1947 VPI Gobblers football team

The 1947 VPI Gobblers football team was an American football that represented Virginia Polytechnic Institute in the Southern Conference during the 1947 college football season. In its third season under head coach James Kitts, the team compiled a 4–5 record (4–3 against conference opponents), finished eighth in the Southern Conference, and as outscored by a total of 191 to 162.[1] The team played its home games at Miles Stadium in Blacksburg, Virginia.

1947 VPI Gobblers football
Conference	Southern Conference
1947 record	4–5 (4–3 SoCon)
Head coach	James Kitts (3rd season)
Captain	Billy Shelby Barbour Bobby Smith
Home stadium	Miles Stadium

1947 Southern Conference football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 14 William & Mary $	7	–	1	–	0			9	–	2	–	0
No. 9 North Carolina	4	–	1	–	0			8	–	2	–	0
South Carolina	4	–	1	–	1			6	–	2	–	1
No. 19 Duke	3	–	1	–	1			4	–	3	–	2
Washington and Lee	3	–	2	–	0			5	–	5	–	0
Maryland	3	–	2	–	1			7	–	2	–	2
No. 17 NC State	3	–	2	–	1			5	–	3	–	1
VPI	4	–	3	–	0			4	–	5	–	0
Davidson	3	–	3	–	1			6	–	3	–	1
Wake Forest	3	–	4	–	0			6	–	4	–	0
VMI	2	–	3	–	1			3	–	5	–	1
Clemson	1	–	3	–	0			4	–	5	–	0
The Citadel	1	–	4	–	0			3	–	5	–	0
Furman	1	–	4	–	0			2	–	7	–	0
Richmond	1	–	5	–	0			3	–	7	–	0
George Washington	0	–	4	–	0			1	–	7	–	1
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 27		Furman	Miles Stadium Blacksburg, VA	W 20–6	10,000	[2]
October 4		vs. Virginia*	Victory Stadium Roanoke, VA (rivalry)	L 7–41	22,000	[3]
October 11		vs. William & Mary	City Stadium Richmond, VA	L 7–21	10,000	[4]
October 18		at No. 7 Army*	Michie Stadium West Point, NY	L 0–40	20,000	[5]
October 25		Maryland	Miles Stadium Blacksburg, VA	L 19–21	12,500	[6]
October 31	8:00 p.m.[7]	at George Washington	Griffith Stadium Washington, DC	W 42–6	5,000	[8]
November 8		vs. Washington and Lee	Municipal Stadium Lynchburg, VA	W 27–14		[9]
November 15		Richmond	Miles Stadium Blacksburg, VA	W 26–14	5,500	[10]
November 27		vs. VMI	Victory Stadium Roanoke, VA (rivalry)	L 14–28	29,000–33,000	[11][12]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

• Source: HokieSports.com: 1947 Virginia Tech football schedule[13]

1948 NFL draftees

One VPI player was selected in the 1948 NFL Draft, as follows:[14]

NFL Draft Selections
Year Round Pick Overall Name Team Position 1951 28 10 337 Sterling Wingo Los Angeles Rams Back

Players

The following players were members of the 1947 football team according to the roster published in the 1948 edition of The Bugle, the Virginia Tech yearbook.[12]

VPI 1947 roster
	Jim Adams Victor Anderson Frank H. Ballard Billy Shelby Barbour (Capt.) William Ernest Baucom Ralph Coe Beard Raymond Rucker Beasley Floyd Samuel Bowles Robert LeRoy Browder Maynard Leon David Bruce Thomas Craig Burns Donald Butkovsky Coy Lenard Chambers Joseph Litton Church Pete "Chip" Collum Jack Cooke Mervin K. Cox Billy Patrick DeNardo Richard T. DeShazo William Donovan Hubert Wallace Dutton		Bruce Mills "Bud" Fisher Charles Mugler Forbes Robert Fracker Nelson Fuller John E. "Jack" Gallagher William Hughes Hegamyer Robert Hess Joseph William Hoffmann Jr. Oren Edward Hopkins Jack Ross Ittner Cary Kenyon Johnson Robert Edward Johnson Ted James Johnson Howard Jones Jimmy Kitts John Harry Kroehling Anthony Thomas Kujawa Carl Leonard John James Maskas J. Cordell McCraw Augustus Paul Mengulas Hamilton Otey Meriwether		Ronald Garland Miller Elmo Natali Ross Moore Orr Horace Lee Pearce Erving Hascall Rand Frank Ransome Bernard Sizemore Bobby Smith (Capt.) G. L. "Pete" Smith Warren William Squires John Robert Stortz Bob Taylor Franklin Ray Taylor David Lacy Thomas W. Harry Walton Robert Franklin Webb Richard White Donald Lindbergh Whiteman William Elmer Wilson Sterling Lagrand Wingo Gerhard Charles Zekert Paul Ethan "Zig" Zender

References

1. "1947 Virginia Tech Hokies Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
2. Scoop Latimer (September 28, 1947). "V.P.I.'s Gobblers Race To 20-6 Win Over Hurricane: Pruitt Sparks Purples". The Greenville News. p. Sports 1 – via Newspapers.com.
3. Robert Moore (October 5, 1947). "Va. Cavaliers Run Roughshod On VPI". Daily Press (Newport News, VA). p. 11A – via Newspapers.com.
4. "WM On Warpath In Final Quarter To Beat VPI 21-7". Daily Press (Newport News, VA). October 12, 1947. p. 10 – via Newspapers.com.
5. Jim McCulley (October 19, 1947). "Army Rips VPI, 40-0; Rowan Scores 2 TDs". The Daily News (New York City). p. C41 – via Newspapers.com.
6. "Fourth Period Brings Defeat For Gobblers". The Staunton News Leader. October 26, 1947 – via Newspapers.com.
7. "George Washington vs. V.P.I. The George Washington Athletic Review". VPI vs. George Washington Football Program. 1947. p. 1. Retrieved 2017-10-11.
8. "Virginia Tech's Gobblers Start Early, Rout George Washington Eleven, 42-6". The Staunton News-Leader. November 1, 1947. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
9. "V.P.I. Eleven Tops Washington & Lee". The Baltimore Sun. November 9, 1947. p. 32 – via Newspapers.com.
10. "Muddy Field Only Slight Deterrent To VPI In 26-14 Win Over Spiders". The Staunton News-Leader. November 16, 1947. p. 7 – via Newspapers.com.
11. "Squadron Flies Over Gobblers 28–14". The V.M.I. Cadet. Virginia Military Institute. December 1, 1947. p. 1. Retrieved February 2, 2016.
12. "The Bugle 1948" (PDF). Virginia Tech Bugle. 1948. Retrieved 2016-01-23.
13. Virginia Tech Football Past Schedules "1947–1948". Virginia Tech Sports Information Department, Hokiesports.com. Accessed January 23, 2016.
14. "1948 NFL Draft". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 19, 2019.