1947 Catawba Indians football team

The 1947 Catawba Indians football team was an American football team that represented Catawba College as a member of the North State Conference during the 1947 college football season. In its 14th season under head coach Gordon Kirkland, the team compiled an 11–1 record, won the North State championship, defeated Marshall in the 1948 Tangerine Bowl, shut out 10 of 12 opponents, and outscored opponents by a total of 265 to 27.[1]

1947 Catawba Indians football
North State champion
Tangerine Bowl champion
ConferenceNorth State Conference
Record11–1 (6–0 North State)
Head coach
Home stadiumShuford Field
1947 North State Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
Catawba $ 6 –0 –011 –1 –0
Appalachian State 6 –1 –09 –1 –0
Lenoir–Rhyne 4 –3 –15 –4 –1
High Point 3 –3 –15 –4 –2
Guilford 2 –3 –04 –6 –0
Western Carolina 2 –3 –03 –5 –1
Elon 2 –5 –04 –6 –0
East Carolina 1 –3 –03 –6 –0
Atlantic Christian 0 –5 –00 –8 –0
  • $ – Conference champion

On October 25, 1947, Catawba tied (and later broke) the national consecutive game scoring record. The prior record of 72 games was claimed by Yale during the 19th century.[2] After losing to Catawba by a 39–0 score, Newberry's head coach Billy Laval said: "They've got a real ball club. Should be playing Furman, Clemson and Carolina. They're out of our league."[3] In the AP Poll released on December 1, 1947, Catawba was ranked No. 20.[4]

Catawba fullback Lee Spears led the NSIC in scoring with 67 points (not counting the six points he scored in the Tangerine Bowl), and the team's place-kicking specialist Lamar Dorton led the conference in with 20 point-after-touchdown kicks.[5]

Catawba was ranked at No. 117 (out of 500 college football teams) in the final Litkenhous Ratings for 1947.[6]

Schedule
DateOpponentSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 1382nd Airborne*
W 44–04,000[7]
September 20Wofford*
  • Shuford Field
  • Salisbury, NC
W 14–0[8]
September 27at VMI*
L 6–134,000[9]
October 4at High PointHigh Point, NCW 21–0
October 11Western Carolina
  • Shuford Field
  • Salisbury, NC
W 44–0[10]
October 18vs. Appalachian StateWinston-Salem, NCW 19–09,000[11]
October 25Elon
  • Shuford Field
  • Salisbury, NC
W 38–0
November 1Presbyterian*dagger
  • Shuford Field
  • Salisbury, NC
W 7–05,000[12]
November 7Newberry*
  • Shuford Field
  • Salisbury, NC
W 39–01,500[13]
November 15at GuilfordGreensboro, NCW 20–14
November 27at Lenoir–RhyneHickory, NCW 6–06,000[14]
January 1, 1948vs. Marshall*
W 7–09,000[15]
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming

References
  1. "Catawba (NC) Yearly Results (1945-1949)". College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on March 8, 2017. Retrieved February 2, 2019.
  2. "Catawba, Spears Dominate North State Competition". The Asheville Citizen. October 27, 1947. p. 9 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. Carter "Scoop" Latimer (November 10, 1947). "Scoopin' Em Up". The Greenville News. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. "December 1, 1947 AP Football Poll". College Poll Archive. Retrieved February 2, 2019.
  5. "Catawba Back Tops League In Scoring". The Evening Telegram (Rocky Mount, NC). December 1, 1947. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. Dr. E. E. Litkenhous (December 18, 1947). "Michigan National Champion in Final Litkenhous Ratings". Times. p. 47 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. "Catawba Gridders Rout Soldier Team". Asheville Citizen-Times. September 14, 1947. p. D2 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. "Catawba Trims Wofford, 14-0". The Greenville News. September 21, 1947. p. Sports 2 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. "VMI Bests Catawba". The Tennessean. September 28, 1947. p. 3C – via Newspapers.com.
  10. "Catawba Bests Catamounts By 44-0 Margin". Asheville Citizen-Times. October 12, 1947. p. 1D – via Newspapers.com.
  11. "Catawba Routs Appalachian By Score of 19-0". Asheville Citizen-Times. October 19, 1947. p. D2 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. "Blue Socks Are Beaten By Catawba". The Greenville News. November 2, 1947. p. Sports 1 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. "Laval's Tribe Bled White". The Times and Democrat (Orangeburg, SC). November 8, 1947. p. 9 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. "Indians Trim Bears To Cop Championship". The Ashville Citizen. November 28, 1947. p. 22 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. "Catawba Captures 7-0 Tangerine Bowl Win". The Times. Shreveport, Louisiana. AP. January 2, 1948. Retrieved February 2, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
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