1946 Florida A&M Rattlers football team

The 1946 Florida A&M Rattlers football team was an American football team that represented Florida A&M College as a member of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) during the 1946 college football season. In their second season under head coach Jake Gaither, the Rattlers compiled a 6–3–1 record (6–0 against SIAC opponents), and won the SIAC championship, and appeared in two post-season games, losing to Lincoln (PA) in the Orange Blossom Classic and tying Wiley in the Angel Bowl.[1]

1946 Florida A&M Rattlers football
SIAC champion
Orange Blossom Classic, L 14–20 vs. Lincoln (PA)
Angel Bowl, T 6–6 vs. Wiley
ConferenceSouthern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
Record6–4–1 (6–0 SIAC)
Head coach
Home stadiumSampson-Bragg Field
Seasons
← 1945
1947 →
1946 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 8 Florida A&M $ 6 0 0 6 4 1
No. 5 Lane 4 0 0 8 2 0
No. 3 Tuskegee 5 1 0 10 2 0
No. 12 Xavier (LA) 1 1 0 4 2 0
No. 18 Clark (GA) 2 2 1 2 4 1
No. 14 South Carolina State 2 3 1 5 3 1
No. 15 Fisk 0 3 0 3 4 1
No. 16 Morris Brown 3 3 1 4 3 1
No. 17 Benedict 3 4 0 5 5 0
No. 20 Alabama State 3 4 1 4 4 1
No. 22 Morehouse 1 4 3 1 4 3
Knoxville        
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from Pittsburgh Courier Dickinson System

The Dickinson System rated Florida A&M as the No. 8 black college football team for 1946.[2]

Florida A&M end Nathaniel "Traz" Powell was selected as a first-team player on The Pittsburgh Courier's 1946 All-America team. Three others were named to the second team: end Mitchell; tackle Brewington; and back Theodore "Ted" Montgomery.[3] The team's quarterback was "Big Jim" Williams.

The Rattlers played their home games at Sampson-Bragg Field in Tallahassee, Florida.

Schedule edit

DateOpponentSiteResultAttendanceSource
October 5vs. Wilberforce*
L 14–22[4]
October 12Alabama State
W 35–0[5]
October 19at Morris BrownW 7–05,000
October 26at KnoxvilleKnoxville, TNW 27–0[6][7]
November 2vs. Kentucky State*L 6–145,000
November 9Tuskegee 
  • Sampson-Bragg Field
  • Tallahasse, FL
W 21–205,000[8]
November 16Clark
  • Sampson-Bragg Field
  • Tallahasse, FL
W 32–0
November 23at Southern*Scotlandville, LAL 19–38
November 30Fisk
  • Centennial Field
  • Tallahasse, FL
W 18–03,000–4,000[9][10]
December 7vs. Lincoln (PA)*Tampa, FL (Orange Blossom Classic)L 14–20> 9,000[11][12]
December 28vs. Wiley*T 6–620,000[13][14]
  • *Non-conference game
  •  Homecoming

References edit

  1. ^ "Florida A&M Yearly Results (1945-1949)". College Football Data Warehoue. Archived from the original on September 6, 2015. Retrieved May 22, 2022.
  2. ^ Lucius Jones (December 7, 1946). "Morgan Wins But Tennesssee Is Still Tops". The Pittsburgh Courier. p. 17 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ Wendell Smith (December 14, 1946). "Here They Are! The All-Americans of 1946: Tennessee, Tuskegee Win Two Berths on 'Dream Team'". The Pittsburgh Courier. p. 17 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ Calvin Adams (October 12, 1946). "Wilberforce Topples Florida". The Pittsburgh Courier. p. 13 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ Calvin Adams (October 19, 1946). "Florida Rattlers Sting 'Bama State". The Pittsburgh Courier. p. 13 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ Charles U Smith (October 28, 1946). "A&M Rattlers Face Kentucky Team Saturday". The Daily Democrat. Tallahassee, Florida. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Rattlers Defeat Knoxville, 27-0". Tampa Bay Times. November 3, 1946. p. 38 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ Charles U Smith (November 10, 1946). "A&M Rattlers Hand Tuskegee First Defeat". Tallahassee Democrat. p. 19 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ Calvin E. Adams (December 7, 1946). "Florida Tops Fisk". The Pittsburgh Courier. p. 17 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ Charles U Smithdate=December 1, 1946. "A&M Rattlers Trounce Fisk Easily, 18-0". Tallahassee News-Democrat. p. 18 – via Newspapers.com.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  11. ^ "Lincoln Beat Rattlers in Orange Classic". The Tampa Tribune. December 8, 1946. p. 21 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Rattlers Drop 20-14 Contest To Lincoln U". the Sunday News-Democrat. Tallahassee, Florida. December 8, 1946. p. 15 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "Wiley-Florida in Angel Bowl". The Pittsburgh Courier. December 28, 1946. p. 13 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "Rattlers and Wiley Scrap to 6-6 Tie In Angel Bowl Game". Tallahassee Democrat. December 30, 1946. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.