1939 Oklahoma Sooners football team
The 1939 Oklahoma Sooners football team was an American football team that represented the University of Oklahoma as a member of the Big Six Conference during the 1939 college football season. In their third year under head coach Tom Stidham, the Sooners compiled a 6–2–1 record (3–2 against conference opponents), finished in third place in the Big Six Conference, and outscored their opponents by a total of 186 to 62.[1][2]
| 1939 Oklahoma Sooners football | |
|---|---|
| Conference | Big Six Conference |
| Ranking | |
| AP | No. 19 |
| Record | 6–2–1 (3–2 Big 6) |
| Head coach |
|
| Captain | Norval Locke |
| Home stadium | Memorial Stadium (capacity: 32,000) |
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 6 Missouri $ | 5 | – | 0 | – | 0 | 8 | – | 2 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 18 Nebraska | 4 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 7 | – | 1 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 19 Oklahoma | 3 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 6 | – | 2 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Kansas | 1 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 2 | – | 6 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Iowa State | 1 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 2 | – | 7 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Kansas State | 1 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 4 | – | 5 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Oklahoma was ranked at No. 19 in the final AP Poll and at No. 8 in the final Litkenhous Ratings.[3]
Two Sooners received All-America honors in 1939: tackle Gilford Duggan and Frank "Pop" Ivy.[4] Five Sooners received all-conference honors: Duggan, Ivy, tackle Justin Bowers, and backs Beryl Clark and Robert Seymour.[5]
Schedule
| Date | Opponent | Rank | Site | Result | Attendance | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 30 | SMU* | T 7–7 | 26,205 | |||
| October 7 | at Northwestern* | W 23–0 | 45,000 | [6] | ||
| October 14 | vs. Texas* | W 24–12 | 28,000 | [7] | ||
| October 21 | Kansas | No. 3 |
| W 27–7 | ||
| October 28 | Oklahoma A&M* | No. 6 |
| W 41–0 | ||
| November 4 | Iowa State | No. 6 |
| W 38–6 | 20,417 | |
| November 11 | at Kansas State | No. 6 | W 13–10 | 17,545 | ||
| November 18 | at No. 12 Missouri | No. 5 | L 6–7 | 27,000 | [8] | |
| November 25 | at Nebraska | No. 14 | L 7–13 | 35,000 | ||
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Rankings
The first AP Poll for 1939 came out on October 16. The Sooners were ranked third. They finished the year ranked 19th.
| Week | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poll | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | Final |
| AP | 3 (10) | 6 (2) | 6 (2) | 6 (3) | 5 (2) | 14 | — | — | 19 |
NFL draft
The following players were drafted into the National Football League following the season.[10]
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | NFL Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 17 | Dick Favor | Back | Philadelphia Eagles |
| 4 | 26 | John Shirk | End | Chicago Cardinals |
| 4 | 27 | Pop Ivy | End | Pittsburgh Steelers |
| 9 | 79 | J. R. Manley | Guard | Green Bay Packers |
| 10 | 88 | Bob Seymour | Back | Washington Redskins |
| 13 | 111 | Al Coppage | End | Chicago Cardinals |
| 13 | 116 | Justin Bowers | Tackle | Detroit Lions |
| 16 | 141 | Beryl Clark | Back | Chicago Cardinals |
| 18 | 165 | Ralph Stevenson | Guard | Cleveland Rams |
References
- "Oklahoma Yearly Results (1935-1939)". College Football Data Warehouse. David DeLassus. Archived from the original on September 5, 2015. Retrieved July 20, 2015.
- "1939 Oklahoma Sooners Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 20, 2015.
- 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.
- "2014 Oklahoma Football Records Supplement" (PDF). University of Oklahoma. 2014. p. 90. Retrieved July 20, 2014.
- "2014 Oklahoma Football Records Supplement" (PDF). University of Oklahoma. 2014. p. 95. Retrieved July 20, 2014.
- Wilfrid Smith (October 8, 1939). "Oklahoma Gives Wildcats Sharp Lesson, 23 to 0: Purple Errors Lead to 2 Touchdowns". Chicago Tribune. p. II-1 – via Newspapers.com.
- "Oklahoma takes wild game from Texas, 24–12". Shawnee Morning News. October 15, 1939. Retrieved April 28, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- J. Roy Stockton (November 19, 1939). "King Kicks Tigers To Victory Over Oklahoma, 7 To 6: Bob Orf Recovers Blocked Punt for Tiger Touchdown". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. p. 1C – via Newspapers.com.
- DeLassus, David. "Oklahoma Yearly Results 1935–1939". College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on September 5, 2015. Retrieved July 20, 2015.
- "1940 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 29, 2020.