The 1946 Los Angeles Dons season was their inaugural season in the new eight-team All-America Football Conference. Led by head coach Dudley DeGroot, the Dons finished 7–5–2,[1] third in the West division, and failed to qualify for the playoffs.
| 1946 Los Angeles Dons season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Dudley DeGroot |
| Home field | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum |
| Results | |
| Record | 7–5–2 |
| Division place | 3rd AAFC West |
| Playoff finish | Did not qualify |
The team's statistical leaders included quarterback Charlie O'Rourke with 1,250 passing yards, John Kimbrough with 473 rushing yards, Dale Gentry with 341 receiving yards, and Joe Aguirre with 55 points scored (31 extra points, four field goals, and two touchdowns).[2]
On September 13, 1946, in the first game in team history, the Dons defeated the Brooklyn Dodgers, 20-14, before a crowd of 18,995 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Bud Nygren scored the first points on a touchdown pass from quarterback Charlie O'Rourke. With the ball at the Don's 40-yard line, Nygren caught the ball at the Brooklyn 30-yard line and ran the remaining distance to the end zone.[3]
Season schedule edit
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Recap | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bye | ||||||
| 2 | September 13 | Brooklyn Dodgers | W 20–14 | 1–0 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | Recap | |
| 3 | September 20 | Miami Seahawks | W 30–14 | 2–0 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | Recap | |
| 4 | September 29 | at Buffalo Bisons | T 21–21 | 2–0–1 | Civic Stadium | Recap | |
| 5 | October 5 | at Chicago Rockets | W 21–9 | 3–0–1 | Soldier Field | Recap | |
| 6 | October 12 | San Francisco 49ers | L 14–23 | 3–1–1 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | Recap | |
| 7 | October 20 | at Cleveland Browns | L 14–31 | 3–2–1 | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | Recap | |
| 8 | October 27 | New York Yankees | L 17–31 | 3–3–1 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | Recap | |
| 9 | November 3 | Cleveland Browns | W 17–16 | 4–3–1 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | Recap | |
| 10 | November 10 | at New York Yankees | L 12–17 | 4–4–1 | Yankee Stadium | Recap | |
| 11 | November 17 | at Brooklyn Dodgers | W 19–14 | 5–4–1 | Ebbets Field | Recap | |
| 12 | November 25 | at Miami Seahawks | W 34–21 | 6–4–1 | Miami Orange Bowl | Recap | |
| 13 | December 1 | Buffalo Bisons | W 62–14 | 7–4–1 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | Recap | |
| 14 | December 8 | at San Francisco 49ers | L 7–48 | 7–5–1 | Kezar Stadium | Recap | |
| 15 | December 15 | Chicago Rockets | T 17–17 | 7–5–2 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | Recap | |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. | |||||||
Division standings edit
| AAFC Western Division | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | DIV | PF | PA | STK | ||
| Cleveland Browns | 12 | 2 | 0 | .857 | 4–2 | 423 | 137 | W5 | |
| San Francisco 49ers | 9 | 5 | 0 | .643 | 4–2 | 307 | 189 | W3 | |
| Los Angeles Dons | 7 | 5 | 2 | .583 | 2–3–1 | 305 | 290 | T1 | |
| Chicago Rockets | 5 | 6 | 3 | .455 | 1–4–1 | 263 | 315 | T1 | |
Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings.
Roster edit
Players shown in bold started at least one game at the position listed as confirmed by contemporary game coverage from the Los Angeles Times.
| Los Angeles Dons 1946 roster | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Quarterbacks
Fullbacks
Halfbacks
|
Ends
Tackles
Guards
Centers
| |||||
References edit
- ^ 1946 Los Angeles Dons
- ^ "1946 Los Angeles Dons Statistics & Players". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved March 2, 2020.
- ^ "Dons Defeat Dodgers". Los Angeles Times. September 14, 1946. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.