The 1945–46 Santosh Trophy was the third edition of the Santosh Trophy, the main State competition for football in India. It was held in Bombay. Bengal defeated Bombay 2–0 in the final.[2]
Fred Pugsley, an Anglo-Burmese footballer who had moved to India temporarily during the war, scored seven goals in Bengal's win over Rajputana. This is a record in Santosh Trophy that was later equalled by Inder Singh in 1974-75 Jalandhar nationals.
Western India Football Association (WIFA) renamed itself as Bombay just before the tournament.
Bengal scored their goals in the 5th minute of both halves. Das scored from a cross by Pugsley. Nandy was assisted by S. Ghosh in the second goal. The trophy was presented by Justice Kama.
Bombay : Sanjiva; D.M. Mandon (captain) and Papen; Arnold, Robinson and Govind; Vandockum, Tipple, Cocklin, McCall and Dhakuram[10] Also : Shetty
Delhi : Osman; S.M. Bhukari and Rahmat; Bashir, Afzal and S. A. Hashmi; Yusuf, Roshan Ali, Buland Akhtar, Atma Ram and M.P. Khan.[9] Also : Mahmud (defender), Hasan (mid), Habib, Rabbani, M. Faiyaz (forwards)[3]
Dacca : G Burton; D. Dutta and Saheball; H Mitra, S Guha and R Sen; S Bose, A Roy, P Mukerjee, A Rachia and A Das
Hyderabad : Eeriah; Sher Khan and Fruvall; Hadi, Jamal and Noor; S Susay, A Susay, Shamsher, Azeem and Mahmood. Also Moin
N.W.I.F.A : Yacoob; Ibrar Hussain and Saeed; Yoya Jan, Golam Mohammad and Arshad; Akbarjan, Gilbert, Rahim, Ataullah and Amjad
Mysore : Bama; Palladi and Jayram; Baseer, S. Mohiuddin and Sumugan; Borolingam, Karim, Nanjunda, Ahmed and Raman; Also : Shanmugam
United Provinces : Arthur; Kazim and Rajaram; Wajihul, Aziz and Mahabir; Kullu, Abid, Furhat, Mahmud and Qader [4]
Madras : S. Moni; Rammohan Rao and K. Mani; A. D. Parthasarathy, Jaganathan and Murugesan; Arnikandasami, Ganesan, Vishwesara Rao, Hanumantha Rao and Thangaraj[3]
The day after the final, a match was played between All India and Europeans.
