1939 Marshall Thundering Herd football team

The 1939 Marshall Thundering Herd football team was an American football team that represented Marshall University as a member of the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference during the 1939 college football season. In its fifth season under head coach Cam Henderson, the team compiled a 9–2 record and outscored opponents by a total of 286 to 84. Marshall had a 3–0 record against WVIAC opponents, but did not play enough conference games to qualify for the WVAC standings.[1] "Boot" Elkins and Zack Kush were the team captains.[2]

1939 Marshall Thundering Herd football
ConferenceWest Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
Record9–2 (3–0 WVIAC)
Head coach
Captain"Boot" Elkins, Zack Kush
Home stadiumFairfield Stadium
Seasons
← 1938
1940 →
1939 West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
West Liberty State $ 5 0 0 8 2 0
Glenville State 6 2 1 6 2 1
Concord 3 1 1 4 4 1
Morris Harvey 2 2 1 5 3 1
New River State 2 3 0 0 3 4
Potomac State 1 3 0 2 5 1
West Virginia Wesleyan 1 3 0 1 8 0
Salem 1 5 2 1 6 2
Fairmont State 1 5 0 2 6 0
Shepherd 0 4 0 1 6 0
Marshall * 3 0 0 9 2 0
Davis & Elkins * 3 0 0 5 4 1
Bethany (WV) * 1 1 1 3 3 1
  • $ – Conference champion
  • * – Did not qualify for conference standings
    Ties did not count in conference standings.

Marshall was ranked at No. 64 (out of 609 teams) in the final Litkenhous Ratings for 1939.[3]

Schedule

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DateOpponentSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 23Geneva*W 41–13
September 30VPI*
  • Fairfield Stadium
  • Huntington, WV
W 20–0
October 7Salem
  • Fairfield Stadium
  • Huntington, WV
W 64–0
October 14at Miami (OH)*W 21–06,000[4]
October 21at Dayton*
W 19–137,000[5]
October 28at Scranton*Scranton, PAL 0–204,000[6]
November 4Wake Forest*
  • Fairfield Stadium
  • Huntington, WV
L 13–148,000[7]
November 11Toledo*
  • Fairfield Stadium
  • Huntington, WV
W 14–12[8]
November 18at Xavier*Cincinnati, OHW 20–05,000[9]
November 23West Virginia Wesleyan 
  • Fairfield Stadium
  • Huntington, WV
W 47–13
November 25at Morris HarveyCharleston, WVW 27–0
  • *Non-conference game
  •  Homecoming

References

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  1. ^ "2005 WVIAC Football Media Guide". West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. July 15, 2005. p. 35. Retrieved June 26, 2023 – via Internet Archive.
  2. ^ "2008 Marshall Football Guide" (PDF). Marshall University. 2018. p. 184. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 22, 2022. Retrieved August 25, 2020.
  3. ^ E. E. Litkenhous (December 31, 1939). "Vols Second In Final Litkenhous Grid Rankings; Southern California Tenth". Johnson City Sunday Press. p. 11 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Marshall Trims Miami". The Cincinnati Enquirer. October 15, 1931. p. 32 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ Si Burick (October 22, 1939). "U.D. Loses In Last Minute, 19-13: Marshall Beats Flyers In Game Of Comebacks". Dayton Daily News. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Tom-Cats Outcharge Marshall, 20-0". The Scrantonian. October 29, 1939. p. IV-1 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Deciding Point Does Little Jig". The News & Observer. Raleigh, North Carolina. November 5, 1939. p. 12. Retrieved May 12, 2021 – via Newspapers.com  .
  8. ^ Dick Boyd (November 12, 1939). "Marshall Wins Over Toledo, 14-12". Akron Beacon Journal. p. 4C – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ Lou Smith (November 19, 1939). "Marshall Turns On Power In Final Period To Trim Xavier". The Cincinnati Enquirer. p. 36 – via Newspapers.com.