1946 William & Mary Indians football team

The 1946 William & Mary Indians football team was an American football team that represented the College of William & Mary as a member of the Southern Conference (SoCon) during the 1946 college football season. In their third season under head coach Rube McCray, the Indians compiled an 8–2 record (7–1 against SoCon opponents), finished in second place in the SoCon, and outscored all opponents by a total of 347 to 71.[1]

1946 William & Mary Indians football
ConferenceSouthern Conference
Record8–2 (7–1 SoCon)
Head coach
CaptainDenver Mills
Home stadiumCary Field
Seasons
← 1945
1947 →
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

William & Mary ranked third nationally among major colleges in scoring offense with 34.7 point per game.[1] They also ranked 11th nationally in total offense with an average of 338.3 yards per game.[2] On defense, the team ranked ninth in scoring defense (7.1 point per game),[1] and 15th in total defense.[2]

Guard Knox Ramsey, younger brother of Buster Ramsey, was selected by both the Associated Press (AP) and United Press (UP) as a first-team player on the 1946 All-Southern Conference football team.[3][4] Ramsey also received third-team honors from the AP on the 1946 All-America college football team.[5] He was praised for his ability to get out of the line fast to lead interference and for his exceptional downfield blocking.[5]

Back Jack Cloud led the team, and ranked 23rd nationally, in scoring with 66 points on 11 touchdowns.[6] Cloud also received first-team honors from the AP and UP on the 1946 All-Southern Conference team. Others receiving all-conference honors were back Tommy Korczowski (AP-3, UP-2), end Robert Steckroth (AP-2, UP-3), tackle Ralph Sazio (AP-2), and center Tommy Thompson (AP-3).[3][4]

William & Mary was ranked at No. 30 in the final Litkenhous Difference by Score System rankings for 1946.[7]

Schedule

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DateOpponentRankSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 21Fort McClellan*W 61–05,000[8]
September 27at Miami (FL)*L 3–1329,562[9]
October 5at The CitadelW 51–12[10]
October 12VPI
  • Cary Field
  • Williamsburg, VA
W 49–014,000–15,000[11][12]
October 19vs. Washington and LeeNo. 19W 34–189,000[13]
October 26VMI No. 18
  • Cary Field
  • Williamsburg, VA (rivalry)
W 41–0[14]
November 2Maryland
  • Cary Field
  • Williamsburg, VA
W 41–7[15]
November 9vs. No. 17 North CarolinaL 7–2118,000[16]
November 16at George WashingtonW 20–0[17]
November 28at Richmond
W 40–017,500[18]
  • *Non-conference game
  •  Homecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Rankings

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Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked
Week
Poll12345678Final
AP1918

NFL Draft selections

edit
= Pro Football Hall of Fame = Canadian Football Hall of Fame = College Football Hall of Fame
NFL Draft Selections 
# Year Round Pick Overall Name Team Position
14 1947 13 2 108 Bob Steckroth Washington Redskins End
15 1947 28 3 258 Ralph Sazio Pittsburgh Steelers Tackle

References

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  1. ^ a b c "1946 William & Mary Tribe Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved May 21, 2022.
  2. ^ a b W.J. Bingham, ed. (1947). The Official National Collegiate Athletic Association Football Guide including the Official Rules 1947. A.S. Barnes and Company. p. 73.
  3. ^ a b "All-Southern Conference". Daily Press. Newport News, Virginia. December 1, 1946. p. 13 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ a b Warren Duffee (November 27, 1946). "Three Duke Men Make All-Conference Team". The Durham Sun. p. 10 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ a b Ted Smits (December 4, 1946). "Davis, Blanchard Named on AP All-America For Third Straight Year; Irish Granted Two Places; William & Mary's Knox Ramsey Wins 3d Team berth at Guard". Richmond News Leader. p. 24 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ W.J. Bingham, ed. (1947). The Official National Collegiate Athletic Association Football Guide including the Official Rules 1947. A.S. Barnes and Company. p. 89.
  7. ^ Dr. E. E. Litkenhous (December 15, 1946). "Rice Rated Fifth Best, Tennessee 12th by Lit". The Knoxville News-Sentinel. p. B4 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ Robert Moore (September 22, 1946). "Indians' Power-Laden Grid Machine Rolls Over Fort M'Clellan, 61-0". Daily Press. p. B1 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ Luther Evans (September 28, 1946). "Miami Takes W and M By 13 To 3: Record 29,562 Crowd Sees Bowl Opener". The Miami Herald. pp. 1A, 9A – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Furman, Citadel Lose: W and M Gets Early Jump To Defeat Cadet 51-12". The State. Columbia, South Carolina. October 6, 1946. p. 12. Retrieved January 17, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Powerful Indian Eleven Tramples Gobblers, 49–0" (PDF). The Flat Hat. College of William & Mary. October 15, 1946. p. 5. Retrieved February 1, 2016.
  12. ^ Lloyd Haynew Williams (October 13, 1946). "W-M Indians Surprise VPI With 49 To 0 Win". Daily Press. Newport News, Virginia. p. 17 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "W&M Chalks Up Its 3rd Conference Win, 34 To 18". Daily Press. Newport News, Virginia. October 20, 1946. pp. Sports 1, 3 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "W&M crushes Keydets 41 to 0 at homecoming". Daily Press. October 27, 1946. Retrieved January 3, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ Lloyd H. Williams (November 3, 1946). "W&M Ends Terps' 'T' Party 41-7". Daily Press. Newport News, Virginia. p. B1 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ Chauncey Durden (November 10, 1946). "Tarheels Down W&M, 21-7: Carolina Conquers Indians Before 18,000 at Stadium". Richmond Times-Dispatch. pp. 6B, 11B – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ^ "Braves topple GW 20–0". Daily Press. November 17, 1946. Retrieved May 19, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ^ Chauncey Durden (November 29, 1946). "Indians Flatten Spiders, 40 to 0, to Win State Championship: Tribe's Magdziak Passes For Three Touchdowns; Cloud Hikes Total to 66". Richmond Times-Dispatch. p. 16 – via Newspapers.com.