1946 VPI Gobblers football team

The 1946 VPI Gobblers football team represented Virginia Polytechnic Institute in the 1946 college football season. The team was led by their head coach Herbert McEver and finished with a record of three wins, four losses and three ties (3–4–3).

1946 VPI Gobblers football
Sun Bowl, L 6–18 vs. Cincinnati
Conference	Southern Conference
1946 record	3–4–3 (3–3–2 SoCon)
Head coach	James Kitts (2nd season)
Captain	William Elmer Wilson
Home stadium	Miles Stadium

1946 Southern Conference football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 9 North Carolina $	4	–	0	–	1			8	–	2	–	1
William & Mary	7	–	1	–	0			8	–	2	–	0
No. 18 NC State	6	–	1	–	0			8	–	3	–	0
South Carolina	4	–	2	–	0			5	–	3	–	0
Duke	3	–	2	–	0			4	–	5	–	0
Richmond	3	–	2	–	2			6	–	2	–	2
VPI	3	–	3	–	2			3	–	4	–	3
VMI	2	–	3	–	1			4	–	5	–	1
George Washington	1	–	1	–	0			4	–	3	–	0
Clemson	2	–	3	–	0			4	–	5	–	0
Wake Forest	2	–	3	–	0			6	–	3	–	0
Maryland	2	–	5	–	0			3	–	6	–	0
Furman	1	–	4	–	0			2	–	8	–	0
Washington and Lee	1	–	4	–	0			2	–	6	–	0
The Citadel	1	–	5	–	0			3	–	5	–	0
Davidson	1	–	5	–	0			4	–	5	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

During the 1946 season, VPI defeated the No. 12 NC State Wolfpack for the first win over an Associated Press Top 25 team in school history,[1] the Washington and Lee Generals, and the Gobblers' traditional rivals, the VMI Keydets.[2]

The 1946 season also included VPI's first post-season bowl appearance, in the 1947 Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas against the Cincinnati Bearcats.[3] VPI was the third choice after Border Conference champions, Hardin–Simmons, and runner-up, Texas Tech, both declined the bowl invitation.[4] VPI lost the game, 18–6.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance
September 28	2:30 p.m.[5]	at North Carolina	Kenan Memorial Stadium Chapel Hill, NC	T 14–14	26,000[6]
October 5		vs. Virginia*	Victory Stadium Roanoke, VA (rivalry)	T 21–21	20,000
October 12		at William & Mary	Cary Field Williamsburg, VA	L 0–49	14,000[7]
October 18		at Maryland	Byrd Stadium College Park, MD	L 0–6
October 26	2:30 p.m.[8]	No. 12 NC State	Miles Stadium Blacksburg, VA	W 14–6	13,000[9]
November 2		Clemson	Miles Stadium Blacksburg, VA	L 7–14	7,000[10]
November 9		vs. Washington and Lee	Municipal Stadium Lynchburg, VA	W 13–7	12,000[11]
November 16	2:30 p.m.[12]	at Richmond	City Stadium Richmond, VA	T 7–7
November 28		vs. VMI	Victory Stadium Roanoke, VA (rivalry)	W 20–7	24,000[13]–28,000[14]
January 1, 1947		vs. Cincinnati*	Kidd Field El Paso, TX (Sun Bowl)	L 6–18	10,000[3]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

• Source: HokieSports.com: 1946 Virginia Tech football schedule[15]

Players

The following players were members of the 1946 football team according to the roster published in the 1947 edition of The Bugle, the Virginia Tech yearbook.[16]

VPI 1946 roster
	Jim Adams Frank H. Ballard Billy Shelby Barbour Ralph Coe Beard Raymond Rucker Beasley Floyd Samuel Bowles Maynard Leon David Bruce Thomas Craig Burns Coy Lenard Chambers Pete "Chip" Collum Jack Cooke Stuart Covington Billy Patrick DeNardo F. DeNardo Richard T. DeShazo Charles Mugler Forbes		Nelson Fuller John E. "Jack" Gallagher John Eugene Gerngross Robert Hess Joseph William Hoffmann Jr. Oren Edward Hopkins Jack Ross Ittner Cary Kenyon Johnson Robert Edward Johnson Ted James Johnson Robert Stewart Kilbourne John Harry Kroehling Carl Leonard John James Maskas Augustus Paul Mengulas Ross Moore Orr		Horace Lee Pearce Erving Hascall Rand Frank Ransome Fred Ovid Shanks Bobby Smith Peter Smith Warren William Squires Bob Taylor Franklin Ray Taylor David Lacy Thomas W. Harry Walton Robert Franklin Webb Wegman William Elmer Wilson (Capt.) Gerhard Charles Zekert Paul Ethan "Zig" Zender

Season summary

1947 Sun Bowl

VPI vs. Cincinnati

1 2 3 4 Total VPI 0 0 0 6 6 • Cincinnati 0 0 12 6 18 Date: January 1, 1947 Location: Kidd Field El Paso, Texas Game attendance: 10,000 Source:[3]

During VPI's preparations before its departure for El Paso, heavy snow fell on Blacksburg, Virginia, forcing the team to use snowplows and construction equipment to clear a space for the team to practice.[17] The Gobblers traveled to El Paso without star punter and rusher Bobby Smith, who had been injured in Virginia Tech's final regular-season game.[18]

The game was played in extremely cold and icy conditions, still the worst in Sun Bowl history.[19] Three inches of snow fell on top of a layer of frozen rain the day before the game, and at kickoff the teams took the field under cloudy skies and in below-freezing temperatures.[3] Despite the inclement weather, 15,000-seat Kidd Field was approximately half full, and bowl officials estimated the crowd at around 10,000 people.[3]

Weather conditions allowed both teams' defenses to dominate in the first half. VPI had the best chance to score of either team in the first half when it drove to a first down inside the Cincinnati two-yard line late in the first quarter.[3] On four straight running plays, however, the Bearcats' defense held, and VPI was denied a scoring opportunity.[3]

In the second half, however, Cincinnati's offense managed to begin moving the ball effectively. On Cincinnati's first play of the second half, halfback Roger Stephens broke through the VPI defensive line for 26 yards, taking the ball inside VPI territory. Cincinnati's drive would overcome two 15-yard penalties and one five-yard penalty en route to a touchdown just a few plays later.[3] On its next possession, Cincinnati's All-American Roger Stephens again broke off another long run, this time for 19 yards, setting up another Bearcats' touchdown.[3] VPI countered with a long drive that reached the Cincinnati 23-yard line before an errant pass was intercepted by the Bearcats in the end zone. VPI managed a defensive stop, however, and marched down the field for a touchdown to climb within six points. Cincinnati sealed its victory, however, when Bearcats' halfback Harold Johnson intercepted a VPI pass late in the fourth quarter, returning it all the way to the VPI 25-yard line. That return set up a Cincinnati touchdown and put the Bearcats up by the game's final score, 18–6.[3]

References

1. The Hokies and the AP Ratings Archived 2009-10-08 at WebCite (PDF) Virginia Tech Sports Information, 2004 Football Media Guide Page 42. Accessed January 22, 2016.
2. Year-by-Year Scores and Results Archived 2009-10-08 at WebCite (PDF) "1946", Virginia Tech Sports Information, 2004 Football Media Guide Page 37. Accessed January 22, 2016.
3. "Football". hokiesports.com. January 1, 1947. Retrieved January 22, 2016.
4. Colston, Chris. Tales from the Virginia Tech Sidelines. Sports Publishing LLC, 2003. Page 26.
5. "Tar Heels Oppose VPI Eleven In 1946 Grid Opener Today". The Daily Tar Heel. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. September 28, 1946. p. 1. Retrieved September 6, 2018.
6. "VPI Gains 14-14 Tie With Late Surge". The Daily Tar Heel. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. September 29, 1946. p. 1. Retrieved September 6, 2018.
7. "Powerful Indian Eleven Tramples Gobblers, 49–0" (PDF). The Flat Hat. College of William & Mary. October 15, 1946. p. 5. Retrieved February 1, 2016.
8. "Gobblers Primed To Upset Favored Pack". The Technician. North Carolina State University. October 25, 1946. p. 4. Retrieved October 14, 2016.
9. "The Bugle 1947" (PDF). Virginia Tech Bugle. 1947. p. 183. Retrieved January 23, 2016.
10. "Tigers Stage Late Rally; Top Virginia Tech, 14-7". St. Petersburg Times. November 3, 1946. p. 34. Retrieved September 15, 2016 – via Google News Archives.
11. "Generals Falter in Closing Minutes To Drop Decision to VPI 13-7" (PDF). Ring-tum Phi. Washington and Lee University. November 15, 1946. p. 3. Retrieved February 1, 2016.
12. "Fenlon Men Fear Husky Gobbler Line". The Richmond Collegian. University of Richmond. November 15, 1946. p. 1. Retrieved August 15, 2016.
13. "The Bugle 1947" (PDF). Virginia Tech Bugle. 1947. p. 184. Retrieved January 23, 2016.
14. "Tech Takes V.M.I. 20 to 7; Mills Make A.P. All-State". The V.M.I. Cadet. Virginia Military Institute. December 2, 1946. p. 3. Retrieved February 2, 2016.
15. Virginia Tech Football Past Schedules "1946–1947". Virginia Tech Sports Information Department, Hokiesports.com. Accessed January 22, 2016.
16. "The Bugle 1947" (PDF). Virginia Tech Bugle. 1947. p. 180. Retrieved January 23, 2016.
17. Tech's Bowl History (PDF) Virginia Tech Sports Information Department, 2007 Virginia Tech Football Media Guide, Page 32. Accessed January 22, 2016.
18. Six Names To Tech Hall Of Fame Virginia Tech Sports Information Department, Hokiesports.com, July 31, 2000. Accessed January 22, 2016.
19. http://www.sunbowl.org/the_sun_bowl_game/recap/13 Referenced January 22, 2016.