The 1947 Fordham Rams 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

Fordham University Fordham University () is a Private university, private Jesuit universities, Jesuit research university in New York City. Established in 1841 and named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the The Bronx, Bronx in which its origina ...

as an independent during the 1947 college football season. In its second season under head coach

Ed Danowski Edward Frank Danowski (September 30, 1911 – February 1, 1997) was an American football player who played quarterback and halfback in the National Football League (NFL). He grew up in Aquebogue, his father, Anton, was a Polish immigrant. Foot ...

, the team compiled a 1–6–1 record and was outscored opponents by a total of 245 to Rams offense scored 44. After a winless 1946 season, Fordham boosters raised money for 30 new scholarships. In addition, the school made several additions to its coaching staff, including the hiring of

Vince Lombardi Vincent Thomas Lombardi (June 11, 1913 – September 3, 1970) was an American football coach and executive in the National Football League (NFL). Lombardi is considered by many to be the greatest coach in football history, and he is recognized a ...

. Lombardi was responsible for coaching the freshman team. In addition, he helped the varsity team implement the T-Formation on offense. Lombardi did this for a salary of $3,500 a year. Athletic director Jack Coffey stated that he thought Lombardi would one day become head coach of the varsity team. In the final

Litkenhous Ratings The Litkenhous Difference by Score Ratings system was a mathematical system used to rank football and basketball teams. The Litrating system was developed by Vanderbilt University professor Edward E. Litkenhous (1907 – December 22, 1984) and his b ...

released in mid-December, Fordham was ranked at No. 318 out of 500 college football teams.

Schedule

Freshman team

The freshman team was Vince Lombardi's first experience as a head coach above the high school level. Many of the freshmen on the team were in their twenties. Three of the freshmen were players that Lombardi had coached in high school: Dick Doheny, Billy White and Larry Higgins. Twenty-three-year-old freshman Herb Seidell was elected as captain of the freshman team. He had served in the Navy with Leo Paquin, who was one of Lombardi’s teammates on Fordham’s

Seven Blocks of Granite The Seven Blocks of Granite were the Fordham University football team's offensive line under head coach "Sleepy" Jim Crowley and line coach Frank Leahy. The individuals identified among the Seven Blocks of Granite were Leo Paquin, Johnny Druze ...

. Dick Doheny was the starting quarterback. One of the highlights for the team was defeating Rutgers freshman team by a score of 12-0. The Rams held the Scarlet Knights to negative yards, while the Rams gained 400 yards on the ground. After a 33-0 defeat of New York University’s freshman team, the

New York Herald Tribune The ''New York Herald Tribune'' was a newspaper published between 1924 and 1966. It was created in 1924 when Ogden Mills Reid of the ''New-York Tribune'' acquired the ''New York Herald''. It was regarded as a "writer's newspaper" and competed ...

stated that Lombardi should feel proud for a job well done. Other members in the media were very optimistic about Lombardi because the varsity team finished the season with a record of 1-6-1.

References

Fordham Fordham Rams football seasons

Fordham Rams football The Fordham Rams football program is the intercollegiate American football team for Fordham University, located in the borough of The Bronx in New York City. The team competes in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) and ar ...

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