1939 Ole Miss Rebels football team

The 1939 Ole Miss Rebels football team represented the University of Mississippi in the 1939 college football season.^[1] The Rebels were led by second-year head coach Harry Mehre and played their home games at Hemingway Stadium in Oxford, Mississippi. After winning their first three games of the season, Ole Miss made their first ever appearance in the AP Poll. Their victory over rival Vanderbilt was also their first ever; they had lost the first 19 match-ups in the series over a 45-year span. They would finish with a record of 7–2 (2–2 SEC), to finish fifth in the Southeastern Conference.

1939 Ole Miss Rebels football
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Record	7–2 (2–2 SEC)
Head coach	Harry Mehre (2nd season)
Captain	Bill Schneller
Home stadium	Hemingway Stadium
Seasons ← 1938 1940 →

1939 Southeastern Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 2 Tennessee +	6	–	0	–	0			10	–	1	–	0
No. 16 Georgia Tech +	6	–	0	–	0			8	–	2	–	0
No. 5 Tulane +	5	–	0	–	0			8	–	1	–	1
Mississippi State	3	–	2	–	0			8	–	2	–	0
Ole Miss	2	–	2	–	0			7	–	2	–	0
Kentucky	2	–	2	–	1			6	–	2	–	1
Auburn	3	–	3	–	1			5	–	5	–	1
Alabama	2	–	3	–	1			5	–	3	–	1
Georgia	1	–	3	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
LSU	1	–	5	–	0			4	–	5	–	0
Vanderbilt	1	–	6	–	0			2	–	7	–	1
Florida	0	–	3	–	1			5	–	5	–	1
Sewanee	0	–	3	–	0			3	–	5	–	0
+ – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

Ole Miss was not ranked in the final AP poll, but it was ranked at No. 35 in the 1939 Williamson System ratings,^[2] and at No. 17 in the Litkenhous Ratings.^[3]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 30	at LSU		Tiger Stadium Baton Rouge, LA (rivalry)	W 14–7		[4]
October 7	at Southwestern (TN)*		Crump Stadium Memphis, TN	W 41–0	12,000	[5]
October 14	at Centenary*		Centenary College Stadium Shreveport, LA	W 34–0	7,500	[6]
October 21	Saint Louis*	No. 17	Hemingway Stadium Oxford, MS	W 42–0		[7]
October 28	at No. 9 Tulane	No. 14	Tulane Stadium New Orleans, LA (rivalry)	L 6–18	37,000	[8]
November 4	vs. Vanderbilt		Crump Stadium Memphis, TN (rivalry)	W 14–7	12,000	[9]
November 11	at Mississippi State Teachers*	No. 19	Faulkner Field Hattiesburg, MS	W 27–7		[10]
November 18	West Tennessee State*		Hemingway Stadium Oxford, MS (rivalry)	W 46–7	4,000	[11]
November 25	Mississippi State		Hemingway Stadium Oxford, MS (Egg Bowl)	L 6–18	20,000	[12]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

References

1. "1939 Ole Miss Rebels Schedule and Results". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved May 24, 2017.
2. Paul Williamson (December 8, 1941). "Texas Aggies Ranked Nation's Top". The Atlanta Constitution. p. 26 – via Newspapers.com.
3. 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.
4. "Mississippi repeats victory over L.S.U. in inaugural, 14 to 7". The Commercial Appeal. October 1, 1939. Retrieved September 30, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "Mississippi in Front: Crushes Southwestern by 41-0 on Memphis Gridiron". New York Times. October 8, 1939. p. 89.
6. "Rebels Swamp Centenary, 34-0". The Atlanta Constitution. October 15, 1939. p. 5B.
7. Billy Gates (October 22, 1939). "Ole Miss And State Romp Hard On Homecoming Foes". Daily Clarion-Ledger. pp. 1, 15 – via Newspapers.com.
8. "Kellogg's great runs send Tulane bounding over Ole Miss, 18 to 6". The Commercial Appeal. October 29, 1939. Retrieved April 10, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
9. "Mississippi Defeats Vandy After 45 Years". The Washington Post. November 5, 1939. p. SP4.
10. "Rebels overpower Fighting Jackets in hub tilt 27–7". The Clarion-Ledger. November 12, 1939. Retrieved April 1, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
11. "Rebels use only straight football to trounce Teachers". The Clarion-Ledger. November 19, 1939. Retrieved September 22, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
12. "Mississippi State downs Ole Miss, 18–6". Tampa Sunday Tribune. November 26, 1939. Retrieved September 30, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.