1947 SMU Mustangs football team

The 1947 SMU Mustangs football team was an American football team that represented Southern Methodist University (SMU) as a member of the Southwest Conference (SWC) during the 1947 college football season. In its tenth season under head coach Matty Bell, the team compiled a 9–0–2 record (5–0–1 against SWC opponents), won the SWC championship, outscored opponents by a total of 182 to 90, and was ranked No. 3 in the final AP Poll.[1] The team played its home games at Ownby Stadium on the SMU campus and at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas.

1947 SMU Mustangs football
Southwest Conference champion
ConferenceSouthwest Conference
Ranking
APNo. 3
1947 record9–0–2 (5–0–1 SWC)
Head coachMatty Bell (10th season)
CaptainSid Halliday
Home stadiumOwnby Stadium (c. 23,783, grass)
Cotton Bowl (c. 45,504, grass)
1947 Southwest Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
No. 3 SMU $ 5 –0 –1  9 –0 –2
No. 5 Texas 5 –1 –0  10 –1 –0
No. 18 Rice 4 –2 –0  6 –3 –1
TCU 2 –3 –1  4 –5 –2
Arkansas 1 –4 –1  6 –4 –1
Texas A&M 1 –4 –1  3 –6 –1
Baylor 1 –5 –0  5 –5 –0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The Mustangs won their first nine games before tying with rival TCU and Penn State, the latter in the 1948 Cotton Bowl Classic on New Year's Day.[1]

SMU's sophomore halfback, Doak Walker, led the country with 387 yards on 10 kickoff returns, an average of 38.7 yards per return.[2] He won the Maxwell Award for 1947, was a consensus selection to the 1947 College Football All-America Team,[3] and finished third in the 1947 voting for the Heisman Trophy.[4] He finished second in the SWC (behind Bobby Layne) with 1,026 yards of total offense, including 684 rushing yards.[5]

Four SMU players received first-team honors on the Associated Press 1947 All-Southwest Conference football team: Walker; end Sid Halliday; tackle Jim Winkler; and guard Earl Cook.[6]

Schedule
DateOpponentRankSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 27at Santa Clara*
W 22–65,000[7]
October 4Missouri*
W 35–1926,000[8]
October 11at Oklahoma A&M*
W 21–1418,000[9]
October 18No. 15 Rice
W 14–023,000[10]
October 25at No. 16 UCLA*No. 12
W 7–064,197[11]
November 1No. 3 TexasNo. 8
  • Cotton Bowl
  • Dallas, TX
W 14–1346,500[12]
November 8at Texas A&MNo. 3
W 13–038,000[13]
November 15ArkansasNo. 4
  • Ownby Stadium
  • University Park, TX
W 14–623,000[14]
November 22at BaylorNo. 3
W 10–012,000[15]
November 29at TCUNo. 3
T 19–1931,000[16]
January 1vs. No. 4 Penn StateNo. 3
T 13–1347,000[17]
  • *Non-conference game
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Players selected in the 1948 NFL Draft

The following SMU players were selected in the 1947 NFL Draft:[18]

PlayerPositionRoundPickNFL Club
Earl CookGuard317Boston Yanks
Gil JohnsonQuarterback1193Philadelphia Eagles
Bob RamseyBack26244Pittsburgh Steelers
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References
  1. "1947 SMU Mustangs Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 15, 2019.
  2. Gail Fowler (December 18, 1947). "Statistics Error Found, Walker Leads Returners". The Austin American. p. 17.
  3. "Football Award Winners" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). 2016. p. 8. Retrieved October 21, 2017.
  4. "1947 Heisman Trophy Voting". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 14, 2019.
  5. "Layne Tops SWC In Grid Offense, Shading Walker". The Shreveport Times. December 2, 1947. p. 15 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. "Clyde Scott Only Porker to Make All-Southwest". Hope Star (Arkansas). December 1, 1947. p. 5.
  7. Don Selby (September 28, 1947). "One Man Gang Corrals Broncs, 22-6: Walker Has Great Day". The San Francisco Examiner. pp. 22, 25 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. "Doak Walker Bright Star as SMU Whips Missouri, 35-19". The Corpus Christi Caller-Times. October 5, 1947. p. D1 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. "SMU Slides By Oklahoma A&M". Sunday American-Statesman (Austin, TX). October 12, 1947. p. 17 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. Jimmy Banks (October 19, 1947). "Walker Leads SMU to 14-0 Triumph Over Favored Rice". Sunday American-Statesman (Austin, TX). pp. 17–18 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. Al Wolf (October 26, 1947). "Bruins Bow to Mustangs, 7 to 0". Los Angeles Times. pp. 12–13 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. Weldon Hart (November 2, 1947). "SMU Rips Steers, 14-13: Walker Kicks Extra Point To Drop UT". Sunday American-Statesman (Austin, TX). pp. 1, 17 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. "Gil Johnson Throws Mustangs to 13-0 Victory Over Aggies". Waco Sunday Tribune-Herald. November 9, 1947. p. 18 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. Harold V. Ratliff (November 16, 1947). "Referee Battles as SMU Edges Porkers, 14 to 6". The Corpus Christi Caller-Times. p. 37 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. "SMU Scores in Last Minutes to Shade Stubborn Baylor, 10-0". Waco Sunday Tribune-Herald. November 23, 1947. p. Sports 1, 2 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. Jinx Tucker (November 30, 1947). "Mustangs Rush Back In Final Seconds to Tie Frogs, 19-19". Waco Sunday Tribune-Herald. pp. 16–17 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. Tex Maule (January 2, 1948). "SMU, Penn State Deadlock, 13 to 13 in Cotton Bowl". The Austin American. p. 14 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. "1948 NFL Draft". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 15, 2019.


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