1947 Maryland Terrapins football team

The 1947 Maryland Terrapins football team represented the University of Maryland in 1947 college football season as a member of the Southern Conference (SoCon).

1947 Maryland Terrapins football
Gator Bowl, T 20–20 vs. Georgia
ConferenceSouthern Conference
Record7–2–2 (4–2–1 SoCon)
Head coach
Offensive schemeSplit-T
CaptainGeorge Simler
Home stadiumByrd Stadium (original)
Seasons
← 1946
1948 →
1947 Southern Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 14 William & Mary $ 7 1 0 9 2 0
No. 9 North Carolina 4 1 0 8 2 0
South Carolina 4 1 1 6 2 1
No. 19 Duke 3 1 1 4 3 2
Washington and Lee 3 2 0 5 5 0
Maryland 3 2 1 7 2 2
No. 17 NC State 3 2 1 5 3 1
VPI 4 3 0 4 5 0
Davidson 3 3 1 6 3 1
Wake Forest 3 4 0 6 4 0
VMI 2 3 1 3 5 1
Clemson 1 3 0 4 5 0
The Citadel 1 4 0 3 5 0
Furman 1 4 0 2 7 0
Richmond 1 5 0 3 7 0
George Washington 0 4 0 1 7 1
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

Jim Tatum served as the first-year head coach and replaced Clark Shaughnessy who had been asked to resign. Tatum replaced Shaughnessy's pass-oriented version of the T formation with the option-heavy split-T offense. During his nine-year tenure at College Park, Tatum would become the winningest coach in school history. In 1947, he got off to a good start and significantly improved from Shaughnessy's 3–6 record of the season prior.

The highlight of the season was a berth in the 1948 Gator Bowl, the first postseason game in school history. NCAA-scoring leader Lu Gambino ran for 165 yards and scored all three touchdowns for Maryland. The game ultimately ended in a stalemate.

Maryland was ranked at No. 45 (out of 500 college football teams) in the final Litkenhous Ratings for 1947.[1]

Schedule edit

DateOpponentSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 27at South CarolinaW 19–1313,000[2]
October 3Delaware*W 43–1916,460[3]
October 10Richmond
  • Byrd Stadium
  • College Park, MD
W 18–6[4]
October 18at No. 17 DukeL 7–1920,000[5]
October 25at VPIW 21–1912,500[6]
November 1West Virginia* 
  • Byrd Stadium
  • College Park, MD (rivalry)
W 27–016,500[7]
November 8at DuquesneW 32–0[8]
November 15vs. No. 19 North CarolinaL 0–1922,000[9]
November 22at Vanderbilt*W 20–620,000[10]
November 29NC State
  • Byrd Stadium
  • College Park, MD
T 0–014,000[11]
January 1Georgia*T 20–2021,000[12]
  • *Non-conference game
  •  Homecoming
  • Rankings from Coaches' Poll released prior to the game

Personnel edit

Roster edit

The Maryland roster for the 1947 season consisted of the following players:[13][14]

Coaching staff edit

Game summaries edit

South Carolina edit

Gambino scored three touchdowns and Maryland firmly held the momentum for the first three quarters. In the final period, South Carolina mounted a comeback attempt. Maryland player Gene Kinney intercepted a pass on the Terrapin 31-yard line to secure the victory, 19–13.[15]

Delaware edit

Delaware entered the game atop a 32-game winning streak. Gambino again scored three touchdowns, with others added by Davis, Idzik, and Targarona. The Blue Hens responded to an 88-yard touchdown run by Gambino with a 90-yard score by Cole.[16]

Richmond edit

Maryland avenged the previous season's loss to Richmond. Gambino scored twice and completed a pass to Simler for the third touchdown.[17]

Duke (#17) edit

Maryland fumbles and interceptions helped Duke snap the three-game winning streak. Vernon Seibert scored the Terrapins' only score of the day. It was also the first touchdown ever scored by Maryland against Duke.[18]

VPI edit

VPI scored twice in the first quarter after Maryland penalties and a turnover. In the fourth quarter, Maryland mounted a two-touchdown rally to spoil VPI's homecoming, 21–19. The decisive scores were due to a long Vic Turyn pass to Simler and a 32-yard dash by Idzik. McHugh made all three point after touchdown kicks, which proved to be the margin of victory.[19]

West Virginia edit

Duquesne edit

North Carolina (#19) edit

Vanderbilt edit

North Carolina State edit

Georgia (Gator Bowl) edit

1 2 3 4 Total
Maryland 0 7 13 0 20
Georgia 0 0 7 13 20

Awards edit

Lu Gambino was selected as a first-team All-Southern Conference back.[20][21] Gambino and Eugene Kinney were named honorable mention All-Americans.[21]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ Dr. E. E. Litkenhous (December 18, 1947). "Michigan National Champion in Final Litkenhous Ratings". Times. p. 47 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ "Maryland Shades Gamecocks, 19-13". Greenville News. September 28, 1947. pp. Sports 1–2 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Maryland Wins, 43-19, To Shatter Delaware Streak". Wilmington Morning News. October 4, 1947. pp. 1, 15 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Maryland Defeats Richmond, 18-6". The Baltimore Sun. October 11, 1947. p. 11 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ Warren Duffee (October 19, 1947). "Duke And UNC Roll To Victories: Fred Folger Punts, Passes And Runs Devils To 19 To 7 Victory Over Big Maryland". Asheville Citizen-Times. p. D1 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Fourth Period Brings Defeat For Gobblers". The Staunton News Leader. October 26, 1947 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Maryland Beats W.Va. Eleven, 27-0". The Baltimore Sun. November 2, 1947. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ Carl Hughes (November 9, 1947). "Dukes Walloped by Maryland, 32-0". The Pittsburgh Press. p. 29 – via newspapers.com.
  9. ^ C.M. Gibbs (November 16, 1947). "North Carolina Downs University of Maryland, 19 To 0". The Baltimore Sun. pp. Sports 1–2 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ Raymond Johnson (November 23, 1947). "Rugged Terrapins Stun Vandy With 20-6 Upset". The Nashville Tennessean. pp. 1C, 4C – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Maryland and North Carolina Play To 0-0 Tie". The Baltimore Sun. November 30, 1947. p. Sports 1 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ F. M. Williams (January 2, 1948). "Georgia Ties Maryland, 20-20; Gambino Scores Three Times". The Atlanta Constitution. p. 9 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ Terrapin, University of Maryland Yearbook, Class of 1948, p. 237.
  14. ^ Year-By-Year Results Archived 2018-10-26 at the Wayback Machine, 2007 Terrapin Football Record Book, University of Maryland, p. 17–22, 2007, retrieved February 4, 2009.
  15. ^ Terrapin, University of Maryland yearbook, Class of 1948, p. 240.
  16. ^ Terrapin, University of Maryland yearbook, Class of 1948, p. 241.
  17. ^ Terrapin, University of Maryland yearbook, Class of 1948, p. 242.
  18. ^ Terrapin, University of Maryland yearbook, Class of 1948, p. 243.
  19. ^ Terrapin, University of Maryland yearbook, Class of 1948, p. 244.
  20. ^ Records (PDF), 2007 Southern Conference Football Media Guide, Southern Conference, p. 141–147, 2007, retrieved 6 October 2008.
  21. ^ a b All-Time Honors Archived 2011-05-23 at the Wayback Machine (PDF), 2001 Maryland Terrapins Football Media Guide, CBS Sports, retrieved 8 December 2008.