1939 Gonzaga Bulldogs football team

The 1939 Gonzaga Bulldogs football team was an American football team that represented Gonzaga University during the 1939 college football season. In their first year under head coach Puggy Hunton, the Bulldogs compiled a 6–2 record, shut out five of their last six opponents, and outscored all opponents by a total of 100 to 45. Among its victories, Gonzaga defeated two Pacific Coast Conference teams, including an undefeated Oregon team that was ranked No. 11 prior to the game.^[1]

1939 Gonzaga Bulldogs football
Conference	Independent
Record	6–2
Head coach	Puggy Hunton (1st season)
Home stadium	Gonzaga 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

The team was led by backfield star Tony Canadeo who later played 11 seasons for the Green Bay Packers and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Gonzaga was ranked at No. 80 (out of 609 teams) in the final Litkenhous Ratings for 1939.^[2]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 23	at Washington State	Rogers Field Pullman, WA	L 6–19	5,000	[3]
October 1	at Saint Mary's	Kezar Stadium San Francisco	L 0–19		[4]
October 7	at Texas Tech	Tech Field Lubbock, TX	W 6–0	9,000	[5]
October 13	Idaho	Gonzaga Stadium Spokane, WA (rivalry)	W 19–0		[6]
October 21	at No. 11 Oregon	Hayward Field Eugene, OR	W 12–7	5,500	[7]
November 11	at Montana	Dornblaser Field Missoula, MT	W 23–0		[8]
November 18	Eastern Washington	Gonzaga Stadium Spokane, WA	W 27–0		[9]
November 26	at Portland	Portland, OR	W 7–0		[10]
Rankings from Coaches' Poll released prior to the game

References

1. "1939 Gonzaga Bulldogs Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 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. "Cougars Beat Gonzaga With 19 to 6 Count". The Great Falls Tribune. September 24, 1939. p. 12 – via Newspapers.com.
4. Alan Ward (October 2, 1939). "Gaels' 19-0 Win Over Zags Indicates Need of Kicker". Oakland Tribune. p. 11 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "Gonzaga Evens Count With Texas Tech In 6 To 0 Triumph Over Red Raiders". The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. October 8, 1939. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com.
6. "Gonzaga Turns Back Idaho In Close Contest". The Ogden Standard-Examiner. October 14, 1939. p. 5 – via Newspapers.com.
7. Dick Strite (October 22, 1939). "Fighting Gonzaga Bulldog Team Stops Oregon Winning Streak In Major Coast Upset By Posting 12 to 7 Victory". Eugene Register-Guard. pp. 1–2 – via Newspapers.com.
8. "Gonzaga Beats Grizzlies 23 to 0 on Sheer Power". The Missoulian. November 12, 1939. pp. 1, 7 – via Newspapers.com.
9. "Gonzaga Wins, 22-0". Oakland Tribune. November 19, 1939. p. 14 – via Newspapers.com.
10. "Gonzaga Takes Portland, 7-0 on Muddy Field". The Missoulian. November 27, 1939. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.