The 1946 Chicago Rockets season was the inaugural season for both the

Chicago Rockets The Chicago Rockets were an American football team that played in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) from 1946 to 1949. During the 1949 season, the team was known as the Chicago Hornets. Unlike the Cleveland Browns, San Francisco 49ers, an ...

and the

All-America Football Conference The All-America Football Conference (AAFC) was a professional American football league that challenged the established National Football League (NFL) from 1946 to 1949. One of the NFL's most formidable challengers, the AAFC attracted many of the ...

(AAFC) in which they played. The Rockets compiled a 5-6-3 record, were outscored by a total of 315 to 263, and finished in last place in the AAFC's West Division. Dick Hanley, who had been the head coach at Northwestern from 1927 to 1934, was the head coach at the start of the season. After the first three games, the players voted 32-to-1 to remove Hanley. The team felt that Hanley's double-wing system was outdated. After a two-hour meeting between the players and team owner John L. Keeshin, Keeshin fired Hanley. Three of the players ( Ned Mathews,

Bob Dove Robert Leo Patrick "Grandpappy" Dove (February 21, 1921 – April 19, 2006) was an American football player and coach. He played college football at the University of Notre Dame and professionally for nine seasons in the National Football Leagu ...

, and

Willie Wilkin Wilbur Byrne "Wee Willie" Wilkin (April 20, 1916 – May 16, 1973) was an American football tackle in the National Football League (NFL) for the Washington Redskins. Wilkin also played in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) for the Chicago ...

) took over as player-coaches. The "self-coached experiment" ended on October 29 when Pat Boland was hired as head coach. The team's statistical leaders included quarterback

Bob Hoernschemeyer Robert James "Hunchy" Hoernschemeyer (September 25, 1925 – June 18, 1980) was an American football player. A native of Cincinnati, he played college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football ...

with 1,266 passing yards and 375 rushing yards, halfback

Elroy Hirsch Elroy Leon "Crazylegs" Hirsch (June 17, 1923 – January 28, 2004) was an American professional football player, sport executive and actor. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1967 and the College Football Hall of Fame in 197 ...

with 347 receiving yards, and backup quarterback (and placekicker)

Steve Nemeth Steve Nemeth (born February 11, 1967) is a Canadian retired ice hockey player. He played 12 NHL games for the New York Rangers. He was part of the Canadian team that was disqualified from the 1987 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, 1987 World ...

with 59 points scored (32 extra points, 9 field goals). Hoernschemeyer was the only Chicago player named to the All-AAFC team, receiving second-team honors from both the

United Press United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th c ...

and on the official All-AAFC team.

Season schedule

Division standings

Roster

Players shown in bold started at least one game at the position listed as confirmed by contemporary game coverage.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1946 Chicago Rockets Season Chicago Rockets seasons