The 1947 College Football All-America team is composed of

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

players who were selected as

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

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 1947. The eight selectors recognized by the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

as "official" for the 1947 season are (1), 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), (2) the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

(AP), (3) ''

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

'', as selected by

Grantland Rice Henry Grantland Rice (November 1, 1880 – July 13, 1954) was an American sportswriter and poet known as the "Dean of American Sports Writers". He coined the famous phrase that it was not important whether you “won or lost, but how you playe ...

, (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 ...

(FW), (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 new ...

(NEA), (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 ...

'' (SN), and (8) 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 ...

(UP). Other selectors include the

Central Press Association The Central Press Association was American print syndication, 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. ...

(CP) and the

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 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit ...

(WC). Notre Dame

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

Johnny Lujack and

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

halfback

Bob Chappuis Robert Richard Chappuis ( ; February 24, 1923 – June 14, 2012) was an American football player who played halfback and quarterback for the University of Michigan Wolverines in 1942, 1946, and 1947. His college years were interrupted by servi ...

were the only two players unanimously named by all eight official selectors as first-team All-Americans. Lujack and Chappuis also finished first and second in the 1947

Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy ( ; also known simply as the Heisman) is awarded annually since 1935 to the top player in college football. It is considered the most prestigious award in the sport and is presented by the Heisman Trophy Trust followin ...

voting.

Consensus All-Americans

For the year 1947, the NCAA recognizes eight 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 (2,211 points possible).

All-American selections for 1947

Ends

* Paul Cleary, USC (College Football Hall of Fame) * Bill Swiacki, Columbia * Barney Poole, Mississippi (College Football Hall of Fame) *

Leon Hart Leon Joseph Hart (November 2, 1928 – September 24, 2002) was an American football player. He played college football for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, winning the Heisman Trophy and Maxwell Award in 1949. He also received All-American hon ...

, Notre Dame (College Football Hall of Fame) * Bob Mann, Michigan * Ike Owens, Illinois * Len Ford, Michigan (Pro Football Hall of Fame) * Tom Fears, UCLA (College and Pro Football Hall of Fame) * Barney Hafen, Utah * Max Bumgardner, Texas

Tackles

* Bob Davis, Georgia Tech * George Connor, Notre Dame (College and Pro Football Hall of Fame) * John Ferraro, USC (College Football Hall of Fame) * Dick Harris, Texas * Zygmont Czarobski, Notre Dame (College Football Hall of Fame) * Malachi Mills, VMI * George Savitsky, Penn * Bruce Hilkene, Michigan * Goble Bryant, Army * Phil O'Reilly, Purdue

Guards

* William Fischer, Notre Dame (College Football Hall of Fame) * Joe Steffy, Army (College Football Hall of Fame) * Steve Suhey, Penn State (College Football Hall of Fame) * Leo Nomellini, Minnesota (College and Pro Football Hall of Fame) * Rod Franz, California (College Football Hall of Fame) * Knox Ramsey, William & Mary *Mike Dimitro, UCLA * John Magee, Rice * Jon Baker, California * Howie Brown, Indiana * Dominic Tomasi, Michigan * Herb Siegert, Illinois * Bill Healy, Georgia Tech

Centers

Chuck Bednarik Charles Philip Bednarik (May 1, 1925 – March 21, 2015), nicknamed "Concrete Charlie", was an American professional football linebacker and center who played in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Penn Quak ...

, Pennsylvania (College and Pro Football Hall of Fame) * Dick Scott, Navy * Jay Rhodemyre, Kentucky * George Strohmeyer, Notre Dame * John Rapacz, Oklahoma * J. T. White, Michigan

Quarterbacks

* Johnny Lujack, Notre Dame (College Football Hall of Fame) *

Bobby Layne Robert Lawrence Layne (December 19, 1926 – December 1, 1986) was an American professional football player who was a quarterback for 15 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Texas Longhorns before ...

, Texas (College and Pro Football Hall of Fame) * Charlie Conerly, Mississippi (College Football Hall of Fame)

Backs

, Michigan (College Football Hall of Fame) *

Doak Walker Ewell Doak Walker II (January 1, 1927 – September 27, 1998) was an American football player who was a halfback and kicker. He played college football for the SMU Mustangs, winning the Maxwell Award in 1947 and the Heisman Trophy in 1948. H ...

, SMU (College and Pro Football Hall of Fame) *

Ray Evans Raymond Bernard Evans (February 4, 1915 – February 15, 2007) was an American songwriter best known for being a half of a composing-songwriting duo with Jay Livingston, specializing himself in writing lyrics for film songs. On music Livingston ...

, Kansas (College Football Hall of Fame) * Bump Elliott, Michigan (College Football Hall of Fame) * Skip Minisi, Penn (College Football Hall of Fame) * Harry Gilmer, Alabama (College Football Hall of Fame) * Charlie Justice, North Carolina (College Football Hall of Fame) * Clyde Scott, Arkansas (College Football Hall of Fame) * Jack Cloud, William & Mary (College Football Hall of Fame) * George Taliaferro, Indiana (College Football Hall of Fame) * Don Doll, USC *Elwyn Rowan, Army * Jake Leicht, Oregon *

Terry Brennan Terence Patrick Brennan (June 11, 1928 – September 7, 2021) was an American college football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at the University of Notre Dame from 1954 to 1958, compiling a record of 32–18. Early life ...

, Notre Dame * Harry Szulborski, Purdue

Key

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

Official selections

* AFCA =

, published in the ''

Saturday Evening Post ''The Saturday Evening Post'' is an American magazine published six times a year. It was published weekly from 1897 until 1963, and then every other week until 1969. From the 1920s to the 1960s, it was one of the most widely circulated and influ ...

'' * AP =

* CO = ''

'', selected by

* FWAA =

* 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.

(Hearst newspaper syndicate) * NEA =

, based on a consensus of coaches, scouts, officials, opposing players, and "others qualified to judge players and accurately weigh their value." * SN = ''

'' * UP =

Other selectors

* CP =

, selected with the assistance of the nation's football captains. * WC =

References

{{College Football All-America Teams All-America Team College Football All-America Teams