1947 Michigan State Spartans football team

1947 Michigan State Spartans football
ConferenceIndependent
Record7–2
Head coach
MVPWarren Huey
CaptainRobert B. McCurry
Home stadiumMacklin Field
Seasons
← 1946
1948 →
1947 Midwestern college football independents records
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 1 Notre Dame   –   9 – 0 – 0
Youngstown   –   8 – 2 – 0
Michigan State   –   7 – 2 – 0
Ball State   –   5 – 1 – 2
Ohio Wesleyan   –   6 – 2 – 1
Wayne   –   5 – 2 – 0
Dayton   –   6 – 3 – 0
Washington University   –   5 – 3 – 0
Detroit   –   6 – 4 – 0
Bowling Green   –   5 – 5 – 0
Xavier   –   4 – 4 – 1
Marquette   –   4 – 5 – 0
Central Michigan   –   2 – 5 – 1
Valparaiso   –   2 – 5 – 1
Michigan State Normal   –   1 – 6 – 0
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1947 Michigan State Spartans football team represented Michigan State College as an independent during the 1947 college football season. The team compiled a 7–2 record and outscored opponents 167 to 101.[1][2] Clarence Munn was the first-year head coach, Ralph H. Young was the athletic director, and Robert McCurry was the team captain. The three assistants (Duffy Daugherty, Forest Evashevski, Kip Taylor) were all future head coaches.

In December 1946, after Charlie Bachman resigned, Michigan State hired Munn as its head football coach. Munn had been the head coach at Syracuse in 1946 and had previously been the line coach at Michigan for seven years.[3] In their first season under Munn, the Spartans achieved their most successful since the 1937 team finished 8–2.[4]

The Spartans began the Munn era with a 55–0 loss to in-state rival 1947 Michigan team. The Spartans' only other setback was a narrow 7 to 6 loss to Bear Bryant's Kentucky Wildcats. In intersectional play, the Spartans beat Mississippi State (7–0), Washington State (21–7), Santa Clara (28–0), Temple (14–6), and Hawaii (58–19).[2] The Hawaii game was played in Honolulu with Bud Crane scoring four touchdowns for the Spartans.[5] The team's 58 points against Hawaii was its highest total since 1932.[4]

Michigan State was ranked at No. 38 (out of 500 college football teams) in the final Litkenhous Ratings for 1947.[6]

At the end of the 1947 season, Tommy Devine wrote in the Detroit Free Press that Munn had "restored athletic 'peace' to Michigan State."[7] At the team's post-season banquet, Robert McCurry was selected to serve another year as the team's captain, and end Warren Huey was named the team's most valuable player and recipient of the Governor of Michigan award.[8]

  1. ^ "2016 Football Media Guide" (PDF). Michigan State University. pp. 146, 154. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 17, 2017. Retrieved June 16, 2017.
  2. ^ a b "1947 Michigan State Spartans Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved June 16, 2017.
  3. ^ Marshall Dann (December 15, 1946). "Spartans Choose Munn as New Football Coach". Detroit Free Press. pp. 4–1 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Haw was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ "Michigan State Wins in Hawaii". Sunday Times, Cumberland, Maryland. November 30, 1947. p. 31.
  6. ^ Dr. E. E. Litkenhous (December 18, 1947). "Michigan National Champion in Final Litkenhous Ratings". Times. p. 47 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Great Grid Season Gets Munn off Spot". Detroit Free Press. December 1, 1947. p. 24 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ George S. Alderton (December 9, 1947). "Munn Points at 1948 As 'S' Gridders Dine". Lansing State Journal. p. 20 – via Newspapers.com.