1939 Duke Blue Devils football team

1939 Duke Blue Devils football
A Wallace Wade Stadium attendance record was set on November 18, 1939, in a game against North Carolina. The 13–3 Duke win was seen by over 52,000 fans.[1]
SoCon champion
Conference	Southern Conference
Ranking
AP	No. 8
Record	8–1 (5–0 SoCon)
Head coach	Wallace Wade (9th season)
Offensive scheme	Single-wing
MVP	George McAfee
Captain	Allen Johnson
Home stadium	Duke Stadium

1939 Southern Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 8 Duke $	5	–	0	–	0			8	–	1	–	0
No. 12 Clemson	4	–	0	–	0			9	–	1	–	0
William & Mary	2	–	0	–	1			6	–	2	–	1
North Carolina	5	–	1	–	0			8	–	1	–	1
VMI	3	–	1	–	1			6	–	3	–	1
Richmond	3	–	1	–	1			7	–	1	–	2
Furman	3	–	3	–	0			5	–	4	–	0
Wake Forest	3	–	3	–	0			7	–	3	–	0
NC State	2	–	4	–	0			2	–	8	–	0
Washington and Lee	1	–	2	–	0			3	–	4	–	1
South Carolina	1	–	3	–	0			3	–	6	–	1
VPI	1	–	4	–	1			4	–	5	–	1
Davidson	1	–	7	–	0			2	–	7	–	0
Maryland	0	–	1	–	0			2	–	7	–	0
The Citadel	0	–	4	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 1939 Duke Blue Devils football team represented the Duke Blue Devils of Duke University during the 1939 college football season. Dutch Stanley succeeded Carl Voyles as end coach of the "Iron Dukes".^[2] Halfback George McAfee led the team in rushing, receiving, scoring, kickoff returns, punt returns, interceptions, and punting.^[3]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 30	at Davidson		Richardson Field Davidson, NC	W 26–6	7,000	[4]
October 7	at Colgate*		Duke Stadium Durham, NC	W 37–0	20,000	[5]
October 14	at Pittsburgh*		Pitt Stadium Pittsburgh, PA	L 13–14	49,000–50,000	[6]
October 21	Syracuse*	No. 13	Duke Stadium Durham, NC	W 33–6	20,000–25,000	[7]
October 28	Wake Forest	No. 12	Duke Stadium Durham, NC (rivalry)	W 6–0	16,000	[8]
November 4	at Georgia Tech*		Grant Field Atlanta, GA	W 7–6	30,000	[9]
November 11	at VMI	No. 15	Alumni Field Lexington, VA	W 20–7	12,000	[10]
November 18	No. 7 North Carolina	No. 13	Duke Stadium Durham, NC (rivalry)	W 13–3	52,000	[11]
November 25	at NC State	No. 8	Riddick Stadium Raleigh, NC (rivalry)	W 28–0	12,000	[12]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

^[13]

References

1. Stevens, Patrick (November 5, 2015). "Most memorable Duke-North Carolina football games". The News & Observer.
2. "Dutch Joins Duke Football Staff". The Evening Independent. February 6, 1939.
3. "Hall of Famer George McAfee Passes Away". National Football Foundation. March 5, 2009. Archived from the original on October 31, 2016. Retrieved October 31, 2016.
4. "Duke beats 'Cats, 26–6". The Durham Herald-Sun. October 1, 1939. Retrieved September 5, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
5. Anthony J. McKelvin (October 8, 1939). "Duke Wins, 37-0: Blue Devils Rout Colgate Raiders". The News and Observer. p. Sports 1 – via Newspapers.com.
6. Harry Keck (October 15, 1939). "Panthers Stage Great Rally, Win, 14–13". Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph. p. Part 3-1. Retrieved November 4, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
7. "Blue Devils top Syracuse with ease". The State. October 22, 1939. Retrieved December 20, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
8. "Blue Devils down stubborn Deacons, 6–0". Asheville Citizen-Times. October 29, 1939. Retrieved December 20, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
9. "Duke defeats Georgia Tech by goal, 7–6". The Montgomery Advertiser. November 5, 1939. Retrieved September 30, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
10. "Devils get 20–7 verdict, lose Darnell for season". The News and Observer. November 12, 1939. Retrieved December 21, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
11. "Duke rallies to turn back Carolina, 13–3". Richmond Times-Dispatch. November 19, 1939. Retrieved December 20, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
12. "Blue Devils smack Wolfpack, 28–0". The Charlotte Observer. November 26, 1939. Retrieved December 20, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
13. "1939 Duke Blue Devils". College Football at Sports-Reference.com.