1946 Detroit Titans football team

1946 Detroit Titans football
ConferenceIndependent
Record6–4
Head coach
CaptainWilbur Hintz, Bob Ivory
Home stadiumUniversity of Detroit Stadium
Seasons
← 1945
1947 →
1946 Midwestern major college football independents records
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 1 Notre Dame   –   8 – 0 – 1
Detroit   –   6 – 4 – 0
Michigan State   –   5 – 5 – 0
Marquette   –   4 – 5 – 0
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1946 Detroit Titans football team was an American football team that represented the University of Detroit as an independent during the 1946 college football season. In their second season under head coach Chuck Baer, the Titans compiled a 6–4 record and outscored their opponents by a combined total of 214 to 134.[1]

The team featured one of the top rushing offenses in the country. The Titans' backs tallied 2,632 rushing yards for the third highest total in the nation. Their average of 263.2 yards per game ranked fourth nationally.[2] The team's backfield included halfbacks Bill Haley, Joe Wright, and Jack Kurkowski, quarterback Gene Malinowski, and fullbacks Al Schmidt and Len Rittof.[3]

The team's assistant coaches were Lloyd Brazil (backfield coach and athletic director), John Shada (line coach), Ed J. Barbour (backfield coach), and Dr. Raymond D. Forsyth (team physician and trainer).[4] End Wilbur Hintz and guard Bob Ivory were the team's co-captains.[5]

Detroit was ranked at No. 61 in the final Litkenhous Difference by Score System rankings for 1946.[6]

The team played its home games at University of Detroit Stadium, which had a capacity of 20,000 persons. In the fall of 1946, the university had an enrollment of 5,000 men and 1,200 women.[7]

  1. ^ "1946 Detroit Mercy Titans Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 23, 2015.
  2. ^ W.J. Bingham, ed. (1947). The Official National Collegiate Athletic Association Football Guide including the Official Rules 1947. A.S. Barnes and Company. p. 74.
  3. ^ "Detroit vs. Tulsa game program". University of Detroit. October 18, 1946. p. 18.
  4. ^ "Detroit vs. Tulsa game program". University of Detroit. October 18, 1946. pp. 5, 31.
  5. ^ Detroit vs. Tulsa program, p. 7.
  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. ^ Tulsa game program, p. 31.