1946 Syracuse Orangemen football team

The 1946 Syracuse Orangemen football team represented Syracuse University in the 1946 college football season. The Orangemen were led by head coach Clarence "Biggie" Munn, in his first and only year with the team. Munn left to take the head coaching position at Michigan State, where he would later win several national titles. The Orangemen compiled a record of 4–5 under Munn.^[3]

1946 Syracuse Orangemen football
Conference	Independent
Record	4–5
Head coach	Clarence Munn (1st season)
Captain	Richard Whitesell[1][2]
Home stadium	Archbold Stadium
Seasons ← 1945 1947 →

1946 Eastern major college football independents records

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 2 Army			–					9	–	0	–	1
Rutgers			–					7	–	2	–	0
Penn State			–					6	–	2	–	0
Boston College			–					6	–	3	–	0
Holy Cross			–					6	–	4	–	0
NYU			–					5	–	3	–	0
Villanova			–					6	–	4	–	0
Colgate			–					4	–	4	–	0
Syracuse			–					4	–	5	–	0
Pittsburgh			–					3	–	5	–	1
Temple			–					2	–	4	–	2
Merchant Marine			–					4	–	7	–	0
Bucknell			–					3	–	6	–	0
Lafayette			–					2	–	7	–	0
Fordham			–					0	–	7	–	0
Rankings from AP Poll

During the season Miami Hurricanes cancelled a scheduled game against the Penn State team as Miami officials felt that Penn State fielding their two African American in Miami could have led to "unfortunate incidents".^[4] Miami reportedly invited Syracuse to replace Penn State. This invitation was promptly declined and rebuked in an editorial in The Daily Orange, titled "No Thanks, Miami".^[5]

Syracuse was ranked at No. 63 in the final Litkenhous Difference by Score System rankings for 1946.^[6]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 28	Boston University	Archbold Stadium Syracuse, NY	W 41–6	32,000	[7]
October 5	at Dartmouth	Memorial Field Hanover, NH	L 14–20	10,000	[8]
October 12	Penn State	Archbold Stadium Syracuse, NY (rivalry)	L 0–9	10,000	[9]
October 19	at Holy Cross	Fitton Field Worcester, MA	W 21–12	20,000	[10]
October 26	at West Virginia	Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV (rivalry)	L 0–13	18,000	[11]
November 2	Temple	Archbold Stadium Syracuse, NY	W 28–7	12,000	[12]
November 9	at Cornell	Schoellkopf Field Ithaca, NY	W 14–7	30,000	[13]
November 16	Colgate	Archbold Stadium Syracuse, NY (rivalry)	L 7–25	36,000	[14]
November 23	at Columbia	Baker Field New York, NY	L 21–59	30,000	[15]

^[16][1]

After the season

The 1947 NFL draft was held on December 16, 1946. The following Orangeman was selected.^[17]

Round	Pick	Player	Position	NFL club
7	47	Joe Watt	Halfback	Boston Yanks

References

1. 2017 Syracuse football media guide. pg. 147.
2. Jones, Johnny (December 12, 1971). "When the Hudson Valley Roared in Orange". Poughkeepsie Journal. Poughkeepsie, New York. p. 4B. Retrieved December 25, 2020 – via Newspapers.com .
3. "Students Beg Munn to Stay". The Des Moines Register. AP. December 13, 1946. p. 13. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
4. "Penn State-Miami U. Grid Game Is Latest Victim of 'Racial Problem'". The Gazette and Daily. York, Pennsylvania. AP. November 6, 1946. p. 25. Retrieved November 29, 2020 – via Newspapers.com .
5. "Syracuse Turns Down Miami Offer to Sub for Penn State". The Tribune. Scranton, Pennsylvania. November 13, 1946. p. 17. Retrieved November 29, 2020 – via Newspapers.com .
6. Dr. E. E. Litkenhous (December 15, 1946). "Rice Rated Fifth Best, Tennessee 12th by Lit". The Knoxville News-Sentinel. p. B4 – via Newspapers.com.
7. "B. U. Terriers Outclassed, 41-6, by Syracuse". The Boston Globe. Boston, Massachusetts. September 29, 1946. p. 35. Retrieved June 17, 2021 – via Newspapers.com .
8. "Dartmouth Halts Syracuse, 20 to 14". The New York Times. New York, N.Y. October 6, 1946. p. S1.
9. "State Wins, 9-0, Over Syracuse". The Philadelphia Inquirer. October 13, 1946. p. 2S – via Newspapers.com.
10. Fitzgerald, Tom (October 20, 1946). "Syracuse's Air Offensive Overhauls Holy Cross, 21-12". The Boston Sunday Globe. Boston, Mass. p. 29 – via Newspapers.com.
11. "West Va. Defeats Syracuse". Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph. October 27, 1946. p. II-7 – via Newspapers.com.
12. Baumgartner, Stan (November 3, 1946). "Syracuse Tops Temple, 28-7". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, Pa. p. S1 – via Newspapers.com.
13. McGowen, Roscoe (November 10, 1946). "Syracuse Upsets Cornell, 14-7, with Two Touchdowns by Watt". The New York Times. New York, N.Y. p. S1.
14. Reddy, Bill (November 17, 1946). "Colgate Crushes Favored Syracuse, 25 to 7; Record Crowd Sees Raiders Win in 2d Half". The Post-Standard. Syracuse, N.Y. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
15. Ward, Gene (November 24, 1946). "Lions Smash Syracuse by Record 59-21 Score". Sunday News. New York, N.Y. p. 96 – via Newspapers.com.
16. "1946 Syracuse Orange Schedule and Results". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved January 30, 2018.
17. "1947 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 29, 2020.