1947 Wilberforce State Green Wave football team

1947 Wilberforce State Green Wave football
Fruit Bowl, W 26–0 vs. Prairie View A&M
Vulcan Bowl, W 27–21 vs. Grambling
ConferenceMidwest Athletic Association
Record11–1 (3–1 MAA)
Head coach
Seasons
← 1946
1948 →
1947 Midwest Athletic Association football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 1 Tennessee A&I $ 3 – 0 – 0 10 – 0 – 0
No. 12 Louisville Municipal 2 – 0 – 1 6 – 1 – 1
No. 2 Wilberforce State 3 – 1 – 0 11 – 1 – 0
No. 22 Kentucky State 3 – 3 – 0 4 – 6 – 0
No. 13 Lincoln (MO) 1 – 3 – 1 3 – 4 – 1
Wilberforce 0 – 2 – 0 0 – 6 – 1
Philander Smith 0 – 3 – 0 1 – 9 – 1
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from the Pittsburgh Courier using the Dickinson Ratings System.[1]

The 1947 Wilberforce State Green Wave football team was an American football team that represented Wilberforce State College of Education (now known as Central State University) in the Midwest Athletic Association (MAA) during the 1947 college football season. In its 12th season under head coach Gaston F. Lewis, the team compiled a 11–1 record and all outscored opponents by a total of 415 to 79.[2]

Wilberforce State was ranked No. 2 among the nation's black college football teams according to the Pittsburgh Courier and its Dickinson Rating System. The team's only defeat was against Tennessee A&I, the team selected by the Courier as the 1947 national champion.[3]

Key players on the 1947 Wilberforce State team included halfbacks Walt Sellers and Carl Baylor, quarterbacks Freddie Hall and Michael "Mickey" Carter, and end Blake White.[4][5]

Prior to the start of the 1947–48 academic year, the State of Ohio withdrew support from the church-supported portion of the school. The two portions of the school then split and fielded separate football teams with different coaches. Lewis, who had been the coach at Wilberforce since 1934, took responsibility for coaching the state school, and Dwight Fisher coached the religious school.[6]

  1. ^ "Tennessee No. 1 in Nat'l Grid Ratings". The Pittsburgh Courier. December 6, 1947. p. 14 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ "Central State Yearly Results". College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on September 6, 2015. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
  3. ^ "Tennessee No. 1 in Nat'l Grid Ratings". The Pittsburgh Courier. December 6, 1947. p. 14 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference NYDN47 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference FB47 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ "Two Wilberforce Teams Bring Impossible Snarl". The Tribune. September 4, 1947. p. 12 – via Newspapers.com.