1946 Chicago Rockets season

The 1946 Chicago Rockets season was the inaugural season for both the Chicago Rockets and the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) in which they played. The Rockets compiled a 5-6-3 record, were outscored by a total of 315 to 263, and finished in last place in the AAFC's West Division.[1]

1946 Chicago Rockets season
Head coachDick Hanley, Pat Boland, Bob Dove, Ned Mathews, and Willie Wilkin
Home fieldSoldier Field
Results
Record5–6–3
Division place4th AAFC West
Playoff finishdid not qualify

Dick Hanley, who had been the head coach at Northwestern from 1927 to 1934, was the head coach at the start of the season. After the first three games, the players voted 32-to-1 to remove Hanley. The team felt that Hanley's double-wing system was outdated. After a two-hour meeting between the players and team owner John L. Keeshin, Keeshin fired Hanley. Three of the players (Ned Mathews, Bob Dove, and Willie Wilkin) took over as player-coaches.[2] The "self-coached experiment" ended on October 29 when Pat Boland was hired as head coach.[3]

The team's statistical leaders included quarterback Bob Hoernschemeyer with 1,266 passing yards and 375 rushing yards, halfback Elroy Hirsch with 347 receiving yards, and backup quarterback (and placekicker) Steve Nemeth with 59 points scored (32 extra points, 9 field goals).[1] Hoernschemeyer was the only Chicago player named to the All-AAFC team, receiving second-team honors from both the United Press and on the official All-AAFC team.[4][5]

Season schedule
Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Game
recap
1 Bye
2 September 13 Cleveland Browns L 6–20 0–1 Soldier Field Recap
3 September 20 New York Yankees T 17–17 0–1–1 Soldier Field Recap
3 September 25 Buffalo Bisons W 38–35 1–1–1 Soldier Field Recap
4 September 29 San Francisco 49ers W 24–7 2–1–1 Soldier Field Recap
5 October 5 Los Angeles Dons L 9–21 2–2–1 Soldier Field Recap
6 October 11 at Brooklyn Dodgers T 21–21 2–2–2 Ebbets Field Recap
7 October 18 Miami Seahawks W 28–7 3–2–2 Soldier Field Recap
8 October 27 at Buffalo Bisons L 17–49 3–3–2 Civic Stadium Recap
9 November 2 Brooklyn Dodgers L 14–21 3–4–2 Soldier Field Recap
10 November 11 at Miami Seahawks W 20–7 4–4–2 Burdine Stadium Recap
11 November 17 at Cleveland Browns L 14–51 4–5–2 Cleveland Municipal Stadium Recap
12 November 24 at New York Yankees W 38–28 5–5–2 Yankee Stadium Recap
13 November 30 at San Francisco 49ers L 0–14 5–6–2 Kezar Stadium Recap
14 Bye
15 December 15 at Los Angeles Dons T 17–17 5–6–3 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Recap

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Division standings
AAFC East
W L T PCT PF PA STK
Cleveland Browns 12 2 0 .857 423 137 W-5
San Francisco 49ers 9 5 0 .643 307 189 W-3
Los Angeles Dons 7 5 2 .583 305 290 T-1
Chicago Rockets 5 6 3 .455 263 315 T-1

Roster

Players shown in bold started at least one game at the position listed as confirmed by contemporary game coverage.

Buffalo Bisons 1946 roster
Quarterbacks

Fullbacks

Halfbacks

 Ends

Tackles

Guards

Centers

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References
  1. "1946 Chicago Rockets Statistics and Players". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved March 4, 2020.
  2. "A New Twist: Rockets Now Self Coached". Chicago Tribune. September 27, 1946. p. II-1 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. "Boland Named Head Coach of Rocket Eleven". Chicago Tribune. October 30, 1946. p. III-1 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. "Jungmichael Named On All-AAFC Second". The Miami News. December 16, 1946. p. 4B – via Newspapers.com.
  5. "All-Star Pro Eleven Named". Baltimore Sun. January 5, 1947. p. Sports 2 – via Newspapers.com.
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