1947 New Hampshire Wildcats football team

The 1947 New Hampshire Wildcats football team was an American football team that represented the University of New Hampshire as a member of the Yankee Conference during the 1947 college football season. In its second year under head coach Bill Glassford, the team compiled an 8–1 record (4–0 against conference opponents), won the Yankee Conference championship, and outscored opponents by a total of 255 to 59. The team's only loss was to the Toledo Rockets in the second annual Glass Bowl game.^[2]

1947 New Hampshire Wildcats football
Yankee Conference champion
Glass Bowl, L 14–20 vs. Toledo
Conference	Yankee Conference
Record	8–1 (4–0 Yankee)
Head coach	Bill Glassford (2nd season)
Offensive scheme	T formation
Captain	Clayton Lane & Ernie Rainey[1]
Home stadium	Lewis Field
Seasons ← 1946 1948 →

1947 Yankee Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
New Hampshire $	4	–	0	–	0			8	–	1	–	0
Maine	2	–	1	–	0			6	–	1	–	0
Connecticut	1	–	2	–	0			2	–	4	–	0
Rhode Island State	1	–	3	–	0			3	–	4	–	0
Massachusetts	0	–	1	–	1			3	–	4	–	1
Vermont	0	–	1	–	1			3	–	4	–	1
$ – Conference champion

In the final Litkenhous Ratings released in mid-December, New Hampshire was ranked at No. 125 out of 500 college football teams.^[3]

This was the inaugural season of competition in the Yankee Conference, which had been formed in December 1946.^[4] Quarterback Bruce Mather led the team on offense, which used a T formation scheme.^[5] Mather, back Carmen Ragonese, and tackle Clayton Lane were each selected in the 1948 NFL draft.^[6] Ragonese, Mather, co-captain Ernest Rainey, and co-captain Lane were each inducted to the university's athletic hall of fame in 1982, 1984, 1986, and 1988, respectively; the 1947 team was inducted as a whole in 2001.^[7]

The team played its home games at Lewis Field (also known as Lewis Stadium) in Durham, New Hampshire.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 27	Colby*	Lewis Stadium Durham, NH	W 28–0	6,500	[8]
October 4	at Rhode Island State	Meade Field Kingston, RI	W 33–7	3,000	[9]
October 11	Maine	Lewis Stadium Durham, NH (rivalry)	W 28–7	7,500	[10]
October 18	at Springfield*	Pratt Field Springfield, MA	W 21–7		[11]
October 25	Vermont	Lewis Stadium Durham, NH	W 28–6	5,000	[12][1]
November 1	at Northeastern*	Huntington Field Brookline, MA	W 55–6	3,000	[13]
November 8	Tufts*	Lewis Stadium Durham, NH	W 34–0	8,000	[14]
November 15	at Connecticut	Gardner Dow Field Storrs, CT	W 14–6	5,500	[15]
December 6	at Toledo*	Glass Bowl Toledo, OH (Glass Bowl)	L 14–20	13,500	[16]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Source: [17]

Wildcat co-captain Clayton Lane went on to play in one professional football game, with the New York Yankees of the All-America Football Conference in 1948.^[18] He later was a civil engineer in the United States Army Corps of Engineers for 32 years;^[19][20] he died in January 2000 at age 77.^[21] Co-captain Ernie Rainey became a salesman and later vice president of sales for Stihl chainsaws;^[22] he died in November 2011 at age 89.^[23]

References

1. The Granite. Durham, New Hampshire: University of New Hampshire. 1948. pp. 236–240. Archived from the original on December 16, 2019. Retrieved December 15, 2019 – via library.unh.edu.
2. "2017 New Hampshire Media Guide". University of New Hampshire. 2017. Retrieved February 4, 2018.
3. Dr. E. E. Litkenhous (December 18, 1947). "Michigan National Champion in Final Litkenhous Ratings". Times. p. 47 – via Newspapers.com.
4. "N.E. Conference Formed Among Six Colleges". The Berkshire Eagle. Pittsfield, Massachusetts. AP. December 18, 1946. p. 20. Retrieved December 1, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
5. "Northeastern to Take to Air, Hope for Best Against N. H." The Boston Globe. November 1, 1947. p. 4. Retrieved December 2, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
6. "Colleges Beginning With N". DraftHistory.com. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
7. "Hall of Fame". unhwildcats.com. Retrieved November 29, 2019.
8. "Mather Sparks New Hampshire to 28-0 Triumph Over Colby". The Boston Globe. September 28, 1947. p. 31 – via Newspapers.com.
9. "Mather Sparks New Hampshire Over Rams, 33-7". The Boston Globe. October 5, 1947. p. 31 – via Newspapers.com.
10. "Mather's Aerials Pace N.H. to 28-7 Win Over Maine". The Boston Globe. October 12, 1947. p. 28 – via Newspapers.com.
11. Vic Wall (October 19, 1947). "N.H. Air Attack Overhauls Springfield, 21-17". The Boston Globe. p. 28 – via Newspapers.com.
12. "New Hampshire 28-6 Winner; Stays Unbeaten". The Boston Globe. October 26, 1947. p. 28 – via Newspapers.com.
13. Clif Keane (November 2, 1947). "Unbeaten New Hampshire Eleven Crushes Northeastern, 55 to 6". The Boston Globe. pp. 29–30 – via Newspapers.com.
14. Ed Shea (November 9, 1947). "N.H. Cruises, 34-0, at Tufts' Expense". The Boston Globe. p. 30 – via Newspapers.com.
15. Frank Keyes (November 16, 1947). "Wildcats Down Huskies For Undefeated Season". The Hartford Courant. pp. C1, C5 – via Newspapers.com.
16. "Toledo U Scores Early To Win Glass Bowl Game, 20-14". Akron Beacon Journal. December 7, 1947. p. 3C – via Newspapers.com.
17. "New Hampshire Game by Game Results". College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on October 29, 2016. Retrieved November 29, 2019 – via Wayback Machine.
18. Bailey, David (December 10, 2014). "UNH Wildcats (1947-48)". Gridiron Garb. Retrieved February 1, 2020.
19. Harrington, Gary (November 4, 1988). "Clayton Lane to be inducted into UNH Hall of Fame tonight". Brattleboro Reformer. Brattleboro, Vermont. p. 15. Retrieved February 1, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
20. Harrington, Gary (November 4, 1988). "Lane". Brattleboro Reformer. Brattleboro, Vermont. p. 16. Retrieved February 1, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
21. "Clayton Lane". profootballarchives.com. Retrieved February 1, 2020.
22. Crader, Stan (June 20, 2016). "The First Man of Stihl – Sort of". stancrader.com. Retrieved February 1, 2020.
23. "Ernest A. Rainey Jr". seacoastonline.com. November 30, 2011. Retrieved February 1, 2020.

Further reading

• "Wildcats' Win Streak Broken In 20-14 Duel". The Capital. Annapolis, Maryland. AP. December 7, 1947. Retrieved November 25, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
• "Toledo Passes Shatter New Hampshire in Glass Bowl, 20-14". Detroit Free Press. UP. December 7, 1947. Retrieved November 25, 2019 – via newspapers.com.