The 1946 Tennessee A&I Tigers football team represented Tennessee Agricultural & Industrial State College as a member of the Midwest Athletic Association (MAA) during the 1946 college football season. In their third season under head coach Henry Kean, the Tigers compiled a 10–1 record, won the MAA championship, shut out six of eleven opponents, defeated West Virginia State in the Derby Bowl and Louisville Municipal in the Vulcan Bowl, and outscored all opponents by a total of 247 to 61.[1] The team played its home games at Tennessee State Stadium and Sulphur Dell in Nashville, Tennessee.
| 1946 Tennessee A&I Tigers football | |
|---|---|
Black college national co-champion MAA champion | |
Vulcan Bowl, W 32–0 vs. Louisville Municipal | |
| Conference | Midwest Athletic Association |
| Record | 10–1 (3–0 MAA) |
| Head coach |
|
| Home stadium | Sulphur Dell, Tennessee State Stadium |
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 1 Tennessee A&I $ | 3 | – | 0 | – | 0 | 10 | – | 1 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 4 Wilberforce | 1 | – | 1 | – | 1 | 5 | – | 2 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 7 Lincoln (MO) | 1 | – | 1 | – | 1 | 5 | – | 3 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 19 Kentucky State | 0 | – | 3 | – | 0 | 5 | – | 4 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Dickinson System rated Tennessee A&I as the No. 1 black college football team for 1946 with a score of 27.27, ahead of No. 2 Morgan State with a score of 26.0, No. 3 Tuskegee with a score of 25.0, and No. 4 Wilberforce with a score of 23.57.[2] The Pittsburgh Courier recognized Tennessee A&I and Morgan State as the 1946 black college national co-champions.
Key players included fullback Ralph Pulley.
Schedule
edit| Date | Opponent | Site | Result | Attendance | Source | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 27 | Texas College* | W 20–13 | 7,000 | [3][4] | |||
| October 5 | Langston* |
| W 27–0 | [5] | |||
| October 12 | Clark (GA)* |
| W 26–0 | 5,000 | [6] | ||
| October 26 | at Wilberforce | Xenia, OH | W 25–7 | 8,000 | [7] | ||
| November 2 | vs. North Carolina Central* | L 6–14 | 22,000 | [8] | |||
| November 9 | at Southern* | Scotlandville, LA | W 21–20 | ||||
| November 16 | Lincoln (MO)* | Nashville, TN | W 12–0 | [9] | |||
| November 23 | at Kentucky State | Frankfort, KY | W 19–0 | ||||
| November 28 | Knoxville* | Nashville, TN | W 32–0 | ||||
| December 7 | vs. West Virginia State* |
| W 27–7 | [10] | |||
| January 1, 1947 | vs. Louisville Municipal* | Birmingham, AL (Vulcan Bowl) | W 32–0 | 4,000 | [11] | ||
| |||||||
References
edit- ^ "Tennessee State Yearly Results (1945-1949)". College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on September 6, 2015. Retrieved December 2, 2019.
- ^ Lucius Jones (December 7, 1946). "Morgan Wins But Tennessee Is Still Tops". The Pittsburgh Courier. p. 17 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "State College Eleven Defeats Texas Combine". The Nashville Tennessean. September 28, 1946. p. 7 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Pulley in Hero Role As Texas Tumbles". The Pittsburgh Courier. October 5, 1946. p. 14 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "State Eleven Avenges 1945 Langston Loss". The Nashville Tennessean. October 6, 1946. p. 12C – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Tenn. State Sinks Clark: Tennessee State Tops Clark By 26-0 Margin". Alabama Tribune. October 18, 1946. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Wilberforce Is Defeated". Tulsa World. Tulsa, Oklahoma. International News Service. October 27, 1946. p. 2, sports section. Retrieved December 11, 2022 – via Newspapers.com
.
- ^ "22,000 See N.C. College Upset Tenn. State, 14-6: Under-rated Tarheels Smash A. & I. Forwards". Pittsburgh Courier. November 9, 1946. p. 12 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Tennessee State Stops Lincoln In Muddy Game". The Nashville Tennessean. November 17, 1946. p. 3C – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Tennessee State Wins Derby Bowl Game 27-6". The Courier-Journal. December 8, 1946. p. IV-4 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Municipal Loses 32 to 0 In Vulcan Bowl". The Courier-Journal. January 2, 1947. p. II-6 – via Newspapers.com.
