The 1946 Army Cadets 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 the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...

as an independent during the

1946 college football season The 1946 college football season was the 78th 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 sixth season under head coach Earl "Red" Blaik, the Cadets compiled a 9–0–1 record and outscored opponents by a total of 263 to 80. Army's 1946 season was part of a 32-game undefeated streak that included the entire

1944 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 2 – WWII: ** Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command French Army B, part of the Sixth United States Army Group in Nor ...

1945 1945 marked the end of World War II and the fall of Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan. It is also the only year in which nuclear weapons have been used in combat. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. Januar ...

, and 1946 seasons. Army was ranked No. 1 for most of the season 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 ...

. However, in the final poll issued on December 2, Notre Dame jumped to No. 1 with 1,730 points, and Army was bumped to No. 2 with 1,659 points. In retroactive analyses, Army was recognized as the 1946 national champion by the

Billingsley Report The Billingsley Report is a college football rating system developed in the late 1960s to determine a national champion. Billingsley has actively rated college football teams on a current basis since 1970. Beginning in 1999, Billingsley's ratings ...

College Football Researchers Association The College Football Researchers Association (CFRA) was founded in 1982 by Anthony Cusher of Reeder, North Dakota, and Robert Kirlin of Spokane, Washington. The CFRA took a vote of its members from 1982 to 1992 to select an annual college football n ...

, and

Houlgate System The Houlgate System, also known as the Deke Houlgate collegiate football rating system, was a mathematical rating system for determining annual college football national championships. The ratings, which rated teams according to the strength of th ...

, and as co-national champion with Notre Dame by the

Boand System The Boand System was a system for determining the college football national championship. It was also known as the Azzi Ratem system (derived from "As I rate 'em"). The system was developed by William F. Boand. The rankings were based on mathemati ...

Helms Athletic Foundation The Helms Athletic Foundation, founded in 1936, was a Los Angeles-based organization dedicated to the promotion of athletics and sportsmanship. Paul H. Helms was the organization's founder and benefactor, funding the foundation via his ownership ...

, and

Poling System The Poling System was a mathematical rating system used to select college football national championship teams on a current basis from 1935 to 1984. Its selections were published in the ''Football Review Supplement'' and several newspapers.

. For the third consecutive year, Army also won the 1946 Lambert Trophy as the best football team in the east. The 1946 Army vs. Notre Dame football game at

Yankee Stadium Yankee Stadium is a baseball stadium located in the Bronx, New York City. It is the home field of the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball, and New York City FC of Major League Soccer. Opened in April 2009, the stadium replaced the origi ...

, a matchup of the top two in the rankings, is regarded as one of college football's Games of the Century; it ended in a scoreless tie. Halfback Glenn Davis won the

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 ...

, and three Army players were selected as consensus first-team players on the 1946 All-America college football team: Davis; fullback

Doc Blanchard Felix Anthony "Doc" Blanchard (December 11, 1924 – April 19, 2009) was an American football player and serviceman who became the first junior to win the Heisman Trophy and Maxwell Award, and was the first football player to win the James E. Su ...

; and end

Hank Foldberg Henry Christian Foldberg Sr. (March 12, 1923 – March 7, 2001) was an American college and professional football player who became a college football coach. Foldberg played college football for Texas A&M University and the United States Milita ...

Schedule

Personnel

Players

* Shelton Biles, tackle *

(

College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive attraction devoted to college football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players and coaches of college football that were vote ...

), fullback, Bishopville, South Carolina, 6', 208 pounds * Glenn Davis (College Football Hall of Fame), Claremont, California, 5'9", 170 pounds *

, 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 * Dick Pitzer, end, Connellsville, Pennsylvania, 6'1", 195 pounds * Barney Poole (College Football Hall of Fame), end, Gloster, Mississippi *

Arnold Tucker Young Arnold Tucker (January 5, 1924 – January 10, 2019) was a United States Air Force officer who graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York in 1947. Football career While lettering twice in football, Tucker wa ...

(College Football Hall of Fame), quarterback, Miami, Florida, 5'9", 175 pounds *

Bill Yeoman William Frank Yeoman (December 26, 1927 – August 12, 2020) was an American college football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at the University of Houston from 1962 to 1986. In his tenure, he became the winningest coach i ...

(College Football Hall of Fame), center, Elnora, Indiana, 6'2", 200 pounds

Coaches

Earl Blaik Earl Henry "Red" Blaik (February 15, 1897 – May 6, 1989) was an American football player, coach, college athletics administrator, and United States Army officer. He served as the head football coach at Dartmouth College from 1934 to 1940 and at ...

(College Football Hall of Fame), head coach *

Paul Amen Paul Johannes Amen (July 6, 1916 – June 4, 2005) was a prominent Nebraskan with notable accomplishments in both athletics and banking. He served as the head football coach at Wake Forest University from 1956 to 1959, compiling a record of 11� ...

, assistant coach *

Andy Gustafson Andrew Gustafson (April 3, 1903 – January 7, 1979) was an American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College and Polytechnic Institute (VPI ...

(College Football Hall of Fame), backfield coach *

Herman Hickman Herman Michael Hickman (October 1, 1911 – April 25, 1958) was an American football player and coach. He played college football at the University of Tennessee and professionally in the National Football League (NFL) for the Brooklyn Dodgers. ...

(College Football Hall of Fame), line coach *

Stu Holcomb Stuart K. Holcomb (September 11, 1910 – January 11, 1977) was an American football and basketball coach best known for serving as head football coach for Miami University (1942–1943) and Purdue University (1947–1955). Before coaching, Holcomb ...

, assistant coach * Harvey Jablonsky (College Football Hall of Fame), assistant coach *

Bill Bevan William Arnold Bevan, Sr. (March 26, 1913 – August 26, 1975) was an American football player and coach. He played college football at the University of Minnesota and was a consensus selection at the guard position on the 1934 College Football ...

, trainer

NFL Draft

The 1947 NFL Draft was held on December 16, 1946. The following Cadets were selected.

Awards and honors

* Glenn Davis,

* Y. Arnold Tucker,

James E. Sullivan Award The AAU James E. Sullivan Award, presented by the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU), is awarded annually in April to "the most outstanding amateur athlete in the United States". Representatives from the AAU created the AAU Sullivan Award with the int ...

References

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

Army Black Knights football seasons College football national champions Lambert-Meadowlands Trophy seasons College football undefeated seasons

Army Cadets football The Army Black Knights football team, previously known as the Army Cadets, represents the United States Military Academy in college football. Army is a Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) member of the NCAA. The Black Knights play home ga ...

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