1947 Bethune–Cookman Wildcats football team

The 1947 Bethune–Cookman Wildcats football team was an American football team that represented Bethune Cookman College as a member of the Southeastern Athletic Conference (SEAC) during the 1947 college football season. In their second season under head coach Bunky Matthews, the team compiled a 10–2 record, shut out eight of twelve opponents, and outscored all opponents by a total of 331 to 66.^[1] The team won the SEAC championship and was also ranked No. 2 among the nation's smaller black college football teams by the Pittsburgh Courier using the Dickinson Rating System.^[2] The team played its home games in Daytona Beach, Florida.

1947 Bethune–Cookman Wildcats football
SEAC champion
Lions Bowl, L 6–47 vs. Grambling Flower Bowl, W 6–0 vs. Lane
Conference	Southeastern Athletic Conference
Record	10–2 (– SEAC)
Head coach	Bunky Matthews (2nd season)
Seasons ← 1946 1948 →

Key players included quarterback "Sport" Anderson.

Bethune Cookman had a total enrollment of approximately 800 students in the fall of 1947.^[3]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 27	at Florida A&M	Bragg Stadium Tallahassee, FL (rivalry)	L 0–6		[4][5]
October 4	Edward Waters		W 33–0
October 11	vs. Albany State	Miami, FL	W 34–0
October 18	Savannah State	Orlando, FL	W 21–0		[6]
November 1	Morristown		W 51–7
	Wilberforce	Daytona Beach, FL	W 45–6
November 8	at Morris	Sumter, SC	W 39–0
November 15	vs. Claflin	Phillips Field Tampa, FL	W 48–0		[7]
November 22	MacDill Field	Daytona Beach, FL	W 47–0		[8]
November 27	at Florida Normal	Bryant Stadium Lakeland, FL	W 2–0	> 3,000	[9]
December 5	at Grambling	Ruston, LA (Lions Bowl)	L 6–47	8,000	[10]
January 1, 1948	vs. Lane	Jacksonville Ball Park Jacksonville, FL (Flower Bowl)	W 6–0	3,000	[11][12]

References

1. "Bethune-Cookman Yearly Results (1945-1949)". College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on September 6, 2015. Retrieved December 16, 2019.
2. "Tennessee No. 1 in Nat'l Grid Ratings". The Pittsburgh Courier. December 6, 1947. p. 14 – via Newspapers.com.
3. "Bethune Cookman Opens". St. Petersburg Times. September 21, 1947. p. 31 – via Newspapers.com.
4. "Rattlers Win Opener 6-0". The Tallahassee News-Democrat. September 28, 1947. p. 11 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "Florida A&M Downs Bethune-Cookman, 6-0". Alabama Tribune. October 3, 1947. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
6. "Bethune Cookman Claw State, 21-0 At Orlando". St. Petersburg Times. October 26, 1947. p. 29 – via Newspapers.com.
7. "Bethune-Cookman Tops Claflin '11'". The Tampa Times. November 17, 1947. p. 9.
8. "MacDill Team Loses". Tampa Morning Tribune. November 24, 1947. p. 14 – via Newspapers.com.
9. "Bethune Cookman College Edges Win From Normal". St. Petersburg Times. November 30, 1947. p. 20 – via Newspapers.com.
10. "Younger Is Big Gun in Win For Grambling". The Pittsburgh Courier. December 13, 1947. p. 14 – via Newspapers.com.
11. "Bethune-Cookman Wins Flower Bowl". St. Petersburg Times. January 2, 1948. p. 20 – via Newspapers.com.
12. "Bethune-Cookman Beats Lane 6-0 in Flower Bowl". The Pittsburgh Courier. January 10, 1948. p. 14 – via Newspapers.com.