1945 Wiley Wildcats football team

1945 Wiley Wildcats football
Black college national champion SWAC champion
Orange Blossom Classic, W 32–6 vs. Florida A&M
Conference	Southwestern Athletic Conference
Record	10–0 (6–0 SWAC)
Head coach	Fred T. Long (23rd season)

1945 Southwestern Athletic Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
Wiley $	6	–	0	–	0			10	–	0	–	0
Southern	5	–	1	–	0			6	–	3	–	1
Texas College	3	–	2	–	1			7	–	3	–	1
Langston	3	–	3	–	0			5	–	3	–	0
Samuel Huston	1	–	3	–	2			?	–	?	–	?
Prairie View	1	–	4	–	1			3	–	5	–	1
Arkansas AM&N	1	–	5	–	0			2	–	6	–	0
$ – Conference champion

The 1945 Wiley Wildcats football team was an American football team that represented Wiley College in the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) during the 1945 college football season. In their 23rd season under head coach Fred T. Long, the Wildcats compiled a 10–0 record (6–0 against SWAC opponents), defeated Florida A&M in the Orange Blossom Classic, won the SWAC championship, shut out seven of ten opponents, and outscored all opponents by a total of 356 to 19. The Wiley team was also recognized as the 1945 black college national champion.

Assistant coach Harry Long, the brother of head coach Fred T. Long, suffered a heart attack in the first quarter of the Orange Blossom Classic. He died in an ambulance en route to a hospital. The victory sealed the Wildcats' national championship, but, after the game, the team sprawled out on the bench and the ground and wept over the Long's death.^[1]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 29	Philander Smith*	Wiley Field Marshall, TX	W 53–0
October 6	at Arkansas AM&N	Pine Bluff, AR	W 31–0		[2]
October 15	Prairie View	Cotton Bowl Dallas, TX	W 35–7
October 20	Tillotson*	Wiley Field Marshall, TX	W 62–0
October 29	vs. Randolph Field*	Shreveport, LA	W 26–0
November 10	Langston	Wiley Field Marshall, TX	W 20–0	3,000
November 17	Southern	Buffalo Stadium Houston, TX	W 33–0	6,000
November 24	Samuel Huston	Anderson Field Austin, TX	W 56–0
December 1	Texas College	Wiley Field Marshall, TX	W 8–6
December 8	vs. Florida A&M*	Phillips Field Tampa, FL (Orange Blossom Classic)	W 32–6	8,000	[1]
*Non-conference game

References

1. "Wiley Downs Aggies To Win Negro Crown". Tampa Sunday Tribune. December 9, 1945. p. 1B – via Newspapers.com.
2. "Wiley Wallops Arkanasas". The Pittsburgh Courier. October 13, 1945. p. 17 – via Newspapers.com.