1939 Santa Clara Broncos football team

The 1939 Santa Clara Broncos football team represented Santa Clara University as an independent during the 1939 college football season. In their fourth season under head coach Buck Shaw, the Broncos compiled a 5–1–3 record, outscored opponents by a total of 117 to 40, and were ranked No. 14 in the final AP Poll.^[1] They ranked at No. 25 in the final Litkenhous Ratings.^[2]

1939 Santa Clara Broncos football
Conference	Independent
Ranking
AP	No. 14
Record	5–1–3
Head coach	Buck Shaw (4th season)
Home stadium	Kezar Stadium, Seals Stadium
Seasons ← 1938 1940 →

1939 Western college football independents records

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
San Diego Marines			–					11	–	0	–	0
No. T–14 Santa Clara			–					5	–	1	–	3
Gonzaga			–					6	–	2	–	0
Humboldt State			–					5	–	2	–	0
Idaho Southern Branch			–					5	–	2	–	0
Cal Poly			–					4	–	4	–	1
San Francisco			–					4	–	3	–	3
La Verne			–					3	–	3	–	0
Saint Mary's			–					3	–	4	–	1
Hawaii			–					3	–	6	–	0
Loyola (CA)			–					2	–	6	–	1
San Francisco State			–					2	–	4	–	2
Portland			–					1	–	5	–	1
Rankings from AP Poll

After going winless in its first three games (one loss and two ties), the team went undefeated in the final six games, including victories over Purdue, Stanford, and Michigan State, and a scoreless tie with No. 11 UCLA.

Santa Clara center John Schiechl was a consensus pick on the 1939 College Football All-America Team. End Bill Anahu was named to the second team by the International News Service. Schiechl and Anahu were also both first-team picks on the 1939 All-Pacific Coast football team.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 30	at Utah		Ute Stadium Salt Lake City, UT	T 7–7	15,500–17,000	[3][4]
October 6	Texas A&M		Seals Stadium San Francisco, CA	L 3–7	16,000	[5][6]
October 15	at San Francisco		San Francisco, CA	T 13–13	18,000	[7]
October 22	Saint Mary's		Kezar Stadium San Francisco, CA	W 7–0	45,000	[8]
October 28	Purdue		Kezar Stadium San Francisco, CA	W 13–6	20,000	[9]
November 4	at Stanford		Stanford Stadium Stanford, CA	W 27–7	40,000	[10]
November 11	Michigan State	No. 16	Kezar Stadium San Francisco, CA	W 6–0	18,000	[11]
November 18	at No. 11 UCLA	No. 14	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	T 0–0	50,000	[12]
November 26	at Loyola	No. 17	Gilmore Stadium Los Angeles, CA	W 41–0	10,000	[13]
Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

After the season

NFL draft

Main article: 1940 NFL draft

The following Broncos were drafted into the National Football League following the season.^[14][15][16]

Round	Pick	Player	Position	NFL Team
2	13	John Schiechl	Center	Philadelphia Eagles
8	65	Bob Anahu	End	Cleveland Rams
10	81	Jack Roche	Back	Chicago Cardinals
14	122	Nick Stublar	Tackle	Pittsburgh Steelers
15	133	Ray McCarthy	Back	Pittsburgh Steelers

References

1. "1939 Santa Clara Broncos Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 20, 2018.
2. E. E. Litkenhous (December 31, 1939). "Vols Second In Final Litkenhous Grid Rankings; Southern California Tenth". Johnson City Sunday Press. p. 11 – via Newspapers.com.
3. "Utes and Broncs Battle to 7-7 Deadlock: New 'Kick' in Offense Cheers Ute Backers". The Salt Lake Tribune. October 1, 1939. p. C1 – via Newspapers.com.
4. "Utes Get 7-7 Tie With Famed Coast Eleven". The Ogden Standard-Examiner. October 1, 1939. p. 9A – via Newspapers.com.
5. "Aggies Whip Broncos on Pugh Pass, 7-3". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. October 8, 1939. p. Sports 5 – via Newspapers.com.
6. "Texas Aggies Hand Broncs 7-3 Defeat". Oakland Tribune. October 7, 1939. pp. 12–13 – via Newspapers.com.
7. "Broncos Rally to Gain 13-13 Tie With S.F.U.". Los Angeles Times. October 16, 1939. p. II-9.
8. "Broncs Kill St. Mary's 'Sugar Bowl' Hopes". Oakland Tribune. October 23, 1939. pp. 11, 12 – via Newspapers.com.
9. "Purdue Coach Ranks Broncs With Notre Dame, Gophers". Oakland Tribune. October 29, 1939. pp. 11A, 15A – via Newspapers.com.
10. "Santa Clara Outsmarts, Outplays Stanford, 27 to 7". Oakland Tribune. November 5, 1939. pp. 9A, 11A – via Newspapers.com.
11. "Spartans Lose Pacific Coast Game, 6 to 0". The State Journal (Lansing, MI). November 12, 1939. pp. 1, 13 – via Newspapers.com.
12. Al Wolf (November 19, 1939). "Bruin, Bronco Elevens Battle to Scoreless Deadlock". Los Angeles Times. p. II-9 – via Newspapers.com.
13. Charles Curtis (November 27, 1939). "Buck's Broncs Ride Again as Lions Lose, 41-0". Los Angeles Times. p. II-9 – via Newspapers.com.
14. "1940 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved February 18, 2024.
15. "Santa Clara Players/Alumni". Retrieved March 30, 2017.
16. "Draft History: Santa Clara". Retrieved March 30, 2017.