1947 William & Mary Indians football team

1947 William & Mary Indians football
1947 William & Mary Indians football
SoCon champion
Dixie Bowl, L 19–21 vs. Arkansas
Conference	Southern Conference
Ranking
AP	No. 14
Record	9–2 (7–1 SoCon)
Head coach	Rube McCray (4th season);
Captain	Bob Steckroth
Home stadium	Cary Field
	Seasons ← 1946 1948 →

1947 Southern Conference football standings
v t e	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

The 1947 William & Mary Indians football team was an American football team that represented the College of William & Mary in the Southern Conference during the 1947 college football season. In its fourth season under head coach Rube McCray, the team compiled a 9–2 record (7–1 against conference opponents), won the Southern Conference championship, was ranked No. 14 in the final AP Poll, and outscored opponents by a total of 320 to 87. The team lost to North Carolina in the regular season and to Arkansas in the 1948 Dixie Bowl on New Year's Day.^[1]

Five William & Mary players were selected by the Associated Press as first-team players on the 1947 All-Southern Conference football team: fullback Jack Cloud; end Robert Steckroth; guard Knox Ramsey; and center Tommy Thompson.^[2] Cloud broke the school's scoring record with 102 points in 1947 and was later inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.^[3] In addition, tackle Lou Creekmur later played ten years with the Detroit Lions and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

The team played it home games at Cary Field in Williamsburg, Virginia.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 27	vs. Davidson		Foreman Field Norfolk, VA	W 21–0	9,000	^[4]
October 4	The Citadel		Cary Field Williamsburg, VA	W 56–7	6,000	^[5]
October 11	vs. VPI		City Stadium Richmond, VA	W 21–7	10,000	^[6]
October 18	North Carolina		Cary Field Williamsburg, VA	L 7–13	18,000	^[7]
October 25	at Boston University*		Fenway Park Boston, MA	W 47–13	6,800	^[8]
November 1	Wake Forest		Cary Field Williamsburg, VA	W 21–0	17,000	^[9]
November 8	VMI	No. 15	Cary Field Williamsburg, VA (rivalry)	W 28–20	8,000	^[10]
November 15	vs. Washington and Lee	No. 12	Victory Stadium Roanoke, VA	W 45–6		^[11]
November 22	Bowling Green*	No. 14	Cary Field Williamsburg, VA	W 20–0	2,000	^[12]
November 27	at Richmond	No. 14	City Stadium Richmond, VA (rivalry)	W 35–0	15,000	^[13]
January 1, 1948	vs. Arkansas*	No. 14	Legion Field Birmingham, AL (Dixie Bowl)	L 19–21	25,000	^[14]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Ranking movements
**Legend:** ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked т = Tied with team above or below ( ) = First-place votes
	Week
Poll	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Final
AP	—	—	—	—	15	12	14	14	13т (3)	14

NFL Draft Selections

#	Year	Round	Pick	Overall	Name	Team	Position
16	1948	3	3	16	Tommy Thompson	Washington Redskins	Center
17	1948	5	7	32	Knox Ramsey	Chicago Bears	Guard
18	1948	10	1	76	Stan Magdziak	New York Giants	Back
19	1948	11	7	92	Jim McDowell	Chicago Bears	Guard
20	1948	18	10	165	Harry Caughron	Chicago Cardinals	Tackle
21	1948	23	3	208	Lou Hoitsma	Washington Redskins	End
22	1948	26	8	243	Lou Creekmur	Philadelphia Eagles	Tackle