1946 Wisconsin Badgers football
ConferenceBig Nine Conference
Record4–5 (2–5 Big Nine)
Head coach
MVPFred Negus
CaptainClarence Esser
Home stadiumCamp Randall Stadium
Seasons
← 1945
1947 →
1946 Big Nine Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 5 Illinois $ 6 – 1 – 0 8 – 2 – 0
No. 6 Michigan 5 – 1 – 1 6 – 2 – 1
No. 20 Indiana 4 – 2 – 0 6 – 3 – 0
Iowa 3 – 3 – 0 5 – 4 – 0
Minnesota 3 – 4 – 0 5 – 4 – 0
Ohio State 2 – 3 – 1 4 – 3 – 2
Northwestern 2 – 3 – 1 4 – 4 – 1
Wisconsin 2 – 5 – 0 4 – 5 – 0
Purdue 0 – 5 – 1 2 – 6 – 1
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1946 Wisconsin Badgers football team was an American football team that represented the University of Wisconsin in the 1946 Big Nine Conference football season. The team compiled a 4–5 record (2–5 against conference opponents) and finished in eighth place in the Big Nine Conference. Harry Stuhldreher was in his 11th year as Wisconsin's head coach.[1][2] The team averaged 253.1 yards per game of total offense, 179.8 by rushing, and 73.3 by passing.[3]

The team's statistical leaders included Earl Maves with 538 rushing yards, Lisle Blackbourn, Jr., with 175 passing yards, Tom Bennett with 124 receiving yards, and Ben Bendrick with 30 points scored.[4] Center Fred Negus received the team's most valuable player award.[5] T. A. Cox led the Big Nine with an average of 43.0 yards per punt.[6] Clarence Esser was the team captain.[7]

Earl Maves rushed for 155 yards against Marquette on September 21, 1946.[8] In the same game, he set a Wisconsin school record with an 86-yard touchdown run. That record stood until 1957.[9] Also in the Marquette game, Gene Evans set a school record with three interceptions, a record that stood until 1954.[10] The defense held Marquette to five rushing yards in the game.[11]

On September 28, 1946, Wisconsin set a school record by holding California to 71 yards (24 rushing, 47 passing). That record stood until 2005.[11]

Wisconsin was ranked at No. 29 in the final Litkenhous Difference by Score System rankings for 1946.[12]

The team played its home games at Camp Randall Stadium. During the 1946 season, the average attendance at home games was 45,000.[13]

Schedule

DateOpponentRankSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 21Marquette*
W 34–045,000[14]
September 28at California*
W 28–750,000[15]
October 5at Northwestern
L 0–2845,000[16]
October 12No. 14 Ohio State
  • Camp Randall Stadium
  • Madison, WI
W 20–745,000[17]
October 19at IllinoisNo. 20
L 21–2762,597[18]
November 2at PurdueNo. 18
W 24–2032,000[19]
November 9IowadaggerNo. 15
  • Camp Randall Stadium
  • Madison, WI (rivalry)
L 7–2145,000[20]
November 16at No. 10 Michigan
L 6–2863,415[21]
November 23Minnesota
  • Camp Randall Stadium
  • Madison, WI (rivalry)
L 0–645,000[22]
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from Coaches' Poll released prior to the game

[1][2]

Rankings

See also: 1946 NCAA football rankings
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked т = Tied with team above or below
Week
Poll12345678Final
AP—20т—1815————

After the season

Main article: 1947 NFL Draft

The 1947 NFL Draft was held on December 16, 1946. The following Badgers were selected.[23]

Round Pick Player Position NFL Club
1 11 Don Kindt Defensive back Chicago Bears
15 133 George Fuchs Back Los Angeles Rams
20 180 Clarence Esser End Chicago Cardinals
26 236 Earl Maves Wingback Detroit Lions

References

  1. ^ a b "1946 Wisconsin Badgers Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. March 13, 2017.
  2. ^ a b "Wisconsin Football 2016 Fact Book" (PDF). University of Wisconsin. 2016. pp. 212, 220. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 30, 2016. Retrieved March 14, 2017.
  3. ^ Wisconsin Football 2016 Fact Book, p. 146.
  4. ^ Wisconsin Football 2016 Fact Book, pp. 134-136.
  5. ^ Wisconsin Football 2016 Fact Book, p. 181.
  6. ^ Wisconsin Football 2016 Fact Book, p. 131.
  7. ^ Wisconsin Football 2016 Fact Book, p. 185.
  8. ^ Wisconsin Football 2016 Fact Book, p. 103.
  9. ^ Wisconsin Football 2016 Fact Book, p. 105.
  10. ^ Wisconsin Football 2016 Fact Book, p. 127.
  11. ^ a b Wisconsin Football 2016 Fact Book, p. 143.
  12. ^ Dr. E. E. Litkenhous (December 15, 1946). "Rice Rated Fifth Best, Tennessee 12th by Lit". The Knoxville News-Sentinel. p. B4 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ Wisconsin Football 2016 Fact Book, p. 258.
  14. ^ Henry J. McCormick (September 22, 1946). "Badgers Merciful in Piling Up 34-0 Win: Marquette Not in Same Class as Wisconsin; Kindt and Maves Break Up Game With Long Touchdown Runs". Wisconsin State Journal. pp. 29, 30 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ Prescott Sullivan (September 29, 1946). "Cal Crushed: Badgers Erupt in 4th Stanza to Win, 28-7; Jensen Tallies On 56-Yd. Run". The San Francisco Examiner. pp. 21, 23 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ Edward Burns (October 6, 1946). "N.U. Routs Badgers, 28-0: Wildcats Get 3 Touchdowns in Last Period; 45,000 See Surprise Power Display". Chicago Tribune. pp. II-1, II-2 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ^ Hank Casserly (October 13, 1946). "Badgers Wallop Ohio State, 20 to 7: Great Rally in Second Half Upsets Buckeyes Before 45,000 Crowd; Maves, Kindt, Bendrick Cross Ohio Goal Line; Wisconsin Line Sparkles As Underdog Badgers Triumph". The Capital Times. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ^ Irving Vaughan (October 20, 1946). "Illini Beat Wisconsin, 27-21: 2 Touchdowns in 4th Period Whip Badgers; Wham! 21 Points in First 4 Minutes". Chicago Tribune. pp. II-1, II-2 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ^ Dale Burgess (November 3, 1946). "Purdue Loses, 24-20: Record Crowd of 32,000 at Lafayette". The Muncie Star. pp. 1C, 3C. Retrieved April 29, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. ^ Henry J. McCormick (November 10, 1946). "Drab Badgers Absorb 21-7 Thumping: Iowa More Powerful, More Alert as Best Team Won Big 9 Tilt". Wisconsin State Journal. pp. 33–34. Retrieved May 10, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  21. ^ Lyall Smith (November 17, 1946). "Michigan Keeps Title Hopes Alive with 28-6 Victory: Wolverines Overwhelm Wisconsin; Chappuis Sets Pace; Mann Scores Twice". Detroit Free Press. pp. IV-1, IV-3 – via Newspapers.com.
  22. ^ Henry J. McCormick (November 24, 1946). "Badgers Lose Bitterly Fought Battle, 6-0: Gophers Win One Wisconsin Could Easily Have Taken". Wisconsin State Journal. pp. 29, 30. Retrieved May 10, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  23. ^ "1947 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
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