The 1940 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 rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

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 Footbal ...

s in 1940. The nine 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 an ...

as "official" for the 1940 season are (1) ''

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 ...

'', as selected by

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 ...

, (2) 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. newspa ...

(AP), (3) 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 ...

(UP), (4) the All-America Board (AAB), (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) ''

Liberty Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom. In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...

'' magazine, (7) 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), (8) ''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely ...

'', and (9) the '' Sporting News'' (SN).

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

halfback (and Heisman Trophy winner)

Tom Harmon Thomas Dudley Harmon (September 28, 1919 – March 15, 1990), known as Tom Harmon, as well as by the nickname "Old 98", was an American football player, military pilot, actor, and sports broadcaster. Harmon grew up in Gary, Indiana, and playe ...

Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...

fullback

John Kimbrough John Alec Kimbrough (June 14, 1918 – May 8, 2006) was a college athlete, a member of the Texas Legislature, the star of two western movies and a rancher. His older brother Frank Kimbrough served as head football coach at Baylor and West Texa ...

, and

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

Bob Suffridge Robert Lee Suffridge (March 17, 1916 – March 3, 1974) was an American football player in the National Football League for the Philadelphia Eagles. He played college football at the University of Tennessee, where he was later inducted into th ...

were the only three unanimous first-team All-Americans chosen by all nine official selectors.

Consensus All-Americans

For the year 1940, the NCAA recognizes nine 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.

All-American selections for 1940

Ends

Gene Goodreault Eugene Joseph Goodreault (July 31, 1918 – July 13, 2010) was an American football player. He played at the end position for Boston College from 1938 to 1940 and was selected as a consensus first-team All-American in 1940. He was inducted i ...

, Boston College (College Football Hall of Fame) (AAB; CO-1; INS-1; NW; SN; UP-1; CP-1; DH; FD-1; WC-1; NEA-2) * David Rankin, Purdue (AAB; AP-2; CO-1; INS-2; SN; UP-1; CP-2; FD-2; WC-1) * Paul Severin, North Carolina (AP-1; INS-2; NEA-1; NW; UP-2; CP-2; DH; FD-1) *

Buddy Elrod Ervin B. "Buddy" Elrod (October 28, 1918 – June 13, 1998) was an American football player. He attended the Mississippi State University and played college football for the Mississippi State Bulldogs football team. He played at the end positi ...

, Mississippi State (AP-1; LIB; CP-1; NYS-1; NEA-3) *

Ed Frutig Edward C. Frutig (August 19, 1918 – February 26, 2011) was an American football end who played for the University of Michigan Wolverines from 1938 to 1940. He was selected as a first-team All-American in 1940 by William Randolph Hearst' ...

, Michigan (AP-3; INS-1; LIB; UP-3; CP-3) * Jay MacDowell, Washington (NEA-1; CP-4; NYS-1) *

Joe Blalock Joseph Davis Blalock (February 4, 1919 – August 21, 1974) was an American football player. He played college football for the Clemson Tigers football team from 1939 to 1941 and was selected by both the ''Sporting News'' and the Central Press As ...

, Clemson (UP-2) * Loren MacKinney, Harvard (AP-2) * William Jennings, Oklahoma (AP-3) * Bob Ison, Georgia Tech (UP-3) * Roland Goss, SMU (CP-3) *Smith, UCLA (FD-2) *

Holt Rast Holt Rast (October 10, 1917 – November 22, 1998) was an American football player and entrepreneur who founded Rast Construction. Rast served in the United States Army from 1942 to 1946 and was later elected to serve in the Alabama House of Repr ...

, Alabama (NEA-2; CP-4) *Jack Russell, Baylor (NEA-3)

Tackles

Alf Bauman Alfred Ernest Bauman (January 3, 1920 – May 20, 1980) was an American football player. Bauman was born in 1920 in Chicago and attended Austin High School in that city. He then attended Northwestern University, where he played college footba ...

, Northwestern (AAB; AP-3; CO-1; INS-2; UP-1; CP-3; FD-2; NYS-1; WC-1; NEA-3) *

Nick Drahos Nick Drahos (December 6, 1918 – May 12, 2018) was an American football end. He played college football at Cornell University and was a member of the Sphinx Head Society. He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame The College Footbal ...

, Cornell (College Football Hall of Fame) (AAB; AP-1; INS-1; LIB; NEA-1; NW; SN; UP-1; INS-1; CP-1; DH; FD-1; WC-1) *

Urban Odson Urban Leroy Odson (November 17, 1918 – June 22, 1986) was an American football Offensive tackle, tackle in the National Football League who played 44 games for the Green Bay Packers (1946–1949). In 1942, the Green Bay Packers used the 9th p ...

, Minnesota (INS-1; LIB; NW; UP-2; CP-1; FD-2) *

Bob Reinhard Robert Richard Reinhard (October 17, 1920 – August 2, 1996) was an American football player who played four seasons with the Los Angeles Dons of the All-America Football Conference (AAFC). He was drafted by the Chicago Cardinals of the National ...

, California (AP-1; CO-1; INS-2; CP-2; NEA-2) *

Forrest Behm Forrest Edwin Behm (July 31, 1919 – June 29, 2015) was an American football player. He played college football for the Nebraska Cornhuskers. He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of ...

, Nebraska (NEA-1) * Tony Ruffa, Duke (AP-2; UP-3; CP-2; NEA-2) *

Fred Hartman Frederick Orin "Fred" Hartman (April 21, 1868 – November 11, 1938) was an American professional baseball third baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates, St. Louis Browns, New York Giants, Chicago White Sox, ...

, Rice (AP-2; CP-4) *

Vic Sears Victor Wilson Sears (March 14, 1918 – September 22, 2006) was an American football guard and tackle who played in the National Football League for the Philadelphia Eagles. He played college football at Oregon State University where he wa ...

, Oregon State (CP-4; NYS-1) * Joe Ungerer, Fordham (AP-3) *

Mike Enich Mike Enich (September 20, 1918 – January 9, 1978) was an American college football player for the University of Iowa. He was a member of Iowa's 1939 "Ironmen" team and a first team All-American in 1940. Playing career Of Serbian parentage, "Ir ...

, Iowa (UP-2; SN; DH; FD-1) * Chip Routt, Texas A&M (UP-3) * William Collins, Lafayette () *

Abe Shires Marshall Abraham Shires (February 12, 1917 – July 23, 1993) was an American football player. He played college football for the Tennessee Volunteers football team and was selected by the Central Press Association as a third-team tackle on th ...

, Tennessee (CP-3; NEA-3)

Guards

, Tennessee (College Football Hall of Fame) (AAB; AP-1; INS-1; CO-1; LIB; NEA-1; NW; SN; UP-1; CP-1; NYS-1; DH; FD-1; WC-1) * Marshall Robnett, Texas A&M (AAB; AP-2; INS-2; NW; UP-1; CP-1; DH; FD-1; WC-1; NEA-3) *

Warren Alfson Warren Frank Alfson (May 10, 1915June 4, 2001) was an American football guard and linebacker for the Nebraska Cornhuskers, as well as the Brooklyn Dodgers of the National Football League. Early years He was born and raised in Wisner, Nebraska ...

, Nebraska (AP-1; INS-1; UP-2; CP-2; FD-2) * Augie Lio, Georgetown (College Football Hall of Fame) (CO-1; INS-2; UP-2; CP-2; FD-2; NYS-1; NEA-2) *

Helge Pukema Helge Emil Pukema (April 8, 1917 – December 20, 2004) was an American football player. He played college football for the Minnesota Golden Gophers football team and was selected by the Newspaper Enterprise Association as a first-team guard on ...

, Minnesota (NEA-1) * Hunter Cohern, Mississippi State (AP-2) * George Kerr, Boston College (College Football Hall of Fame) (AP-3) * Cecil Schefel, Denver (AP-3) * Ray Frankowski, Washington (LIB; UP-3) *

Ed Molinski Ed Molinski (August 20, 1917 – June 26, 1986) was a Hall of Fame college football player for the University of Tennessee. He later became a doctor after being involved in boxing, World War II, and college coaching. Football career Molinski ...

, Tennessee (College Football Hall of Fame) (SN; UP-3; CP-3; NEA-2) *

Hal Lahar Harold Wade Lahar (July 14, 1919 – October 20, 2003) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Colgate University (1952–1956, 1962–1967) and the University of Houston (1957–1961). Lahar was bor ...

, Oklahoma (CP-3) * George Kinard, Ole Miss (CP-4) *John W. Goree, LSU (CP-4) *Tom Smith, Iowa State (NEA-3)

Centers

Rudy Mucha Rudolph John Mucha (July 22, 1918 – September 7, 1982) was an American football guard for the Cleveland Rams and the Chicago Bears of the National Football League. He was also a consensus All-American collegiate center for the Universit ...

, Washington (AAB; AP-2; CO-1; INS-2; NW; SN; UP-1; CP-1; WC-1) * Leon Gajecki, Penn State (LIB; NEA-1; CP-2) *

Chet Gladchuk Chester Stephen Gladchuk Sr. (April 4, 1917 – September 4, 1967) was an American football center who played professionally in the National Football League (NFL) for the New York Giants. He played college football at Boston College and was ...

, Boston College (College Football Hall of Fame) (AP-1; UP-2) * Ray Frick, Penn (INS-1; CP-3; FD-2; NYS-1) *

Ray Apolskis Raymond Edward Apolskis (October 19, 1919 – June 30, 1960) was a professional football player, an offensive lineman in the National Football League. He played eight seasons for the Chicago Cardinals and served in the U.S. Marine Corps duri ...

, Marquette (AP-3; UP-3; CP-4; DH; FD-1; NEA-2) *Stuart Clarkson, Texas A&M-Kingsville (NEA-3)

Quarterbacks

Frankie Albert Frank Cullen Albert (January 27, 1920 – September 4, 2002) was an American gridiron football player and coach. He played as a quarterback with the San Francisco 49ers in the National Football League (NFL). Albert attended Stanford University, ...

, Stanford (College Football Hall of Fame) (AAB; AP-1; CO-1; INS-1; NW; UP-1; CP-1; DH; FD-1; WC-1) *

Paul Christman Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) * Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...

, Missouri (College Football Hall of Fame) (AP-2; INS-2; UP-2; CP-3; DH; FD-1; NEA-2) *

Henry Toczylowski Henry M. "Hammering Hank" Toczylowski (February 2, 1919 – October 10, 1982) was an American football player and coach. A graduate of Lynn Classical High School and St. John's Preparatory School he played college football at the quarterback p ...

, Boston College (NYS-1) * Don Scott, Ohio State (UP-3; CP-3; NEA-2 b *

Forest Evashevski Forest "Evy" Evashevski (February 19, 1918 – October 30, 2009) was an American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He played college football at the University of Michigan from 1938 to 1940 and with the Iowa Pre-Flight ...

, Michigan (CP-4; FD-2) *Jim Lalanne, North Carolina (NEA-3)

Halfbacks

, Michigan (College Football Hall of Fame) (AAB; AP-1; CO-1; INS-1; LIB; NEA-1; NW; SN; UP-1; CP-1; NYS-1; DH; FD-1; WC-1) *

George Franck George Henning "Sonny" Franck (September 23, 1918 – January 19, 2011) was an American football halfback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for the New York Giants. Early years Franck was born in Davenport, Iowa. After his playi ...

, Minnesota (College Football Hall of Fame) (AAB; AP-1; CO-1; INS-1; LIB; NW; SN; UP-1; CP-1; DH; FD-1; NYS-1; WC-1; NEA-2) *

Charlie O'Rourke Charles Christopher "Chuckin' Charlie" O'Rourke (May 10, 1917 – April 14, 2000) was an American football player and coach. He played college football as a quarterback at Boston College and professionally with Chicago Bears of the National Foo ...

, Boston College (College Football Hall of Fame) (AP-2; INS-2; NEA-1 b UP-2; CP-2; FD-2) *

Hugh Gallarneau Hugh Harold "Duke" Gallarneau (April 2, 1917 – July 14, 1999) was an NFL halfback from 1941 to 1942 and 1945 to 1947 for the Chicago Bears. He played college football at Stanford, where he was an All-American. College career Gallarneau at ...

, Stanford (College Football Hall of Fame) (NEA-1) *

Frank Reagan Francis Xavier Reagan (July 28, 1919 – November 20, 1972) was an American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He played professionally for the New York Giants and the Philadelphia Eagles during a seven-season Nation ...

, Penn (AP-2; INS-2; LIB; SN; UP-2; CP-2; FD-2) *

Bill Dudley William McGarvey "Bullet Bill" Dudley (December 24, 1921 – February 4, 2010) was an American professional football player in the National Football League for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Detroit Lions, and Washington Redskins. He was inducte ...

, Virginia (College and Pro Football Hall of Fame) (AP-3) *

Bob Foxx Robert Morgan Foxx (September 15, 1917 – June 22, 1975) was an American football player. He played college football for the Tennessee Volunteers football team from 1938 to 1940 and was selected by the International News Service as a second-te ...

, Tennessee (AP-3; INS-2; CP-4) * Jim Kisselburgh, Oregon State (AP-3; CP-4) *

Jim Thomason James Neal Thomason (March 28, 1920 – August 4, 2007) was an American football player and coach. A native of Brownwood, Texas, was Thomason played college football at Texas A&M University and was a member of the 1939 Texas A&M Aggies football t ...

, Texas A&M (AP-3; CP-4; NEA-2) *

Merle Hapes Merle Alison Hapes (May 19, 1919July 18, 1994) was a professional American football fullback in the National Football League (NFL). He played two seasons for the New York Giants (1942, 1946). He and quarterback Frank Filchock were involved in ...

, Ole Miss (UP-3; NEA-3) * Steve Juzwik, Notre Dame (UP-3) * Jimmy Nelson, Alabama (CP-2) *

Dave Allerdice David Way Allerdice (March 26, 1887 – January 10, 1941) was an American football player and coach. He played college football as the University of Michigan as a halfback from 1907 to 1909. Allerdice served as the head football coach at Butler U ...

, Princeton (CP-3) * Milt Piepul, Notre Dame (CP-3) * Bill Sewell, Washington State (FD-2) *

Dean McAdams Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles * ...

, Washington (NEA-3)

Fullbacks

, Texas A&M (College Football Hall of Fame) (AAB; AP-1; CO-1; INS-1; LIB; NEA-1; NW; SN; UP-1; CP-1; NYS-1; WC-1; DH; FD-1) *

George Paskvan George Oscar Paskvan (April 28, 1918 – April 25, 2005) was an American football fullback who played professional in the National Football League (NFL) for seven games for with Green Bay Packers in 1941. The Packers used the seventh pick i ...

, Wisconsin (AP-2; UP-3) *

Norm Standlee Norman S. Standlee (July 19, 1919 – January 5, 1981) was an American football fullback and, later in his career, linebacker for the San Francisco 49ers of the NFL. He was drafted out of Stanford University by the Chicago Bears in 1941. He pa ...

, Stanford (UP-2; CP-2; FD-2; NEA-3)

Key

Bold = Consensus All-American * -1 – First-team selection * -2 – Second-team selection * -3 – Third-team selection

Official selectors

* AAB = All-America Board * AP =

, based on a nationwide survey of expert opinion * CO = ''

'', selected by

* INS =

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.

, selected through a nationwide poll of coaches and sports writers * LIB = ''

'' magazine * NEA =

, picked with the aid and assistance of coaches, scouts, officials and football writers of the nation. * NW = ''

'' * SN = The '' Sporting News'' * UP =

Other selectors

* CP = Central Press Association, selected with the assistance of the nation's football captains * DH = Deke Houlgate * FD = ''

Football Digest ''Football Digest'' was a sports magazine for fans interested in professional American football, with in-depth coverage of the National Football League (NFL). The magazine modeled the ''Reader's Digest'' idea, to bring the best in football journali ...

'' * NYS = ''

New York Sun ''The New York Sun'' is an American online newspaper published in Manhattan; from 2002 to 2008 it was a daily newspaper distributed in New York City. It debuted on April 16, 2002, adopting the name, motto, and masthead of the earlier New York ...

'' * WC =

Walter Camp Football Foundation The Walter Camp Football Foundation (WCFF) is one of the organizations whose College Football All-America Team is recognized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association. The organization also presents various awards. It is named in honor of foo ...

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