquially as the Heisman Trophy or The Heisman) is awarded annually to the most outstanding player in college football. Winners epitomize great ability combined with diligence, perseverance, and hard ...

voting. He finished his career as Boston College's all-time leading rusher, with 2,011 yards and 23 touchdowns. Holovak returned to coach the Eagles from 1951 to 1959. Boston College ranked first nationally in rushing defense (48.9 yards allowed per game) and second in rushing offense (292.8 yards per game). They also ranked third nationally in both total offense (410.7 yards per game) and total defense (131.8 yards per game) and fourth in scoring offense (28.2 points per game). The team played all of its regular season games at

Fenway Park Fenway Park is a baseball stadium located in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, near Kenmore Square. Since 1912, it has been the home of the Boston Red Sox, the city's American League baseball team, and since 1953, its only Major League Base ...

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

Schedule

References

Boston College Eagles football seasons Lambert-Meadowlands Trophy seasons

Boston College Eagles football The Boston College Eagles football team represents Boston College in the sport of American football. The Eagles compete in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as a member of ...

1940s in Boston {{Massachusetts-sport-team-stub