1932 Jefferson Rangers football team

The 1932 Jefferson Rangers football team was an American football team that represented Jefferson University (formerly known as Jefferson School of Law) during the 1932 college football season. During the offseason of 1932, Jefferson hired Nick Dobbs from local Highland Park High School as its new head coach. Jim Hamrick was the team captain and the team played its home games mostly at Fair Park Stadium in Dallas.

1932 Jefferson Rangers football
Conference	Independent
1932 record	8–0
Head coach	Nick Dobbs (1st season)
Offensive scheme	Notre Dame
Captain	Jim Hamrick
Home stadium	Fair Park Stadium

1932 Southern college football independents records
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
Jefferson			–					8	–	0	–	0
Catholic University			–					6	–	1	–	1
South Georgia Teachers			–					6	–	2	–	0
Western Maryland			–					5	–	1	–	2
George Washington			–					6	–	2	–	1
Texas Mines			–					7	–	3	–	0
William & Mary Norfolk			–					6	–	3	–	1
Delaware			–					5	–	4	–	0
West Virginia			–					5	–	5	–	0
Georgetown			–					2	–	6	–	1
Navy			–					2	–	6	–	1
East Carolina			–					0	–	5	–	0
Oglethorpe			–							–

Scouring the country Dobbs brought some of the best players in the country to create a competitive team, playing mostly smaller and medium colleges in the southwestern U.S. Known as the Bobcats in 1931, Dobbs re-branded them as the Rangers for the 1932 season.[1][2][3]

In its third season of intercollegiate football, Jefferson compiled an 8–0 record, including a stunning victory over Oklahoma A&M, 12–6, at the Fair Park Stadium in Dallas. Coaches from other schools were suspicious of the sudden transformation of the Jefferson team from one that just two years earlier had lost to a private boys prep school, but now had beaten Oklahoma A&M, as well as other strong, smaller-college teams such as Oklahoma City and Phillips. Texas and SMU cancelled games for their freshmen teams against Jefferson, and other schools chose to avoid playing them because of concerns that the Rangers were a semi-pro team, and since Jefferson did not belong to a conference, there was no institutional oversight to ensure the eligibility of players.

In early December 1932, Andrew Priest, the founder and president of Jefferson declared that the team was being ejected from the university for the eligibility issues and the failure of most of the players to attend classes. Undeterred, Dobbs declared the Rangers a free-agent football team and re-branded them as the "Dallas Rangers". Seeking a challenge match, he secured one against the runners-up of the National Football League (NFL), the Portsmouth Spartans (now known as the Detroit Lions), to be played, as part of a barnstorming tour by the Spartans, on New Year's Day, 1933.[4]

After a warm-up game in Texarkana, Texas against Texarkana Junior College, a 44–14 win, the Rangers played the Spartans in the Fair Park Stadium on January 1, losing 21–0.[5][6] Six weeks later, Dobbs took his team to the executives who ran Somerville Law School in Dallas, and created an entirely new college called Dixie University, centered around the football team, and again re-branded his team, this time as the Dixie Rebels, putting together an 11-game college football slate for the 1933 fall season.[7]

Jefferson was opened in 1919 as a law school by Andrew J. Priest in downtown Dallas. One of its early faculty members was Judge Sarah T. Hughes. The school achieved some success training lawyers and had a high graduation rate and most students successfully passed the bar exam. Jefferson was re-branded as Jefferson University in 1931 as it added additional colleges such as engineering, liberal arts, business, commerce, and secretarial training.[8]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 16	Southeastern Oklahoma State	Fair Park Stadium Dallas, TX	W 13–0	6,000	[9]
September 23	Oklahoma City	Fair Park Stadium Dallas, TX	W 20–12	5,000	[10]
September 29	Simmons (TX)	Fair Park Stadium Dallas, TX	W 20–0	3,000	[11]
October 7	Weatherford	Highland Park Stadium University Park, TX	W 39–6	2,000	[12]
October 11	Kelly Field	Fair Park Stadium Dallas, TX	W 37–6	5,000	[13]
October 28	at Central State (OK)	Edmond, OK	W 13–6	5,000	[14]
November 11	Oklahoma A&M	Fair Park Stadium Dallas, TX	W 12–6	4,500	[15]
November 17	Phillips	Fair Park Stadium Dallas, TX	W 26–6	500	[16]

References

1. "Dobbs Plans to Build Big Time Grid Team at Jefferson U.". The Dallas Morning News. April 3, 1932. p. 3 – via Newsbank .
2. George White (August 4, 1932). "The Sports Broadcast". The Dallas Morning News. p. 10 – via Newsbank .
3. "New Men Bolster Jefferson Squad". The Dallas Morning News. August 22, 1932. p. 4 – via Newsbank .
4. "Dobbs Gridmen Start Practice". The Dallas Morning News. December 20, 1932. p. 20 – via Newsbank .
5. "Coach Dobbs' Smooth Running Team Beats Texarkana, 44 to14". The Dallas Morning News. December 27, 1932. p. 3 – via Newsbank .
6. "Spartans Beat Rangers, 21-0". The Dallas Morning News. January 2, 1933. p. 2 – via Newsbank .
7. "Strike Up Dixie! Rebels Are On Their Way; Nick Dobbs Plans Brand-New Gridiron Circus". The Dallas Morning News. February 19, 1933. p. 3 – via Newsbank .
8. "Jefferson University". Lost Colleges. Retrieved September 21, 2020.
9. "Jefferson Rangers Open Local Grid Season With 13-to-0 Win Over Savages". The Dallas Morning News. September 17, 1932. p. 5 – via Newsbank .
10. "Jefferson Rangers Continue Winning Streak by Stopping Oklahoma City Goldbug Team". The Dallas Morning News. September 24, 1932. p. 2 – via Newsbank .
11. "Jefferson Rangers Add Simmons Cowboys to List of Victims; Score, 20-0". The Dallas Morning News. September 30, 1932. p. 11 – via Newsbank .
12. "Weatherford Junior College Trounced by Jefferson, 39-6". The Fort Worth Star-Telegram. October 8, 1932. p. 10 – via Newsbank .
13. "Jefferson Rangers Ride to Smashing 37-6 Victory Over Kelly Field Flyers". The Dallas Morning News. October 12, 1932. p. 14 – via Newsbank .
14. "Rangers Defeat Edmond, 13-6". The Dallas Morning News. October 30, 1932. p. 2 – via Newsbank .
15. "Rangers Come From Behind to Beat Aggies". The Dallas Morning News. November 12, 1932. p. 14 – via Newsbank .
16. "Rangers Wind Up Schedule With Perfect Record, Beating Phillips, 26 to 6". The Dallas Morning News. November 18, 1932. p. 2 – via Newsbank .