1939–40 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team

The 1939–40 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team represented Georgetown University during the 1939–40 NCAA Division I college basketball season. Elmer Ripley coached it in his fourth of ten seasons as head coach; it was also the second season of his second of three stints at the helm. The team played its home games at Tech Gymnasium on the campus of McKinley Technical High School in Washington, D.C.[1] The team finished with a record of 8-10 and had no postseason play.

1939–40 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball
Conference	Independent
1939–40 record	8–10
Head coach	Elmer Ripley (4th season)
Captain	John Schmitt (1st year)
Home arena	Tech Gymnasium

Season recap

Following the demise of the Eastern Intercollegiate Conference after the end of the previous season, Georgetown returned to an independent status. Beginning this season – its first as an independent since 1931-32 – it would play 38 seasons as an independent before becoming a founding member of the original Big East Conference in the 1979-1980 season.

The 1939–40 Hoyas were a young team, with only two seniors on the roster. New to the team was sophomore guard Buddy O'Grady. He averaged 4.9 points per game for the season and became a leader on the court, and would be a star for the Hoyas for three seasons.[2]

The team became a part of television broadcasting history on February 28, 1940, when television station W2XBS broadcast a men's basketball doubleheader from Madison Square Garden in New York City. Fordham and Pittsburgh played in the first game, and New York University played Georgetown in the second game. It was the first time in history that college basketball was televised.[3][4][5]

The 1939–40 Hoyas had a difficult season, finishing with an 8-10 record and no post-season play. Senior forward Al Lujack went on to play professionally for one season with the Washington Capitals of the Basketball Association of America.

Roster

Sources[2][6][7]

Sophomore guard Buddy O'Grady would later serve as the Hoyas' head coach from 1949 to 1952.[8]

Sophomore guard Don Martin would one day become head coach at Boston College.[9]

Senior guard Francis "Reds" Daly was killed in action in the Battle of Iwo Jima on February 22, 1945, during World War II military service.[10]

#	Name	Height	Weight (lbs.)	Position	Class	Hometown	Previous Team(s)
3	Jim Kiernan	6'0"	N/A	F	So.	New York, NY, U.S.	Saint Simon HS
4	John Dieckelman (or Dieckleman)	6'0"	N/A	G	So.	Albany, NY, U.S.	Vincentian HS
11	Russ Miller	N/A	N/A	F/C	So.	Passaic, NJ, U.S.	Passaic HS
12	Jim Giebel	N/A	N/A	G	Jr.	Bethesda, MD, U.S.	St. John's College HS (Washington, DC)
13	George Pajak	6'0"	N/A	G/F	Jr.	Ware, MA, U.S.	Ware HS
18	Francis "Buddy" O'Grady	N/A	160	G	So.	New York, NY, U.S.	St. Peter's Boys HS
20	Irv Rizzi	N/A	N/A	G	Jr.	West New York, NJ, U.S.	Memorial HS
24	Al Matuza	6'2"	N/A	F	Jr.	Shenandoah, PA, U.S.	Shenandoah HS
43	Don Martin	5'8"	N/A	G	So.	Newport, RI, U.S.	La Salle Academy
49	Al Lujack	6'3"	N/A	F	Sr.	Connellsville, PA, U.S.	Connellsville HS
60	Francis "Reds" Daly	6'3"	N/A	G	Sr.	Washington, DC, U.S.	McKinley Technical HS
80	John Schmitt	5'11"	N/A	C	Sr.	Syracuse, NY, U.S.	St. John's Preparatory School (New York, NY)

1939–40 schedule and results

Sources[11][12][13][14]

Date time, TV	Opponent	Result	Record	Site city, state
Regular Season
Sun., Dec. 3, 1939 no, no	at Baltimore	L 34–40	0-1	N/A  Baltimore, MD
Wed., Dec. 6, 1939 no, no	Western Maryland	W 52–34	1-1	Tech Gymnasium  Washington, DC
Thu., Dec. 14, 1939 no, no	at American	W 44–30	2-1	Clendenen Gymnasium  Washington, DC
Fri., Jan. 5, 1940 no, no	at Temple	L 28–38	2-2	Philadelphia Convention Hall  Philadelphia, PA
Sat., Jan. 6, 1940 no, no	at George Washington	L 40–49	2-3	Riverside Stadium  Washington, D.C.
Wed, Jan. 10, 1940 no, no	at Penn State	L 22–33	2-4	Recreation Hall  State College, PA
Fri., Jan. 12, 1940 no, no	at Scranton	L 31–33	2-5	Watres Armory  Scranton, PA
Wed., Jan 17, 1940 no, no	at Maryland	L 40–28	2-6	Ritchie Coliseum  College Park, MD
Sat., Jan. 27, 1940 no, no	Loyola Maryland	W 65–37	3-6	Tech Gymnasium  Washington, DC
Wed., Jan. 31, 1940 no, no	at Army	W 35–34	4-6	Hayes Gymnasium  West Point, NY
Thu., Feb. 1, 1940 no, no	at Syracuse	L 33–38	4-7	Archbold Gymnasium  Syracuse, NY
Fri., Feb. 2, 1940 no, no	at Colgate	L 34–39	4-8	Huntington Gymnasium  Hamilton, NY
Wed., Feb. 7, 1940 no, no	Temple	W 34–31	5-8	Tech Gymnasium  Washington, DC
Mon., Feb. 12, 1940 no, no	West Virginia	L 38–40	5-9	Tech Gymnasium  Washington, DC
Thu., Feb. 15, 1940 no, no	American	W 42–32	6-9	Tech Gymnasium  Washington, DC
Wed, Feb. 21, 1940 no, no	Penn State	W 38–35	7-9	Tech Gymnasium  Washington, DC
Wed., Feb. 28, 1940 no, no	at New York University	L 27–50	7-10	Madison Square Garden  New York, NY
Wed., Mar. 6, 1940 no, no	George Washington	W 43–39	8-10	Tech Gymnasium  Washington, DC
*Non-conference game. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.

References

1. The Georgetown Basketball History Project: Home Courts
2. "The Georgetown Basketball History Project: Francis (Buddy) O'Grady". Archived from the original on 2012-02-07. Retrieved 2014-02-21.
3. American Sportscasters Online: Sportscasting Firsts Archived 2013-05-05 at WebCite
4. 1940 College Basketball Recap on Infoplease
5. "The Georgetown Basketball History Project: Prepared For Life". Archived from the original on 2014-03-02. Retrieved 2014-03-02.
6. "The Georgetown Basketball History Project: Rosters 1930–31 to 1939–1940". Archived from the original on 2017-02-12. Retrieved 2014-01-09.
7. The Georgetown Basketball History Project: Player Directory: Jersey Numbers
8. "The Georgetown Basketball History Project: Head Coaches". Archived from the original on 2017-05-27. Retrieved 2014-01-09.
9. The Georgetown Basketball History Project: Don Martin
10. The Georgetown Basketball History Project: Wartime
11. The Georgetown Basketball History Project: 1930s Seasons
12. The Georgetown Basketball History Project: Records vs. All Opponents
13. sports-reference.com 1939-40 Georgetown Hoyas Schedule and Results
14. 2012-2013 Georgetown Men's Basketball Media Guide, p. 59.