The 1948 College Football All-America team is composed 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 in the United States, American football rules first gained populari ...

players who were selected as

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

ns by various organizations and writers that chose

College Football All-America Team The College Football All-America Team is an honor given annually to the best college football players in the United States at their respective positions. The original use of the term ''All-America'' seems to have been to the 1889 College Football ...

s for the

1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The Constitution of New Jersey (later subject to amendment) goes into effect. ** The railways of Britain are nationalized, to form British ...

season. The seven selectors recognized by the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges ...

as "official" for the 1948 season are (1) the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. new ...

, (2) 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 20t ...

, (3) the

American Football Coaches Association The American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) is an association of over 11,000 American football coaches and staff on all levels. According to its constitution, some of the main goals of the American Football Coaches Association are to "mainta ...

(AFCA), (4) the

Football Writers Association of America The Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) is an organization of college football media members in the United States founded in 1941. It is composed of approximately 1,200 professional sports writers from both print and Internet media out ...

(FWAA), (5) the

International News Service The International News Service (INS) was a U.S.-based news agency (newswire) founded by newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst in 1909.

(INS), (6) the

Newspaper Enterprise Association The Newspaper Enterprise Association (NEA) is an editorial column and comic strip newspaper syndication service based in the United States and established in 1902. The oldest syndicate still in operation, the NEA was originally a secondary news ...

(NEA) and (7) ''

The Sporting News The ''Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a pr ...

''. SMU

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Am ...

Doak Walker Ewell Doak Walker II (January 1, 1927 – September 27, 1998) was an American football player. He played college football as a halfback at Southern Methodist University (SMU), where he won the Heisman Trophy in 1948. Walker then played professio ...

and Penn

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

Chuck Bednarik Charles Philip Bednarik (May 1, 1925 – March 21, 2015), nicknamed "Concrete Charlie", was an American professional football player in the National Football League (NFL). He has been ranked one of the hardest hitting tacklers in NFL history a ...

were the only players unanimously named by all seven official selectors as first-team All-Americans. Walker also won the 1948

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 har ...

Competition among the All-American selectors

Collier's Weekly ''Collier's'' was an American general interest magazine founded in 1888 by Peter Fenelon Collier. It was launched as ''Collier's Once a Week'', then renamed in 1895 as ''Collier's Weekly: An Illustrated Journal'', shortened in 1905 to ''Colli ...

'', which began picking All-American football teams in 1888, had employed

Grantland Rice Henry Grantland "Granny" Rice (November 1, 1880July 13, 1954) was an early 20th-century American sportswriter known for his elegant prose. His writing was published in newspapers around the country and broadcast on the radio. Early years Rice wa ...

to select its All-American team for 22 years. After Rice wrote a feature story about college football for '' Look'' magazine, ''Collier's'' replaced Rice in 1948, hiring eight college coaches (paying them $500 each) and billing them as the "Supreme Court of Football." The eight coaches were

Frank Leahy Francis William Leahy (August 27, 1908 – June 21, 1973) was an American football player, coach, college athletics administrator, and professional sports executive. He served as the head football coach at Boston College from 1939 to 1940 and at ...

(Notre Dame),

Matty Bell William Madison "Matty" Bell (February 22, 1899 – June 30, 1983) was an American football player, coach of football and basketball, and college athletics administrator. He played for Centre, captain of its 1918 team. He served as the head footbal ...

(Southern Methodist),

Tuss McLaughry DeOrmond "Tuss" McLaughry (May 19, 1893 – November 26, 1974) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Westminster College in New Wilmington, Pennsylvania (1915–1916, 1918, 1921), Amherst College (192 ...

(Dartmouth),

Bernie Bierman Bernard W. Bierman (March 11, 1894 – March 7, 1977) was an American football player and coach of football and basketball. He coached from 1919 to 1950 except for a span during World War II when he served in the U.S. armed forces. Bierman was t ...

(Minnesota),

Wally Butts James Wallace Butts Jr. (February 7, 1905 – December 17, 1973) was an American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head coach at the University of Georgia from 1939 to 1960, compiling a record of 140– ...

(Georgia),

Jeff Cravath Newell Jefferson Cravath (February 3, 1903 – December 10, 1953) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach the University of Denver from 1929 to 1931, at the University of San Francisco in 1941, and at the U ...

(Southern California),

Harvey Harman Harvey John Harman (November 5, 1900 – December 17, 1969) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at Haverford College (1922–1929), Sewanee: The University of the South (1930), the University of Pennsylvania (1 ...

(Rutgers), and

Lou Little Luigi "Lou Little" Piccirilli December 6, 1891 – May 28, 1979) was an American football player and coach born in Boston, Massachusetts. City of Boston, Birth Registrations, number 8583, December 6, 1891After Lou's birth, his father changed his ...

(Columbia). One of the innovations touted by ''Collier's'' for 1948 was the use of news reels provided by Warner Pathe and university athletic departments to study each player. ''Collier's'' circulated an initial round of ballots to members of the

(AFCA), with their votes narrowing the selections to a group of 55 finalists. The panel of eight then studied the "motion pictures of the players in action" and selected the ''Collier's'' All-American team. ''Collier's'' new affiliation with the AFCA ended the ''

Saturday Evening Post ''The Saturday Evening Post'' is an American magazine, currently published six times a year. It was issued weekly under this title from 1897 until 1963, then every two weeks until 1969. From the 1920s to the 1960s, it was one of the most widely ...

s association with the group as its All-American selectors. The competition for All-American selectors led ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and event (philosophy), events that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various me ...

'' to write an article in September 1948 about the "scrimmage" between the magazines: "No college football star hoping to make All-America takes it more seriously than the magazines which pick them. To the magazines All-Americas are a deadly business, an important piece of promotion involving the prestige of the magazines as well as their hired experts." The Associated Press based its selections on a poll of several hundred staff writers, newspaper sports editors and broadcasters. The AP reported that its voters overwhelming agreed on five of the first-team selections -- Dick Rifenberg of Michigan at end,

Buddy Burris Paul "Buddy" Burris (January 20, 1923 – November 26, 2007) was an American football player. He played college football for the Golden Hurricane at University of Tulsa, and after a hiatus to serve in the Second World War, for the Sooners at th ...

of Oklahoma at guard, Charlie Justice of North Carolina at back,

at quarterback, and Bill Fischer of Notre Dame at tackle.

The first selection of separate offensive and defensive All-American squads

The biggest controversy in the 1948 All-American selection process concerned the widespread use of offensive and defensive specialists, resulting from the adoption of an unlimited substitution rule. The Associated Press considered selecting separate offensive and defensive teams, but opted to continue the tradition of picking a single squad of 11 All-Americans. The AP reported on its decision as follows:

"Sharpest argument this year over bestowing All-America honors centered on the merit of recognizing men who played only offense or defense under the spreading 'two platoon' system. Separate defensive and offensive All-America first teams were proposed. Should the present cleavage widen this could become a possibility."

In the end, the AP named only three platoon players to its All-American teams—offensive specialists, Rifenberg, Justice and

Bobby Stuart Bobby Stuart (9 October 1913 – 1987) was a professional footballer who played as a defender for Middlesbrough, Plymouth Argyle and Whitby Town. He was born in Middlesbrough, England. Bobby Stuart gained 3 England International caps as a Scho ...

. The

Central Press Association The Central Press Association was American newspaper syndication company based in Cleveland, Ohio. It was in business from 1910 to 1971. Originally independent, it was a subsidiary of King Features Syndicate from 1930 onwards. At its peak, the ...

noted that its 1948 All-American eleven "is not necessarily a true All-American team because of the present-day system of using two teams, an offensive and a defensive unit." It was the

International News Service The International News Service (INS) was a U.S.-based news agency (newswire) founded by newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst in 1909.

(the wire service operated by the Hearst newspapers) that in 1948 became the first to break with tradition by naming separate All-American teams on offense and defense. The INS described its decision in its article announcing the selections:

"The days of selecting 11 men on an All-American first team are over, until such time as the unlimited substitution rules are altered. INS thus picks its All-America as the game is now played with the 22 man squad divided into an offensive team and a defensive team."

INS sports editor, Lawton Carver, wrote that the "era of the iron man in football is rapidly passing," as an increasing number of players were being "tutored and geared to specialize for offense or defense and must be recognized for the part they play."

Consensus All-Americans

For the year 1948, the NCAA recognizes seven published All-American teams as "official" designations for purposes of its consensus determinations. The following chart identifies the NCAA-recognized consensus All-Americans and displays which first-team designations they received. The chart also reflects the published point total from the UP poll.

All-American selections for 1948

Ends

* Dick Rifenberg, Michigan (AP-1; FW-1; INS-1 ffense NEA-1; TSN-1; UP-1; CP-1; LK; NYS; WC-1) *

Leon Hart Leon Joseph Hart (November 2, 1928 – September 24, 2002) was an American football end. He won the Heisman Trophy and the Maxwell Award while at the University of Notre Dame in 1949 and played in the National Football League (NFL) for eight se ...

, Notre Dame (College Football Hall of Fame) (AP-3; FW-1 INS-1 efense NEA-2; TSN-1; UP-1; CP-1; CT; LK NYS WC-1) *

Barney Poole George Barney Poole (October 29, 1923 – April 12, 2005) was an American football end in the National Football League for the New York Yanks, the Dallas Texans, the Baltimore Colts, and the New York Giants. Poole also played football in the All ...

, Mississippi (College Football Hall of Fame) (AP-1; INS-1 efense NEA-2; UP-2; CP-2; TSN-2; CT) * Sam Tamburo, Penn State (AFCA; AP-3; INS-1 ffense CP-2) * George Brodnax, Georgia Tech (AFCA) *

Dan Foldberg John Daniel Foldberg (April 22, 1928 – May 30, 2002) was an American military officer and football player. He played as an end for the Army Cadets at the United States Military Academy. Army head coach Earl Blaik rated him the best end he h ...

, Army (UP-2) *

Dale Armstrong Dale Armstrong (1941 – November 28, 2014) was a Canadian drag racer and crew chief. After winning 12 National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) and 12 International Hot Rod Association (IHRA) events in the 1970s, including the Pro Comp title in 1975, h ...

, Dartmouth (AP-2; FW-2; NEA-1; CP-3) *Mel Sheehan, Missouri (AP-2) *

Art Weiner Art Weiner (August 16, 1926 – December 25, 2013) played American football as an All American end at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill from 1946–1949 before playing in the National Football League for the New York Yanks. Born a ...

, North Carolina (College Football Hall of Fame) (FW-1; NEA-3; CP-3; TSN-2; LK; NYS) *Jim Powell, Tennessee (NEA-3) *Warren Huey, Michigan State (FW-2) *Dan Garza, Oregon (FW-3)

Tackles

Leo Nomellini Leo Joseph Nomellini (June 19, 1924 – October 17, 2000) was an Italian- American Hall of Fame American football offensive and defensive tackle for the San Francisco 49ers and professional wrestler. He played college football for Minnesota and ...

, Minnesota (College and Pro Football Hall of Fame) (AFCA; AP-1; FW-1; INS-1 ffensive guard NEA-1; TSN-1; UP-1; CP-1; LK; CT NYS; WC-1) *

Al Wistert Albert Alexander "Ox" Wistert (December 28, 1920 – March 5, 2016) was an American football offensive tackle, guard and defensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL) for the Philadelphia Eagles. He played his entire nine-year NFL ca ...

, Michigan (College Football Hall of Fame) (AFCA; FW-2; NEA-2; UP-1; CP-1; TSN-1; CT; WC-1) * Tim Turner, California (INS-1 efense *

Al DeRogatis Albert John DeRogatis (May 5, 1927 – December 26, 1995) was an American football player and television and radio sportscaster. Life and career DeRogatis was born in Newark, New Jersey, and attended the city's Central High School, earning ...

, Duke (College Football Hall of Fame) (AP-2; UP-2; NEA-3; CP-3; CT) * Phillip O'Reilly, Purdue (UP-2; TSN-2) * Bill Kay, Iowa (AP-2) *Norman Meseroll, Tennessee (AP-3) *

Ernie Stautner Ernest Alfred Stautner (April 20, 1925 – February 16, 2006) was a German-American professional American football coach and defensive tackle in the National Football League for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He also served as a coach for the Pittsburg ...

, Boston College (Pro Football Hall of Fame) (AP-3; NEA-3; CP-3) *Nick Balkovac, Pittsburgh (NEA-2) * Laurie Niemi, Washington State (CP-2; INS-1 ffense * Paul Lea, Tulane (CP-2; INS-1 ffense *Leonard Szafaryn, North Carolina (FW-2) *Chester Fritz, Missouri (FW-3; TSN-2) *William Koch, Princeton (FW-3)

Guards

, Oklahoma (AFCA; AP-1; FW-2; INS-1 efense NEA-1; UP-1; CP-2; TSN-2; CT; WC-1) * Bill Fischer, Notre Dame (College Football Hall of Fame) (AP-1 INS-1 efensive tackle NEA-1; TSN-1; UP-1; CP-1; WC-1) * Bill Healy, Georgia Tech (AP-2; FW-1; INS-1 efense NEA-1 TSN-1; UP-2; CP-1; FW-1; LK) *

Rod Franz Rodney Thomas Franz (February 8, 1925 – November 27, 1999) was an American football player and coach. He played college football as a guard at the University of California, Berkeley from 1946 to 1949. As a senior, he was a unanimous selection o ...

, California (College Football Hall of Fame) (AP-1; UP-2; NEA-2; CP-2; TSN-2; NYS) * Marty Wendell, Notre Dame (AFCA; CP-3; FW-2) *Don Mason, Michigan State (AP-2) * Joseph F. Quinn, Cornell (AP-3) *Vern Sterling, Santa Clara (AP-3; FW-3) *

Joe Henry Joseph Lee Henry (born December 2, 1960) is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer. He has released 15 studio albums and produced multiple recordings for other artists, including three Grammy Award-winning albums. Early life H ...

, Army (NEA-2; INS-1 ffense FW-1; LK; NYS) *Paul Kelly, Penn State (NEA-3) *

Dominic Tomasi Dominic Tomasi (February 11, 1928 - December 1, 1986) was an American football player who played guard for the University of Michigan Wolverines. He was a four-year starter and was selected as both the captain and Most Valuable Player of the Nati ...

, Michigan (NEA-3; CP-3; FW-3)

Centers

, Pennsylvania (College and Pro Football Hall of Fame) (AFCA; AP-1; FW-1; INS-1 ffense NEA-1; TSN-1; UP-1; CP-1; LK; CT; WC-1) * Alex Sarkisian, Northwestern (College Football Hall of Fame) (UP-2; NEA-2; CP-2; INS-1 efense TSN-2; NYS) *Dick Harris, Texas (AP-2; CP-3) *

Tommy Thompson Tommy George Thompson (born November 19, 1941) is an American Republican politician who most recently served as interim president of the University of Wisconsin System from 2020 to 2022. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served a ...

, William and Mary (AP-3; NEA-3) *

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 ...

, Army (FW-2) * Clayton Tonnemaker, Minnesota (FW-3)

Backs

, SMU (College and Pro Football Hall of Fame) (AFCA b AP-1; FW-1; INS-1 efense NEA-1; TSN-1; UP-1; CP-1; CT; LK; NYS b WC-1) * Charlie Justice, North Carolina (College Football Hall of Fame) (AFCA b AP-1; FW-2; INS-1 ffense NEA-1; TSN-1; UP-1; CO-1; CP-1; CT; WC-1) *

Jackie Jensen Jack Eugene Jensen (March 9, 1927 – July 14, 1982) was an American right fielder in Major League Baseball who played for three American League (AL) teams from 1950 to 1961, most notably the Boston Red Sox. He was named the AL's Most Valuable Pl ...

, California (College Football Hall of Fame; 1958

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league b ...

MVP) (AFCA b AP-3; FW-1; NEA-1; INS-1 ffense TSN-1; UP-1; CP-1; CN; LK; WC-1) *

Emil Sitko Emil Martin "Red" Sitko (September 7, 1923 – December 15, 1973) was an American football player. Born in Fort Wayne, Indiana on September 7, 1923. He was of Polish descent. He earned the nickname of "Red" due to his red hair. He attended Cent ...

, Notre Dame (College Football Hall of Fame) (AP-2; FW-1; TSN-1; UP-2; NEA-2; CP-2; LK; NYS b *

Clyde Scott Clyde Luther Scott (August 29, 1924 – January 30, 2018) was an American athlete who competed professionally in the National Football League and earned an Olympic medal in the 110 meter hurdles. He was born in Dixie, Louisiana. Biography ...

, Arkansas (College Football Hall of Fame) (AFCA b AP-2; INS-1 ffense NEA-3; TSN-2; CT) *

Norm Van Brocklin Norman Mack Van Brocklin (March 15, 1926 – May 2, 1983), nicknamed "The Dutchman", was an American football quarterback and coach who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons. He spent his first nine seasons with the Los A ...

, Oregon (College and Pro Football Hall of Fame) (AP-3; FW-2; INS-1 ffense NEA-2; UP-2; CP-3) *

John Rauch John Rauch (August 20, 1927 – June 10, 2008), also known by his nickname Johnny Rauch, was an American football player and coach. He was head coach of the Oakland Raiders in the team's loss to the Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl II in early 1 ...

, Georgia (College Football Hall of Fame) (AP-2; FW-1; NEA-3; UP-2; CP-2; TSN-2; LK; WC-1) * Jack Mitchell, Oklahoma (NEA-2; CP-1; NYS b *

Stan Heath Stanley Heath III (born December 17, 1964) is an American basketball coach currently serving as the head coach for Eastern Michigan. Heath formerly served as head coach at the University of South Florida, the University of Arkansas and Kent State ...

University of Nevada The University of Nevada, Reno (Nevada, the University of Nevada, or UNR) is a public land-grant research university in Reno, Nevada. It is the state's flagship public university and primary land grant institution. It was founded on October 12 ...

(UP-1; CP-2; TSN-2) *Bobby Stuart, Army (AP-1; CP-3; FW-3) *

Jack Cloud Jack Martin Cloud (January 1, 1925 – June 19, 2010) was an American football linebacker and fullback in the National Football League for the Green Bay Packers and the Washington Redskins. He was inducted into the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame ...

, William & Mary (College Football Hall of Fame) (UP-2; NEA-1; FW-3) *

Bobby Gage Robert Gage II (January 15, 1927 – April 19, 2005) was an American football player who played two seasons in the NFL with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Early life Gage was born in Chester, South Carolina. He attended Boys High School i ...

, Clemson (AP-3; INS-1 efense *

Art Murakowski Arthur Raymond Murakowski (March 15, 1925 – September 13, 1985) was an American football player. He played fullback for the Northwestern University football team from 1946 to 1949. He was selected as a first-team All-American and won the Ch ...

, Northwestern (AP-1; FW-2) * Lou Kusserow, Columbia (NYS b *

Pete Elliott Peter R. Elliott (September 29, 1926 – January 4, 2013) was an American football player and coach. Elliott served as the head football coach at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln (1956), the University of California, Berkeley (1957–1959), ...

, Michigan (INS-1 efense *

George Taliaferro George Taliaferro (January 8, 1927 – October 8, 2018) was a professional American football player who was the first African American drafted by a National Football League (NFL) team. Beginning his football career at Indiana University for the ...

, Indiana (INS-1 efense *

Chuck Ortmann Charles H. Ortmann (June 1, 1929 – March 7, 2018) was an American football player who played for the University of Michigan Wolverines from 1948 to 1950 and in the National Football League for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1951 and the Dallas Tex ...

, Michigan (AP-2) *

Harry Szulborski Harry Marion Szulborski (May 23, 1927 – August 4, 2017) was an American football player and coach. Szulborski played college football as a halfback for Purdue University from 1946 to 1949 and was selected a first-team player on the 1947 and ...

, Purdue (CP-2) * Gil Stephenson, Army (TSN-2) *

Fran Rogel Francis Stephen Rogel (December 12, 1927 – June 3, 2002) was an American football fullback for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the NFL. Collegiate career Unable to enroll at Penn State due to the college's post-World War II policy of giving admi ...

, Penn State (NEA-2; FW-2) *

Eddie Price Edward J. Price (September 2, 1925 – July 21, 1979) was an American football running back for the New York Giants of the National Football League. He played college football at Tulane University and was drafted in the second round of th ...

, Tulane (College Football Hall of Fame) (AP-3; NEA-3; CP-3) *Joe Whisler, Ohio State (NEA-3; CP-3) *Arnold Galiffa, Army (FW-3) *Elwood Petchel, Penn State (FW-3)

Key

Official selectors

Other selectors

References

{{College Football All-America Teams

All-America Team The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

College Football All-America Teams